Last updated May 30, 2021 at 1:50 p.m. (CST)
By Evert Caldwell, Rounder Life News Team
In the first installment of the all-new Rounder Life – “Reasonable Doubt Murder Mystery Series Investigations”, we examine the murder conviction of Florida Death Row Inmate No. 121965, George James Trepal.
OVERVIEW
Numerous media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, A.P. News, and The Orlando Sentinel covered the 1988 poisoning death of then 41 year old mother of three, Peggy Carr in Alturas, Florida.
Most coverage highlighted the circumstantial case prosecutors laid out for the jury, with little to no scrutiny.
Much of what we reveal, including key witness testimony not presented at trial, was documented in post-conviction court filings, but most has never been presented publicly until now.
Attorneys Todd G. Scher and Gray R. Proctor filed numerous briefs and petitions with the court on behalf of Mr. Trepal, which we detail in great length and credit for many of the the revelations relied upon and brought to light in our reporting.
We were not compensated by anyone for our work. Our independent findings should be alarming to anyone concerned with due process and judicial fairness.
Final Analysis | Summary | Conclusion
The jury did not hear all the facts in this case.
While the State presented a “convincing” circumstantial case, it did so knowingly misleading jurors on key issues.
Crucial evidence, known to prosecutors, implicating Peggy’s newlywed husband Parealyn “Pye” Carr was kept from defense counsel. Witness testimony favorable to Trepal was also ignored and blocked from being presented to the jury through a series of legal maneuvers.
Prosecution Suppressed Evidence, Misled Jury To Secure “Career Making” Death Sentence
As a result, the defense was not able to establish Pye Carr as a suspect, despite strong evidence suggesting he could have been involved, including the fact Polk County detectives originally assigned to the case, subsequently removed, considered him their prime suspect.
If crucial evidence, including witness testimony pointing to Pye Carr and others, had been presented to the jury, it would have raised serious doubts as to Trepal’s guilt.
An apparent ‘misunderstanding’ between defense counsel and the judge was also a determining factor, resulting in a line of questioning not being pursued by the defense regarding the seriousness of the Carr’s troubled marriage.
The “smoking gun” evidence tying Trepal to the poisoning was discovered in an unlocked garage on his property (where he no longer lived) a year and a half after the murder. There is a reasonable likelihood the “damning” piece of evidence was planted.
After a thorough review of all available evidence, it’s our conclusion :
(1) If the grand jury had been presented with all the facts, George Trepal would never have been charged with a crime.
(2) If the jury heard all the evidence George Trepal would not have been convicted of the crime or (3) sentenced to death.
Key Factors
#1 Detectives And The Prosecution Ignored And Suppressed Evidence Pointing To Other Suspects
Who is the number one suspect when any spouse is murdered ?
The other spouse, of course.
In this case however, detectives and prosecutors fought tooth and nail to make sure that theory was never developed by the defense or even considered by the jury. Incriminating evidence was not presented to jurors that would have shown Peggy Carr was having very serious marital issues with her newlywed husband Pye Carr.
A letter confirming the strife was ‘hidden’ from defense counsel during trial. In fact, the prosecution took it a step further by projecting a knowingly false narrative to the jury, portraying Peggy and Pye as happy newlyweds, despite receiving direct statements to the contrary from witnesses.
Peggy’s son Allen told lead detective Ernie Mincey Peggy was “nervous” and “scared” of Pye and had already made plans to leave him for good, after only six months.
Mincey told him to “hold that thought” and “put that on the back burner for now,” but he (Mincey) never brought it up again.
More of what the jury didn’t hear was that just prior to the poisoning, Peggy discovered Pye was having an extra-marital affair. Other accounts allege Pye was living with another girlfriend while Peggy was hospitalized.
In addition, her son would have testified Peggy was fearful of Pye after learning he had taken out a large life insurance policy on her.
At the same time prosecutors were successfully blocking and suppressing evidence which would have pointed to Pye as a possible suspect, they were eliciting testimony describing him as a loving husband and father, knowing the rosy picture they were painting for jurors was false.
The defense was prevented from calling witnesses that would have testified Pye stated he “made a mistake” marrying Peggy, and “that he wishes that he could get out of his marriage, too, but it would cost him too much”.
