Category Archives: Melissa Jenkins

Couple to face separate trials in teacher death

ST. JOHNSBURY — Lawyers in the case of a Vermont couple charged with killing a prep school teacher and dumping her body in the Connecticut River are planning for separate trials next year.
Allen Prue and his wife, Patricia Prue, are accused of strangling and beating 33-year-old Melissa Jenkins after luring her out of her house with a ruse about a broken down car in March.
Police say the Waterford couple planned the crime.
Lawyers in a St. Johnsbury courtroom on Friday scheduled Allen Prue’s trial for July. He is charged with first-degree murder.
Patricia Prue’s trial has been scheduled for May. She is charged with aggravated murder.
Both have pleaded not guilty.

Prue case in court for status conference

ST. JOHNSBURY — A Vermont man charged with killing a prep school teacher and dumping her body in the Connecticut River is expected in court for a status conference.
Allen Prue and his wife, Patricia Prue, are accused of strangling and beating 33-year-old Melissa Jenkins after luring her out of her house with a ruse about a broken down car in March.
Police say the Waterford couple planned the crime.
A status conference is scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m. in St. Johnsbury for 30-year-old Allen Prue, who is charged with first-degree murder. Patricia Prue’s next scheduled court date is Nov. 9. The 33-year-old is charged with aggravated murder.
Both have pleaded not guilty.

Patricia Prue wants murder trial moved

ST. JOHNSBURY — A woman charged with her husband in the killing of a Vermont teacher wants her trial moved out of Caledonia County.
A lawyer for Patricia Prue says extensive media coverage of the case makes it highly unlikely for her to get a fair trial in her home county.
Patricia and Allen Prue are charged with killing 33-year-old Melissa Jenkins of St. Johnsbury and dumping her body in the Connecticut River in March.
Thirty-three-year-old Patricia Prue faces a charge of aggravated murder, accusing her of killing Jenkins during a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault. Thirty-year-old Allen Prue is charged with first-degree murder. Both have pleaded not guilty.
No trial dates have been set for the Prues.

Prues face new charges in teacher killing

St. JOHNSBURY — A Vermont couple accused of luring a popular St. Johnsbury teacher from her home, killing her and dumping her body in the Connecticut River in March are facing upgraded murder charges in the death of Melissa Jenkins.
Allen and Patricia Prue of Waterford are expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.
Allen Prue is charged with first-degree murder; Patricia Prue is now charged with aggravated murder, accusing her of murder while perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate a sexual assault.
A police affidavit say the Prues planned in advance to kill the 33-year-old single mother, buying a stun gun and prepaid cellphone before the crime, and then strangled, beat and electrocuted her.
The Prues previously pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges.

Court: Patricia Prue provides DNA

ST. JOHNSBURY — Court records say a Vermont woman charged in the killing of a prep school teacher has provided DNA samples to police.
The Caledonian-Record reports the samples were obtained from Patricia Prue at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Center on April 18. A judge had denied her lawyer’s motion to dismiss the request for DNA collection.
The 33-year-old Prue and her husband, 30-year-old Allen Prue of Waterford are charged with second-degree murder and unauthorized disposal of a body in the March 28 killing of Melissa Jenkins of St. Johnsbury.
Police say Allen Prue, who used to plow Jenkins’ driveway, told investigators that he and his wife lured her out of her home with a story about a broken down car and he strangled her. Patricia Prue has denied being involved.

Jenkins benefit at Killington tonight

KILLINGTON — Jax Food & Games on the access road is hosting a benefit concert for the son of Melissa Jenkins, the St. Johnsbury Academy teacher slain last month.
The concert, called “JAX for LAUGHTER + LIVE MUSIC FOR TY” is from 9 p.m. tonight to midnight with live music from Aaron Audet & Vermont Comedy Club.
All proceeds from door donations go to the Melissa Jenkins Memorial Fund in honor of her son Ty Robertson.
Giveaways include hundreds of dollars worth of prizes, golf and Red Sox tickets, among other prizes.

