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Welcome to the Serial Killer Podcast. The podcast dedicated to serial killers. Episode 122. And I am your Norwegian host, Thomas Roseland Weyborg Thun. This is the final episode in the saga of Alan Joseph Legere.
In the previous episode, and make sure to listen to that before this one, we covered his descent into utter murderous madness. Tonight, I continue to be your guide on this dark path, before I bring us to its final destination and what ultimately happened to the monster of the Miramichi.
Lately, this podcast has gained a number of new producers, in addition to my long-time loyal TSK aficionados. This podcast would not be possible if it had not been for my dear patrons who pledge their hard-earned money every month.
Instead of reading out their names at the end of the show, I would like to now honor their contribution to the show by acknowledging them here, in the introduction to this episode. These 21 of the foremost patrons of the Serial Killer podcast are...
Amber, Anne, Anthony, Cassandra, Christy, Evan, James, Jennifer, Kathy, Lisa, Lisbeth, Mark, Mickey, Monica, Philip, Russell, Samantha, Skortnia, Troy, Vanessa, and Zashia. You really help produce this show and you have my deepest gratitude.
Thank you. If you, dear listener, wish to join this exclusive club of TSK producers, go to patreon.com slash the serial killer podcast and pledge $15 or more to have your name read live on this show. This next part is important.
I know that no one likes e-begging, and especially in these trying times with terrible things in the news growing worse almost every day. However, this podcast is 100% free to listen to, and I, as everyone else, have bills and audio engineers to pay. So if, and only if, you can afford a cup of coffee from your local café,
Consider donating the same amount on patreon.com slash the serial killer podcast to support your humble host. Donating on Patreon does not come without benefits. If you join the TSK $10 plus club, you get access to 100% exclusive and ad-free bonus episodes where I go into detail in other dark areas of human behavior. The latest episode came out last week.
and it takes you on a journey to the old Wild West. So, don't miss out. Head on over to patreon.com slash the serial killer podcast and join now. Imagine, if you will, their listener living in a sparsely populated rural district.
It's late autumn, and the wind is getting icy, almost constantly coming either down from the frozen north, or even more frequently from the ocean, blowing in from the northeast. The sun doesn't stay long in the sky anymore. Usually it's dusky by 5 p.m.
All of this usually doesn't bother you very much, but lately there has been a string of gruesome murders and attacks in the very same area you live. When the news of the death of the Dornie sisters flooded through the small towns of Miramichi, the whole community was utterly terrified. The fire set at the Dornie sisters' home was soon put out by local firefighters
and the police managed to recover the brutally mutilated bodies of the two sisters. They also managed to secure vital evidence to the case. This case would prove to be historic in Canada, as it was the first to use DNA evidence in a murder trial. Among the pieces of evidence found were fingerprints, hair, and traces of semen.
By now, Alan Legere was firmly regarded by everyone as prime suspect number one, and the media coined the term the monster of the Miramichi. The hunt for this monster would turn out to be the biggest manhunt in Canadian history. But Legere had no intention of stopping.
He knew he was a wanted man, but he didn't care. His taste for rape, torture and murder hadn't been sated by his latest actions. Instead, he felt even more angry than ever before. He was out for blood, and he would soon claim another victim. Father James Smith was a famous man in the small community
as he was the attendant to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, which was situated in Chatham Head. It was a slender, white-haired, 69-year-old man. Every Sunday, the community would gather at the church for Mass, and Father James Smith shared friendly relations with a lot of people. This was a gentleman whom the whole community had grown to love and care for.
He would listen to his parishioners' problems and help them with religious matters as much as possible. It was the 16th of November, 1989, a Thursday, when Father James Smith was murdered. When he failed to turn up for Mass, people were visibly worried. Father James Smith was a man of principle and was always present on time at Masses. His absence was a cause of concern for many.
and it wasn't long before the police were involved. He was found murdered in his home, his mutilated body lying limp on his kitchen floor. A police officer described the scene of the crime as, and I quote, "...a scene from hell." Autopsy results show that Father James Smith had been brutally tortured and beaten for several hours before he died.
