Charged suspect in 1973 Connecticut slaying dies in custody
George Legere, 77, who was arrested last month and charged with the 1973 fatal stabbing of 21‑year‑old Janet Couture in East Hartford, was found unresponsive in his cell Friday night at the MacDougall‑Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield and pronounced dead early Saturday. Legere was serving a 25‑year sentence for a separate cold‑case kidnapping and sexual‑assault conviction; investigators say a fellow inmate provided information that led to Legere’s confession and recent murder charge. The Connecticut Department of Correction and State Police are investigating his death while the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner awaits further study to determine cause of death.
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📌 Key Facts
- George Legere, 77, was found unresponsive in his cell at MacDougall‑Walker Correctional Institution and pronounced dead early Saturday; cause of death pending further study by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
- Legere was arrested Sept. 24 and charged last month with the 1973 stabbing death of Janet Couture in her East Hartford apartment after an alleged confession documented in an arrest‑warrant affidavit.
- He was already serving a 25‑year sentence in another cold case (kidnapping and sexual assault); investigators say information from another inmate and a written confession in July helped connect him to Couture’s murder and other similar cases from the 1960s–1970s.