The provincial justice minister in P.E.I. has ordered a review of the investigation into a decades-old unsolved murder case after charges were withdrawn last week.
Crown prosecutors in the province withdrew charges against Todd Joseph Gallant after Charlottetown police lost crucial evidence, including a knife that would have been used as an exhibit in court.
Police charged Gallant with first-degree murder and interfering with human remains in 2024 following an investigation into the 1988 killing of teacher Byron Carr.
The allegations against Gallant were not tested in court.
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Darren MacDougall, Charlottetown’s interim chief of police, blamed a lack of consistent “property management systems” for the missing evidence.
Carr was 36 when he was strangled and stabbed in his Charlottetown home by someone who left a handwritten note on a wall that read, “I will kill again.”
Bloyce Thompson, the justice minister, has directed the Office of the Police Commissioner to appoint a third party to conduct the review.
“This is a troubling situation for all those involved, particularly the friends and family of the late Mr. Carr,” the minister said in a statement. “The community deserves answers, and we need to ensure public confidence in our justice system.”
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