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Leclair, Karen 6-10-17; Lake Erie, PA - age 51
Topic Started: Jul 2 2017, 07:37 AM (38 Views)
tatertot
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http://www.goerie.com/news/20170623/boat-i...gns-of-struggle

Boat in Lake Erie homicide searched for signs of struggle
By Tim Hahn
Posted Jun 23, 2017 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 23, 2017 at 6:13 AM

Investigators are also looking into life insurance policy for missing Albion-area woman, whose husband is accused of killing her.

Pennsylvania State Police troopers investigating the disappearance of an Albion-area woman searched the boat on which she was last seen for evidence of a struggle.

Karen Leclair, 51, who investigators believe disappeared into Lake Erie on the afternoon of June 10, but wasn't reported missing by her husband until a day later, remained missing on Thursday. Her husband, Christopher S. Leclair, 48, remains in the Erie County Prison, charged by state police with killing his wife.

Troopers working to determine what happened to Karen Leclair after she was last seen venturing out onto the lake with her husband aboard their 52-foot commercial fishing boat, the Doris-M, on June 10 have said they obtained a search warrant for the boat to seize its GPS system in an effort to chart the boat's movements on the water to better pinpoint where Karen Leclair might have disappeared.

But the search warrant, which was returned on Wednesday, also states that troopers were looking for "evidence of a struggle" that included trace evidence, DNA evidence, hair fibers and clothing. Karen Leclair's personal effects were also sought in the search of the boat, along with a white 5-gallon bucket that Christopher Leclair told investigators his wife was sitting on when he last saw her on the boat.

An inventory list returned with the search warrant lists a multifunction navigation unit as the only item recovered from the boat, which was searched while it was docked at the Wolverine Park Marina.

A second search warrant returned on Wednesday revealed that state police are looking into a life insurance policy that Karen Leclair had obtained years ago.

According to the affidavit filed with the warrant, which was served on Dearborn National Insurance, a woman that Christopher Leclair admitted to having an affair with told troopers that, during a dinner two months earlier, he told her Karen Leclair had recently taken out a $30,000 life insurance policy for herself through her employer, Superior Toyota.

Troopers learned through their investigation that Karen Leclair signed a form in September 2008, naming Leclair as her beneficiary, according to the affidavit.

Nothing was seized by police in the search, according to the inventory list. The life insurance policy is still under investigation, Lt. Wayne Kline, crime section supervisor for state police Troop E, said Thursday.

Investigators charge in the criminal complaint against Leclair that he and Karen Leclair were captured by Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority video surveillance cameras departing the East Basin and heading out onto the lake aboard the Doris-M on June 10 at 12:45 p.m.

Christopher Leclair was filmed returning to the East Basin alone about four hours later. The cameras filmed Leclair returning to the Doris-M alone shortly after noon on June 11, about 1 hour and 40 minutes before he radioed the U.S. Coast Guard and reported that his wife had fallen overboard from the boat.

Leclair's report set off a massive, nearly 30-hour search of the lake that involved federal, state and local search teams that scoured the water by boat and aircraft. The search was suspended on the late afternoon of June 12, and the Coast Guard declared Karen Leclair deceased.

Kline said investigators have used information obtained from the boat's navigation system in ongoing searches of Lake Erie, including one on June 16 that involved a dive team from the New York State Police and one on Wednesday that used a helicopter. A state police boat has also done some lake searches, as have Coast Guard and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission boats, Kline said.

The investigation has additionally involved the serving of search warrants on the Leclairs' cellphones and on their Elk Creek Township residence. Several of Karen Leclair's personal items were collected during the search of their home for possible DNA samples, "to assist in the identification of (Karen) Leclair when her body is recovered," according to the affidavit filed with the search warrant.

Leclair is scheduled to appear before Erie 1st Ward District Judge Sue Mack on Monday at 9 a.m. for his preliminary hearing on one count of criminal homicide. No lawyer was listed for Leclair on his criminal docket Thursday.
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tatertot
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http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fisherm...g-body-48391355

Fisherman charged in wife's lake killing despite no body
By JOE MANDAK, ASSOCIATED PRESS Jul 1, 2017, 10:47 AM ET

A commercial fisherman's story about his wife disappearing into the depths of Lake Erie on a boating trip isn't adding up, and Pennsylvania authorities believe they know why. They say he's the one who put her there.

Christopher Leclair, 48, is jailed on a charge of criminal homicide in the presumed death of his wife of nearly 26 years, Karen, whose body has not been found.

Leclair told authorities he and his wife were on a trip Sunday, June 11, on his 52-foot craft, the Doris-M, when she got a queasy stomach and decided to sit on a bucket perched on the side. He said when he glanced over to check on her 15 minutes later, she was gone, having apparently fallen overboard. He then contacted the Coast Guard.

