MACHIAS, Maine — Thomas Bonfanti was sentenced Friday morning to life in prison for killing three people and nearly killing a fourth in 2020.
Sam Powers, Jennifer Bryant-Flynn and Shawn Currey all were shot in their heads at close range in their separate homes on Feb. 3, 2020, as Bonfanti drove methodically to their homes with a Keltec .22 magnum caliber handgun. Also shot in the spree was Currey’s girlfriend, Regina Hall Long, who survived her injuries after pretending to be dead. She called the police after Bonfanti drove away.
Bonfanti, 65, was found guilty in June at the end of a weeklong trial of three counts of murder and one count of aggravated attempted murder. A Northfield resident, the Army veteran and active member of the American Legion Hall in Machias knew all of the victims. Bryant-Flynn, Currey and Long all lived in Machias, while Powers lived in neighboring Jonesboro.
After the sentencing on Friday, prosecutor Bud Ellis said that the life sentence was fitting for the triple murderer.
“It’s shocking how little remorse and little humanity he displayed,” Ellis said outside the local courthouse. “Tom Bonfanti is an inherently evil and soulless human being.”
Long spoke at Bonfanti’s sentencing, saying that he blew her teeth out when he shot her in the face in her kitchen.
“I can’t eat. I have to drink most of my food,” Long said. “I can’t drive. Just about every day I wake up crying and shaking.”
Relatives of the other victims also spoke at the sentencing, including Bryant-Flynn’s 17 year-old daughter Madison Flynn.
“There is no amount of time you could serve that is worth the lives that you took,” Flynn said.
Outside the courthouse, Bryant-Flynn’s mother Christie Bryant said the life sentence for Bonfanti was “a huge relief” for the victims’ families. She said Bonfanti always took advantage of vulnerable people and that her daughter struggled with her mental health.
“I never thought I would believe in capital punishment, until now,” Bryant said. “He doesn’t get to run around with a gun anymore. He’s contained, like a bad virus.”
One of the lasting mysteries of Bonfanti’s shooting spree is his motive.
Prosecutors never offered a theory about why Bonfanti set out to kill, and Bonfanti himself offered different explanations: he testified that he shot Powers when his gun accidentally discharged, he shot Bryant-Flynn by accident when he tried to shoot her snarling dog, and he shot Long and Currey in self-defense when he went to talk to them about money that had gone missing from the American Legion.
But on Friday, Long offered up a theory at Bonfanti’s sentencing that Justice Bruce Mallonee said was “consistent” with some of the motions in the case and testimony at Bonfanti’s trial.
Bonfanti became infatuated with a younger man and tried to make a pass at him but was rejected, Long said. The younger man moved to Bangor to get away from Bonfanti and, when Bonfanti could not track the younger man down, he decided to retaliate, she said.
“He knows the motive,” Long said. “He said he would kill everyone who was close to [the younger man].”
The man Bonfanti had a crush on was friends with Powers and related to Bryant-Flynn, and she was like “a second mom” to him, Long said. Currey, who did not know Bonfanti, was shot and killed while trying to protect Long from Bonfanti, she said.
Ellis said Friday that whatever Bonfanti’s motive was “really didn’t matter.” What has been clear the entire time is that Bonfanti left his home in Northfield that morning with his gun, ample ammunition, and a plan to kill people.
“He’s an evil, evil man,” Ellis said.
Specifically, Bonfanti was sentenced to life in prison for each of the murders of Bryant-Flynn, Curry and Powers, and for the aggravated attempted murder charge he faced for shooting Long. He also was sentenced to 30 years in prison on a related aggravated assault charge, and was ordered to pay $3,181 in restitution.
Maine does not allow prisoners to be paroled, so Bonfanti is expected to remain in prison until he dies.
