We’ve all probably heard of the Biblical “Good Samaritan”, and if you haven’t, just imagine a person stopping to help someone with no assumption of compensation. Believe it or not, there are folks in the world willing to go out of their way for others. Some call us suckers.
Could be they’re right …
Melissa Jenkins, a science teacher at Vermont’s St. Johnsbury Academy, received a call from Allen and Patricia Prue, a couple who had plowed her driveway in the past, claiming car trouble. Jenkins, who clearly got a bad vibe from the dynamic duo, called a friend to let someone know where she was going … just in case.
According to court documents, Prue beat and strangled Jenkins when she got out of her car. He said his wife was outside helping him but didn’t know what she was doing, court documents said.
He then put the body in the backseat of their car, and they drove to their home — at some point, Patricia Prue …
… choked Jenkins in the car “to ensure she wasn’t breathing,” court documents said.
Police said they couple placed Jenkins’ naked body on a tarp and poured bleach on her.
Seems the only decent thing the Prues did was to leave Jenkins’ son alive in the backseat of the car (this is evidently a common theme with criminals in New Hampshire … kind of weird, if you think about it) , and considering that the toddler witnessed enough to give officials crucial information, murder was not the only crime committed that night.
“The child said that his mommy cried and he pulled on the back of his neck and indicated that the boy… had done that to his mommy,” one court document stated.
The only sort of motive given for this horrible crime was that Allen Prue evidently wanted to “get a girl” that night. And, based on the evidence, he probably did.
Prosecutors said Jenkins’ body was found face down in shallow water Monday with a cinder block tied around her feet. Condoms and wrappers were found nearby, according to an affidavit.
Clearly this was a disgusting situation; Allen Prue is a sexual predator and his wife has at least a couple of screws lose for being present and for disposing of the prepaid cell phone used to lure Jenkins out in the first place.
But is this a feminist issue?
I say it is … and here’s why.
Whether we want to admit it or not (and I certainly don’t), women often make easier targets, particularly when their children are present. I know I might get pummeled for saying that, but I honestly believe it’s true. Unless you have the wherewithal to take a self-defense course or are packing mace or whatever, men in general have a physical advantage over most women.
And then there’s the whole “Good Samaritan” factor.
If an acquaintance called me in the middle of the night, I would be pretty likely to do what I could to help. If I drive by somebody having car trouble on the side of the road, I have a tendency to stop and offer assistance. I even give money to panhandlers and stop to listen to them play music in subways and such.
Or at least I did.
The murder of Melissa Jenkins, who was tortured and murdered because she tried to help someone in trouble, has changed my mindset.
If someone I know on a casual basis asks me for help, I’d still offer it … but it would probably be by calling the police or a tow truck or having someone accompany me to offer assistance.
In other words, I’d go to a man for help.
These particular scumbags are off the street–both were arraigned in Vermont Superior Court on June 26th, Allen Prue on first-degree murder charges and Priscilla Prue aggravated murder–but there are an awful lot of predators out there.
Predators that prey on the Good Samaritan instincts of many human beings and the all-too-often physical weakness of women.
It saddens me that going to the gym or carrying mace (or a gun) or even receiving self-defense training might not be enough.
Most of all, though, it saddens me that Melissa Jenkins was killed for having the temerity to offer a helping hand.
This is really sad :( Though it’s made even worse because it’s made you want to not be that helpful anymore. I have a good Samaritan in me, and God knows I’d go out of my way for others, even after something like this. It’s sick what happened, but someone has been punished for it. I actually feel really sorry for the boy. This may sound cruel but it may have been better for him if he wasn’t spared. He went through serious emotional trauma that could damage him for life. Leaving a witness alive is one of the cruelest things a killer can do. Especially if he witnessed absolutely everything they did to his mother.
We shouldn’t let the world drag us down though, and make us want to stop being helpful. We need more people being helpful, not less.
@Mark: My mother has been saying my entire life that I have a “social worker complex” (and not in a good way) that will be the death of me. The truth is, I don’t think that will ever go away. The Melissa Jenkins tragedy has certainly reminded me of the need for caution, but I think you’ve either got some “Good Samaritan” in you or you don’t … I do, so thanks for reminding me :-)