AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER Maine) — A Mainer will face 40 years in prison after murdering her parents and family dog after "snapping" while struggling with gender identity.
Andrea Balcer, formerly known as Andrew, stood before a judge on Tuesday for her sentencing hearing. The judge heard testimony from friends and family of Andrea's deceased parents Tony and Alice Balcer. Andrea spent most of her hearing with her head down, crying at times. She became particularly emotional when she heard her brother Christopher Balcer spoke on the impact this has had on his life.
"Two years ago today I had my life stolen from me," said Christopher Balcer, "My entire existence uprooted in a single stroke. Two loving parents were taken from me. My brother, and best friend that I thought I had ceased to exist."
Andrea Balcer's attorney argued that the then 17-year old was going through gender identity transformation from Andrew to Andrea and that her parents, were not accepting of her. Friends of Tony and Alice Balcer said in their impact statements that they believed the parents were loving and would have accepted Andrea. Now Andrea is asking for forgiveness from the family that she's hurt.
"I do not speak today to beg for leniency or to try and save myself from due punishments. I'm here to ask for the forgiveness of my family," said Andrea Balcer.
She had no criminal record before the violence early on Oct. 31, 2016, in the family's Winthrop home.
State attorneys pushed for the sentence to be 55 years, claiming Balcer showed little to no remorse after murdering her parents. Bud Ellis from the prosecution told NEWS CENTER after the hearing he was disappointed in the length of the sentence, but does not plan to appeal.