Parole board refuses release of Allan Legere, dubbed the 'Monster of the Miramichi'

Photo: The Canadian Press

Allan Legere leaves court in Burton, N.B., as he waits for jurors in his murder trial to return a verdict on Nov. 2, 1991. The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan

The Parole Board of Canada has refused both the day parole and full parole of serial killer Allan Legere.

The convicted murderer, rapist and arsonist, who will turn 73 in February, escaped from custody on May 3, 1989 after being convicted of murder.

He carried out four more brutal murders, several arsons and a sexual assault in the Miramichi before being recaptured on Nov. 24 that year.

Legere has been eligible to apply for day parole since November 2012 and for full parole since November 2015.

Legere, who was dubbed "the Monster of the Miramichi," is serving a life sentence, and he has no mandatory release date.

In the decision, parole board member Delaine Dew said Legere had been rejected for parole because he was still a risk to the community.

"Your offending is of the most serious nature. The victim harm is still felt to this day," Dew said.

"You have a number of outstanding issues . . . . At this point, you do remain an untreated sexual offender and violent offender." She said the board had concluded his risk was not manageable in the community.

The initial stage of the process, in which a parole board review officer explains the procedure to Legere, required almost 45 minutes, as Legere questioned why he hadn't received information about his case sooner.

The hearing began with a statement from a Correctional Service of Canada parole officer saying the service was recommending against granting Legere parole.

The parole officer told the two board members that Legere still had a high risk of engaging in violent activity.

"His gains in (prison) programs haven't translated into accountability, and he continues to show limited insights into his risk factors," the parole officer said, adding that Legere has a history of manipulations and pathological traits that make it difficult to assess if he's telling the truth.