His ribcage had been broken on both sides of his body, and it seemed as if somebody had purposely stood on his body with both feet and jumped up and down with force. There was blood everywhere, as it was apparent that James Smith had been dragged from one place to another. His eyes had been gouged out, and his tongue was lying limp at the side of his mouth.
indicating that somebody had brutally tried to rip it out. Three of his teeth were also broken. There were bloodied footprints leading from the crime scene out to the garage, where police found that Father James Smith's car had also been stolen. The death of Father James Smith sent another excruciating blow to the community of Miramichi.
However, the police had picked up some important clues. Inspection of the crime scene resulted in a number of DNA and hair samples, which were later confirmed to be of Alan Legere. The missing car of Father James Smith was found, abandoned near a train station located 90 kilometers from Miramichi. In the car, they managed to recover a jacket belonging to Father James Smith, as well as a pair of boots.
They were the same boots that had been used to leave the bloody footprints that were made at the scene. Amazingly, the police had a stroke of luck when they found a lead on Legere, as an identification was made of someone who matched Legere's description. The man had just bought a ticket to Montreal at a train station, where the car had been left abandoned.
The police immediately contacted authorities in Quebec, and the train was stopped. On the same day, when the authorities found that there was nobody on that train, they had another stroke of luck. A woman named Michelle Mercer called the police and claimed that she had information of the whereabouts of the serial killer. She had quite the tale to tell.
Ron Gumkey, a St. John taxi driver, had picked up a man wanting to go the 110 miles, that's 177 kilometers, to Moncton. Ron called a dispatcher who said the fare was $100. "'We're going to Moncton,' the man said. Ron turned. The man held a sort of .308 rifle. "'Tell them you have the fare.'
I'm the one they're looking for. I'm Alan Legere, he said. Blowing snow and icy roads forced the cab driver to drive slowly. However, he was ordered to pass a truck and drive the speed limit, 60 miles or 100 kilometers an hour. A few miles outside of Moncton, the car, naturally, spun out of control on the icy road.
Alain Legere grabbed the wheel and the car plowed into a snowbank. Legere then ordered the cab driver out of the car on the passenger's side. Hiding the gun, they stopped a car, driven by Constable Michel Mercer, an off-duty RCMP officer. When Michel Mercer's car stopped, Legere pushed the larger man into the back, which was full of gear and books.
"'There's a room in the front,' she said, thinking that there was something strange about the two men, one of whom looked very scared. Minutes later, one of the men said he had lost his teeth and wanted to go back. He insisted, but she said no. If they wanted to turn back, they could get out and drive for another car. Finally, she told them she was an RCMP officer returning from Montreal.'
He, in turn, told her who he was, Alain Legere, and showed her the gun, and thus made her turn around. A short time later, he said he found his teeth in his pocket, and wanted again to turn back toward Moncton. In the confusion of the storm, they became lost, and found themselves west, bound on the Trans-Canada Highway.
He smoked a marijuana cigarette and continued to have mood changes, talking continually. Constable Michelle Mercer suggested he hijack a plane. She would give him her bank card. Again, he wanted to go back toward Moncton. Nearing Sussex, a small town halfway between Moncton and St. John, she said they needed gas. They stopped at the Four Corners Irving gas station and convenience.
Joy Levesque was working the night shift and noticed a car come up to a pump. Alan Legere took the keys and the money from Constable Michel Mercer. He hid his gun in a plastic bag, managed to start the pump, then went to pay the $15 for gas. He walked into the store and dropped $20 on the counter. Meanwhile…
in the car constable michel mercer turned to ron gumpke and said she had a spare key and thought they should make a run for it will he let us go ron gumpke asked constable michel mercer said no then we have nothing to lose he said
Mercer started the car and, following Ron Gumpke's directions, drove away to the RCMP headquarters and used the outside emergency phone. Police cars soon surrounded the gas station. Joy Levesque was still inside doing paperwork. She had seen the car take off and Alain Legere had left. The area was searched, but Alain Legere was gone.
