College Basketball

Man accused of stalking UConn star Paige Bueckers made bizarre marriage claims

Authoꦚrities in Connecticut have arrested and charged a 40-year-old Oregon man with stalking and harassing UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers.

Robe💮rt Cole Parmalee was served an arrest warrant Friday by UConn police while he was at Hartford Correctional Center and held on $100,00♛0 bond after appearing in court on Monday,

Parmalee was officially charged with breach of peace, electronic st🐷alking and harassment.

UConn became aware of Parmalee in June after the school’s communications department had received “rambling” emails where he claimed he was a member of the royal family and that he wanted to marry a member of UConn’s wﷺomen’s basketball team, according to UConn Police.

Robert Cole Parmalee was arrested on Friday. Connecticut State Police
Paige Bueckers is pictured during a 2021 game for UConn. Getty Images

Parmalee allegedly made dozens of social media posts that reference Bueckers and allegedly made posts that appeared threatening in nature to the UConn hoops s🌟tar, her friends and🦂 family. ;

In a post on his TikTok account, acco🐈rding to ESPN, he threatened to kill himself along with others “if I cannot live with a woman of my choosing,” seemingly referring to Bueckers. 

Other posts on social medi🥂a referenced Bueckers and it seemed that Parmalee posted fake wedding invites along w൲ith a picture of a diamond engagement ring.

Parmalee had or🌊iginally been arrested on Aug. 27 by Connecticut State Police while he was walking on a limited-access highway near Bradley International Airport and told officers that he was on his way to see Bueckers. 

thatไ a UConn Police report stated, “During this interaction, Parmelee declared that he had fathered >17K children and was going to see Paige [UCONN WBB Player Paige Bueckers].”

Paige Bueckers is pictured at the 2024 ESPY Awards. FilmMagic

State police arrest💦ed Parmalee after it came back that he was wanted on an outstand🍬ing warrant in Oregon and he was facing extradition back to the state when UConn learned that the state had planned to dismiss the charges, according to ESPN. 

Judꦚge Rick Ru🍬bino issued a protective order against Parmalee during Monday’s court appearance. 

“You cannot assault, threaten, abuse, harass, follow, interfere with oꦍr stalk that person,” Rubino told 𒅌Parmalee in court. 

Parmalee wi꧋ll be due back in court on Oct. 22. 

He was represe🌱nted by public defender Katie Mallach, who told the court that UConn had ꦑofficially trespassed Parmalee and that he would follow the order. 

She did take exception 🌳to the electronic stalking charge, telling the court that 𒆙it requires an intent to kill, injure, harass or intimidate a person, and I don’t see any of that in the warrant or in the police report.”

Bueckers had told authorities, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant application, that Parmalee had started send🐽ing her videos on Instagram in February and the UConn women’s basketball star told university police that she worried about the safety for herself, her teammates and family.