The son of Claude Lemieux has claimed that the NHL legend relapsed into sex addiction before his tragic suicide.
Newly released body camera footage revealed Brendan Lemieux telling police in May about his father’s relapse before discovering his body at their family’s home-design business in Lake Park, Florida.
“Long story short, my mom finds out that he’s not sober anymore. And that’s what triggered this tonight,” Brendan told police.
Brendan clarified that by “sober,” he did not mean alcohol or drugs.
“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 added.
According to Brendan, his dad had been sober for over a decade until he and his mother, Deborah, began to suspect that the NHL legend relapsed.
“We’ve noticed changes in his behavior, and recently, it’s spiraled completely,” Brendan said, adding that his dad had been “lashing out” and “not being nice to people.”
“My mom called him out, and long story short, he confessed, and she just said, ‘Get out,’” Brendan said.
Hours after that alleged argument, Brendan said he grew concerned after learning his father had relocated to the family business. When he drove to check in on him, he found that his father had hanged himself.
“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,” noted the New York Post.
“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,’” it added.
Claude Lemieux played over 21 seasons in the NHL for six teams, winning four Stanley Cups. He died at age 60, just less than two months shy of his 61st birthday.