Numerous additional witnesses were prevented from testifying to what Peggy had shared with them about her troubled marriage, based on “inadmissible hearsay” arguments from the prosecution, and defense counsel’s apparent ‘misunderstanding’ of what could have been brought up.
In Poison Mind, a book co-authored by undercover detective Susan Goreck it was revealed that defense counsel misunderstood Judge Maloney regarding the line of questioning they could pursue regarding the Carr Marriage.
In a conference with the lawyers afterward Judge Maloney remarked that the defense had failed to take the opportunity it had sought: to ask Pye about his troubles with Peggy.
“I thought you said we couldn’t go into it,” Jonathan Stidham (defense counsel) said.
Maloney replied, “I said that you could.”
The bewildering revelation, along with additional evidence and witness statements, support the theory that Pye Carr, or someone other than George Trepal, could have been responsible for Peggy’s murder.
It’s important to note that the defense need not prove Pye Carr or anyone else was the killer in order for Trepal to be found ‘not guilty’. It only needed to raise reasonable doubt by showing there was enough evidence suggesting someone else could have done it. It failed, largely due to the fact the State, in part, used deception and questionable tactics to convince jurors there were no other possible suspects.
Evidence of serious marital strife, including Peggy’s fear of Pye, had it been presented to the jury, would have raised “reasonable doubt”, alluding to the very real possibility the husband, or someone acting on his behalf, could have been the perpetrator.
Instead, the group of 12 holding Trepal’s life in the balance, was intentionally kept in the dark.
#2 Evidence Of Arsenic Poisoning Doesn’t Fit The State’s Case
Although the official cause of death was listed as “poisoning by thallium” it was revealed Peggy and the boys (Duane and Travis), were also poisoned with arsenic. Peggy improved enough from her first stint in the hospital, to return home.
At the evidentiary hearing, Dr. Marland Dulaney theorized the first (poisoning) instance was likely due to arsenic not thallium. It was also found that arsenic levels increased in Peggy and the boys while they were hospitalized.
In addition, medical records showed “significantly increased” levels of thallium in Pye’s son Travis, while he was hospitalized, yet there are no reports of Mr. Trepal ever being at the hospital.
As Travis’ health deteriorated in the hospital, he believed his father was trying to kill him. He was heard hollering “get him out of here…He’s trying to kill me,” and “they” (Pye and Pye’s sister Carolyn) were trying to kill him “again”.
Despite the alarming proclamation, there is no record available of detectives ever following up on the alleged attempts on Travis’ life. If the testimony was presented to jurors it would have undermined the State’s portrayal of Pye’s “loving” relationship with his son, which was used, in part, to explain the decision to exclude Pye as a suspect.
While the defense wasn’t able to expose the alleged toxic father-son relationship, the State was allowed to elicit contradictory testimony from Pye’s daughter, Tammy Reed, that “They’ve always been real close, a very close relationship.”
Travis’ allegation that his father and Carolyn were trying to kill him while he was hospitalized, is bolstered by evidence of increased poison levels in his system and reports Carolyn was supplying baked foods to Travis and Duane in their hospital room. Following the outburst, doctors required all family members sign in prior to visits. Travis’ health eventually improved.
The additional thallium and arsenic poisonings raise serious doubts as to Trepal’s guilt, due to the fact the killer would have needed “continued access” to the victim(s) “over a long period of time”, much more than Trepal was known to have had.
The prosecution claimed Trepal had “two thirty minute windows” in which he could have snuck the Coca-Cola bottles containing thallium into the Carr home. It never had to explain when or how he would have carried out the additional poisoning(s) at the house or inside the hospital.
The court’s stance that since Peggy’s cause of death was thallium not arsenic, the arsenic poisonings lacked significance, is perplexing, as Todd G. Scher explained in his response to the court’s conclusion, below.
The arsenic poisonings clearly point to “someone other than the person on trial.”
In denying relief, the lower court sub silentio accepted Dulaney’s testimony, but concluded that although the arsenic issue “raised some questions” and “was one of the most important claims” raised, trial counsel had to focus on the fact that (1) Peggy died of thallium, not arsenic, poisoning, (2) that arsenic exposure “did not exclude” Mr. Trepal as the guilty party, and (3) the State experts had “different opinions on why Peggy Carr became sick” (1PC-R 3365-66).
