• Edward Leclair, 57, downed a cloudy liquid from a water bottle as he was found guilty of child sexual assault charges in August 2022
• A medical examiner has found he drank a lethal amount of sodium nitrite, and his manner of death was ruled a suicide 
• He later collapsed in his cell and was taken to hospital where he died

A sex offender who died after downing a cloudy liquid from a water bottle in a Texas courtroom after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a child ingested a lethal amount of sodium nitrite, a medical examiner has found. 

Edward Leclair, 57, started drinking the liquid after the jury found him guilty on the first count and continued drinking it as the other counts were read on August 11, 2022. He collapsed in his cell and died soon after.  

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that the manner in which Leclair died was suicide and his cause of death was the toxic effects of sodium nitrite.

Leclair had been facing five counts of child sexual assault against one victim, accused of raping a girl between 13 and 17 years old five times from 2016 to 2018. First Assistant Attorney Jamie Beck from the Denton County District Attorney’s Office said at the time that initially the situation had been normal.

But when Leclair heard that he had been found guilty on the first count, he grabbed his bottle and ‘chugged’ the cloudy liquid as he was found guilty on the other four counts.

‘It wasn’t like he was just taking sips of water. He was literally throwing it back, so to speak,’ Beck told WFAA at the time.

Beck explained that while those in the courtroom felt Leclair’s actions were odd, they thought it was just his way of dealing with the situation.

Leclair was taken back into a holding cell after the verdict was read, before officers decided to check on him because of his strange behavior.

He was found unconscious, with witnesses saying he had ‘gone gray’ and was rushed to Medical City Denton where he was pronounced dead.

Beck added:  ‘Our investigator noticed him chug the water. He told the bailiff he might want to go check on him. The bailiff did. 

‘He was unconscious in the holding cell. Shortly after entering the holdover cell, he started vomiting, and emergency services were called.’

Surveillance video taken from inside the Denton County Court building shows Leclair purchasing the water from a vending machine in the courthouse around 7am, The New York Times reported.

Prosecutors believed that as jurors deliberated for three-and-a-half hours, Leclair who was out on bond, put the chemical compound in his water bottle.

Leclair’s lawyer, Mike Howard told The New York Times that when his client realized that he could face up to 100 years in prison, he said, ‘I think he made the decision to do what he did at the last moment.’

He continued: ‘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.’

Leclair had worked as a corporate recruiter for years before he lost his job during the pandemic, his attorney said.

He described his client as ‘normal’ and said that during the trial he was taking notes, answering questions and was engaged in the legal proceedings.  

In February 2022, actress Lindsey Pearlman, 43, died by suicide caused by sodium nitrite toxicity.

The actress who appeared in General Hospital, Empire, Chicago Justice and American Housewife was found dead inside a vehicle near Runyon Canyon after family members had reported her missing.

Source:- Dailymail