A Texas teacher and ex-clown convicted of killing his wife died in court just before his sentencing.
A former Texas special education teacher and ex-clown collapsed and died in a Houston courtroom on Friday, moments before he was to be sentenced for killing his wife in 2023.
James Paul Anderson, 39, suffered a medical emergency shortly after arriving at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center, where he faced a 35-year prison term for fatally shooting 34-year-old Victoria Anderson, according to prosecutors.
“Preliminary info is that a defendant ingested drugs while awaiting sentencing at the criminal courthouse and was rushed away in ambulance,” Harris County Constable Alan Rosen said in a post on X.
Court officials said a bailiff administered naloxone before Anderson was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:05 a.m. Investigators later recovered a bag containing a crystal-like substance, believed to be meth, from a nearby trash can.
The courtroom was immediately sealed and declared a potential crime scene. Witnesses told KHOU Anderson asked for a few moments alone, then spat something into the trash before he began vomiting.
An autopsy is pending to determine the exact cause of death.