The lower court’s analysis is exactly wrong as to the significance of the arsenic poisoning. In a circumstantial case such as this one, the fact that a second and ongoing poisoning attempt was being perpetrated on the victims by someone other than the person on trial establishes the reasonableness of a hypothesis of Mr. Trepal’s innocence and the guilt of another suspect who had close contact with the victims over a long period of time.
The startling fact that the thallium level in one of the victims continued to increase while in the hospital was not presented to the jury, despite its obvious significance, alone and in conjunction with the other evidence in the case. – (Doc #3) INITIAL BRIEF OF APPELLANT : By Todd G. Scher
#3 Without The Bottle Of Thallium Found In Trepal’s Unlocked Garage, The State Had No Case
Investigators conducted a nine month surveillance investigation on Mr. Trepal with undercover officer Susan Goreck, using the alias Sherry Guin. During that time no substantial evidence to bring charges against Trepal was unearthed.
Post conviction witness testimony also suggests investigators were becoming desperate with some even having “their jobs on the line” if they didn’t come up with something to justify the expensive, months long undercover operation pursuing Trepal as the killer.
A reported movie deal with the Polk County Sheriff’s Department also hung in the balance.
Detective Goreck discusses in her book how detectives all “knew” Trepal had done it, they just had to “prove how.”
It wasn’t until Trepal offered to let Guin rent his vacated house in Alturas, that the prosecution was able to ‘secure’ the evidence it needed.
To believe the state’s case, we have to accept that the man prosecutors describe as a genius, didn’t think to get rid of the only piece of evidence that could tie him to the crime.
We also have to trust it wasn’t planted.
To put it into perspective, if the murder had been carried out with a firearm, we have to accept that Trepal, the “meticulous planner”, who supposedly “thought he could outsmart detectives”, left the “murder weapon” inside his unlocked garage for a year and a half, all the while knowing he was a potential suspect.
As was pointed out by Trepal’s counsel, anyone, including the killer(s) or an overzealous member of the prosecution team or police department, could have planted the bottle of thallium in Trepal’s unlocked garage.
Giving credence to that theory, a recent DCIC (Death Penalty Information Center) report notes most wrongful convictions “are not merely accidental or the result of unintentional errors.”
“Instead, they are overwhelmingly the product of police or prosecutorial misconduct or the presentation of knowingly false testimony. More likely than not, they involve a combination of the two.”
Final Thoughts
Can we say with certainty George Trepal did not commit this murder ?
No, what we are saying with certainty is that if all the evidence is considered, there is more than enough “reasonable doubt” to come to the conclusion he is more likely innocent than not, and based on all the facts, never should have been charged with a crime.
Instead of allowing all the evidence to be presented to an impartial jury, it’s clear the prosecution wasn’t confident it would get the outcome it desired, so it put its “thumb on the scale” believing a conviction justified the means.
Even if Trepal were to confess to the murder in the future (he’s always maintained his innocence), it still wouldn’t excuse the blatant violations of his constitutional rights which were trampled on in order to “win” his conviction.
Prosecutors representing ‘we the people’ should be seeking the truth, not using deception and underhandedness in a ‘win at all cost’ effort (see : Limitations on the Cross-Examination of Diana Carr).
Is there “Reasonable Doubt” in the murder conviction of George James Trepal ?
If you were a jurist and heard all the evidence, would you be comfortable pulling the switch ?
If not, please contact Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody (@AGAshleyMoody) at MyFloridaLegal.com and request she review Case #90-1569.
Full report continued below…
This section last updated on February 24, 2021 at 2:30 a.m. (CST)
On March 6, 1991 George James Trepal was convicted and sentenced to death for the poisoning death of his Alturus, Florida neighbor Peggy Carr. Today, he awaits his pending execution on death row in the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida.
For over thirty years he’s maintained his innocence. All of his appeals and motions have been denied.
Trepal’s conviction was based solely on circumstantial evidence.
In our research we uncover ‘evidence’ favorable to Mr. Trepal, which was not presented at trial. Most was quashed by prosecutor’s objections via legal arguments. In addition, other crucial evidence allegedly known to prosecutors, was kept from Trepal’s counsel.
In RounderLife’s all new “Murder Mystery Investigations” series we’ll present crucial evidence for defendants, many of whom no longer have a voice. After presenting the evidence, we’ll ask you to decide…
Is there “Reasonable Doubt” ?
