MEDINA – Authorities say DNA from an Arizona man recently indicted in a 1997 Ohio rape case links him to the unsolved slayings of four women at truck stops in Ohio and Illinois.
Samuel Legg III pleaded not guilty Thursday during a hearing outside Cleveland to two counts of rape for the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl.
“Our job is to help local law enforcement in whatever way possible to get bad guys off the street. This is a textbook case of all partners involved doing their very best each day to bring justice on behalf of a victim,” said Ohio attorney general David Yost in a written statement.
Thompson says three of the slayings occurred before the 1997 rape. Legg hasn’t been charged in the slayings.
Medina County Sheriff’s Office Detective Kevin Ross and Medina County Prosecutor Forrest Thompson flew to Arizona to bring the suspect back before indicting him on Jan. 28, Yost said.
A judge ordered an evaluation to determine if Legg, 49, an independent truck driver with a history of mental illness, is competent to stand trial.