On Wednesday, a snowplow driver and his wife were charged in the death of a Vermont teacher. The two allegedly lured the prep school teacher out of her home by fabricating a story about their car breaking down. Authorities said the couple then beat and strangled the teacher. They are alleged to have then stripped her body and thrown it into the Connecticut River.
Allen and Patricia Prue of Waterford both pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder in the death Melissa Jenkins. The victim’s SUV was located along a remote stretch of road close to where she lived in St. Johns bury. Inside the idling car, authorities found her 2-year old son unharmed.
A police affidavit says that on Sunday Allen Prue was driving with his wife when he decided he wanted to “get a girl.” The plan originally was not to use force to get one, said police. No motive was given for the killing. The Prues are being held in custody without bail. Police said additional charges could be forthcoming.
Police said the couple knew the schoolteacher because they had plowed her driveway a few years ago. A friend said that Prue had asked the teacher out on a couple of occasions and that Jenkins felt uncomfortable in his presence. She stopped having Prue plow her driveway and in the fall of 2011, he went to her home drunk and asked to plow her driveway the following winter.
The small town of St. Johnsbury, with only a population of 6,200 has been rocked by the death of Jenkins.