Investigation And Conviction
The following is a description of events, provided by murderpedia.
Circumstances of Offense:
George Trepal was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Peggy Carr.
George Trepal and his wife moved into their home in Alturas, Florida during the early 1980s.
Parealyn (Pye) and Peggy Carr married in 1988, and Peggy Carr moved into the Parealyn’s home, which was located next to Trepal’s home. Travis Carr, Parealyn’s son, and Duane Dubberly, Peggy’s son, also resided at the Alturas residence. Continue to full story.
News | Media Coverage
‘Psycho Genius’ Inspired By Agatha Christie’s Pale Horse To Poison Neighbors – Mirror
Murder, He Wrote – Orlando Sentinel
The Mensa Murder – Orlando Sentinel
The Justice Story – NY Daily News
On Death Row, but Seeking a New Trial – New York Times
After 20 Years In Jail, Alturus Poisoning Killer Still Seeking Appeal – The Ledger
Poisoning Death Traced To Self-Styled Genius – Los Angeles Times
Bizzare Details Of Coca-Cola Poisoning Case Disclosed – AP News
Brief Synopsis
In criminal law, Blackstone’s ratio (also known as the Blackstone ratio or Blackstone’s formulation) is the idea that:
It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.[1]
as expressed by the English jurist William Blackstone in his seminal work Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the 1760s. – Wikipedia
CASE #1 – The State of Florida vs George James Trepal
This section last updated February 3, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. (CST)
Is there ‘Reasonable Doubt‘ in the case of death row inmate 121965, George Trepal ?
We believe so, but at the same time, the jury may have gotten it right.
How can that be ?
Remember, the jury can only rely on the evidence it’s been presented, and in this case they weren’t given the full story.
Also, at this time we want to make it clear we don’t believe there was enough evidence to convict any of the prime suspects, including Pye Carr.
When we decided to research this case over a year ago, we hoped to interview some of the key figures, including George Trepal and Pye Carr.
Unfortunately Pye Carr recently passed away on July 5, 2020. By bringing up some of the ‘uncomfortable’ issues related to Mr. Carr, such as trouble in his marriage to Peggy, the evidence of which was kept from jurors, we are not attempting to disparage a man who can no longer defend himself, but rather shed light on issues that could have affected the outcome of the trial, resulting in a man being put on death row.
As we proceed, it may appear we are suggesting Mr. Carr was the real killer, when in fact what we are trying to present is that there is just as much evidence, if not more, pointing to Mr. Carr and others as there is Mr. Trepal.
By raising this awareness we’re asking, if Pye Carr was dismissed as a suspect by investigators, why was George Trepal charged, with seemingly less circumstantial evidence pointing to him ?
Questionable Tactics
How far did detectives go in order to present a ‘winning’ case to the DA ?
Was justice sought or did the prosecution have its ‘thumb on the scale‘ ? For instance, was it fair for the prosecution to threaten to take away Diana Carr’s (Mr. Trepal’s wife) immunity deal if she answered questions from the Defense, which would have undermined parts of the State’s case ?
According to detectives, when they first interviewed Trepal they said he ” spoke with a nervous stammer (13:15).”
“The first officers thought George was acting suspicious, fidgeting and clucking his tongue. Mr. Trepal suffers from a speech impediment known as dysarthria, secondary to problems in his neuromuscular system, which causes him to “make noise with the tongue” Dysarthria is neurologically-based, and differs from garden-variety stuttering. This renders him physically clumsy.” – (Doc #2 b. (below)) Gray R. Proctor
Limitations on the Cross-Examination of Diana Carr (From Doc #1 (below) – PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS (Oct 15, 2001) : by Todd G. Scher
When the defense asked (Diana Carr) whether Mr. Trepal had any speech impediments, the prosecution’s objection was sustained (R. 3580-81).
When the defense asked whether she wrote the plots for the murder mystery weekends, the prosecution objected that the question was beyond the scope of direct, and the court sustained the objection (R. 3580).
The exclusion of the evidence that Diana wrote the murder mystery weekend plots allowed the State to argue that the murder mystery weekends indicated Mr. Trepal was guilty. For example, the State argued that Mr. Trepal “was practicing when he was at Mensa murder weekends.
