All language subtitles for Deadly.Waters.with.Captain.Lee.S01E06.1080p.WEBRip.x264-BAE[EZTVx.to]_[English] (SUBRIP)

[tense music]

[soft music]

- Erie, pennsylvania,
is a nice place to live.

A lot of fishing,
a lot of boating,

Swimming on the lake.

- We have a number
of commercial fishermen

That go out and collect fish
and then sell them locally.

- We have some of the best
beaches on the great lakes.

♪ ♪

But storms come out of nowhere.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- We can have waves of up
to 6 to 7 feet on the lake.

During the summertime,
we run the highest

Concentration of
search and rescue cases

In the entire coast guard.

- The united states
coast guard

Received a 911 phone call.

A man was reporting that his
wife had fallen overboard.

- The water is very cold,
so we immediately launched

Resources to try to find her.

- She was on the water
all the time.

And so how could she just
fall off the back of a boat?

- Maybe she just
left the marriage,

And he didn't want to tell his
family that she had left him.

- But then a human leg washes
up on the shore of lake erie.

I said, what happened to her?

There's only one person
who has the answer,

And that's you.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- Lake erie is
the fourth largest

Of north america's great lakes

And the world's 10th largest
freshwater lake by area.

Rife with multiple
species of fish

And hundreds of shipwrecks,

This massive body of water
is a huge draw

For both fishermen
and scuba divers.

It's there that one couple
lived out their dream

Of starting their own
fishing business.

But tragically,
on June 11, 2017,

That dream was shattered.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- At approximately 1:30 pm,

The united states coast guard
here in erie

Received a 911 phone call

From a commercial fishing
vessel, "doris-m."

That call was from
a christopher leclair,

And he was reporting
that his wife,

Karen, had fallen overboard.

♪ ♪

Chris leclair reported that
he was approximately 3 miles

Off the shores
of the peninsula that

Comes out from
erie, pennsylvania.

I have a lot of experience
on boating on lake erie,

And I know firsthand how easy
it is to fall off of a boat.

♪ ♪

Boating itself is dangerous.

Due to waves,
the boat's moving around.

And when we're talking about
a commercial fishing vessel,

You're pulling fish
out of the water.

And obviously,
water's coming off that fish,

Making all your decks slippery.

Knowing this is early June
here in erie, pennsylvania,

The waters are anywhere
from 50 to 60 degrees.

Looking at some
hypothermia charts,

We know within
one to six hours,

Hypothermia is gonna set in.

The survivability after that

Becomes very slim.

♪ ♪

- Water temperature
definitely increased

The urgency of this case.

We immediately
launched resources

To go to the last known
position that karen was seen.

♪ ♪

- Because lake erie is located
on the international border

With canada to the north

And four u.S. States
to the south, east, and west,

Multiple agencies
have to collaborate

On this search and rescue
mission.

- The coast guard
and our partners launched

31 search and rescue patterns
for this case.

At the time karen was
reported missing,

The waves in lake erie were
about 4 to 5 feet high.

♪ ♪

That means that it is much
harder to see someone.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- We met christopher leclair
at his dock slip

To find out
what happened to karen

And get information
to assist our aviation

And maritime assets,
anything that would help them

Find where she's at.

Christopher leclair was
a commercial fisherman.

He told us that
before this incident

That morning that
he had fishing nets

That were in the water
that he needed

To get the fish out of them.

- I was with sergeant huffman,
and according to

Christopher leclair,
karen was out there because

He needed her help
in lifting the nets

And pulling in the fish.

- Chris and karen leclair
arrive to where

His boat is slipped at
about 11:45 in the morning.

Once they were out there,
the water was pretty rough.

And his boat has
diesel engines.

And chris says that
karen was feeling ill

Due to diesel fumes,
as well as motion sickness.

♪ ♪

- Chris said he was
in the captain's quarter,

Which is towards the front,

And he's steering the boat.

- Karen goes to the aft portion
of the boat on the port side

And sticks her head out
in the wind

To kind of get some relief
from those fumes

And from that seasickness.

Chris is in
an enclosed pilot house,

So he cannot see the rear of
the boat where she's sitting.

And diesel engines are
so loud on the boat

That he can't hear anything.

He would stop about
every 15 minutes to check

To see how she was doing.

♪ ♪

Chris said that he was
passing that buoy

Off the shores
of presque isle state park

To set more fishing nets.

