George Legere Obituary, Death;- The individual who was apprehended last month in connection with a cold case homicide in East Hartford, which had remained unresolved for over 50 years, has passed away while incarcerated.

George Legere, aged 77, was discovered unresponsive last Friday at approximately 11 p.m. in his cell at the MacDougall-Walker Correction Institution in Suffield, as reported by a spokesperson from the Department of Correction. Staff members administered life-saving measures before Legere was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was declared deceased at 12:12 a.m., according to the spokesperson.

The findings of an autopsy are still “pending further studies,” as stated by a spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Tuesday.

Officials from the Department of Correction indicated that both their agency and the Connecticut State Police are conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death. A spokesperson from the DOC mentioned that no further information could be disclosed.
Legere was charged on September 24 with one count of murder in relation to the death of 21-year-old Janet Couture, who was discovered after being fatally stabbed in her apartment on October 13, 1973.

“It is disheartening because we were seeking closure,” remarked Couture’s nephew, Charles “Chuck” Villard III, on Tuesday. “We had hoped that some questions would be answered during his trial. Now, we find ourselves in the dark regarding his motivations for the crime.”

Villard noted that he never had the opportunity to meet Couture, as she passed away prior to his birth. “This entire situation has been a challenging topic to confront, particularly for my mother, my aunt, and all those who knew her,” he expressed.

Records from the Judicial Branch reviewed on Tuesday indicated that Legere had not yet entered a plea regarding the murder charge associated with Couture’s death. His case was moved to the Part A docket — where the most serious cases are processed — in Hartford Superior Court, with an expected appearance scheduled for Wednesday.

According to the warrant affidavit, Couture was found deceased in her apartment located at 150 Cannon Road after a neighbor observed that a first-floor window was ajar at the multi-family residence, with the screen lying on the ground against the building. Knowing someone who lived there,

Investigators then found Couture dead inside her second-floor bedroom. She was naked, lying between her bed and a nightstand with her hands tied behind her back, according to the warrant affidavit. Her head was covered with a pillow case and her body had whip marks on it as well as a butcher knife protruding from her chest, police noted.

According to the warrant, Couture’s boyfriend told police that he and a neighbor were at the apartment the night she was killed. The neighbor left first before the boyfriend fell asleep and, when he awoke, was told by Couture she had heard a noise and thought someone may have been in the residence, the warrant affidavit said.

The boyfriend told investigators he found a kitchen window and door open which had both been locked, police wrote. He said he checked the home and did not find anyone inside, securing both the door and the window before he left around 3 a.m., the warrant affidavit said.

Couture’s roommate was away for the weekend, leaving her at the residence by herself, according to the warrant affidavit. During the investigation, authorities found that others were “privy” to this information and that Legere, who knew Couture and had reportedly been turned down when he asked her out, may have known this as well, according to the affidavit.

Police wrote in the warrant that Legere was identified as a suspect sometime in the days after the killing. His record included a number of incidents involving women accusing him of rape or attempted sexual assault, according to the arrant affidavit.

In September 1964, an 18-year-old woman said she got out of work and found Legere in the passenger seat of her vehicle in the Dexter Shopping Plaza in Windsor Locks, the warrant affidavit said. She said she met him the previous month and that he persuaded her into taking him for a ride, which led them to a wooded area on North Water Street in East Windsor where she parked. The woman said Legere convinced her to get into the backseat with him where he allegedly raped her, according to the warrant affidavit. The charge was reduced to lascivious carriage and Legere was ordered to pay a $35 fine, investigators wrote.

In December 1965, police wrote, Legere was arrested on a breach of peace by assault charge following an incident in Hartford where he allegedly met two men and two women and tried to convince one of the women to date him. After she refused, Legere allegedly punched the victim’s face and stomach and fled, which landed them in the hospital, according to the warrant affidavit. Legere was later fined $35, police wrote.

In June 1966, Legere was charged with attempted rape after a 17-year-old girl said she accepted a ride from him, but instead of driving her home he took her to an area near Trinity College and allegedly tried having sex with her, the warrant affidavit said.