The State’s withdrawal of Diana Carr’s immunity for cross examination was fundamentally unfair. The State used the immunity in order to secure her testimony for the State’s case, but foreclosed cross-examination by then withdrawing that immunity. This is tantamount to allowing no opportunity for cross-examination at all, a clear violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 66 (1980); Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400, 406- 07 (1965). – Todd G. Scher
Is this the type of evidence prosecutors should be keeping from jurors in a murder trial ? Were they deliberately misleading the jury by ‘burying’ these facts ?
As we lay out the case for ‘Reasonable Doubt‘ in the George Trepal murder case, we’re asking you to put yourself in the jurors’ shoes.
Was Evidence Favorable To Trepal ‘Ignored’ By Investigators ?
The first question raised can be found by listening to Detective Erney Mincey talking about Peggy Carr’s husband of six months, Pye Carr, at the 9:50 minute mark of the “American Justice” video released in 2000.
“We could establish no motive for him to number one, poison Peggy Carr…” – Detective Erney Mincey
Nineteen (19) years later in an all new “Vengeance Killer Neighbors” documentary about the murder, it’s revealed that there actually was motive for Pye Carr to poison Peggy.
He had taken out “a large life insurance policy on her.”
In addition, although the two had only been married six months, Peggy, just prior to being poisoned, discovered Pye was having an affair.
These facts were not presented at trial.
Limitations on Cross-Examination Regarding the Status of Pye and Peggy Carr’s Marriage (From Doc #1 (below) – PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS (Oct 15, 2001) : by Todd G. Scher
“The trial court also repeatedly sustained State objections to defense cross-examination of State witnesses regarding the status of Pye and Peggy Carr’s marriage. The questions were intended to raise the issue of whether the police adequately investigated Pye Carr’s possible involvement in the poisonings. The objections to these questions were mainly based upon hearsay, because the defense wished to ask witnesses what Peggy Carr had said about her marriage.
Although the defense was not allowed to ask these questions, the State was repeatedly allowed to ask questions regarding Pye Carr’s relationships with and concern about Peggy Carr, Travis Carr and Duane Dubberly, even though these questions also elicited answers relying upon hearsay. Thus, while the State was allowed to elicit evidence excluding Pye Carr as a suspect, the defense was never allowed the opportunity to include him.”
The defense wanted to ask such questions of the State’s first witness, Rita Tacker (R. 1511). The defense argued that in addition to testifying that Peggy Carr came to her home with the children for three days, Tacker could testify that Peggy Carr said she was leaving Pye Carr for good because he treated the children unfairly, worked late hours, had a girlfriend and drank too much (R. 1511-12). The defense argued these matters were admissible:
[T]he sufficiency of the police’s investigation is directly relevant to this case. They’ve got a circumstantial case here. . . . Therefore, if someone else could have done this, which is an obvious reasonable hypothesis of innocence, they didn’t go around and prove that no one else did this, then they don’t even get to a jury. So the sufficiency of their investigation is absolutely relevant. It’s crucial to the defense. It’s absolutely crucial. (R. 1512).
The State agreed that the defense could elicit from Tacker that Peggy Carr came to her house, that she stayed there three days and that she had separated from her husband, but could not elicit what Peggy Carr told Tacker about separating from her husband (R. 1513-14). The court ruled that the defense could not ask Tacker what Peggy Carr had said about her marriage (R. 1515).
The defense argued that Tacker had told police that Peggy Carr had said she was leaving her husband for good because of his drinking, his girlfriend, his not coming home at night, and his treating the children unfairly (R. 1516). This was why Pye Carr was the main suspect of the first detective on the case, Paul Schaill, but this angle was not further investigated after that detective left and was replaced by Mincey (R. 1516).
The court ruled that the defense could not ask Tacker what Peggy Carr said to her or what Tacker told the police Peggy Carr had said (R. 1522).
FBI Behavioral Science Unit
The FBI was asked to provide a psychological profile of Peggy Carr’s poisoner.
In excerpts from “Poison Mind”, a book co-authored by undercover detective Susan Goreck, the interactions between detectives and FBI special agent Bill Hagmaier, which lead to the FBI’s profile of the killer, were documented:
“Poison Mind” – Jeffrey Good And Susan Goreck
Hagmaier worked in the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, a group made famous by the book and movie The Silence of the Lambs.
Of of the roughly eight thousand cases he and his colleagues had studied, only eight had involved poisoning. Most poisonings, Hagmaier knew, were either suicides or crude murders by family members.