And that was the last time
he saw karen leclair.

He searched the entire vessel,
thinking maybe

She went somewhere else
on the boat,

But he couldn't
find her anywhere.

He said that
he marked on his gps

Where he thought
she went overboard.

♪ ♪

- During that conversation
with the investigators,

Chris said that karen was
an expert scuba diver

And she was able
to tread water for a long time.

♪ ♪

- That day, I got a call
from another family member,

And he told me that
she was missing.

And I said, what do you mean,
she's missing?

She was a very good swimmer.

We were all just anxiously
waiting by our phones,

Hoping that they would find
her perhaps treading water

And still alive.

♪ ♪

- At this point, karen has not
been in the water that long.

But according
to chris leclair,

They're approximately
3 to 4 miles off of shore.

So even though she was
a certified scuba diver,

It's a pretty far distance
to be able to make it

Back to shore in those waters.

♪ ♪

Also, chris told us that

Karen, she had cancer.

♪ ♪

- Chris said
it was ovarian cancer,

And karen was terminally ill.

Somebody who may not
have been 100% healthy

Could be much less likely
to survive in the waters

For a long period of time.

♪ ♪

- Family and friends were
also out searching for karen.

But you feel helpless that
you can't do anything.

♪ ♪

- It was really hard
for me to wait

While they were
searching for karen,

Because lake erie's big.

But I was hoping
they could find her.

- While the surface area
of lake erie is quite large

At 9,900 square miles,

It's the shallowest
and the warmest

Of the great lakes,

With a maximum depth
of 210 feet.

Both of these factors give
hope to the search team

That they'll be able
to find karen alive

Before daylight fades

And the temperature drops
even lower.

- Someone can rapidly
drift away from the area

Where they were last seen.

So we shifted to a broader
search over a wide area.

We are looking at wind,
waves, air temperature

In order to find karen.

But as night falls
in our search,

It became much more difficult
to spot anything in the water.

- With every ticking
minute and hour,

The chance of survivability
for karen leclair

Becomes less and less.

[dramatic music]

- When the news came out,
two individuals came forward.

- He says the only reason
he's seeing her

Is for sexual relations.

- When we saw
the video surveillance,

We knew this is a whole
different ballgame.

♪ ♪

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- After an exhaustive
overnight search

Spanning over
1,300 square miles,

Authorities have come up
empty-handed.

There's no sign
of karen leclair.

♪ ♪

- The longer a search
like this goes on,

The odds of finding her
go down.

♪ ♪

- We're almost 24 hours since

Karen leclair has
fallen overboard.

♪ ♪

- There was always
that hope that

She was still alive,

That maybe she just decided

To go away for a little while.

So many things just go
through your mind.

♪ ♪

- The coast guard does
not take the decision

To suspend a search lightly.

But on June 12th,
we had reached a point

Where further searching

Would not have impacted
the probability

Of finding karen alive.

♪ ♪

- At this point,
it's more of a recovery,

And we're gonna
have to begin to look

For the body of karen leclair.

[somber music]

♪ ♪

- I was sitting at home.

I got a call from my brother.

He just said the police
thought karen was dead.

She's a scuba diver.

She knows how to swim.

She grew up in the lake.

I just didn't believe it.

♪ ♪

- Karen was my favorite aunt.

She was always happy.

She was always looking
to take care of people.

She would always volunteer
at church.

- Our family was
a blended family.

Karen and I were
the youngest of the 14 kids.

Karen and I loved
the outdoors.

We were always
around the water.

We went swimming all the time.

♪ ♪

She was just so bubbly
and sweet, caring.

♪ ♪

[soft music]

♪ ♪

We always talked about
the men we were gonna marry,

What our dreams were.

She just wanted a nice guy.

Eventually, she met chris.

- Chris was very outgoing.

He was a good-looking guy.

And he was very nice,
very easy to get along with.

♪ ♪

Karen and chris got very
involved in scuba diving,

And she got her certification,

And they would go on trips
all the time and--

And do scuba diving.

♪ ♪

- Chris was always looking
for ways to impress her,

And he swept karen
off of her feet.

One of the reasons,
I think, that karen

Fell in love with chris
was because he was strong.

She wanted security.

And he loved her,
and she loved him.

- Karen and chris dated
through the '80s,

And in the '90s,
they got married.

They had a bait
and tackle store,

And then they decided to go
into commercial fishing

Because it seemed like
it was more money.

