Charges laid in decades-old P.E.I. cold case murder withdrawn after key evidence lost

All charges laid in the cold case murder of P.E.I. teacher Byron Carr will be withdrawn because crucial evidence has been lost, the P.E.I. Crown Attorneys’ Office said in a statement Tuesday.

The Crown said 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.

“In this case, the loss of crucial evidence, together with the issues identified concerning the remaining evidence, means that there is no longer a reasonable likelihood of conviction and that the prosecution can no longer proceed,” director of prosecution for the province Ryan Gallant wrote in the statement.

The charges against Irving, 59, are expected to be withdrawn in P.E.I. Supreme Court on Tuesday morning.

Byron Carr was 36 years old when he was killed in 1988. It was P.E.I.’s only unsolved homicide in modern times. (Submitted)

Irving 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. It is P.E.I.’s only unsolved homicide in modern times.

“This is a deeply disappointing outcome for our office and for the Crown attorneys who have worked diligently over the past several years to bring this matter to trial,” the statement said.

The office 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.