NYC psychiatrist, 52, jailed for 11 years after trying to take back plea in sledgehammer murder plot

A New York City psychiatrist was sentenced to 11 years behind bars for her part in a 2012 plot to bludgeon her former lover to death with a sledgehammer, which saw her manipulate her bipolar teenage cousin into carrying out the attack.

Pamela Buchbinder, 52, was handed her sentence in the Manhattan Supreme Court this week after pleading guilty last month to arranging the murder of Dr. Michael Weiss, who she shares a son with.  

But in a bizarre twist, Buchbinder tried to rescind her plea before her sentence was read, arguing she only confessed because she was high from second-hand exposure to marijuana that inmates on the prison bus over to the courthouse were smoking, that she had been maced by guards, and that she had not taken her medication that day.

Justice Thomas Farber dismissed Buchbinder’s motion, saying she ‘appeared perfectly fine and perfectly coherent’ the day she made her plea, according to the New York Post.

First arrested in 2017, Buchbinder took a plea deal in September for a first-degree attempted assault and burglary, which spared her from a murder charge which could have landed her in jail for 25 years.

Pamela Buchbinder, 52, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for her part in a plot to murder her ex-lover, Dr. Micael Weiss, after submitting a guilty plea last month

Buchbinder’s ex-lover, Dr. Michael Weiss, said he feared for his future safety upon Buchbinder’s eventual release

Buchbinder was arrested in 2017 for the 2012 murder plot. The year before, her cousin Jacob Nolan was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years

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Weiss delivered an impact statement in court on Tuesday, saying that while he was pleased to avoid a trial, he feared for his future safety upon Buchbinder’s eventual release.

‘I continue to believe she will do anything in her power to harm me, regardless of the consequences, regardless of any damage that she has caused,’ he said. 

‘I am grateful to have survived the attack to be standing here today. I’m grateful this matter is being resolved with a plea deal and avoid a trial.’

Weiss was beaten with a 10-pound sledgehammer and stabbed at least eight times in the chest and back by Buchbinder’s cousin, Jacob Nolan, who prosecutors said she manipulated into carrying out the attack on her behalf.

Buchbinder plead guilty to first-degree attempted assault and burglary in return for an 11-year prison sentence

The sledgehammer Nolan attempted to murder Dr. Michael Weiss with on November 12, 2012

Footage from the night before the November 12, 2012, attacked showed Buchbinder buying a sledgehammer in cash at a Manhattan Home Depot with Nolan at her side

Footage from the night before the November 12, 2012, attack showed Buchbinder buying a sledgehammer in cash at a Manhattan Home Depot with Nolan at her side.

She also drew Nolan a map of how to enter Weiss’ home and provided him with the knife used in the attack, according to prosecutors.

Nolan later told 48 Hours in 2016 that he was in the throes of a psychological breakdown at the time, saying ‘I was in full-blown psychotic episode. I was heavily medicated on morphine.’

‘I really believe it’s her plan to try again later,’ he added.

Nolan was sentenced in 2016 to nine-and-a-half years for attempted murder.

Jacob Nolan, who suffers from bipolar, in 2016. He was 19 at the time of the murder attempt and said Buchbinder manipulated him into carrying it out 

Buchbinder handcuffed in court after her arrest in 2017. She dodged murder charges with her September guilty plea

The kitchen knife Nolan used to stab Weiss . Prosecutors said Buchbinder provided Nolan with the knife

Prosecutors say Buchbinder hatched the deranged scheme after arguing with Weiss over her visitation rights to their then-6-year-old son, who Weiss had recently won custody of.

At Buchbinder’s urging, Weiss had also made her the beneficiary of his $1.5million life insurance policy just days before the attack.

‘I think it’s necessary to make the record straight to tell the truth about what really happened in this case and the great evil of this crime,’ said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann during Buchbinder’s sentencing. 

‘The defendant tried to have Michael Weiss murdered. She stood to control $1.5million of life insurance of his life in the name of his son. She wanted sole custody,’ he said.

Despite her guilty plea, Buchbinder seemed to maintain her innocence during her brief statements at the sentencing. 

‘I am so sorry that we are all here today,’ she said. ‘If there was one true statement Mr. Seidemann said, I missed it.’