♪ ♪

- Lake erie's fish populations

Are the most abundant
of the five great lakes,

Which is why it's home to some

Of the world's largest
commercial fisheries

And the perfect place for
the leclairs to set up shop.

♪ ♪

Chris owned and operated
the "doris-m,"

A fishing tug built
in erie in 1947.

The vessel was made
to house thousands of fish

That would be sold
commercially.

- Karen worked at
a car dealership

In the accountant's office.

But on Saturday and Sunday,

She worked with chris
on the fishing boat.

♪ ♪

Karen enjoyed
working with chris.

♪ ♪

- I just couldn't understand
what could have happened.

[dramatic music]

- When we're doing
any investigation,

We like to get background.

And at this point,
we know the last person

To see karen leclair
was chris.

♪ ♪

- So we contacted
the husband, chris leclair,

And we had him come in
for an interview.

♪ ♪

- We go into
the rest of the details

Throughout his entire weekend.

And chris informs me that
him and karen went out

On the 10th
to clean out these nets.

The day before,
he said that she fell over

And karen got sick.

So they went home
for the evening.

And that's why
they were coming back

On Sunday, June 11th,
was to finish that job.

♪ ♪

We kind of get into some
personal questions with chris

About his relationship
with karen leclair.

♪ ♪

He informs us that
they'd been together

For over 30 years.

We kind of get into, hey,
how is that marriage going?

Is there any fighting going on?

- Chris said that they had
a great relationship.

They never fought,
and they got along really well.

- But there's some
nonverbal cues

That chris is giving off

That chris is not being

As open and truthful
as I would like him to be.

So we asked chris
about any infidelity

In his marriage,
to which he exclaims that

He does have a mistress,
tracy butler.

♪ ♪

He's been seeing her
for about two years.

♪ ♪

- This is obviously a red flag.

♪ ♪

- When chris tells us
that he has a mistress,

A lot of things go
through your mind.

Chris says the only reason
he's seeing her

Is for sexual relations
because karen had cancer.

So sexual relations in
their marriage had stopped.

♪ ♪

Chris claimed that
karen was aware of his affair.

So maybe karen had
just left the marriage

And chris didn't want
to tell his family

That she had left him.

- Maybe christopher cared
more for his mistress

Than he did with
continuing his marriage,

So he decided
to get rid of his wife.

Or is there a possibility
that the mistress

Wanted more or expected more
from this relationship?

- So it's imperative that
we interview tracy butler.

♪ ♪

Chris allows me to copy
the cell phone number,

But then I was contacted

In reference to a body part
that had washed up on shore

In fairview, pennsylvania.

♪ ♪

It was a leg found by someone
that was walking the beach.

[siren wailing]

We immediately respond
to the scene.

[police radio chatter]

We're thinking this is
a big breakthrough

In the case.

- This leg was taken
from the water.

It was then transported

To the erie county
coroner's office.

Right away, our mind goes to,

Is this a remnant
of karen leclair's body?

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

- After a human leg

Washes up on the shores
of lake erie,

Investigators wait to learn
if it's indeed

The remains of missing boater
karen leclair.

♪ ♪

- I received word
from the coroner's office

That due to the amount
of decomposition that occurred

To that leg, it appeared
that it had been in the lake

Much longer than karen had
been in the lake at that point.

- Erie county
coroner's office determined

That it was the leg
of a victim of a plane crash

That occurred off the shore
in cleveland, ohio.

♪ ♪

- It's a disappointment
because it takes away

A lead that maybe
we would have had.

♪ ♪

During that time, we attempt
to contact chris's mistress,

See if maybe she was involved,

Or maybe she has
more information

That will lead us
to karen leclair.

♪ ♪

She agrees to come
to the state police barracks

For an interview.

- Tracy butler,
christopher's mistress,

Was a single mom of two
who lived in the city of erie.

- She tells us that
this affair has been going on

For approximately five years,

Several times a week.

But chris had told us
that he has been seeing her

For about two years.

So which one is the truth?

- Tracy says when she would
ask about his wife, karen,

He told her that
karen was down in florida.

♪ ♪

- Chris was telling her
that they were separated

And that she had cancer

And that she was going
to die at any moment.

♪ ♪

Another thing
the mistress had told us,

She actually saw a newscast
about a missing woman

On lake erie that had
fallen off of a vessel.

