NYC psychiatrist, 52, jailed for 11 years after trying to take back plea in sledgehammer murder plot
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A New York City psychiatrist was sentenced to 11 years behind bars for her part in a 2012 plot to club her former lover to death with a sledgehammer, manipulating her bipolar teenage cousin to carry out the attack.
Pamela Buchbinder, 52, was convicted this week in the Manhattan Supreme Court after pleading guilty last month for arranging the murder of Dr. Michael Weiss, with whom she shares a son.
But in a bizarre twist, Buchbinder tried to withdraw her plea before her sentence was read, arguing that she only confessed because she was high from secondhand exposure to marijuana smoked inmates on the prison bus to the courthouse, that she had been assaulted by guards. and that she had not taken her medication that day.
Judge Thomas Farber rejected Buchbinder’s motion, saying she “appeared perfectly and completely coherent” the day she made her plea, according to the New York Post.
Buchbinder was first arrested in 2017 and entered a plea deal in September for attempted assault and first-degree burglary, sparing her from a murder charge that could have landed her 25 years in prison.
Pamela Buchbinder, 52, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for her part in a plot to kill her ex-lover, Dr. Micael Weiss, after she pleaded guilty last month.
Buchbinder’s ex-lover, Dr. Michael Weiss said he feared for his future safety after Buchbinder’s eventual release.
Buchbinder was arrested in 2017 for the 2012 murder plot. The year before, her cousin Jacob Nolan was sentenced to nine and a half years
Weiss issued an impact statement in court on Tuesday, saying that while he was happy to avoid trial, he feared for his future safety in Buchbinder’s eventual release.
“I continue to believe that she will do everything in her power to harm me, regardless of the consequences, regardless of the damage she has caused,” he said.
“I am grateful that I survived the attack to be here today. I’m grateful that this case is resolved with a plea deal and a trial averted.”
Weiss was beaten with a 10-pound sledgehammer and stabbed at least eight times in the chest and back by Buchbinder’s cousin, Jacob Nolan, who, according to prosecutors, manipulated into carrying out the attack on her behalf.
Buchbinder pleads guilty to attempted assault and first-degree burglary in exchange for 11 years in prison
The sledgehammer Nolan used on November 12, 2012, to try Dr. to kill Michael Weiss
Footage from the night before the November 12, 2012 attack showed Buchbinder buying a sledgehammer for cash at a Manhattan Home Depot with Nolan by her side.
Footage from the night before the November 12, 2012 attack showed Buchbinder buying a sledgehammer for cash at a Manhattan Home Depot with Nolan by her side.
She also signed for Nolan how to enter Weiss’ home and gave him the knife used in the attack, prosecutors said.
Nolan later told 48 Hours in 2016 that he was in the throes of a psychological breakdown at the time, saying, “I was in a full-blown psychotic episode. I was on heavy medication for morphine.’
“I do believe her plan is to try again later,” he added.
Nolan was sentenced in 2016 to nine and a half years for attempted murder.
Jacob Nolan, who suffers from bipolar in 2016. He was 19 at the time of the assassination attempt and said Buchbinder manipulated him into carrying it out
Buchbinder handcuffed in court after her arrest in 2017. She evaded murder charges with her admission of guilt in September
The kitchen knife Nolan Weiss stabbed with. Prosecutors said Buchbinder gave Nolan the knife
Prosecutors say Buchbinder hatched the deranged plan after arguing with Weiss over her visitation rights to their then 6-year-old son, whom Weiss had recently gained custody of.
At Buchbinder’s insistence, Weiss had also made her the beneficiary of his $1.5 million life insurance policy just days before the attack.
“I think it is necessary to get the file straight to tell the truth about what really happened in this case and the great evil of this crime,” Joel Seidemann, assistant district attorney of Manhattan, said during the trial. conviction of Buchbinder.
“The suspect tried to have Michael Weiss killed. She rose to administer $1.5 million worth of life insurance policies in his son’s name. She wanted custody,’ he said.
Despite her admission of guilt, Buchbinder seemed to maintain her innocence during her brief statements at the sentencing.
“I’m so sorry we’re all here today,” she said. “If there was one true statement Mr. Seidemann said, I missed it.”