Finally, the police now had a precise idea of the location where Legere had last been seen, and most importantly, it hadn't been very long since he had been spotted. As a result, the police immediately set up roadblocks across the area, since he could not have gotten far.
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But it's good to have some things that are non-negotiable. For some, that could be a night out with the boys, chugging beers and having a laugh. For others, it might be an eating night. For me, one non-negotiable activity is researching psychopathic serial killers and making this podcast. Even when we know what makes us happy, it's often near impossible to make time for it.
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Brian Golding was at the Irving truck stop on his way to Halifax from Montreal. Legere came up to him next to his Day & Ross Inc. truck. Come on, he said. I'm Alan Legere, and we're leaving. I didn't believe him at first, Brian Golding told police later on. Legere looked different from the images in the paper. Where, he asked. Alan Legere told him Moncton.
And so it was. On the 24th of November 1989, at approximately 5 am, after Moncton, they drove on Route 126, a secondary highway to Newcastle. As they neared Rogersville, Brian Golding shouted at Alan Legere to wake up. Legere wanted to be at CFB Chatham at 6 am to catch a commercial flight, but didn't want to arrive early. Golding suggested they pull over and rest.
Alain Legere said he planned to go to Iran. Brian said if they dropped the tractor, they would have an easier drive. And Legere agreed. Golding unhitched the trailer. When they were done, Legere changed his mind and told him to go left on Route 118, a side road along the Miramichi River. Another trucker spotted them on the road and knew that it wasn't normally used by trucks.
He called the police on a CB radio. RCMP Corporal Terry Barter and Corporal Gary Ludwig were part of a team manning the roadblock on Route 126 near Newcastle. They left for Route 118 when the call came in. On the way, they spotted headlights, and Terry Barter turned on his police lights to indicate the truck to pull over. But it was ignored.
Brian Golding saw the police and asked Alan Legere what he wanted to do. Keep driving, he was told. The police followed. Half an hour later, Brian Golding said he couldn't go on driving. Okay, Alan Legere said, allowing him to pull over and stop. The truck driver, Brian, opened his door and jumped out. It's him! It's him! He has a gun! He shouted.
Corporal Terry Barter, armed with an M16 rifle, grabbed Brian Golding, searched him and ordered him away from the truck. Barter came up on the passenger side while Corporal Gary Lutzwick took the drivers. Get out of the truck. I want to see your hands, Lutzwick shouted. Alan Legere's hands went up and the gun was thrown out the window. I'm all right. I'm okay. You've got me, Alan Legere said while climbing down.
Terry Barter came around to help and told him to lay on the ground, legs apart. I'm giving up, Alan Legere said. In the court transcript, Ludwig is stated as saying Legere then made a movement. Ludwig thus firmly put his foot on the back of Legere's neck and pushed him to the ground and told him not to move. Corporal Terry Barter then bent to handcuff Alan Legere. As he did,
Legere pulled in his arms and tried to move, trying to get to his shotgun. To avoid any more death, and perhaps slightly affected by the known facts of what Legere had done, Corporal Terry Barter struck Legere with his foot, kicking him hard on the right cheek. Stay down, Legere was told. On checking the sort of rifle on the ground not far away from Legere,
They found that one bullet was left in it, and the gun was cocked and ready to fire. Barter radioed in that they had Alan Legere in custody. Constable Ken McPhee had been part of the team at the roadblock. He arrived at the scene of capture when Alan Legere was on the ground, and he put leg shackles on him.
Corporal Luke Bolduc arrived, and Alain Legere cursed at him, thinking he was the officer that kicked him. At 5.45 a.m., Alain Legere was securely held in the Newcastle RCMP building six miles away. The monster of Miramichi was thus finally stopped. For about seven months, Legere had managed to freeze the region of Miramichi in fairs.
People were, by now, following the "shoot first, ask questions later" mentality. Many reporters and journalists had arrived in the region to track the whereabouts of Legere and cover the story. When news of Legere's capture was finally broken to the towns and neighborhoods across Miramichi, people actually came out of their homes and hugged each other in a mixture of relief and delight.
