The man arrested in connection with a nearly four-decade-old cold case in Mississippi has died in jail, law enforcement announced.
Rubin Weeks was arrested in April in connection with the 1986 abduction, rape, and killing of Leake Academy student Shondra May. The 63-year-old died Saturday while in custody, according to a Sunday announcement by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office.
“The cause of death is unknown at this time, but there is no foul play suspected,” an announcement reads. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has taken over the case of Weeks’ death since he died in custody.
Weeks appeared in court on Dec. 2, with prosecutors arguing he should remain in custody without bond. DNA evidence connected him to the brutal slaying of May earlier this year, and he was subsequently arrested on April 29.
May, a 17-year-old high school senior at the time, went missing in early February 1986 after leaving her shift at a local fast-food restaurant. May’s mother later spotted her daughter’s vehicle near their driveway, but she was nowhere to be found. Just under a month after her disappearance, May’s body was found on what would have been her 18th birthday in Bolton by an off-duty first responder. She was reportedly left in a ditch without clothes, confined with industrial tape, and covered in bags.
Weeks, a known criminal and an original suspect in the case, was convicted of a 1991 kidnapping and rape of a Missouri woman. During that case, he demanded a DNA test, which confirmed his guilt in that case and later helped link him to May’s killing through new forensic testing.
The Scott County Sheriff’s Office added in its announcement of Weeks’ death that it hopes to be able to release more details about the case in the coming months.
“While we close this part of our investigation, we hope that in the months to come, we can release the details that led to the arrest of Weeks. Thank you to everyone who assisted in the investigation.”