DNA Leads To Conviction In 1984 Kidnapping/Rape Case In Avon: State

AVON/HARTFORD, CT — An elderly Massachusetts man was convicted Tuesday for brutally kidnapping and raping a woman at an Avon apartment complex in 1984.

According to state authorities Tuesday, George Legere, 75, of Springfield, Mass., was found guilty in Hartford Superior Court Tuesday of first-degree kidnapping.

Hartford County State's Attorney Sharmese L. Walcott said a jury convicted Legere after a brief deliberation in connection with the horrific April 13, 1984 crime. He will be sentenced July 21.

According to Walcott, Legere's DNA was linked to the crime in May 2019 while he was incarcerated in Massachusetts.

The link happened, according to Walcott, as part of routine DNA sampling protocols for inmates.

She said Legere's sample produced a hit on a DNA index and linked it to DNA collected back in 1984.

"Additionally, the defendant's physical description matched the description of the attacker that the victim gave to police in 1984," wrote authorities in a release.

The State Division of Criminal Justice released a recap of the trial, including frightening details of what happened 39 years ago.

According to the state:

• The victim was exiting her car in the early morning of April 13, 1984 in front of her Avon apartment complex.

• That's when she was forced back inside her car by a man who then blindfolded her and tied her arms together.

• The suspect then drove the victim in her vehicle to an unknown location, tied her to a tree and "began to beat and sexually assault her."

• He then forced her back inside her car and continued to "force her to perform sexual acts."

• They then returned to the parking lot of the Avon apartment complex, where the suspect left the woman inside her car bound and blindfolded.

• The victim managed to blow the horn of her car to alert help.

• When police arrived, the victim was still bound by the wrists and was naked.

• The victim was brought to a local hospital, where medical personnel utilized a sexual assault examination kit "using the techniques of the day."

For the full Connecticut Department of Justice announcement, click on this link.