Storekeepers began lighting up their stores with Christmas lights, which was probably the first time it had happened during the beginning Christmas season. And so it was that on the 17th of August, 1990,
Alan Joseph Legere was sentenced to serve nine years for escaping the custody of a police officer, kidnapping, as well as common assault for his actions pertaining to the escape he engineered on the 3rd of May, 1989. Then, on the 20th of November, 1990, Alan Legere was further charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
Legere was sent back to the maximum security facility where he had initially been sentenced. About a year later, on the 28th of August 1991, the official trial of Alan Joseph Legere began at the Burton Courthouse near the town of Oromocto.
The trial lasted for a period of two months, in which the police put forth all of the evidence that they had recovered, including the DNA samples. Unfortunately for Legere, it was proven beyond all doubt that he was indeed the killer.
Legere had tried very hard to make sure his steps could not be traced. He left no witnesses, and often changed appearance, either by shaving or cutting his hair, so that people wouldn't know who he was.
However, he had not banked on the fact that the police would be using DNA samples to analyze evidence, and hence, this was the first time such samples were made admissible in a court of law in Canada. On the 3rd of November, 1991, Alan Joseph Legere was convicted by a jury of 11 people, including 6 women and 5 men.
All four murder charges were upheld, and Legere was sentenced to life in prison. Ten days later, on the 13th of November 1991, Legere filed a notice of appeal at the New Brunswick Court of Appeals. A month later, unconfirmed reports began to surface that Legere was now planning another escape.
The media had picked up on the public frenzy that the monster of Miramichi had caused in his time and were stoking the public's justified fears that he would once again manage to escape and wreak havoc. It was also reported that Legere would be flown from the Miramichi airport to Montreal, where he would be transferred to a special handling unit. On the 29th of November 1991,
Bruce Smith, then the Solicitor General of New Brunswick, reported that security spending had cost the department more than $1.2 million. He stated that the province would have to bear the costs up to the amount of $850,000. The federal government announced that the manhunt for Alan Joseph Legere had cost the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP,
more than $110,000. Furthermore, another $314,000 had been incurred by the RCMP in order to establish security measures at the Burton courthouse, and $63,000 was spent on getting the results of the DNA analysis that were carried out.
But thanks to these efforts and expenses, Legere would not manage to perform another escape. Alan Joseph Legere is now 72 years old. He was initially kept at a special handling unit in Quebec prison. He spent his first years at the Super Maximum Security Penitentiary in Saint-Anne-de-Plein, Quebec.
An ex-RCMP officer by the name of Mason Johnston, who had interrogated Legere after his first killing, called Legere a master manipulator, who would definitely try to escape if given the chance. He also said that Legere keeps a hit list of all the people that have prosecuted him, and says that he has unfinished business.
Even though it has been a long while since Alain Leger roamed the free streets, the people of Miramichi are still fearful of what might happen if he ends up escaping, no matter how old he is. It is unlikely, however, in this day and age where security has progressed to great heights, that Leger would be able to escape at all.
In 2015, Legere was moved from the Supermax prison at St. Anne the Plain to the Edmonton Institution, a maximum security federal institution located in the northeastern part of Edmonton, Alberta. This move caused, understandably, many people in Canada to be concerned about Legere possibly managing another escape.
Public safety minister at the time, Stephen Horsman, said of this, and I quote, I want to reassure the people of Miramichi, and all the people, the families, of New Brunswick, they are safe, end quote. Many people still talk about their memories of the time when Legere was roaming free.
And the University of New Brunswick has even created a separate digital archive where all of the separate case files relating to the cases of Alan Joseph Legere are stored. However, it is unlikely that the monster of Miramichi will ever roam free in the land of Canada ever again.
I don't know.
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The next episode, number 123 in number, will feature a fresh new Serial Killer Expo say. So, as they say in the land of radio, stay tuned. Finally, I wish to thank you, dear listener, for listening.
If you like this podcast, you can support it by donating on patreon.com slash theserialkillarpodcast, by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, facebook.com slash theskpodcast, or by posting on the subreddit theskpodcast. Thank you, good night, and good luck.
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