Janet Couture’s killing went unsolved for decades before investigators said a kidnapping arrest was the break they needed to charge a suspect. (Courtesy of the Division of Criminal Justice)The victim told police she was able to fight Legere off despite his alleged threat to kill her and that she was able to get out of the vehicle with only some of her clothes on, investigators wrote. She said he persuaded her to get back into the vehicle and drove her home, allegedly threatening to kill her if she told anyone what had happened, according to the warrant affidavit. Legere was later fined $100 on an assault charge, the warrant affidavit said.

In August 1966, a 15-year-old girl told police in Windsor that she went on a date with Legere and that he forced her pants off and “proceeded to feel her up,” the warrant affidavit said. She said he slapped her at one point and allegedly threatened to hit her again if she refused his advances, investigators wrote.

The girl said she pushed Legere away and that he eventually gave up after about 30 minutes, the warrant affidavit said. Legere, police wrote, was charged with “carnal knowledge of minor females” and was later fined $100 on an assault charge.

In November 1973, Legere was arrested on charges of first-degree kidnapping, risk of injury to a minor and first-degree deviate sexual intercourse after a woman said he approached her in a shopping plaza parking lot in Vernon and allegedly told her he had a gun, insisting she move over from the driver seat of her vehicle into the passenger seat, according to the warrant affidavit. The woman said she complied because her 4-year-old daughter was in the backseat and the man, who was later identified as Legere, allegedly threatened to shoot the child, police wrote.

The woman said Legere then drove to a field where he parked and had her get out of the vehicle, leaving the child behind, the warrant affidavit said. She alleged that Legere then had her perform oral sex on her and told her it was up to her whether anyone got hurt, according to the warrant affidavit. Investigators wrote in the warrant that Legere ultimately confessed and was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison on a kidnapping charge.

During his confession, Legere allegedly told investigators, “For a reason I cannot explain I had a strong desire to have sexual relations with a female at this time and I knew it was a desire I could not control,” the warrant affidavit said.

During the investigation into Couture’s killing, police learned that Legere was at a party in her neighborhood the night she was killed, the warrant affidavit said. During an interview with investigators on Halloween in 1973, Legere admitted to being at the party and acknowledged that he knew Couture “slightly,” having visited a friend multiple times who lived in the same building as her, according to the warrant affidavit.

Legere, police wrote, admitted to going to the residence in the early evening the night Couture was killed and later returning sometime between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m., but he said no one was home. He said he arrived at the party two blocks away around 2:15 a.m. and left around 5 a.m., the warrant affidavit said.

According to Officer Marc Caruso of the East Hartford Police Department, the investigation into Couture’s death ultimately went cold. A reward for information leading to her killer grew over the years until reaching $50,000, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice.

In 2009, detectives reexamined the evidence, but a big break in the case did not come until the Avon Police Department arrested Legere in 2021 in connection with the kidnapping of a woman in 1984, a case that had also gone cold.

Caruso said East Hartford detectives also reviewed a number of the cases dating back to the 1960s and found “disturbing similarities” to the murder of Couture.

In the Avon kidnapping, a woman said she arrived at her home in April 1984 in the early morning hours and, as she was retrieving things from her backseat, a man suddenly emerged and grabbed her face, shoving her back into the vehicle, the warrant affidavit said. He then drove her somewhere and pulled over on the side of road where he allegedly tied her hands behind her back and covered her eyes.

The woman told police she was forced to perform oral sex on the man and that he later whipped her with a tree branch, the warrant affidavit said.

In May 2019, while Legere was incarcerated in Massachusetts in connection with an unrelated arrest, authorities took a DNA sample from him which led to him later being charged in the Avon incident, according to police. In May 2023, a jury in Hartford Superior Court convicted Legere of first-degree kidnapping after a “brief” deliberation, DCJ officials said.

While serving out his 25-year sentence in MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, Legere allegedly confessed to a fellow inmate that he had killed Couture, the warrant affidavit said. The inmate agreed to speak with investigators and disclosed details about the killing that authorities said had not been released to the public or media.

According to the warrant affidavit, Legere allegedly confessed that he broke into Couture’s apartment to steal money for drugs, but she woke up and saw him and called out his name despite his face being covered. He allegedly admitted that he tied her up and grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen, using it to stab her before beating and sexually assaulting her, the warrant affidavit said.

The inmate told police Legere admitted to what he had done because he wanted authorities to know he killed Couture but not until after he was dead, the warrant affidavit said. He reportedly told the inmate he feared being labeled a “creep” or a “pervert,” investigators wrote.