The man arrested for allegedly stalking Paige Bueckers said he intended to visit her with an engagement ring and threatened to kill imaginary romantic rivals in a series of disturbing social media posts that led to his arrest last month.
Robert Cole Parmalee, 40, posted an article about the University of Connecticut basketball star and declared his fascination with her in these TikTok posts, some of which remain visible on his account. Another, reviewed by the Associated Press, included a photo of Bueckers alongside an unnamed man.
“This is worth it for this guy, huh?” Parmalee wrote in the caption, according to the AP. “He’s just a guy, I’ll put him down, no problem, no questions asked.”
Parmalee was ordered held on $100,000 bail after appearing in Rockville, Connecticut, on Monday. He was also ordered to stay away from a person described by the court as “PB.”
“Coming to UCONN Paige Madison Bueckers, I’ll be in Hartford tomorrow morning,” she wrote in an Aug. 27 TikTok post, just hours before her arrest near Hartford.
Parmalee posted photos of an engagement ring she apparently intended to give to Bueckers.
UConn Huskies’ Paige Bueckers looks on before a Minnesota Twins game
Parmalee was stopped while walking along a highway and told officers he had driven in from the Pacific Northwest and was planning to meet Buckers on campus. Police said they found underwear and a ring on him.
UConn is located in Storrs, 31 miles from Hartford.
Police arrested Parmalee after discovering he had a warrant out for his arrest on arson charges in Josephine County, Oregon, where police say he tried to set fire to a home with roommates and pets inside.
He has since been charged with felony harassment, as well as misdemeanor harassment and disorderly conduct by UConn police.
Parmalee’s public defender, Kathryn Mallach, did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Parmalee was reportedly found with a ring and lingerie when he was picked up by police.
Parmalee (left) was near Hartford, Connecticut, last month, where he told police he was going to UConn to visit Huskies basketball star Paige Bueckers (right).
Many of Parmalee’s posts about Bueckers were best described as meaningless ramblings.
Friday’s affidavit does not name Bueckers but includes references to a “V1” who was subjected to Parmalee’s “continuous and escalating behavior” and suffered “emotional distress over the past two weeks” as a result.
Many of Parmalee’s posts about Bueckers are meaningless ramblings that initially amount to nothing criminal in the eyes of authorities.
But as the arrest affidavit explains, his posts became more alarming before his arrest on August 27.
“I will choose to die and I will choose to bring to hell all those who oppose me and stand against me,” he wrote in a message shared by police. “If you let them touch you, you allow them to die.”
According to police, V1 recently discovered direct messages from Parmalee on his Instagram account and became concerned for his safety, as well as the well-being of his family and teammates, when they learned he had been arrested outside of Hartford.
The 1.83-meter guard is the favorite to be among the first selections in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
In this post, Parmalee described a fictional interaction between himself and Bueckers.
Parmalee also expressed a desire to find V1’s mother’s home, according to the affidavit.
He had previously been arrested on misdemeanor charges of sexual abuse, robbery, driving under the influence and possession of methamphetamine, as well as harassment.
Interestingly, his TikTok account is ‘Cole Parmelee,’ which uses his supposed middle name and a different spelling of his last name than the one used by Connecticut police.
Parmalee is due back in court on October 22.
Bueckers, 22, is a former college player of the year and, outside of a disappointing 2022-23 season when she recovered from knee surgery, has been one of the sport’s most visible athletes.
The 6-foot-11 Minnesota native is the favorite to be selected among the top picks in the 2025 WNBA Draft.