The Brutal Tale of Allan Legere aka Monster of the Miramichi Part 1.

 

Today's entries are about a man named Allan Legere, who is also known as the "Monster of the Miramichi". 

Allan Joseph Legere, from all appears was born to a rather poor family on February 13, 1948 in Chatham Head, New Brunswick CANADA. He was already considered a sexual deviant in his younger years, as he shared the bedroom with his sisters, and often would pleasure himself as he watched them undress.

He liked to work out a lot and he became obsessed with religion, to the point that he would run shirtless into a church, announcing he was the one true God, and that everyone should follow his lead. (Maybe this is just me, but why am I seeing that mass murderers tend to be super religious and have a "God" complex about them???) 

His crime spree lasted from June 1986 to November 1989; although there was a span where there was peace between his crimes... That is something I will get into as I reveal his story. His crimes included arson, rape and murder. If the nickname doesn't speak for itself, you will soon see why he was deemed "Monster".

On June 21, 1986, Legere and two friends, Todd Matchett and Scott Curtis were up to no good. They were in Black River Bridge, New Brunswick when they decided to cut the power to the variety store belonging to John and Mary Glendenning, a fairly old couple. They had sexually assaulted Mary, while they bludgeoned to death her husband John. Mary was physically able to make it to the phone, upstairs and called 911.

The trial was swift in this case, as Matchett pleaded guilty to murdering John and for beating Mary; Legere and Curtis chose to face a trial; but were ultimately convicted as well with Legere getting life in prison. It is rather unfortunate that there was such a lack of communication, because it was known that Legere has attempted to escape custody, but picking his cuffs before. There should have also been a note that in 1979, his sadistic and virocious side was in full view, when he attacked a man, stabbing him in the face with a broken beer bottle; twisting it to the point that he nearly severed his cheek. He even used a knife against a police officer during this incident.

Allan Legere was spending his sentence in the Atlantic Institution in Renous-Quarryville, North Cumberland, NB. In May, 1989, Legere was complaining of an ear infection (which were his own doing, as he repetatively stabbed inside his ear, until he needed medical attention). He was taken from custody to  Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont Regional Hospital in Moncton, NB.

While at the hospital, Legere was able to convince the guards that he was trustworthy enough to go to the bathroom alone. It was here he created a sharp object and concealed it in his rectum until he had the opportunity to use it to remove his cuffs; then used the shiv as a means to hold security back, and he made his escape. He took Peggy Olive as a hostage, so she could drive him out of town. He was able to evade authorities for the next 7 months as he travelled between smaller townships within what are now all referred to as Miramichi.

While on the loose, he didn't spend time idling around. You would have think he learned his lesson on his first crime and punishment, as there were plenty of places to hide in the county and around, if he had chosen to live off the grid and kept to himself. Unfortunately for the public and the authorities, this was not the case at all...

He continued his spree of despicable acts when he murdered another shop owner named Annie Flam on May 29, 1989, also raping her sister, Nina. Before he left the property, he started a fire in their grocery store, which was below their apartment. In this case, he didn't complete the job because fire officials were able to put out the fire, and although badly burnt, Nina survived. He did go quiet for a while...

On October 13, 1989, Allan Legere again attacked two sisters, Donna and Linda Daughnery. He raped and murdered them both. The little thing that Legere didn't know was there was a new way of using DNA to find the perpetrator. He once again, used fire as a means to cover his tracks. The fire department did find the entire house in flames upon arrival. They put it out and discovered the two women, deceased inside. They were badly burnt, but there was also enough DNA to be sent to a new lab in Ottawa, Ontario CANADA, that was able to link the two cases together. You would think this would be enough to deter Legere from committing any more crimes, but as the story goes... it did not!!!

Allan Legere, who claimed to be so religious, went on to attack Father James Smith of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Chatham Head, NB. It wasn't until he didn't arrive for his sermon that several members of the congregation went to find him; and the grisly scene they came upon was absolutely disturbing...

Father Smith had been beaten so bad, he was almost unrecognizable. It was obvious that Legere was torturing him. Although it was never verified, it is believed this was Legere's way of getting the clergyman to open the safe. This happened on November 16, 1989; and fortunately for detectives, Allan had gotten sloppy and left bloody shoeprints at the scene. Surprisingly, he had not set fire to the crime scene.

Allan Legere continued to evade police, stealing the priest's car; by the time police recovered the vehicle at the motel he was at, he was gone; but he had left his bloody boots behind.  There had been a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

He stayed on the move, consistently, and usually violently carjacking a vehicle or holding someone at knife point, forcing them to drive where he needed to go. 

The final pair of victims of his carjacking, sat in the vehicle after Allan filled the gas tank. Allan had taken the keys from them as he went to pay; thankfully they had a spare set and raced off to the nearest phonebooth and called police.

Allan Legere tried once more to escape by trying to hijack at truck; this ultimately failed and he surrendered himself to the police. 

To be continued...