In the early, quiet hours of April 16, 1979, Edward T. Cody, a 45-year-old male and a veteran detective of the Hartford Police Department for 26 years, was working a part-time job to support his family. He was serving as a security guard for the Purolator Corporation, a role he took on as secondary employment. A dedicated officer and a family man, he was a husband and a father to five children.
That morning, his path would cross with a brutal and meticulously planned ambush that would end his life and the lives of two of his colleagues.
The scene was a company garage in Waterbury, a place that should have been a routine stop. At approximately 4:00 a.m., just as the armored vehicle Detective Cody was in drove into the garage to pick up cash, multiple assailants emerged, armed with rifles. Without a chance to even draw their weapons, Detective Cody and the two other guards were met with a barrage of gunfire. The attack was swift and merciless, leaving all three men dead at the scene. The perpetrators then seized their prize, fleeing with an estimated $1.8 million in cash, jewelry, and other valuables. The silence of the garage was broken only by the aftermath of the violence, a scene that would not be discovered for another three hours when another employee arrived for work.
The investigation into the "senseless slaughter" moved quickly. Within 24 hours of the discovery of the crime, police made a breakthrough, arresting two unemployed couples in connection with the robbery and murders. The suspects were identified as Donald Couture, 26, his wife, Donna, 23, Lawrence Pelletier Jr., 36, and Evelyn Vega, 26. A search of the Coutures' home uncovered the stolen money and valuables, along with the weapons used in the commission of the crime, including two M1 semiautomatic rifles. All four were charged with first-degree robbery and three counts of capital murder. The two men were ultimately convicted and sentenced to 75 years to life in prison. The two women received sentences of 12-and-a-half years to life and were eventually paroled.