♪ ♪

On Sunday, June 11, 2017,

She called chris
on his cell phone.

She asked him, hey,
do you know anything

About the missing woman
out there?

♪ ♪

He claimed he did not know
anything about it.

♪ ♪

Tracy was actually horrified
when she found out from us

That it was karen
that was missing.

At that point,
she said she had felt that

Chris had been lying to her
for some time.

♪ ♪

Tracy does not appear
to be trying to deceive us.

She's telling us things
that she probably wouldn't

Want to tell other people.

So we didn't believe
that she was involved

In karen's disappearance.

♪ ♪

To hear what she's saying
is a total contradiction

Of what chris has just told us

In the hours
before her interview.

It just adds doubt
to his story.

♪ ♪

- So because of that,
the troopers were also

Continuing to get
as much information

About christopher and karen
leclair's life as they could.

- When we interviewed
karen's coworkers

At the auto dealership,
they described her

As loyal and dedicated
and said she was

Very personable
with the other coworkers.

- But they said
that karen changed

Whenever chris was around.

She was not the happy,
bubbly person

That she normally was.

We found out that
chris had told her employer

That karen did, in fact,
have cancer

And it was terminal.

- But her coworkers said
they approached her,

And she told them,
I'm not sick.

And there was no further
discussion about that.

♪ ♪

It was shocking that chris
was making up these lies.

♪ ♪

- We don't know
the exact reason why

Chris would tell
these people that,

Whether it was
to justify an affair

Or if it was to justify

A disappearance
of karen one day.

- At this point
in the investigation,

All we have is a missing person
because we do not have a body.

But based on
the inconsistencies

In chris's statements
and the fact that

Chris had a mistress,

We had to begin
to look into the possibility

That karen falling overboard

Was not an accident
that occurred.

It was a deliberate act
by her husband.

♪ ♪

We then contacted
the border patrol

To determine the path that
christopher leclair's boat

Took on June 10th
and June 11th.

♪ ♪

- Because lake erie
is situated

On an international boundary,

The u.S. Border patrol
keeps track of all vessels

Via highly accurate
radar technology.

This radar gives
the precise latitude

And longitude of any vessel's
movement on the water.

♪ ♪

- We were able to determine
that there were some areas

That we saw chris's boat

Spend some time at,
more than others.

So we wanted to dive
on those locations.

- It's important
to find karen's body

To try to determine what
actually happened on the boat,

If it was an accident
or if she was killed.

- In a no-body case, filing
criminal homicide charges

Is very difficult.

You have to have a strong
circumstantial evidence case

In order to be able to prove
that that person is deceased.

♪ ♪

The new york state police
used side-scan sonar

To look for anomalies
on the bottom of the lake

In those locations.

They searched
12 hours on the lake,

And they dove
on many anomalies.

But unfortunately, it was
old fishing traps, old tires,

Just anomalies that
were on the lake floor

That weren't helpful
in our investigation.

♪ ♪

- We're now focusing
our investigative efforts

Towards finding
any video footage

That can either confirm
or deny where actually

Christopher reports them
as being together last.

And that area was
the east marina

Down off of dobbins landing,

Where he docked his boat
Sunday, June 11.

There were cameras
that covered his slip

Where his boat was docked.

♪ ♪

We then contact
the erie port authority.

We go ask them,
could they pull the footage

On that weekend
of June 10th and June 11th?

♪ ♪

- After that, we review
the surveillance footage

Of the erie port authority.

- We want to confirm chris's
account of their activities

On the water on that weekend
of June 10th and June 11th.

- June 10, 2017, was the day
before karen went missing.

[tense music]

We see chris
and karen leclair arrive.

♪ ♪

We watched them walk
down the walkway

Alongside the marina,
enter the secured gate,

And walk down to their slip

And board
the "doris-m" together,

Exactly what chris told us
happened on June 10th.

- The boat leaves the marina
at around 12:30

In the afternoon on that day.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

And then at 4:39 pm,

We see the "doris-m"
returning into the marina.

- It doesn't go back
to its designated slip,

The one that's assigned
to chris leclair.

It actually parks
in a different location,

An unusual parking spot,

As there's no other boats
parked over there.

Why park your boat there?

♪ ♪

- Then we see christopher
on the pathway walking

On June 10th,
and he's by himself.

Keep in mind that
he does not report

Karen missing overboard

Until the following day,
June 11th.

And there were only two people
on that boat, you and her.