Hagmaier began by making sure the Florida investigators hadn’t overlooked the obvious suspects, the ones close to home. He asked Brad (Detective Brad Bekke) about domestic tensions, jealousies within the house, insurance policies.
Brad told him that none of those angles had panned out.
However, in Doc #1 c. (below) Petition For Writ Of Habeas Corpus, Todd G. Scher points out detective Mincey was well aware of the domestic issues between Peggy and Pye. Mincey had found a note in the Carr’s home, revealing the ‘serious state of the marriage. Mincey showed the note to prosecutor John Aguero, “who indicated that it had no evidentiary value.”
DEAR PYE,
I do love you very much. Right now I’m at the point that I
don’t really know how you feel. I told you I could handle anything as
long as I had you! Now I’m not sure!
I’m going to give you some time to think about us…I can’t live
like we have been. No respect from the kids, not talking, not caring.
I love you & want to be your wife. Key word is wife!
I don’t know if this is right or not, what I’m doing, but I don’t
know what else to do!
I can’t imagine living without you but I can if you don’t want me!
There’s no question in my mind whether or not I want you & love
you! Is there a question in your mind?
I’ll be OK if anyone is interested.
I love you with All My Heart!
Peggy
Mincey had also been informed by Peggy’s ex-husband Larry Dubberly, that Pye had taken out a large life insurance policy on Peggy.
Larry said, “Peggy told me that Pye had insurance on her, Duane, and Travis.”
“Did she tell you how much?” Ernie asked.
“Eighty thousand dollars on her and sixty thousand dollars apiece on the boys,” Larry replied.
So far background checks hadn’t turned up any evidence of the rumored insurance policies. But Ernie wanted to confront Pye on the issue, to see if he would confess to having them hidden somewhere.
When Ernie asked about the insurance, Pye didn’t blink. He told Ernie that he had a fifty-thousand-dollar policy on himself and one thousand dollars for Travis and Tammy. – Poison Mind
Excerpts from “INITIAL BRIEF OF APPELLANT” – Doc #3 (below) Todd G. Scher
The note is something he would have wanted the jury to know about, and is consistent with the defense theme at trial (Id. at 2234-35). It refuted the State’s theory that although the marriage had its rocky moments, “they were just two lovebirds at the time that this occurred (Id. at 2237).” Doc #3 (below) page 11, 12 – Todd G. Scher
At trial, Stidham had not seen a note written by Peggy Carr to Pye, revealing that the marriage was troubled (Id. at 1986-87). The fact that the note indicates that the marital problems were serious is information he would have expected to receive from the State during discovery and is “consistent with the theory that Pye Carr may have been the perpetrator” (Id. at 1988-89; 1991). This statement is consistent with Pye as a suspect (Id. at 1995).
Exhibit 2 was a statement taken by Detective Paul Schaill of Larry Dubberly (ex-husband of Peggy Carr and father of Duane), in which Dubberly recounts seeing Pye after he was interviewed by lead detective Mincey; according to Dubberly, Pye was trembling and “so nervous he couldn’t even talk” (Id. at 1994-95). This statement is consistent with Pye as a suspect (Id. at 1995). – Doc #3 (below) page 3, 4 – Todd G. Scher
Schaill testified at the hearing that in 1988, he was employed by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office as a homicide detective (Id. at 3041). As lead detective in the Trepal investigation, Schaill, assisted by lieutenant Juanita Crawford, were actively developing Pye Carr as the suspect (Id. at 3044-45).
Schaill was eventually replaced by Mincey due to disagreements with the sheriff’s office over the direction of the case (Id. at 3045-46). He had never seen Exhibit 1, which was the note from Peggy to Pye; the note would have provided further evidence of motive on part of Pye Carr (Id. at 3047). – Doc #3 (below) page 14 – Todd G. Scher
Allen arranged for Peggy to come and stay (Id. at 3078). He and Peggy also “developed a password to let me know that she was on her way and when I could expect her” (Id. at 3078-79). At first Peggy did not explain the secrecy about her visit, but “she later said that she didn’t want Pye to know” and was “nervous” and “scared” and “just wanted it to be a secret” (Id. at 3079-80). Sharing her feelings with Allen was unusual, as Peggy generally kept her problems to herself (Id. at 3081).
