A woman serving a life sentence for bludgeoning a man to death with a hammer in Whitman when she was a teenager has been denied parole, records show.
The state Parole Board voted unanimously on June 29 to deny a request for release from Teresa Brugliera, 57, who was convicted in 1989 of first-degree murder for the March 12, 1988, slaying of David John Regan, 25.
At the time of the killing, the 19-year-old Brugliera was named Edward Voisine, and during a January hearing before the board, she said that “early feelings of gender incongruence” had led to mental health and substance issues that factored into the offense, the panel said in its ruling.
Brugliera is currently incarcerated at the women’s state prison in Framingham, records show.
On the night of the killing, the board said, Brugliera called her girlfriend to inform her that she “felt “like [she] was being set up” and “felt like she wanted to kill someone.”
Forty-five minutes later, Brugliera called back and told her girlfriend, “it’s done,” before driving Regan’s car to her girlfriend’s apartment, the ruling said.
Brugliera had several items belonging to Regan in her possession when she arrived, including his license, clothes, and antique coins, the board said.
She confessed to her girlfriend that she had beaten Regan with a hammer, adding that if he wasn’t dead “then he is now,” the ruling said.
Two days later, Brugliera drove Regan’s car to an area in Brockton where she burned it, prompting firefighters to respond and police to contact Regan’s mother, who drove to his Whitman condominium and discovered her son’s body, according to the ruling.
Brugliera was convicted of first-degree murder, which normally carries a mandatory life sentence with no chance at parole, but became eligible to seek her release when the state’s highest court in 2024 struck down mandatory life terms for defendants aged 18 to 20 at the time of their crimes.
Her next hearing before the board will take place in three years, records show.
“The Board is of the opinion that she needs, and would benefit from, further treatment within the Department of Correction,” the ruling said. “She has a total of 45 disciplinary reports and appears to have only recently demonstrated more consistent positive change.”
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.