Transgender man who stabbed a supermarket shopper to death gets life in prison

A woman who fatally stabbed a shopper in the ice cream aisle of supermarket in Maine in August after she went to the store to kill 'several random people' was sentenced on Monday to life in prison.

Connor MacCalister, who pleaded guilty after telling police she was angry with life and went to the store to kill at random, apologized to the family of her victim during her sentencing hearing.

MacCalister is a former transgender man who was born as a female named Tanisha Hopkins and she has asked to be referred to as a woman in her recent court appearances.

According to court records, the 31-year-old acknowledged being 'off (her) meds' when she killed 59-year-old Wendy Boudreau at a Shaw's supermarket in Saco, where they both lived.

The defendant was sentenced in York County Superior Court in Alfred, where several members of Boudreau's family and friends spoke prior to sentencing about the horror of grappling with the sudden death of their loved one.

'Those poignant moments, when I realize she is really gone, are paralyzing,' said Jessie Boudreau, Wendy's daughter, who added that MacCalister's 'actions cracked the very foundation of our family and the Saco community'.

MacCalister entered her guilty plea in October over the objection of her lawyer, who wanted to use an insanity defense.

Last month, MacCalister's attorney, Robert LeBrasseur, said MacCalister wanted to plead guilty to 'make this easier on Mrs Boudreau's family and friends.'

The guilty plea required LeBrasseur to argue in favor of a life sentence, which he did.

MacCalister rose briefly during the sentencing to apologize to Boudreau's family and friends.

'I hope you have good memories of her,' she said.

'I'm sorry.'

The sentencing brings an end to a case that shocked the quiet seaside city and led to public expressions of grief, including a well-attended funeral at Saco's Thornton Academy, where Boudreau had worked in the alumni office.

An exam report stated that MacCalister wants to be placed in a female jail and that she has stopped taking testosterone.

Assistant Attorney General Leane Zainea said MacCalister's initial plan was to kill one person, take another hostage and then kill the hostage when police arrived.

Zainea said MacCalister had been planning the attack for a month.

There was no indication that Boudreau and MacCalister knew each other, and the affidavit said MacCalister claimed Boudreau had 'looked at me funny' at the scene.