Fisherman charged in wife’s lake killing despite no body
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.