Allan Legere

Allan Joseph Legere (born February 13, 1948) is a Canadian rapist, arsonist, and serial killer, also known as the Monster of the Miramichi, in reference to a reign of terror he inflicted upon residents of the Miramichi River valley of New Brunswick in 1989.

Allan Legere
Born
Allan Joseph Legere

(1948-02-13) February 13, 1948
Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada
Other namesThe Monster of the Miramichi
Conviction(s)Murder, Arson
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 25 years
Details
Victims5+
Span of crimes
June 21, 1986–November 24, 1989
CountryCanada
Location(s)New Brunswick
Date apprehended
November 24, 1989
Imprisoned atSpecial Handling Unit (1991-2015)
Edmonton Institution (2015-present)

Early life

Allan Joseph Legere was born in Chatham Head, New Brunswick.

First murder

On the evening of June 21, 1986, Legere and two accomplices, Todd Matchett and Scott Curtis robbed a convenience store in Black River Bridge, New Brunswick .[1] After cutting the power, The trio broke into the store where they were met with the owners, an elderly couple, John and Mary Glendenning. The couple was severely beaten and Mary was sexually assaulted. The trio then fled the scene. Mary regained consciousness and discovered that John had been beaten to death; she crawled up the stairs to the phone and dialed 911. The dispatcher spoke with Mary on the phone until police arrived. Police tracked down the three and arrested them. Matchett pleaded guilty to murdering John Glendenning and brutally beating his wife Mary; Curtis and Legere were convicted at trial.[2]

Escape from hospital

Legere was serving his murder sentence at the Atlantic Institution maximum security penitentiary in Renous-Quarryville, under the responsibility of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). On May 3, 1989, Legere was transported by CSC personnel from the penitentiary to the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont Regional Hospital[3] in Moncton, New Brunswick, for the treatment of an ear infection. Legere managed to convince the CSC personnel to let him use a washroom at the hospital alone, and there he picked the lock on his handcuffs. He had concealed a sharpened piece of metal on his person, and was able to pick the lock on his handcuffs and held the officers at bay before fleeing the building. Legere escaped the hospital property and through a combination of carjacking and motor vehicle theft, was able to evade recapture.

More murders and eventual capture

Legere was at large for a period of seven months and during this time committed four additional murders in and around the towns of Chatham, Newcastle, and adjoining communities (now part of the city of Miramichi). The individuals he murdered were Annie Flam (May 29, 1989; during this incident, Flam's sister was also assaulted); sisters Linda and Donna Daughney (October 13, 1989; Legere set fire to the Daughney home before leaving), and Father James Smith (November 16, 1989).[4] Legere was recaptured on November 24, 1989, following a failed carjacking that began in Saint John and ended outside Rogersville; rewards of $50,000 were collected for the information that led to his arrest.

Trial and conviction
Legere was held in this jail in downtown Fredericton during his 1990-1991 trial. It later became a science museum.

In August 1990, Legere was convicted on charges pertaining to his escape, and sentenced to an additional nine years.[4] His trial for the murders began with an indictment in November of that year. Legere's trial featured the first Canadian uses of DNA profiling to convict rather than exonerate;[5] in November 1991, Legere was convicted of the murders committed while he had been at large.[4]

Present

In 2015, Legere was transferred from the super-maximum security penitentiary (the "SHU", in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec)[6] to the Edmonton Institution in Alberta.[7]

In 1996, the provincial jail in Fredericton was shut down, and in 1999 the building was repurposed into a science museum; the cell in which Legere was held during his 1991 trial is now used for an exhibit on DNA profiling.[8]

In August 2020, Legere applied for day parole. Although the parole board notice does not guarantee he will be granted day parole, the request raised concerns in the Miramichi community.[9]

Legere was scheduled for a parole hearing on January 13, 2021, where he was denied. [10]

See also

References
  1. PROFILES of 5 SHU INMATES: Canada's most dangerous cons, by Corey Cameron, at Canoe News (archived at douglaschristie.com); published November 25, 2001; retrieved March 22, 2014
  2. Legere murder accomplice granted day parole, at CBC.ca; published January 5, 2006; retrieved March 22, 2014
  3. Allan Legere Digital Archive, at the University of New Brunswick Law Library; retrieved March 22, 2014]
  4. Timeline of Terror, from the Daily Gleaner; published November 4, 1996; archived at Murderpedia (retrieved March 22, 2014)
  5. The Genetic Imaginary: DNA in the Canadian Criminal Justice System, by Neil Gerlach; published 2004 by University of Toronto Press (via Google Books)
  6. Michael Wayne McGray's killing didn't stop in prison — just like he said it wouldn’t, by Graeme Hamilton; at the National Post; published November 29, 2011; retrieved March 22, 2014
  7. Transfert d’Allan Legere: «Je tiens à rassurer les gens du Nouveau-Brunswick», by Mathieu Roy-Comeau; at L'Acadie Nouvelle; published February 13, 2015; retrieved October 22, 2015
  8. Monster of the Miramichi's cell now museum exhibit on DNA Archived 2016-03-24 at the Wayback Machine, from the Edmonton Journal (archived on Canada.com); published November 28, 2007; retrieved March 22, 2014
  9. "'He's a dangerous man': Concerns in Miramichi after serial killer Allan Legere seeks day parole". Atlantic. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  10. Tutton, Michael. "As Allan Legere parole hearing approaches, Miramichi recalls a reign of terror". theglobeandmail.com.

Further reading
  • Raymond Fraser. "TODD MATCHETT: Confessions of a Young Criminal (The Story Behind Allan Legere and the Murder at Black River Bridge). New Ireland Press, 1994. (ISBN 978-0920483473)
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