On 11/6/2017, Christopher "Chris" LeClair of Erie, Pennsylvania, sent out a distress signal after his wife, Karen LeClair, reportedly fell from their fishing boat into Lake Erie. The boat was located about 5 km offshore in less-than-ideal weather conditions.
According to police, the water temperature ranged from 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. Hypothermia would set in within one to six hours, making survival unlikely even though Karen was a skilled swimmer and diver.
Back on shore, Chris told police they had boarded the boat around 11:45 a.m. When they went out to retrieve their fishing nets, the water was choppy and the diesel engine fumes made Karen feel ill and seasick.
Chris said he remained in the enclosed cabin while Karen rested at the back of the boat. He claimed to have checked on her every 15 minutes, but she vanished without a trace.
The US Coast Guard launched air and water searches of Lake Erie, one of the five Great Lakes of North America, but faced difficulties due to waves exceeding 1 m. Rescuers raced against time to search the vast lake (approximately 25,744 km²) before nightfall, as visibility would drop to zero and the temperature would continue to fall.
By the next day, all hope of finding Karen alive was lost.
The affair
The family said Karen and Chris had been married for over 25 years. They owned a bait and tackle shop and later bought a boat to pursue the more lucrative fishing industry. Karen worked in the accounting department of a car dealership and often accompanied Chris on fishing trips during the weekends.
Chris initially told police his wife had terminal ovarian cancer. On 10/6/2017, the day before Karen's disappearance, he claimed they went to retrieve their nets, but Karen became ill, forcing them to return to shore. They returned to the lake the next day to finish the job, when Karen allegedly fell overboard.
Chris described their marriage as perfect, claiming they never argued and were very compatible.
However, shortly after the interrogation, Chris admitted to a two-year affair with Tracy Butler, a single mother of two. Chris claimed the relationship was purely sexual and that Karen, due to her cancer, had given him permission to seek physical satisfaction elsewhere.
Contrary to Chris's account, Tracy stated they had been together for 5 years and met several times a week. She revealed she was with Chris the weekend of Karen's disappearance. He had told her Karen was in Florida and that he was separated from his terminally ill wife.
When Tracy saw a news report about a woman who fell off a boat on Lake Erie on Sunday, 11/6/2017, she called Chris to ask if he knew anything about it. He denied any knowledge.
Karen's colleagues at the car dealership told police that Chris had informed her boss about her cancer. However, when concerned coworkers inquired, Karen said, "I'm not sick".
Investigators theorized that Chris fabricated the cancer story to "justify" his wife's disappearance and his affair.
Conflicting accounts exposed
Pennsylvania police contacted the Erie Port Authority to review surveillance footage from where Chris's boat was stored. The video confirmed that on Saturday, 10/6/2017, the day before Karen was reported missing, the couple parked their car in a nearby lot, consistent with Chris's initial statement.
They boarded the boat at 12:30 p.m., but upon return, the boat docked far from its designated slip, and only Chris disembarked. The following day, Chris was seen at the boat at 12:06 p.m., heading alone towards deeper waters of Lake Erie.
Investigators deduced that on 10/6, Chris docked the boat at a different location, believing no one would witness who boarded or left the vessel there. Chris's actions suggested premeditation if he indeed killed Karen.
Police re-interviewed Tracy, hoping to clarify the timeline. Tracy stated they had planned to meet at 2 p.m. on 10/6, but he didn't show up or respond to her messages. At 4 p.m., Chris sent Tracy a photo of himself on the boat, saying he was "cleaning the fishing nets".
The couple had dinner at 7 p.m., after which Chris decided to spend the night at Tracy's house, which she found "odd" as he had never stayed over before. The next day, Chris left around 10 or 11 a.m., telling her about moving in with her. This contradicted his previous statements about being with his wife on the evening of 10/6.
Tracy also told police that on 9/6, she had given Chris an ultimatum to choose between her and his wife by the end of that weekend. Authorities considered this a possible motive for the crime.
Body tied to an anchor
On 13/6/2017, police arrested Chris and searched his home in Albion, about 48 km from the Erie marina. However, prosecutors knew that bringing the case to court would be challenging as Karen's body remained missing.
On 4/7/2017, three weeks after Karen's disappearance, a family fishing on Lake Erie contacted the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office in New York. They reported finding a decomposing body, initially mistaken for an inflatable doll, over 6 km off the shore of Dunkirk, New York, and about 80 km from Erie.
The body was bloated from decomposition, with a blue rope tied around the ankles and a white rope around the upper torso, just below the armpits, attached to an anchor.
Upon re-examining Chris's fishing boat, police found an identical blue rope cut from a hammock left on board and an anchor locker missing one anchor.
Dental records later confirmed the body was Karen's. She had been shot in the head.
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Christopher LeClair, 49, in court in 2018. Photo: YourErie |
Christopher LeClair, 49, in court in 2018. Photo: YourErie
While in custody, Chris called his 76-year-old father, Ernest LeClair, to inquire whether police had found a .38 caliber revolver during the house search. In the recorded call, Chris asked his father to "make it disappear".
The murder trial began in October 2018. The defense argued that Karen committed suicide due to her husband's infidelity, not that Chris killed her. Chris claimed he heard a loud bang while piloting the boat and then found his wife dead on the deck with the revolver.
According to the defense, Chris didn't want anyone to think ill of his wife, so he tied the anchor to her body and threw her into the lake.
The prosecution called this argument "ludicrous" and accused Chris of premeditated murder. Testimony revealed Chris had discussed plans to kill his wife and dispose of her body in Lake Erie on multiple occasions before Karen's disappearance.
After less than two hours of deliberation, the jury found Chris guilty of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and making false reports. He received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
In 2019, Ernest LeClair pleaded guilty to hiding the gun at his son's request and was sentenced to seven days to one year in jail.
Tue Anh (According to Oxygen)
