A man who drank from a water bottle after his sentencing in a Denton County courtroom Thursday was taken to a hospital and died later in the day, according to his defense attorney.
Edward Peter LeClair, 57, of Frisco, faces five counts of child sexual abuse related to an incident that occurred in June 2016, according to jail records. He was arrested in July 2018 and later posted bail.
Leclair’s defense attorney, Mike Howard, who represented Leclair during the trial, said this week’s trial began with jury selection on Monday.
Closing arguments were made Thursday morning and jurors began deliberating just after 10 a.m., Howard said. After 3 1/2 hours of deliberation, the jury convicted LeClair on all five charges.
Howard said that during the trial, Leclair drank from a clear plastic water bottle. On Thursday, after the first two guilty verdicts were announced, Howard noted that LeClair had taken a “long drink” from the bottle.
Denton County Prosecutor Jamie Beck said Denton Record-Chronicle the water bottle was full of “cloudy” liquid. Howard said he didn’t see if the liquid was cloudy, but he was told that at least two people in the courtroom noticed it was cloudy or yellow, like lemonade.
After the verdict, Leclerc was taken into custody and sent to a cell before the penalty phase of the trial. He faced 100 years in prison.
Howard said he went to the holding cell to discuss next steps with Leclair, who appeared to be “in a state of shock.”
“He came on as you would imagine anyone who has just received very serious, sobering news,” Howard said.
After Howard left the cell to speak with a witness, he said he heard a commotion and that bailiffs said LeClair had been vomiting for several minutes. EMS personnel arrived about 10 minutes later, Howard said, and LeClair was placed on a gurney and taken to a hospital.
Howard said Leclair looks “noticeably gray.”
“At the time I thought it was very serious and there was a good chance he wouldn’t survive,” he said.
Leclair’s water bottle was collected as evidence Denton Record-Chronicle reported. His cause of death has not been determined by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Howard said he’s not aware of any prior medical history that could have led to LeClair’s death.
Add Comment