Two days later, a review of surveillance video from the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority led state police to arrest Leclair. The video showed he got on the boat alone that Sunday at a dock in Erie, Pennsylvania. The same dock cameras, however, showed Leclair getting on the boat with his wife the day before — and returning hours later without her.

The Coast Guard spent more than $600,000 on a 30-hour search that covered about 1,400 square miles. They officially declared Leclair's 51-year-old wife dead. Investigators believe her body is still in the lake.

Investigators are considering "the possibility he weighted it down with nets," state police Lt. Wayne Kline told The Associated Press.

The surveillance video strongly suggests Karen Leclair's body is in the lake, Kline said. "If that's not the case, you know, why wouldn't he talk to us? If he dropped her off on another dock or whatever, he surely would be more cooperative," Kline said.

Leclair's attorney, Bruce Sandmeyer, said his client "is continuing to assert his innocence." He wouldn't address the discrepancy between Leclair's account of her disappearance and the dock video.

Leclair faces a preliminary hearing July 31 at which prosecutors must show they have enough evidence for the case to go to trial.

Erie County District Attorney Jack Daneri said it's possible to prosecute a homicide case without a body, though it's unusual and something he's not had to do since taking office almost eight years ago.

"If you don't have a body, you're going to have to have a strong circumstantial case," he said.

The prosecutor and Kline believe they do, including other statements from Christopher Leclair that also don't jibe, according to police affidavits filed with search warrants and criminal complaints.

Christopher Leclair acknowledged he's been having an affair with a 44-year-old woman from the couple's hometown of Albion, Pennsylvania, for several months. That woman, on probation for illegally possessing prescription painkillers last year, told police that Leclair spent the night with her June 10 into 11. That contradicted Leclair's statement that the last time he saw and had sex with the woman was Friday night, June 9, and that he spent the next night with his wife before their ill-fated voyage June 11, the affidavits said.

Leclair's girlfriend also told police he mentioned a $30,000 life insurance policy on his wife when Leclair had pizza with the woman and her children at a restaurant about two months ago. On the morning of June 11, Leclair spoke to his girlfriend about moving into his house before he left for his boat that day, she told police.

Police have since seized three cellphones belonging to the Leclairs and the girlfriend, as well as a tablet computer and the GPS from his fishing boat.

Kline wouldn't detail what's been found except that GPS records suggest the boat was stationary for 30 to 40 minutes the afternoon police believe Karen Leclair really disappeared into the lake. A New York State Police dive team has since helped search for her body but found nothing in waters that are typically 50 to 70 feet (15 to 21 meters) deep, Kline said.

Prosecutors are still proceeding with their case. "We wouldn't have filed the charge if we weren't confident we could prove it," Daneri said.
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Begood
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Karen Leclair's remains found in Dunkirk, NY
By: Lori Wescoat
Posted: Jul 05, 2017 09:48 PM EDT
Updated: Jul 06, 2017 04:14 PM EDT
60

ERIE, Pa. -- Suspicions turned out to be true, as the autopsy of a body found in Dunkirk, N.Y. on Tuesday were confirmed to be the remains of missing Elk Creek Township woman, Karen Leclair.

According to Pennsylvania State Police, Leclair was found in the water with a gunshot wound to the head and an anchor around her chest. The Chautauqua County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy on the body today. They were able to identify the body through dental records.

Boaters called 911 around 11:45 a.m. Tuesday after spotting the body floating in the water. The body was located approximately six miles off the shore in Dunkirk, NY. The Chautauqua County Sheriff Water Rescue team retrieved the body and turned it over to Chautauqua County Coroner Larry Wilcox, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

The Pennsylvania State Police responded to the scene to assist Chautauqua county officials in identifying the remains.

A second arrest was also made today. Christopher Leclair's father Ernest Leclair, 74, was arrested for tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. He confessed to hiding the 38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver that is believed to be the weapon his son used to shoot Karen LeClair. He is currently being held in the Erie County prison with a bond set at $25,000.

Karen Leclair was originally reported missing by her husband, Christopher Leclair on June 11.

Authorities investigated security camera footage and found out that Karen actually disappeared on Saturday, June 10 after her husband reportedly took her out on his fishing boat and returned without her. Christopher then took the boat back out on Sunday, alone, and reported Karen missing.

After multiple rescue teams searched for hours to find Karen Leclair, they finally had to call off the search. Karen was then pronounced dead and Christopher charged of homicide. Authorities also learned that Christopher was having an affair with another Albion woman, and had sent texts to her after Karen went missing. He later deleted those text messages.

Christopher Leclair was picked up by Pennsylvania State Police troopers after they executed a search warrant at his home near Albion. The 48-year-old man was arraigned late that night on one count of Criminal Homicide. He was sent to Erie County Prison without bond.
http://www.yourerie.com/news/karen-leclair...rk-ny/758424474



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