She's not here.

Where's your wife,

And what happened to her?

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Police watch security video
from June 10th,

The day before chris leclair

Reported his wife, karen,
had fallen overboard.

While the couple did
board their boat together

For a day on the water,

When it docked
back at the marina,

Chris walked away alone.

♪ ♪

- We continue
to watch that footage

Through the entire night
from June 10th into June 11th.

And on June 11, 2017,

We see chris at 12:06 pm

Pull up in that same suv,

Park in the same location
he did the day before,

And he enters the "doris-m"
fishing vessel himself.

He pilots that vessel
out of the east basin

And out into presque isle bay
before he goes

Out of view from the camera.

I speculate that on June 10th,
chris parked his boat

At that different location,
thinking no one would see

Who got on and off of that boat
at that location.

♪ ♪

- Now, if he actually
killed karen,

That shows premeditation.

♪ ♪

- I interviewed
a commercial fisherman

Who was out in the waters
on June 12th,

The day after
christopher reported

Karen falling overboard.

And he ran across
christopher leclair,

Who asked him if he had gone
and checked the nets

Near a certain area
off the lighthouse.

The fisherman says,
why did you ask me that?

And christopher had said
something to the effect of,

Well, I had lost something.

The guy asked him,
naturally, what did you lose?

He goes, well, I'm sure you
heard my wife fell off my boat.

And he found it odd
that chris referred to

"I lost something" as his wife.

♪ ♪

- After reviewing
the surveillance footage

And interviewing
other fishermen,

A top priority is
to re-interview the mistress,

Tracy butler, to get a better
understanding of a timeline

Of when she spoke to chris
and what he told her

He was doing
during those times.

♪ ♪

So tracy was called back in
for an interview.

She tells us that
she had plans with chris

On June 10, 2017, at 2:00 pm.

She tried to call him
and text him several times

And was not getting
a response back from him.

And at 4:00, around that time,

She finally did get
a message from chris.

It was actually a photograph
of him on his fishing vessel.

And he explained to her
through text message

That he was out there
cleaning nets.

She said around
7:30 pm that night,

They had dinner together
and that he spent the night

At her house,
which she said was weird,

Because he's never
spent the night before.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

They awake the next morning.

About 10:30, 11:00,
he says that he has to go

To finish cleaning out
his fishing nets.

♪ ♪

This is in direct
contradiction

To chris telling us that
he spent the night of the 10th

Into the morning of the 11th
at home with karen.

♪ ♪

- I was part of this case
from the very beginning

Because it just seemed
something was up.

And tracy confirming
that chris was

With her on Saturday,
June 10th, all night

Was a huge break in the case.

♪ ♪

- And then tracy told us
that on June 9, 2017,

She gave chris the ultimatum
that he had until that weekend

To decide if he was gonna
choose her or his wife.

- We now believe that between
the hours of 1:00 and 4:00

On June 10th,
karen leclair met her demise

At the hands
of christopher leclair

In the waters of lake erie.

- This is no longer a missing
person investigation.

♪ ♪

This is a homicide
investigation.

♪ ♪

- With the manipulation
with the coworkers

And the lies
that karen had cancer,

The video surveillance
in the marina,

And now an ultimatum
around this time frame,

We felt confident that
we had enough to do the arrest.

[dramatic music]

- At this point, I file
the criminal homicide charges

And get an arrest warrant
for chris leclair,

And I also obtain
a search warrant

For his residence
in albion, pennsylvania.

It's important that
we find chris right away

Due to the fact that he has
all this freedom

To go out and destroy
any evidence

While he's not in custody.

♪ ♪

- But we didn't know if
he was in the residence

Or if he wasn't
in the residence.

We always approach
the situation

As if the person may be armed.

So we utilized tactical teams,
and we surrounded the house.

♪ ♪

We approached the house
from all directions.

- Chris liked to be in control
of the situation,

But not today.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

[police radio chatter]

- Police are surrounding
the home of chris leclair,

Where they plan to arrest him
for killing his wife

And search
for physical evidence

That may strengthen
their case.

♪ ♪

- When we entered,

Christopher leclair was not
in the residence.

♪ ♪

- Some of the things we're
looking for in the residence

Is we're looking for
any dna evidence,

Any blood evidence.

♪ ♪

There was
a built-in gun cabinet

Into a wall of the living room

With several guns displayed
in the cabinet.

