The death of Allan Legere, a notorious serial killer who killed five people in New Brunswick in the late 1980s, represents a healing opportunity for many.

Earlier this week, Correctional Service Canada said the 78-year-old convicted murderer and rapist, known as the “Monster of the Miramichi,” died at Edmonton Institution.

Legere had been serving a life sentence since Jan. 22, 1987, but in 1989, he escaped while receiving care in a nearby hospital.

He was at large for six months — terrorizing the cluster of communities bordering the Miramichi River in New Brunswick.

“It will definitely stand out in my memory forever,” said Deputy Chief Randy Hansen with the Miramichi Police Force.

Hansen was just a young officer at the time, beginning his job training with what was then the local police force in Chatham, N.B.

On his second shift, he was told the owner of Chatham’s Neighbourhood Grocery Store, Annie Flam, had been sexually assaulted and killed by Legere the night before.

He recalls that it was all hands on deck at that point. Cadets were sent out patrolling solo as part of an all-boots-on-the-ground approach that continued until Legere’s recapture in November.

“We were basically told that if we were the only thing between him and going back to prison that we had to do what was necessary,” he said.

The Legere case has effectively changed policing and the justice system, not only in New Brunswick but across Canada.

Sasha Reid, a lawyer and serial homicide expert, said Legere was “an absolutely fascinating case from the standpoint of policing, Canadian law enforcement, and just the law in general.”

Reid said capturing Legere prompted one of the largest manhunts in RCMP history, and by the time the case reached the courts, it brought DNA technology to the forefront.

“It was not the very first case ever of DNA being utilized in a court, but it was a case that came about at the same time that forensic science, molecular biology was starting to be utilized by courts,” she said.

“And in many ways, it kind of became a springboard for other cases that came after it that needed DNA to secure convictions.”

She said DNA technology was still relatively unknown and a learning curve for everyone in the judicial system.

“With the Legere case, what happened is not only jurors but also lawyers and judges had to learn what DNA is, how it’s utilized, how to talk about it,” she said.

“Back then, that was not common knowledge and so its absolutely changed how we go about in the court system talking about DNA.”

In the aftermath, even small police forces — like Chatham’s — made changes to how they operated and investigated.

“Because of that incident, they created the position of a community services officer, that would gather more information from people when major crimes occurred, that had a stronger relationship with the community,” said Hansen.

Officers also received more training in major crime investigation techniques and changed how law enforcement communicates across jurisdictions.

“Making sure that there’s strong communication between RCMP and local detachments, making sure that communication can happen in a way that facilitates swift and effective action is something that is a big takeaway from this,” said Reid.

For Hansen , who is now deputy chief of the Miramichi Police Force, news of Leger’s death has marked a turning point — not just for him and other officers who worked on the case, but for the entire community.

In those days, weeks and months while the manhunt was going on, Hansen said police saw an uptick in concerned citizens calling in suspicious activity.

“They lost trust in people,” he said about the community. “It certainly changed things.”

When asked for his reaction on Legere’s death, Hansen called it “great news.”

“I think this is certainly a very positive step for this community, 100 per cent,” he said.

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