Shortly after his guilty verdict was read officers found this pedophile dead in his holding cell. His bottled water from the courtroom held the clues for his mysterious death.
Edward Leclair a 57-year-old man from Denton, Texas was found guilty of five counts of the sexual assault of a child. Leclair was later found dead in his holding cell before he could even speak to his lawyer about an appeal. His mysterious death caused an incredible investigation.
CNN originally reported that Leclair had been convicted of the rape of a minor child. While listening to his verdict when he picked up a bottle of water at the defense’s station and began to chug it. He was then brought to his cell to await sentencing. It was at this time that they noticed something was wrong.
Recalling the incident inside the courtroom an investigator watched as Edward Leclair downed the entire bottle of water. The same investigator claimed too notice that the drink looked strange.
“As these verdicts were being read, he chugged a bottle of water he had at counsel table,” Denton County Assistant District Attorney Jamie Beck told CNN. “Our investigator noticed him chug the water,” Beck said, saying it appeared cloudy. “He told the bailiff he might want to go check on him. The bailiff did. He was unconscious in the holding cell.”
After having a “long drink from a water bottle,” Leclair began showing immediate signs of poor health before falling unconscious in his cell. Leclair was facing five counts of child sexual abuse relating to the same victim and had been free on bond until the verdict.
“Shortly after entering the holdover cell, he started vomiting, and emergency services were called,” Leclair’s defense attorney, Mike Howard, told CNN.
First responders did all they could to revive the man but Leclair was already too far gone. He was pronounced dead at Medical City Denton Hospital upon arrival. According to the Denton Record-Chronicle an autopsy was scheduled to determine the cause of death.
“This is something that obviously doesn’t happen very often,” Howard said. “The judge in her 30 years and probably between us (prosecution, too) 100-plus years, we have never come across anything like this. The question is whether the legal thing to do is … declare a mistrial and have the charges dismissed, or is there another possible way to proceed?”
Due to Leclair’s death, some believe that the judge will now declare a mistrial. A frustrating end to a case, leaving all sides with no closure.
“To a legal extent, it does prevent ultimate justice being done for all sides,” Howard said. “The alleged victim and Ed’s family won’t get to the ultimate conclusion.”
Leclair began seeing his victim after she posted an ad on Craigslist. The pair met up at a hotel and had sexual intercourse. He continued his interaction with the girl by giving her $200. They also exchanged text messages where she emailed him a nude photo of herself. After the original encounter, the victim came clean and told Leclair that she was 14 years old. He continued to communicate with her in a sexual nature, imploring her to continue the physical relationship.
Two years later, Leclair’s girlfriend, Melody “Mel” Shae, stumbled upon his communication with the teenage girl. According to reports, Shea met up with the underage girl and threatened her. She allegedly told the victim that Leclair was “grooming her” and promised to help her. Shea then drove the victim to the apartment she shared with Leclair. This is where an argument ensued between the couple. Leclair then returned the victim to the location where she had met Shae.
The mother of the victim reported the assaults to the police. At this time both Edward Leclair and Melody Shae were arrested. Shae was charged with failure to report a felony but the count was ultimately dropped.
“The complaining witness testified in court that the only reason the police were notified was due to Ms. Shae informing the complaining witness’s parents about the illicit relationship Mr. Leclair had with the complaining witness,” Shae’s attorney Case Cagle said.
