The murder of Janet Couture
East Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut · 1973
Overview
Janet Couture, 21, who was doing office work and some modeling, was found stabbed to death on October 13, 1973, in her Cannon Road home in East Hartford, Connecticut. Police said she was home alone when a man came in through a window. George Legere, who visited men who lived next door, was an early suspect. He told police he had been in her apartment to use the phone and denied harming her, and police said there was not enough evidence to charge him. The case stayed open for more than five decades. In 2019 a DNA sample taken from Legere in Massachusetts matched evidence in a 1984 kidnapping and rape in Avon; he was arrested in 2021 and sentenced in 2023 to 25 years. That arrest led East Hartford detectives to review older cases with similarities to Couture's. In 2025 a fellow inmate told police that Legere had admitted killing Couture and had signed a written confession in July. Legere then confessed to detectives, according to the arrest warrant affidavit, and was charged with murder on September 24, 2025. He was found unresponsive in his cell on October 3 and died early on October 4, before any trial. The cause of death was listed as pending further study.
How it was solved
Police said Legere was an early suspect in 1973 but there was not enough evidence to charge him. Oxygen, citing a warrant obtained by CT Insider, reported that he told police then that he had been inside Couture's apartment several times to use the phone and denied ever harming her. The case went cold for decades. In May 2019, while Legere was incarcerated on an unrelated matter in Massachusetts, a DNA sample taken under arrest protocol matched evidence from a 1984 kidnapping and rape in Avon, Connecticut. Avon police arrested him in 2021, and a Hartford jury convicted him of first-degree kidnapping in May 2023; he received 25 years. East Hartford police said that arrest helped them find closed cases from the 1960s with disturbing similarities to Couture's murder. Reports on the Couture warrant do not describe DNA from her case; they describe a case built on Legere's own statements. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, as reported by the Associated Press, another inmate called police after new posters about the Couture cold case were placed in the prison. He said Legere had told him he killed Couture, and had signed a confession in July that the inmate wrote and a correctional officer also signed, with instructions not to release it until after Legere's death. Legere was then interviewed by police and, according to the warrant, said he went into the apartment looking for money, that Couture woke and recognized him, and that he stabbed her. Police said he described details they believed only the killer would know. A detective wrote that she believed he entered to sexually assault Couture, noting that cash, jewelry and a safe deposit box were left behind. Police obtained a murder warrant on September 19, 2025, and arrested him on September 24. He was found unresponsive in his cell on October 3 and pronounced dead on October 4, before trial; no court has tested the charge.
Sources
- Man charged in 1973 killing of woman in Connecticut after confessing to detectives, warrant says (September 25, 2025)
“The other inmate called police about Legere’s confession after new posters were placed in the prison seeking information about the cold case investigation into Couture’s death, police said.”
- Suspect in 1973 cold case murder in East Hartford arrested (September 2025)
“Couture was found stabbed to death in her Cannon Road home in East Hartford on Oct. 13, 1973.”
- East Hartford police make arrest in 53 year old cold case murder (September 25, 2025)
“Legere was arrested on Sept. 24, 2025, at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, where he is currently serving a 25-year sentence for his 2021 arrest by Avon Police.”
- Police in Connecticut charge man with 1973 murder (September 25, 2025)
““The Avon Police Department’s arrest of Legere assisted East Hartford investigators with uncovering additional closed cases dating back to the 1960s involving Legere assaulting women, revealing disturbing similarities to Couture’s murder,” the statement said.”
- Man dies days after being charged in 1973 killing of woman in Connecticut (October 8, 2025)
“Investigators said Legere's confession followed information from another inmate, who told police Legere admitted killing Couture and had written and signed a confession in July, instructing the inmate not to release it until after his death.”
- Suspect in 1973 East Hartford murder dies in prison (October 7, 2025)
“Department of Correction officials said Legere was found unresponsive in his prison cell around 11 p.m. Friday night.”
- George Legere Found Dead Months After Confessing to 1973 Murder of Janet Couture (October 27, 2025)
“Legere, who often visited a friend next door, told police at the time that he’d been inside Janet’s apartment several times to use the phone, but denied ever harming her, according to a warrant obtained by”
- Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison For 1984 Kidnapping in Avon (August 2, 2023)
“That DNA sample matched another sample in the Combined DNA Index System, linking Legere to the DNA that was collected in this 1984 Avon Cold Case.”
- Man linked to Connecticut woman's 1984 kidnapping and rape by DNA is sentenced to 25 years in prison (August 3, 2023)
“Police said they were notified by the crime lab in 2021 that a match came up between the DNA evidence and Legere's DNA.”