Allen (Peggy’s son) told Detective Mincey of his mother’s fear of Pye, but Mincey “just told me to hold that thought” and “put that on the back burner for now”; Mincey never again brought up the subject (Id. at 3087-88). – Doc #3 (below) page 21, 22 – Todd G. Scher
During the investigation, Florida health officials took a number of swabs of areas in Pye Carr’s home, one of which revealed 16 micrograms per liter of thallium from under a sink in an apartment on Pye’s property (Id. at 2839-40).
At trial, this issue was significantly downplayed by the State, which argued that the thallium may have been a remnant of a pesticide that had been on the surface of the shelf.
* This argument ignored the fact that thallium had been banned by the EPA for uses as a rodenticide in 1974, and that Pye had not renovated the garage into an apartment and installed the sink and the shelf beneath the sink until 1988, shortly before the poisonings.
Dr. Marland Dulaney – “To a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, the thallium under the sink was not “naturally occurring” because it only showed up in that one place “as opposed to everyplace else”; when you have “naturally occurring” concentrations, “you find it at these kind of low concentrations, but you find it in many different samples. You don’t find it in a single sample” (Id. at 2841-42; 2844-45). – Doc #3 (below) page 74 – Todd G. Scher
The FBI profiled the Carr family attacker as “an intelligent, educated white man in his mid thirties who liked to resolve conflicts without direct confrontation.” – Poison Mind
Although the arguably ‘tainted’ profile was not used as evidence in the trial, it was relied on numerous times by Susan Goreck during her undercover work, as documented in her book.
It’s worth noting the FBI’s ‘educated guess’ doesn’t rule out Pye Carr as a suspect.
In fact, Mr. Carr had motive (insurance money and another woman) and plenty of opportunity.
The “educated white male” description does however exclude Pye’s sister Carolyn Dixon, his daughter Tammy, and George Trepal’s wife Diana, despite Hagmaier describing poison as a “feminine” crime.
Although profiling is a valuable tool used by the FBI, it has been wrong in the past. Also, there have been numerous documented instances of thallium poisonings carried out by females, and oftentimes the killer is a member of the victim’s immediate family.
According to the FBI Behavioral Science Unit’s own criteria (‘feminine’ crime carried out by family members), Pye’s sister Carolyn Dixon and his daughter Tammy would be prime suspects. How much time did detectives put into investigating them?
Did the FBI exclude them as suspects after relying on ‘misleading’ information from detectives ?
“Peggy’ Carr’s daughter Gelena “Cissy” Shiver, was convinced that both Pye Carr and his sister, Carolyn Dixon, had poisoned her mother. During the days when Peggy was at home sick, Dixon continued to bring food and drink into the house that was shared by everyone except Cissy and Tammy Carr.
It bothered Cissy that as Peggy’s health continued to decline, Dixon administered medicines to Peggy that were not prescribed by a doctor. Dixon was also steadily plying Peggy with the Coca-Cola, on the pretext that it would provide some type of “nourishment” (R. 1800).
While Dixon was freely passing out Coca-Cola to the family members, she herself did not drink any Coke (R. 6121).
Dixon was one of the suspect that was not adequately investigated at the time of trial; this issue is addressed in more detail in Mr. Trepal’s Rule 3.850 appeal.” – (Doc #1) PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS (Oct 15, 2001) : by Todd G. Scher
Was the FBI’s profile arrived at independently, or was it crafted to fit detectives’ prime suspect ?
If Bill Hagmaier and the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit were made aware early on that Peggy had recently caught Pye with another woman, told her ex-husband that he (Pye) had taken out a large life insurance policy on her and the boys ($200,000), and told her son Allen that she was “scared” and planned to ‘come and stay with him’, would it have changed the course of the investigation ?
After Pye was found to have traces of thallium in his system, Mincey no longer considered him a suspect.
Some questioned whether Pye could have ingested just enough to divert suspicion away from himself, but detectives ruled out that possibility.
Prosecutor John Aguero explained it this way. “I wouldn’t hold thallium powder in my hand !“
If Aguero wouldn’t even touch it, how can you (the jury) believe someone would actually ingest it ?
While highlighting the obvious risk of someone deliberately ingesting a deadly poison is a fair point to make, and most rational people would never consider it, Mr. Aguero seems to be deliberately diverting from the fact killers will, and have gone to extreme measures to throw police off their scent.
