Murder by the Book: The Amy St. Laurent Case
Portland Pals
The caller, the man with the gelled hairdo, was Jeffrey Gorman, known as Russ. Gorman, 21, had been raised in Troy, Ala., and Delray Beach, Fla. His parents split up when he was a newborn, and he had had a troubled childhood, bouncing back and forth between the care of his mother in Delray Beach and his paternal grandmother in Troy. Born Jan. 9, 1980, he had been of legal age for just 10 months on that October weekend.
He landed in the Portland area in 2000 when his mother, Tammy Westbrook, and her boyfriend, Rick Deveaux, moved to nearby Scarborough, Maine, to raise Golden Retriever puppies. Gorman worked part-time as a car detailer, and flopped with a group of friends and acquaintances at an apartment on Brighton Avenue in Portland, a short drive from Old Port.
By Monday, Oct. 22, Amy St. Laurent's sister and friends had begun posting missing person fliers in the Old Port area. Friends of Gorman saw a poster, and recognized Amy from Gorman's encounters Saturday night and Gorman phoned to tell police what he knew. Investigators invited him in for a chat.
Gorman said he and roommate, Kush Sharma, met Amy at Fore Play. He said they played pool while Rubright stood by, just as the Florida man had said. They hooked up again at the Pavilion. Gorman said Amy lost track of Rubright at closing time, so she agreed to go to the Brighton Avenue apartment for what the men promised would be an after-hours party.
The party failed to materialize, Gorman said, and Amy grew "uncomfortable" being at the house alone with the two men. So, Gorman said, he drove St. Laurent back to Old Port and dropped her off in front of the Pavilion nightclub at about 1:45 a.m. He said he then returned directly home. Sharma, Gorman's roommate, confirmed for police that Gorman was home and in bed at 2:00 a.m.