ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) – A man accused with his wife of kidnapping and killing a teacher was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison, with the judge saying they hunted their victim like prey.
Judge Robert Bent said a mitigating factor in Allen Prue’s case was a lack of a criminal history before 2012, when prosecutors say he and his wife, Patricia Prue, lured Melissa Jenkins from her home with a ruse about a broken-down vehicle and strangled and beat her.
Allen Prue, before being sentenced, said he felt terrible for what happened but was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. He blamed his wife for the killing.
“I can’t imagine what Melissa’s family is going through,” he said tearfully at the end of a daylong sentencing hearing. “I just wanted to tell the court that I’m convicted of a crime I did not do. One thing I am guilty of is bringing this person who is responsible for this crime to Vermont.”
But the judge rejected the defense arguments that Allen Prue played a minor role in the crime. He said Prue and his wife were “a pair hunting their prey”