According to the Denton County District Attorney’s Office, a Texas man on trial for child sexual assault who drank an unknown liquid during his verdict died shortly after.
Edward Peter Leclair, 57, of Frisco, was charged with 5 counts of child sexual assault against one victim. According to Denton County jail documents, this offense occurred in June and July of 2016.
Leclair was taken into custody in 2018 with a $30,000 bond and quickly posted bond. Jury selection had begun at the Denton County Courts Building on Monday. According to First Assistant Attorney Jamie Beck of the Denton County District Attorney’s Office, the situation looked normal initially.
“The jury enters and takes a seat,” Beck explained, describing how the incident began. “The defendant and his attorney are both present. The jury hands the verdict to the judge, who begins reading it.”
Judge Lee Gabriel, who was filling in for Judge Sherry Shipman in the 16th District Court, began reading the verdict, which stated that Leclair was found guilty on all 5 counts of child sexual assault.
“He had a bottle of water with him at the counsel table during this process, and he chugged it,” Beck said.“It wasn’t like he was just taking sips of water. He was literally throwing it back, so to speak.”
Beck stated that Leclair had not been sipping from that bottle prior to that time.
While it was strange, Beck also stated that most of the individuals in the room did not anticipate this to be a potentially deadly situation because it could merely be nerves, or the manner Leclair handled the situation.
Gabriel had Leclair taken to a holding cell, something that Beck said is standard procedure. Following that, the jury was led out of the courtroom to complete some documentation.
Because of the unorthodox manner Leclair drank the water, one of the investigators in the courtroom asked a bailiff to go evaluate on him.
According to Beck, Leclair was found looking “gray” and was quickly declared dead.
Beck stated that Leclair’s water bottle was taken in as evidence.
