Murder by the Book: The Amy St. Laurent Case

St. Laurent's mother, Diane Jenkins, grew concerned when her daughter did not show up at home on Sunday, after her visit to Old Port. It was not like her to absent herself without arranging caretaking for her cat, Alex. She called the county sheriff's department to inquire about making a missing person report, and a deputy called a friend who was an officer with the Portland Police Department.

Portland Police Department Patch

There was no immediate evidence of a crime. For all the authorities knew, Amy St. Laurent might have run off on a fling. But police made a few inquiries, tracked down Eric Rubright through his rental car and questioned him about the events of Saturday night.

Police Search for St. Laurent

Police thought the scenario described by the Floridian seemed suspicious: St. Laurent disappeared while Rubright was standing on line to the bathroom; he then left Old Port alone, found his way back to her home in the middle of the night, and then slept in his car. Rubright agreed to take a polygraph test. The results were inconclusive, but Rubright seemed extraordinarily nervous during the test.

Police Chief Joseph Loughlin

Some investigators were certain that Rubright was a killer, according to the account by Joseph Loughlin and Kate Flora Clark in their book, Finding Amy (Loughlin, a Portland police officer, was involved in the investigation).

Book Cover: Finding Amy

But Rubright insisted his story of being dumped was odd but accurate. "It was weird," he said. "I didn't understand." He suggested cops should talk to the two men with whom Amy had been at both Fore Play and the Pavilion. He said one had long hair. The other, a stout 5-foot-9, had gelled hair that was streaked with blond highlights, Rubright said.

How would police find them? It turned out to be simple. One of the two was one of the first callers to the tip line set up to collect information about the missing young woman.