Suspects in teacher death waive bail hearing

ST. JOHNSBURY — The couple accused of killing a Vermont prep school teacher have waived a court hearing that would have reviewed their bail status.
Allen and Patricia Prue were ordered held without bail in the March 25 death of Melissa Jenkins. They have been charged with killing Jenkins after luring her from her St. Johnsbury home with a ruse about a broken down car.
The Prues have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and improper disposal of a body.
The Burlington Free Press reports a judge in St. Johnsbury scheduled for Friday and later canceled a bail review hearing. Mark Eagle, Patricia Prue’s attorney, declined to comment on his decision to forgo the hearing. He said he has no plans to ask the court at a later date to review bail.

Melissa Jenkins fundraising information details

Melissa Jenkins Memorial Trust

Online Donations:
A special online donation site has been set up so donations to the trust may be taken over the web. This is the only site approved by the Melissa Jenkins Memorial Trust at this time. The address of the site is www.gofundme.com/id5pk. Another site may be started by St. Johnsbury Academy alums, students and staff members, and updates will be posted on the Northeast Kingdom Chamber Facebook page when received.

Mailing Address
Send donations to the Melissa Jenkins Memorial Trust:

Melissa Jenkins Memorial Trust
Passumpsic Savings Bank
P.O. Box 38
St. Johnsbury, VT  05819

Passumpsic Bank has also indicated that donations can be dropped off at ALL Vermont and New Hampshire Passumpsic Savings Bank branches.

School to remember slain teacher at service

ST. JOHNSBURY — The Vermont prep school teacher lured from her home and killed will be remembered by students, co-workers, friends and family at St. Johnsbury Academy where she was a science teacher.
A memorial service for 33-year-old Melissa Jenkins will be held at 4 p.m. today in the school gymnasium.
On Thursday, the school sold pink ribbons to raise money for Jenkins’ 2-year-old son Ty who was present when his mother was killed Sunday night.
Police say two Waterford residents, 30-year-old Allen Prue and his 33-year-old wife Patricia Prue, lured Jenkins from her home by claiming their car had broken down. They have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges.
Jenkins was strangled. Her body was found in the Connecticut River on Monday.

Prue asked Jenkins out, made teacher uncomfortable

The Associated Press
St. JOHNSBURY — A snowplow driver and his wife went to great lengths to dispose of the body of a popular teacher they had just beaten and strangled, putting her nude body on a tarp, pouring bleach on it, weighing the corpse down with concrete blocks and tossing it into the Connecticut River, court documents allege.
Allen Prue, 30, and his wife, 33-year-old Patricia Prue, were riding around when he got the idea “to get a girl,” a police affidavit said. They are accused of luring single mother Melissa Jenkins from her home by pretending their vehicle had broken down. Her vehicle was found idling Sunday with her unharmed 2-year-old son inside. The child apparently witnessed at least part of the attack.
The couple pleaded not guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder in the death of Jenkins, a 33-year-old science teacher at the prestigious St. Johnsbury Academy, and unauthorized burial or removal of a dead body. More charges are possible, police said.
People in the close-knit communities of northeastern Vermont had been speculating about the crime and who was responsible.
“But they didn’t expect the gruesome” details, said a tearful Marion Beattie Cairns, the owner of The Creamery Restaurant, where Jenkins had worked part-time as a waitress and people had gathered since her disappearance to console each other.
Vermont State Police Maj. Ed Ledo said he hoped the arrests would bring closure for Jenkins’ family and friends.
“We can now turn our full attention to healing from this tragic loss, celebrating Melissa’s life and mourning her death,” said Joe Healy, a spokesman for St. Johnsbury Academy, which will hold a memorial service for her on Friday.
Police said the Prues hadn’t planned a use of force. But they gave few details on a possible motive in Jenkins’ death. The Prues were ordered held without bail.
“They knew Miss Jenkins and had snowplowed her driveway a couple of years ago,” Vermont State Police Maj. Ed Ledo said at a news conference announcing the arrests.
A friend told police that Allen Prue had asked Jenkins out a couple of times and that she felt uncomfortable around him, according to the documents. She stopped having him plow, and in autumn 2011 he showed up drunk at her home asking if he could plow her driveway the following year.