Charlottetown police lost the evidence in a P.E.I. cold-case murder. How did it happen?

The case against the man accused of murdering a P.E.I. teacher in 1988 has unravelled after Charlottetown police revealed the evidence crucial to securing a conviction was missing. How did police lose key evidence, and what does that mean for the case?

All charges against Todd Joseph Irving, 59, were dropped on Tuesday. He had been charged with first-degree murder and interfering with human remains in the killing of Byron Carr, a teacher found strangled and stabbed in his home.

According to the P.E.I. Crown Attorney’s Office, moving forward with prosecution wasn’t an option because Charlottetown Police Services lost key evidence, leaving no chance of a conviction at the trial that was scheduled to begin in November.

Darren MacDougall, Charlottetown’s interim police chief, told CBC News on Tuesday that the agency knew when the cold case was reopened in 2007 — long before Irving was charged in early 2024 — that the knife left at the scene and the towel used to strangle Carr were missing.

“This was 1988. It was a different time in policing, the standards were far different than they are today,” MacDougall said.

So police instead built their case on DNA found at the scene.

“What we did in 2007 was we endeavoured to look at what we had, realize the challenges, and look forward to what was available to us as far as tools were concerned to identify the offender,” MacDougall said.

Police hoped forensic evidence would be enough

When police announced Irving’s arrest in early 2024, they said the break in the case came thanks to advances in investigative genetic genealogy that linked Irving to one of the DNA samples found at the crime scene.

At a pre-trial hearing, police said Irving’s DNA was found on Carr’s body, on a pair of underwear left at the scene and on an extinguished cigarette butt placed in Carr’s navel.

His DNA was not found on the towel used to strangle Carr, nor or on a sock left at the crime scene that police said was likely used as a glove to prevent leaving fingerprints behind.

“I certainly hoped that the forensic evidence would be enough to carry the day,” said former Charlottetown police chief Brad MacConnell, who led the investigation for years and now works as the city’s chief administrative officer.

“It became apparent over the last several months as we worked through this that the challenges were too much to overcome.”

WATCH | The man police accused of murdering Byron Carr in 1988 is now free. Here’s what happened:

The man police accused of murdering Byron Carr in 1988 is now free. Here’s what happened

Todd Joseph Irving walked into court Tuesday facing charges of first-degree murder and interfering with human remains in the 1988 killing of P.E.I. teacher Byron Carr. After a two-minute hearing, he walked out a free man after the Crown dropped all the charges because the police lost crucial evidence. CBC’s Wayne Thibodeau explains.

But the Crown’s office didn’t know about the missing evidence until July — years after Irving’s arrest and just months before the trial was set to begin.

Crown attorney Christopher White said he’s disappointed the case won’t go to trial.

“This was a matter of personal and public significance,” he said.

“I think that everyone involved viewed that it was important that it be adjudicated in a public venue, so for that not to be able to take place, it’s disappointing and I cannot image what it would be like for Mr. Carr’s family.”

Byron Carr was 36 years old when he was murdered in his Charlottetown home in 1988. This poster was displayed at a 2024 news conference when police announced they’d made an arrest in relation to the case. (Wayne Thibodeau/CBC)

Charlottetown police say they haven’t ruled out a third-party review into how evidence is handled, but MacDougall said he’s confident something like this wouldn’t happen now.

The Crown said it won’t reopen the case against Irving. 

Despite the outcome, both police and Carr’s family say they’re confident that while there isn’t enough evidence to bring him to trial, the right person was arrested.

“There’s no justice when someone is killed,” said John Carr, Byron’s brother.

“Nothing he could be sentenced to would ever bring Byron back or give us any more satisfaction. We’re not out to get anyone for it, but you know, he’s the one that’s got to live with himself.”