AUBURN — During a hearing Thursday while seeking a new trial, Buddy Robinson, convicted of murder in 2012, told his version of the story for the first time.

He admitted to hiding the body of 22-year-old Christiana Fesmire but said he didn’t kill her. Instead, he pointed to his twin sister and her boyfriend.

“I know I didn’t do it, and I still know I didn’t do it,” he said.

Robinson, 35, did not testify during the 2012 trial. He’s serving a 55-year sentence at Maine State Prison for the 2011 beating and bathtub drowning of Fesmire, who had lived downstairs from Robinson’s Highland Avenue apartment in Lewiston.

Robinson is awaiting a court decision on whether he’ll receive a new trial after his attorney, Jim Howaniec, argued Thursday that his former attorney failed to properly convey a potential plea bargain that could have lowered the charge to manslaughter, possibly cutting Robinson’s jail time considerably.

Robinson filed a post-conviction review seeking a new trial, claiming his trial attorney, Edward “Ted” Dilworth III, provided ineffective assistance of counsel during the trial.

On Thursday, both he and Dilworth testified during the hearing, but their accounts also differed. Dilworth said he routinely spoke with Robinson about the seriousness of the case against him, and said “settlement was always an option.” But he said Robinson was “prepared to roll the dice” with a jury trial.

A murder conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison, but a plea deal on a manslaughter charge could have resulted in a 15-to 20-year sentence, Howaniec said, based on the deal reached.

The state’s attorney Thursday said there was never a formal plea bargain offer, and the lead prosecutor during the trial, Andrew Benson, also took the stand to back it up.

Benson said that throughout the case, state prosecutors were looking for more information from Robinson on the whereabouts of Fesmire’s body, and that a deal could have been made based on Robinson disclosing more info. However, he said Robinson continually declined to reveal what he knew.

Fesmire’s body wasn’t found until after the trial ended. Robinson eventually disclosed the location of the body to the state through his attorney.

During Robinson’s trial, his twin sister Brandi Robinson and other witnesses gave damning testimony against Buddy Robinson. Brandi 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 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.

His account on Thursday differed greatly from what was presented during his trial.

When Howaniec asked Robinson to describe his involvement in the case, he said he got into a scuffle with Fesmire earlier in the day on July 1, 2011, which led to giving her a bloody nose. He said he went to work later in the day, and eventually got a call from his sister, who was with her boyfriend Levi, who said they were “in trouble.” When he got home, they told Robinson that Fesmire was dead following some type of altercation.

Robinson said his sister was scared, and didn’t want to lose her son.

Robinson said he and his nephew were, and remain, close.

“She said, “I really need your help,'” Robinson said. “They asked me to dispose of the body.”

Robinson said he drove Fesmire’s body in a Lexus to a spot that was about 200 feet into the woods, near a trail. When he arrived home, he said his sister and her boyfriend were naked in bed, which showed they “didn’t seem to care.”

During the hearing Thursday, the state’s attorney told the judge that Robinson didn’t deserve “a second bite of the apple,” referring to a second trial. He said that state prosecutors basically begged Robinson to reveal the location of Fesmire’s body, but “they all said Buddy wasn’t interested.”

He also told Robinson that his sister’s testimony during the trial was “a completely different story” than what Robinson offered Thursday. Robinson said he was prepared to testify during his trial, but was told by Dilworth not to take the stand.

Robinson said he didn’t seek a plea deal because Dilworth had continually told him they had a solid defense, and that he brought his hopes up, saying things like “you’ll be home soon.”

Benson told the court that it was “highly unlikely” he mentioned a potential plea offer in the range of 15 years for manslaughter, stating it was more likely the discussion was 20-25 years. But, he affirmed, no official offer was made.

Dilworth said a possible plea bargain “was always a part” of the discussion, but that the idea was consistently rejected by Robinson.

Justice MaryGay Kennedy told counsel that she would make her decision after further reviewing the case details.

arice@sunjournal.com

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