Byron Carr, a 36-year-old man and respected high school teacher, was killed inside his home at 24 Lapthorne Avenue in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in November 1988. Although an October 1 date has sometimes been associated with the case, police records place his death on November 11, 1988. Carr taught at Montague Regional High School and was remembered by those who knew him as a caring teacher, neighbour and friend.
On the evening of November 10, Carr spent time with friends before going out in Charlottetown. During the early morning hours of November 11, he dropped off a friend downtown and continued toward home. At approximately 3:30 a.m., he was seen driving his white 1987 Ford Tempo west along Sydney Street near Great George Street. Other accounts of the investigation described a young cyclist speaking with Carr in the downtown area and then apparently following in the direction Carr had driven. That became one of the last significant sightings investigators examined while trying to reconstruct his final movements.
Investigators determined that Carr died sometime between approximately 3:30 and 9:00 a.m. on November 11. Evidence inside the residence indicated that he had engaged in a consensual sexual encounter with another man shortly before the killing. Carr was strangled with a towel and stabbed with a kitchen knife. A threatening message was left on a wall inside the residence stating, “I will kill again.” His wallet was also reported missing. The combination of the sexual encounter, the violence and the message became central to the investigation, although police did not establish publicly whether the motive was robbery, an anti-gay attack or something else.
When Carr failed to attend a family gathering, relatives went to check on him. His body was found in his bedroom roughly 31 hours after he had last been seen alive. Investigators spent decades examining evidence from the residence, including biological evidence left behind by the person believed responsible. Police also pursued information suggesting that another individual may have returned to the house after the killing and helped the perpetrator remove or conceal evidence. For many years, however, the DNA recovered in the investigation did not produce a match capable of identifying the killer.
The investigation remained open for more than three decades as forensic technology advanced. Police eventually turned to investigative genetic genealogy, using DNA from the crime scene together with genealogical research to develop a suspect. On January 25, 2024, Charlottetown police arrested Todd Joseph Gallant, who has also used the name Todd Joseph Irving. Police said he had been 21 years old and living in the Charlottetown area when Carr was killed. Chief Brad MacConnell said investigators had obtained significant forensic evidence linking Gallant to the case. Gallant was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and interfering with human remains.
Police arrested a second person at the same time in January 2024 in connection with the investigation. That individual was released later that day without charges being announced, while investigators continued examining whether the person had any involvement in events surrounding Carr's death. Authorities did not publicly identify that person. The development was notable because investigators had long explored the possibility that someone other than the killer may have assisted after the homicide.
Gallant, later identified in court reporting as Todd Joseph Irving, pleaded not guilty in October 2024 to the charges against him and elected to be tried before a judge and jury in the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island. His defence subsequently challenged the admissibility of DNA evidence that prosecutors and police regarded as important to the case, leading to a separate evidentiary hearing before trial. None of the allegations against him have been proven in court.
After spending more than two years in pretrial custody, Irving was released on bail in July 2026 under strict conditions, including electronic monitoring, surrendering his travel documents, remaining at home except for limited approved purposes, reporting regularly to police and possessing no firearms. As of October 1, 2026, there has been no conviction in Carr's killing. Irving's four-week jury trial is scheduled to begin November 24, 2026, meaning the prosecution of a case that remained unresolved for more than 35 years is still pending before the courts.