♪ ♪

We couldn't tell if there was
any guns missing

At that point, and we didn't
know how karen had died.

We didn't know
if it was a gunshot,

Strangulation, drowning.

♪ ♪

Another thing that
we're looking for

Is items that we can get
karen's dna off of.

♪ ♪

For example, we took
hairbrushes, toothbrushes.

In case a body's ever found,

We would be able
to use that dna

To identify if that body
is karen or not.

♪ ♪

While we're serving the search
warrant at chris's residence,

Patrol troopers are
posted out front,

And they actually see
chris drive by in his suv.

♪ ♪

[police radio chatter]

They do a traffic stop.

- I approached
christopher leclair

And asked him if
he would present himself

For another interview
regarding his wife's death.

He declined the interview
and had requested counsel.

♪ ♪

- So he's arrested in
front of the residence.

♪ ♪

- Christopher leclair
was charged

With one general count
of homicide,

Because at the time
that karen went missing,

We did not know
the cause of her death.

♪ ♪

[phone ringing]

- When I heard that
chris was arrested,

I couldn't believe it.

♪ ♪

I don't know anybody that
could do something like that,

Unless they're evil.

♪ ♪

- Seeing chris on the news
after he was arrested,

In his mugshot,
he didn't look like

The same chris
that I remember.

He just looked evil.

I never really saw, like,
any red flags

That there were
relationship issues.

I just couldn't believe
everything that happened.

♪ ♪

- After the arrest
and when the news came out,

Two individuals come forward
as soon as they hear

That it's karen
is the victim of this incident.

One of the individuals that
called had been at a party

With chris and karen.

She and her husband
were just having

A conversation with chris.

Karen was not part
of this conversation at all.

But they were talking about
a joke about

An ex-girlfriend being
buried in raspberry bushes.

And she says, I realize
it's kind of dark humor,

But it's been
a long-running joke.

And chris said, well, that's
not what I'm going to do.

I'm going to put her
on a boat.

I'm going to drive out
into the middle of the lake

To the deepest part
of the lake.

She's going to fall
off the boat,

And no one will ever
find her body.

And she took him rather
seriously at that point.

It was very uncomfortable with
that statement that he made.

This was from 2004 that she
remembered that conversation.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

There was a second person
that came forward,

And he did not really
know chris,

But he had an interaction
with him down at an auction.

♪ ♪

And they were talking
about a news show

That came on
about a wife dying.

And chris made a comment
that he would take his wife

On the lake,
wrap her up in fishing rope,

And then they would
never find her.

This was in 2011,
a complete stranger

That he's saying this to.

So for him to come forward
when he heard this happen,

To me, spoke pretty highly
about how much

He was disturbed
by that comment.

♪ ♪

But we don't know.

How did he kill her?

Hearing from these
two individuals

Helps us give the jury
as much as we could

To point to the fact that
christopher had killed karen.

But there's always a challenge
when you don't have the body.

♪ ♪

- Gases that build up
during decomposition

Can eventually force a body
to the surface.

How long that takes all depends

On the temperature
of the water.

It could be a day
or even weeks.

However, if karen's body
is weighted down,

It might never be found
at all.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- It was July 4th weekend,
so lake erie is very busy.

I myself was out enjoying
the waters on my own boat

That weekend
when I received a call

From chautauqua county
sheriff's office.

They received a 911 call
from a family out fishing.

- The family saw
something floating.

They initially thought
it was a blow-up doll

Until they got closer,
and then they realized

It was the remains
of a human being

4 miles off of dunkirk,
new york,

Which is a 45-minute drive.

Not knowing that there were
any other bodies in the waters

That we were familiar with,

I had a fairly good idea
it was karen.

♪ ♪

I drove there.

The sheriffs brought
the body back

From the waters of lake erie.

The body was bloated
because of the decomposition.

What I observed was
a two-tone blue rope

Tied around the ankles
of the body.

- It's not a typical rope you
would see on a fishing vessel.

- And then there was
what I would refer to

As a typical nautical
type of white rope

Tied around its upper body,
just underneath the armpits,

And that had an anchor
attached to it.

♪ ♪

- This body was a female.

If this is karen,
it's going to answer

So many questions that we've
had for the last 25 days.

- We needed the body to know

Exactly what
the cause of death was

And to point to the fact

That chris was
the cause of her death,

Because we want
to give the jury

An idea of what happened.

- The body is transferred
to the erie county

Medical examiner's office.

