AUBURN — The sister of a Lewiston man charged with murder said in court Tuesday that she went to police in October and told them her brother had confided to her the details of his alleged killing of 22-year-old Christiana Fesmire.

Prosecutors questioned Robinson based on the sworn written narrative submitted by a Maine State Police detective for Buddy Robinson’s arrest warrant.

Brandi Robinson, twin sister of defendant Buddy Robinson, 30, told an Androscoggin County Superior Court judge that her brother said he had hit Fesmire’s head on the bathtub of her Highland Avenue apartment before sitting on her to drown her.

Brandi Robinson said her brother had told her: “Fesmire did not die easily.” Robinson was one of the state’s witnesses at a hearing aimed at establishing probable cause. Defendants are constitutionally entitled to bail, except in a murder case. If the judge finds that probable cause exists in a case involving what was formerly a capital crime, the judge can deny bail.

Prosecutors are expected to call other witnesses, including investigators, who likely would appear on the state’s trial list to bolster their case for keeping the defendant behind bars pending trial.

According to the police affidavit:

Brandi Robinson said she last talked to Fesmire on the morning of July 1 as she was leaving her Highland Avenue apartment building where Fesmire rented the first-floor unit. Fesmire was supposed to borrow Robinson’s Lexus to drive to Rangeley for a family gathering. She was picking up some personal belongings, she told Robinson.

Robinson got a call from her brother on Fesmire’s cellphone. She said her brother told her he and Fesmire had fought. She had hit her head and had a bloody nose, he said.

When Robinson returned to the Highland Avenue building, her brother told her not to go to Fesmire’s apartment.

Robinson said her brother later told her he had put Fesmire’s body in the trunk of the Lexus and had cleaned Fesmire’s apartment. After disposing of Fesmire’s body, Robinson said her brother told her he had parked on a paved road and carried her body 2 miles into a swampy area.

Police and search teams have failed to recover Fesmire’s remains.

The hearing is expected to continue on Wednesday.

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