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All charges laid in the cold case murder of P.E.I. teacher Byron Carr have been withdrawn because crucial evidence was lost.
“It’s obviously tremendously disappointing,” Crown Attorney Chris White told CBC News after a brief hearing in P.E.I. Supreme Court Tuesday morning.
“I can tell you that on the Crown prosecution end, a huge amount of work went into this file, a huge amount of our office’s resources, so it’s a tremendously disappointing result for sure.”
The P.E.I. Crown Attorneys’ Office said in a statement Tuesday morning that it was informed by Charlottetown police in August that “a substantial portion of the physical evidence” related to the prosecution of Todd Joseph Irving, who previously went by the last name Gallant, could not be located. A subsequent review by police also raised concerns about the identification, continuity and record-keeping of the remaining evidence.
The loss of that evidence, together with issues around the availability and viability of the remaining evidence, meant there was no longer a reasonable likelihood of conviction, according to the statement.
Byron Carr was 36 years old when he was killed in 1988. (Submitted)
Irving, 59, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and interfering with human remains in early 2024 — 35 years after Carr was found dead in his own home. The 36-year-old teacher was found strangled with a towel and with multiple stab wounds on his body in November of 1988.
In its statement, the Crown also acknowledged the impact on Carr’s family, saying they would be denied the opportunity for closure that a trial may have provided.
Irving had pleaded not guilty and spent 18 months in jail following his arrest before being released on bail in July. His trial had been scheduled to begin in November.