♪ ♪

Our major case team was able to
secure karen's dental records.

♪ ♪

Based off those
dental records,

The medical examiner was
able to determine that

This body is karen leclair.

♪ ♪

But the biggest shock
during the autopsy

Was karen's cause
and manner of death.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- On July 4, 2017,

Three weeks after
karen leclair went missing,

Her body is pulled
from lake erie,

Bound by ropes and weighed
down with an anchor.

♪ ♪

But the autopsy reveals
new evidence

That authorities hope
will ensure

Chris leclair's
murder conviction.

- It was not a drowning.

She died as a result of
a gunshot wound to the head.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

My mind automatically goes
back to all those guns

That we saw in chris
and karen's house

That were displayed
in the living room.

♪ ♪

The medical examiner
was able to retrieve

Some fragments of the bullet
from karen's head.

But unfortunately,
there was not enough

Of the bullet fragments
to be able to match them

To any particular firearm.

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- When I learned that karen
had been shot, I was like, why?

Why didn't you just divorce her
instead of killing her?

♪ ♪

I just can't believe
how horrible he was.

But at least finding her
was a relief.

♪ ♪

- On July 5th, a search warrant
is prepared for the boat,

"doris-m."

Now that her body was found,

We need physical evidence

To tie christopher leclair
to killing karen leclair.

We were looking for
the ropes and the anchors

Consistent with what
we found on karen's body.

♪ ♪

- We had already searched
the entire vessel

After the arrest
for the sole purpose

Of looking for
any crime scene,

And we weren't able to find
any blood evidence.

♪ ♪

But then we found
something that was

A huge break in the case.

- The two-tone blue rope,

Which was located
around her ankles,

Matched a hammock that was
located on the boat.

A section had been cut out
of that hammock.

♪ ♪

- Also, there's a foot locker,
and it has several anchors.

It has a small one,
a medium one, a large one.

And the one that was
on karen's body

Is a very large one.

So if you looked at them
in succession,

It would look like there was
four of them originally,

And now one is missing.

♪ ♪

- In preparing for trial,
we had really good evidence

To point to not only
the fact that

Christopher had killed karen,

But the motive,
the preparation,

The specific intent
to kill her.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

The defense claimed
it was suicide,

That karen killed herself
because of the affair,

Because chris was leaving her.

♪ ♪

- Chris claimed
he heard a loud bang.

[gunshot]

When he stepped out
of the pilot house,

He saw her laying
on the deck of the boat

With the revolver
laying by her side.

- The defense was,
he didn't want anyone

To think poorly of her.

So that's why he tied
an anchor to her

And put her into the lake.

♪ ♪

It was just so ridiculous.

♪ ♪

- If I was to describe
what occurred,

I would have to say
that on June 9th,

Christopher's mistress, tracy,

Had provided christopher
an ultimatum.

So as a result of that,

On the afternoon of June 10th,

Christopher leclair took
karen out into the lake.

He shot her one time
in the head.

He utilized what he had
available on the boat

To tie her up
and anchor her down,

Threw her overboard,

And he decided it was
in his best interest

To call in a 911 call
on the day after

He actually killed her,
hoping to throw off

Law enforcement
by giving him another

24 hours to cover his tracks.

♪ ♪

- The jury took
less than two hours

To come back
with their verdict.

- Chris was ultimately found
guilty of first-degree murder

And sentenced
to life in prison

Without the possibility
of parole.

♪ ♪

- There is a huge sigh
of relief in the room.

And I think at that point,

We all just turned around
and hugged each other.

- Chris will never leave
that jail cell.

And every day,
he has to face what he did.

[somber music]

- After shooting his wife,
karen,

And throwing her body
into lake erie,

Chris leclair seemed to think

He'd gotten rid of her
for good.

♪ ♪

But savvy investigators saw
what chris didn't--

Surveillance cameras
at the marina

That caught him in a lie.

Now chris leclair will spend
the rest of his life

Behind bars
and far from the waters

Where he once enjoyed
his days as a free man.

♪ ♪

- I want people to know that
karen just wanted to be loved

And be in a loving marriage.

She would never hurt anybody.

- Karen was very caring.

She did nothing but adored
and looked out for

The best interest
of everybody she knew.

♪ ♪

- She was such a good person,

Bubbly and always friendly.

Karen and I did a lot
of things together.

I really miss that.

♪ ♪