AUBURN -- A Cayuga County man will likely spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering his former girlfriend last year.
40-year-old Ryan Brahney of Auburn was sentenced to 54 years to life in state prison - the maximum sentence - for the brutal killing of his former girlfriend, 29-year-old Bridget Bell, in November 2011.
Brahney waived his right to appear at his Cayuga County Court sentencing on Thursday morning and was sentenced in absentia. He reportedly refused to leave his cell and threatened to be disruptive if he was forced to appear in court. The judge wanted him in court to face Bell’s family.
Brahney was convicted last month of stabbing Bell multiple times with a kitchen knife while their three-year-old son slept in the other room.
Before issuing the sentence, Judge Thomas Leone commented on Brahney's refusal to take responsibility for his actions. "The thing that strikes me about Mr. Brahney is that he shows no remorse, no remorse whatsover," he said.
Brahney was convicted on seven counts, including two counts of murder in the second degree, two counts of burglary in the first degree, one count of criminal possesion of a weapon, and two counts of criminal contempt.
