A man on trial in Texas died Thursday after drinking from a large water bottle containing a cloudy liquid as a jury found him guilty of child sexual assault, officials said.
Edward
Leclair, 57, was on trial in Denton, located about 40 miles northwest
of Dallas, on five counts involving one victim. The Tarrant County
medical examiner's office doesn't yet list his cause or manner of death.
Leclair had been released on bond following his arrest.
Prosecutor Jamie Beck told the Denton Record-Chronicle that Leclair didn't drink from the water bottle until the verdict was read, then he "just chugged it."
After the verdict, Leclair was sent to a holding cell next
to the courtroom as the timing of his punishment phase was discussed.
Beck said that an investigator assigned to the courtroom had told the
bailiff what Leclair had done and suggested he check on him.
"We have had people who faint, have heart attacks and had a
shooting, but never in my 27 years have we had something like this
happen," Beck told the Record-Chronicle
Beck told the newspaper that the alleged victim had flown in to testify at Leclair's trial.
Leclair's attorney, Mike Howard, said sheriff's deputies gave Leclair medical aid until EMS arrived.
"I
saw him being taken out on the gurney," Howard told the newspaper. "His
color and pallor didn't look good - gray - and then he was taken to the
hospital. Beyond that, that's all I can say."
In 2017, a former Bosnian Croat military chief died hours after apparently drinking poison during the final hearing at a United Nations war crimes tribunal.
