Brendan Lemieux, the son of NHL legend Claude Lemieux, told police his father relapsed into sex addiction prior to dying by suicide, newly released body camera footage shows.
Brendan told cops about the matter while being questioned by Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigators on May 28, just after he discovered his dad’s death at their family’s home-design business in Lake Park, Fla.
“Long story short,” Brendan said in the video, which was obtained by The California Post on Tuesday, “my mom finds out that he’s not sober anymore. And thats what triggered this tonight.”
When the cop asked about Claude’s possible alcohol consumption, Brendan explained, “When I say sober, he has more issues with — his most sober thing is sex addiction versus alcohol. I don’t even know if he’s been drinking.”
Brendan said Claude had been sober for over a decade, but about a year ago, he and his mom, Deborah, suspected he might have backslid.
“We’ve noticed changes in his behavior,” Brendan said, “and recently, it’s spiraled completely.”
Brendan said Claude had been “lashing out” and “not being nice to people.”
“My mom called him out,” Brendan said, “and long story short, he confessed, and she just said, ‘Get out.’”
Brendan said that conversation took place at around 10:30 p.m. on May 27. Hours later, he said he grew concerned about his father after noticing his location had changed to their family business, so he drove over to check on him.
While there, he said he found his father deceased in the back of the building.
A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office incident report stated Claude wrote several messages to his family in his notes app and left a Post-it on his phone with instructions for how to access them before he hanged himself.
Authorities stated in the report that the messages “were heartfelt in nature, reflected sorrow for his decision, and were consistent with that of a suicide note.”
Claude played for several teams during his 21-year NHL career, including the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens. He won four Stanley Cups and earned one Conn Smythe Trophy as well.
He was 60 years old when he died.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis, you can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for free and confidential crisis counseling.
