Jean-Marie Leclair was found stabbed three times at his Paris door in October 1764, and his ex-wife sold his belongings and unpublished music

Jean-Marie Leclair, 66, was found dead early on 23 October 1764 in the vestibule of his house on the Rue Carême-Prenant. He had three stab wounds. Wikipedia gives 22 October as the date of death. The gardener, Jacques Paysant, found the body, and his testimony contained contradictions. Leclair had bought the small house in 1758 after his second marriage broke up. Police under Lieutenant General Antoine de Sartine investigated and found no answers. Suspicion fell on three people. His nephew, the violinist Guillaume-François Vial, was embittered that his uncle had not helped his career. His ex-wife, the engraver Louise Roussel, who had printed much of his music, was in serious financial trouble. After his death she sold his possessions and quickly published unknown music and reissues. The gardener's access to the house and possible unpaid bills were also raised as motives. Nobody was charged. In 2026 the case is unsolved. Leclair was buried in the Church of Saint-Laurent, Paris. Musicologist Albert Borowitz studied the case in The Musical Quarterly in 1986.