A man who killed himself in court after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a child drank a lethal concoction of sodium nitrite, a medical examiner has said.
Edward Leclair, 57, began to drink the cloudy liquid after the jury read out their guilty verdict at the 16th District Court of Denton County in Texas on 11 August 2022.
Leclair, a former Navy mechanic, faced 100 years in prison after being convicted of five counts of sexual assault on a person between the age of 14 and 17.
After he had drank the liquid, Leclair was transferred back to a holding cell where he later collapsed. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead.
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Mike Howard, who represented Leclair, recalled the moment he saw his client drinking the liquid.
"I looked over and noticed him drinking," the lawyer said to NBC News. "His hand was shaking. At the time, I thought it was shaking because of the verdict. Then he kept drinking and drinking."
Speaking to The New York Times, Howard said that he believed his client, when faced with the prospect of 100 years in prison, ‘made the decision to do what he did at the last moment’.
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He said: “Had he waited another 30 seconds, he would have been in sheriff’s custody and not had access to that bottled water.
“He wouldn’t have been able to. So, you know, I think he knew.”
First Assistant Attorney Jamie Beck from the Denton County District Attorney's Office said at the time: “It wasn't like he was just taking sips of water. He was literally throwing it back, so to speak.”
Beck added: “Our investigator noticed him chug the water. He told the bailiff he might want to go check on him. The bailiff did.
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'”He was unconscious in the holding cell. Shortly after entering the holdover cell, he started vomiting, and emergency services were called.”
A report from The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office released this week revealed Leclair’s cause of death as the toxic effects of the sodium nitrate he had ingested.
Surveillance footage from the courthouse showed Leclair purchasing the water bottle at around 7 am on the day of his death.
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Prosecutors believed that while the jury were out deliberating, for around three-and-a-half hours, Leclair added the chemicals into the water.
When the first verdict was read out in court, Leclair started to chug the contents of the water bottle and continued to do so while the rest of the counts were announced.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 8am–10pm Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm weekends. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Claire Reid