Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee spoke with us about Rubin Weeks in October. Here’s what he said:

The investigation into Shondra May’s death has gone on since 1986, and it has changed hands over and over again. In recent years, though, a group of seasoned investigators in central Mississippi put their heads together and decided it was time for Shondra’s family to have the answers they’ve waited for for way too long.

While Rubin Weeks was arrested Tuesday, the arrest has been in the works for quite some time.

“He’s been one that’s always been on the radar,” said Sheriff Mike Lee.

Lee spoke to Therese Apel and Nicole Kral in the Investigation: Homicide podcast in October as the May case had begun to ramp up again, and Weeks’ name came up in the conversation.

Lee said a major piece of evidence in the case at the time were some red hairs that were found on Shondra’s body. It was before DNA, but it was possible to say whether hairs were a probable match to each other. Hairs that were recovered from Weeks’ vehicle matched hairs that were recovered at the crime scene.

“Rubin was a guy that was a loner. I think that he had maybe made some inappropriate statements toward women and that put him on the radar pretty quick after he was one of the first suspects,” Lee said.

“He was one of those creepy guys that it was easy to believe that it might be him because of his general creepiness?” Apel asked.

“Well, yeah, I think that’s probably the best way to say it,” Lee said. “Maybe not the way I would say it. I would say that his awkwardness, but you know, not to mix your words, cause it was creepy especially if I’m a female and the things he would say definitely in today’s terms would fall into the ‘creepy’ category.”

Lee pointed to Weeks’ conviction in a rape in Missouri. In that crime, he had pulled a girl over in her car, kidnapped her, and taped her up in much the same way Shondra had been taped.

“Rubin was a suspect that went to Missouri and committed a crime very much like this crime. He’s always stayed on the radar,” Lee said.

A few years after his conviction in Missouri, Weeks had wanted his DNA tested in the Missouri case. Authorities obliged, and it turned out that just as everyone expected, his DNA matched the crime.

“His DNA was exactly a match,” Lee said. “Not only that, but the victim in the case, she is like super girl. She, she went through a lot and endured a lot and managed to escape.”

The Missouri victim was also a strong eyewitness, he said.

“She remembered the suspect. She remembered him well,” Lee said. “And I read that a lot of those things in that case were very similar to Shondra’s case.”

Weeks was arrested in a Madison mobile home park on Tuesday and charged with kidnapping, rape, and murder in the Shondra May case.

Sheriff Lee will join Apel and guest host Amanda Johannson on the Investigation: Homicide podcast to discuss the arrest on Thursday night at 5 p.m. You can watch live on Facebook or download the podcast on your favorite podcast platforms.