On Thursday, 57-year-old Edward Leclair was found guilty of sexual assault of a child in the 16th District Court at the Denton County Courthouse, according to a press release from the Denton County Sheriff’s Office.
The Associated Press reported Leclair drank from a large water bottle containing a “cloudy liquid” as he was found guilty.
“As these verdicts were being read, he chugged a bottle of water he had at counsel table,” Denton County Assistant District Attorney Jamie Beck said in an interview with CNN.
Leclair’s lawyer, Mike Howard, told CNN he saw his client drink from the bottle, but didn’t know what it contained.
After being found guilty, Judge Lee Gabriel ordered Leclair be taken into custody. The release stated that Leclair was then taken to a holding cell where he collapsed.
The fire department and paramedics responded to the incident, rendering medical aid until Leclair was taken to the hospital.
“I saw him being taken out on the gurney,” Howard told the Denton Record-Chronicle. “His color and pallor didn’t look good – gray – and then he was taken to the hospital.”
Leclair was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The case is now being investigated by the Texas Rangers, the release stated.
