Man Dies After Drinking Mystery Liquid In Court As Guilty Verdict Is Read

Edward Leclair

Photo: Frisco Police Department

A Texas man died shortly after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a child. As the jury announced that Edward Leclair, 57, was found guilty of child sexual assault, he began to drink from a plastic water bottle.

"It's during this process that he had a bottle of water with him at the counsel table, and he chugged it," said First Assistant Attorney Jamie Beck from the Denton County District Attorney's Office. "It wasn't like he was just taking sips of water. He was literally throwing it back, so to speak."

Leclair was then remanded to his cell to await sentencing. He was facing up to 100 years behind bars for sexually assaulting a child between the age of 14 and 17.

A few minutes later, the bailiff informed the judge that Leclair was throwing up in his cell and was being taken to the hospital.

"Forty-five minutes after the whole thing began, I was notified by the hospital that he'd been declared dead," Leclair's lawyer Mike Howard said.

Officials are awaiting the results of the autopsy to determine how Leclair died. They did not say what was in the water bottle or how Leclair, who was out on bond during the trial, was able to bring it into the courtroom.


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