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An independent review into the Byron Carr murder investigation has been ordered after charges in the P.E.I. cold case were withdrawn last week because Charlottetown police lost crucial evidence, provincial officials said in a news release Tuesday.
“This is a troubling situation for all those involved, particularly the friends and family of the late Mr. Carr,” Justice and Public Safety Minister Bloyce Thompson said in the release.
“The community deserves answers, and we need to ensure public confidence in our justice system. The resulting report and recommendations from this independent third-party review will be made public.”
The Office of the Police Commissioner will appoint a third party to conduct the review, according to the statement.
Details about the timeline, the scope of the review or what it will entail have been not been released.
Charlottetown police weren’t immediately available for comment. In an interview last week, interim Chief Darren MacDougall said he would welcome such a review.
The news comes one week after the man accused of murdering Carr in 1988 walked free after the Crown withdrew all charges against Todd Joseph Irving, 59, saying it felt it could no longer secure a conviction after it was revealed that Charlottetown police had lost “extensive crucial evidence” in the case.
Irving, who used to use the last name Gallant, had been charged with first-degree murder and interfering with human remains.
All charges against Todd Joseph Irving related to the 1988 murder of Byron Carr have been dropped. The case unravelled after Charlottetown Police Services revealed the evidence crucial to securing a conviction was missing. Darren MacDougall, Charlottetown’s interim police chief, joins CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin to explain what happened.
Carr, a popular teacher, was found strangled and stabbed in his home in November 1988. The high-profile case went unsolved until 2024, when police announced a break in the case thanks to advances in DNA technology.
Interim police Chief Darren MacDougall said in an interview last week that they knew about the missing evidence — including a knife found at the crime scene and the towel used to strangle Carr — as far back as 2007 when Charlottetown Police Services reopened the cold case.
Police did say the DNA evidence collected from the items at the scene wasn’t lost — that material was processed and stored appropriately — and they felt that the evidence was strong enough to stand on its own.
Thompson told CBC News on Tuesday that the review will primarily focus on Charlottetown Police Services, but could eventually widen to include other police agencies on the Island and how they handle evidence.
“What happened to that evidence is something we want to get to the bottom of, but [the review] is to prevent this from happening again and to make sure all the proper standards are being adhered to going forward,” he said.
“Justice for Byron is important, and it’s something that isn’t going to happen, unfortunately, with this [case] … but if we can have some questions be answered in this review that will be something to feel positive about.”
