Police knew evidence was missing. How did the Byron Carr case reach court?

How did a murder investigation reach court when police had known for years that two crucial exhibits were missing?

That is the question left by the collapse of the prosecution over Byron Carr’s 1988 killing in Charlottetown. On October 13, 2026, the Crown withdrew every charge against Todd Joseph Irving in Prince Edward Island Supreme Court, including first-degree murder and interfering with human remains. A two-minute hearing ended with Irving walking out free of those charges. The Crown says the case will not return to court. ^{9 17 1}

The immediate explanation is established: police could not locate the towel used to strangle Carr or the knife linked to the stabbing, described in CBC’s written account as a knife found at the scene. A review also uncovered significant gaps in the handling of other evidence. The fuller explanation—how known losses were addressed before charges were laid, and why the remaining evidence ultimately could not sustain a prosecution—is still missing. ^{3 1}

This was not simply a discovery made after the arrest. Police acknowledged that they knew the knife and towel were missing when they reopened the cold case in 2007. They nevertheless relied on forensic DNA evidence to support Irving’s arrest and charges in 2024. Those facts do not establish that laying charges was improper. They do establish that the investigation advanced with a serious, known evidentiary weakness. ^{1 2}

Carr was a teacher at Montague Regional High School. He was found strangled and stabbed at his home on Lapthorne Avenue in Charlottetown in November 1988. His family’s wait for a prosecution stretched across decades; the arrest offered the possibility that the allegations would finally be tested at trial. ^{6 1}

The reported Crown assessment was that there was no longer a reasonable likelihood of conviction. The missing knife and towel were central, but the problem extended beyond their absence. CBC reported significant gaps involving other evidence; a Particle summary described failures in identifying, tracking and recording the remaining exhibits. ^{10 1 14}

That distinction matters. Preserving evidence means more than keeping an object somewhere. Investigators must also be able to identify it and account for its handling. Here, the available reporting does not include the complete review or an exhibit inventory showing exactly which deficiencies affected which pieces of evidence.

Nosymag described the losses as involving a majority of the physical evidence. Without an inventory or a total against which to measure that claim, the proportion cannot be verified. Nor is there an established account of where or when the knife and towel disappeared, who last held them, or whether they were discarded, destroyed or misplaced. Police knowing they were missing in 2007 does not mean they disappeared that year—or that their absence was first discovered then. ^{10 1}

The DNA evidence leaves another important gap. The available account establishes that police relied on forensic DNA, but not the sample’s source, testing dates, strength of a match or precise connection to the alleged offences. It also does not establish whether the missing knife or towel supplied any relevant DNA, or what investigative use the samples and records might have now. ¹

There is no basis in the withdrawal to say that DNA evidence was fabricated or a match disproved. Equally, the existence of DNA evidence does not establish that the Crown could overcome the other evidentiary problems. The prosecution’s failure concerns what could be proved through the case as a whole, not a verdict on an unidentified forensic result.

The accused appears under two surnames in the reporting. The Canadian Press identifies Todd Joseph Gallant as also known as Todd Joseph Irving. The October 13 police statement uses Gallant; CBC’s court reporting uses Irving. These are two names for the same accused, not two defendants. ^{13 5 3}

Irving has not been convicted in this case. Withdrawal is not a finding of guilt, and it is not a trial acquittal establishing that the allegations were disproved. The Crown’s statement that the case will not return is its position on this prosecution, not an independently established legal prohibition on every conceivable future proceeding. A former police chief’s reported confidence that Irving was the right person remains that individual’s belief; the available reporting does not establish its basis. ^{1 2}

Carr’s family and members of Prince Edward Island’s LGBT+ community had welcomed the arrest. That welcome was for the prospect of accountability, not a verdict. His brother John now describes the family as disappointed and still hurt, while the family wants to know how the evidence went missing. ^{2 1 16}

His brother also told CBC, “Nothing he could be sentenced to would ever bring Byron back.” Neither statement resolves the allegations against Irving. They express what the end of this prosecution means for a family: no sentence could restore Carr’s life, but there will now be no trial in this case either. ⁴

In his October 13 statement, interim Charlottetown police chief Darren MacDougall acknowledged “the seriousness of the concerns identified.” He also described proper evidence collection, documentation and preservation as “fundamental responsibilities.” Those words recognize the institution’s duty. They do not identify the employee, procedure or decision responsible for the failure. ⁵

Police have not ruled out an independent or third-party review. That is not confirmation that one has been commissioned. No verified external reviewer, terms of reference, start date or reporting deadline is established in the available account. The review that identified evidentiary gaps before the withdrawal must not be confused with the separate question of independent scrutiny. ¹

The opening question therefore has only a partial answer. DNA helped police advance the investigation despite known missing exhibits; missing evidence and wider handling gaps ultimately helped end the prosecution. What remains unexplained is how those weaknesses were assessed and managed between reopening the case and laying charges.

The prosecution has reached its endpoint. Police accountability has not. Acknowledging the duty to preserve evidence is a beginning; explaining how that duty failed, and what will prevent a repeat, is the work still owed.

CBC News: Police lost key evidence in a P.E.I. cold-case murder. Now all charges are dropped. ¹ CBC News, Hanomansing Live: Charges in P.E.I. cold-case killing withdrawn because police lost key evidence. ²

CBC News: Crown to withdraw charges in Byron Carr cold case murder after key evidence lost. ³ Charlottetown police lost the evidence in a P.E.I. cold-case murder. How did it happen? ⁴

Charlottetown Police Services: October 13 statement from Interim Chief Darren MacDougall regarding the Byron Carr case. ⁵ Charlottetown Police Services homepage. ¹⁵

Yahoo News Canada: Charges laid in decades-old P.E.I. cold case murder withdrawn after key evidence lost. ⁶ CTV News: Crown withdrawing charges after police lost crucial evidence in P.E.I. cold case. ⁷ CityNews Halifax: Charges withdrawn after police lost crucial evidence in P.E.I. cold case. ⁸

PNI Atlantic News: PEI Crown withdrawing charges in Byron Carr murder case. ⁹ Nosymag: P.E.I. murder charges withdrawn over lost evidence. ¹⁰ Global News: Lost evidence in 1988 cold case leads to murder charge being withdrawn. ¹¹

Particle: Charges Withdrawn in 1988 Byron Carr Murder After Police Lose Key Evidence. ¹² The Canadian Press: Crown withdrawing charges after police lost crucial evidence in P.E.I. cold case. ¹³ Particle: P.E.I. Crown Withdraws Charges in 1988 Byron Carr Murder After Key Evidence Lost. ¹⁴

CBC News: Family of Byron Carr speaks out after murder charges in decades-old cold case withdrawn. ¹⁶ CBC court-report video: The man police accused of murdering Byron Carr in 1988 is now free. Here’s what happened. ¹⁷ CBC video: Charges in P.E.I. cold-case killing withdrawn because police lost key evidence. ¹⁸ Global News Canada: Family of Byron Carr speaks out after murder charges in decades-old cold case withdrawn. ¹⁹