Melissa Jenkins

Case background and investigation

Melissa Jenkins was a 33-year-old science teacher and girls' basketball coach at St. Johnsbury Academy in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and the single mother of a young son. On the evening of March 25, 2012, she received a phone call from someone claiming their vehicle had broken down and left her home to help, taking her toddler son with her. A short time later her SUV was found idling and abandoned on a rural road, with her son unharmed inside. Jenkins herself was missing. Her body was recovered from the Connecticut River on March 26, 2012, and the state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide by strangulation.

Investigators tied the case to Allen Prue, a local part-time snowplow driver, and his wife Patricia Prue. According to police, Jenkins had told a friend she felt uncomfortable about a call regarding a broken-down vehicle, and a business card for Allen Prue's plow service, along with surveillance footage of the couple buying a prepaid phone at a Walmart in Littleton, New Hampshire, helped lead police to them. Prosecutors said Patricia Prue's computer had been used to search terms such as 'how to kidnap a girl.' Police said the couple lured Jenkins to a remote location, strangled her, attempted to destroy evidence by dousing the body with bleach, and disposed of her remains in the river, burning clothing and a tarp in New Hampshire. Both Allen and Patricia Prue were arrested in late March 2012 and charged with second-degree murder.

Allen Prue was convicted at trial in October 2014 of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and attempted kidnapping. On December 18, 2014, he was sentenced to 50 years to life for the murder, a life term for attempted kidnapping, and additional time for conspiracy. Patricia Prue, who had at one point signaled an insanity defense, pleaded guilty in February 2015 to charges including aggravated murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In 2021, Patricia Prue filed a hand-written post-conviction relief petition seeking a new trial, alleging ineffective counsel and misconduct; reporting indicates the conviction stood. As of 2026, both Allen and Patricia Prue remain incarcerated in Vermont, and the case is closed by conviction rather than being an unsolved cold case.