Alabama Teacher Found Dead Two Days After Being Arrested On Sex Abuse Charges

An Alabama teacher was found dead on Saturday, just two days after being arrested for having sex with students.

Leslie Gillespie, 44, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at her home in Hillsboro, according to local outlet AL.com. 

“It appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” county coroner Scott Norwood said.

Gillespie taught English at R.A. Hubbard High School in North Courtland. On Thursday, she was charged with rape and sodomy for allegedly sleeping with two students. The students were ages 15 and 16 at the time, according to court records.

According to investigators, the sexual contact occurred when the two students stayed after school in September 2020. 

Gillespie was initially booked on two counts of a school employee engaging in a sex act with a student younger than 19 and one count each of second-degree rape and second-degree sodomy. She was released on a $60,000 bond on Thursday.