Jeffrey LaGasse SKOWHEGAN — The man charged with murder in connection with the 2007 death of a New Portland woman has pleaded guilty to the charge in Somerset County Superior Court. Maine Department of Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland first announced the news Wednesday, May 26.

Jeffrey LaGasse, 31, was indicted by a grand jury last September and originally pleaded not guilty to the crime. He was charged with killing Louise Brochu, 50, whose body was found at her home and New Portland Wood Flooring business along Route 27 on June 8, 2007.

Under Rule 11 of the law, La- Gasse agreed to confess to the murder charges with the plea agreement of 30 years in prison. This came after his fourth and final alibi broke down.

LaGasse’s first alibi had him home with his girlfriend the night of June 8. His second and most elaborate story had him in Brewer that evening and the third claimed that he was in Skowhegan with his French lover. The fourth and final alibi before the confession actually placed him at the scene of the crime.

Louise Brochu Deputy Attorney General William Stokes said they had a good “circumstantial case” against LaGasse, but as with any circumstantial case, there is some risk bringing it to trial. “We had no real strong forensic evidence or an eye witness, which without such brings a level of risk.”You have to ask yourself, “What are the chances of the 12 people of the jury buying your story,” Stokes said. Things such as a mistrial could occur or good defense attorneys could get key components, such as motives, thrown out or dismissed.

Stokes said if it had gone to trial and LaGasse was found guilty of this brutal attack, they’d be looking for 40 to 50 years behind bars. Stokes said that he and the victim’s family would have liked to have seen him get 50 years, but eliminating the risk by a plea confession proved, in retrospect, to be a wise choice.

Earlier this year, LaGasse’s lead defense attorney, Jason Jabar of Waterville, tried to get LaGasse’s previous statements removed, by stating that his client was in custody during early interviews, and not read his Miranda rights. Stokes countered the defense attack before Justice John Nivison who took no action at the time, saying Jabar’s initiative would be taken under advisement.

LaGasse worked off and on for the wood mill in 2006 and 2007. Stokes said Brochu was good to him and often gave him loans and helped him when she could. He had been laid off from another job three weeks earlier and was quite desperate for money, Stokes said.

Stokes explained that LaGasse said he called Brochu a day earlier looking to borrow some wood to build an entertainment center. On June 8, LaGasse said he arrived at the house to pick up the wood and saw it in disarray and called 911.

Originally LaGasse said he was home that night and in his bed with his girlfriend in an apartment over the former Wire Bridge Diner. This story was backed by his girlfriend. A couple of days later, that story broke down when they interviewed the two at identical times. Police told the girlfriend that they had cell phone records which revealed that LaGasse called her a couple of times that evening. The girlfriend’s story broke down which led to a change in LaGasse’s story.

Stokes said the next alibi stated that he was near Bangor where he buried some money in a cemetery in a cash box wrapped in plastic. The money came from a burglary he committed nearly 10 years ago, LaGasse claimed. Stokes called the story quite elaborate. It included that the loot’s location was marked in the ground by a stake and no shovel was needed. LaGasse even said some of the money was taken by others and he felt short-changed —there was $500 less than what he expected. The cash box, plastic bags and markers were thrown away in a dumpster at a Brewer rest area, LaGasse’s statement explained.

That story broke down when LaGasse was unabile to bring police back to the cemetery, rest area and other places he said he went.

LaGasse later claimed that he was with a woman by the name Jet’aime Lewis, who he met in Portland, then he traveled to Skowhegan and partied with friends at clubs and houses. LaGasse said that he met Jet’aime, French for I love you, when he was in prison in Windham. That story broke down when no proof of his visits to clubs could be found, and when there was no woman with that name in prison records.

His final alibi linked him to the scene, when he said he was with others, that he did not personally kill Brochu and that it was not his idea. Stokes said there was no evidence suggesting that more than one person was there, and police did not buy the story. This along with other evidence forced the start of the plea agreement.

Stokes did say that LaGasse stole a debit card with which he withdrew money from a Kingfield bank. Stokes said he thought at the time that they might have hit the jackpot because of the video surveillance. But who ever withdrew the money stood to the side and only revealed his left hand —specifically his thumb and forefinger. Stokes said that police took pictures of LaGasse’s hand which had a remarkable resemblance to the hand in the footage, and would most likely have been the prosecution’s best evidence in the case. “The jury would have looked at that and given it whatever weight it was worth,” Stokes said. His thumb, in particular, was unusually identifiable.

There were also tire track imprints that matched the design of the vehicle that LaGasse drove. And after a year-and-a-half of the girlfriend protecting LaGasse, she finally revealed that he came home that night at 1:30 a.m. wearing nothing but boxer shorts. The clothes, potentially a great source of forensic evidence, were never recovered, Stokes said.

Stokes also said that phone records revealed that a call was placed around the time of the incident. Phone records revealed a call was placed to 9991 suggesting an extreme level of stress.

“In 2009, we knew that the case was not going to gain much more evidence, so we brought it to the Somerset County Grand Jury for the indictment.

LaGasse will be sentenced on June 11 at 8:30 a.m., Stokes said. A cap has not been set in the plea agreement and the Brochu family is expected to be present that morning, Stokes explained.