Maine man found guilty in brutal beating death of girlfriend

Rondon Athayde (Police mugshot)

PARIS, Maine - A jury found a Hartford man guilty Thursday in the brutal 2018 murder of his longtime girlfriend.

Rondon Athayde, 49, was on trial for the Dec. 13, 2018, beating death of 41-year-old Ana Cordeiro at their home on Bear Mountain Road in Hartford.

Maine State Police Troopers and Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit worked in conjunction with the Maine Attorney General's Office to investigate, make the arrest of Athayde and bring this case to trial.

The three-day trial was held at the Oxford County Superior Court in Paris. Assistant Attorney General Robert Ellis told the jury that Athyade beat Cordeiro at least 43 times with a metal rod while the couple's two young children were home.

Tthe jury took just 25 minutes to return the guilty verdict.

Athyade will be sentenced at Oxford County Superior Court Aug. 31.

The couple's children are living with family.