The traces of thallium in Pye Carr’s system were minute. In fact by all accounts he had no ill effects.
It appears the only ‘reaction’ to Pye’s positive test result, was his exclusion from the suspect list.
Threatening Note Sent Shortly After Peggy Moved In
Another piece of evidence detectives point to as ‘damning’ takes place in Trepal’s first interview with investigators.
In the interview Trepal is asked why he thinks someone would want to poison his neighbors.
His response, “Someone wanted them to leave!”
The response was similar to a threatening note allegedly sent to Pye Carr and his family months before the poisoning.
“YOU AND ALL YOUR SO CALLED FAMILY HAVE TWO WEEKS TO MOVE OUT OF FLORIDA FOREVER OR ELSE YOU ALL DIE. THIS IS NO JOKE.”
After the statement Trepal became the prime suspect.
Investigators, who labeled Trepal ‘diabolical’, concluded the similar sounding statement was no coincidence.
A rather obvious question is ‘why would a highly intelligent person like Trepal link himself to the crime by using similar verbatim from the incriminating letter’?
Imagine the man prosecutors praise on one hand as a genius and meticulous planner, if guilty, preparing for his inevitable interview with detectives, going over all the possible questions and answers in his mind that could tie him to the crime, blurting out “Someone wanted them to leave!”
Did the note slip his mind ?
Or could it simply be he was answering truthfully, although rather bluntly, based on his own interactions with what felt were just “rambunctious” kids who could have easily upset someone else in the neighborhood ?
Also of relevance is the fact the much publicized altercation between Peggy and Diana Carr, regarding the kids’ loud music, took place just days before the poisoning, but the threatening note was received over four months prior (to the poisoning), less than two months after Peggy moved in next door.
This would mean Trepal had already decided he was going to wipe out the entire Carr family just a few weeks after seeing Peggy and her children for the first time, a family he barely knew !
This section last updated February 4, 2021 at 2:30 a.m. (CST)
Did Detectives Investigate With “Blinders” On ?
The prosecution successfully convinced jurors Trepal was the only one in the area who could have created the lethal dose to carry out the poisonings.
However the Silver City phosphate mine where Pye Carr worked had a chemical lab. Is it too far-fetched to conclude someone could have prepared the thallium ‘cocktail’ there ?
Was the prosecution not aware of the chemical lab where Pye Carr worked ?
“Pye could have gotten it from Silver City phosphate mine, where he worked. Again according to Larry, when Margaret Carr, Pye’s ex wife, suggested this in front of police, – “they’ve got two chemist labs out there, do you know anything about this – – the kids got into” – he told her to shut her goddamn mouth.” Doc #2 l. (below) – Gray R. Proctor
In Poison Mind Detective Brad Bekke told Hagmaier none of the family members “had the technical skill needed for this crime.”
He describes watching Pye Carr light a cigarette and finds it hard to imagine his thick fingers “prying off a bottle cap and injecting poison inside.”
Did he give the same consideration to George Trepal, who had a hand tremor due to a birth trauma ?
If George Trepal is alleged to have owned a “bottle capper”, which could have been used in the crime, is it not realistic that Pye Carr, or a family member (or friend) could have also had access to one ?
Could someone with a medical background such as a nurse, have prepared the poison ?
Could that person, or someone else involved, then use a “bottle capper” to replace the caps after “injecting poison inside” ?
How much “technical skill” was actually needed to carry out the crime ?
Video shows ‘skill’ required for operation of vintage bottle capper
Coca-Cola Company
In April 1996 the Supreme Court of Florida denied a request from Defendant (George Trepal) for Coca-Cola to turn over its files related to the case. Coca-Cola had conducted independent tests it shared with the prosecution.
Although it appears Coca-Cola was well within its rights to do so, it raises the question, “Why?”
Why was Coca-Cola not willing to share its findings with a Defendant on death row ?
Is there something in the findings that could help Trepal’s case ?
* In Coca-Cola’s answer to Defendant’s request it erroneously stated, “The officers found a container of thallium and a bottle-capping machine, among other things, in Defendant’s garage.”
A bottle-capping machine was not found in Trepal’s garage.
The State had no direct evidence that Mr. Trepal tampered with the Coke bottles. However, over defense objection, the State was permitted to introduce testimony that in 1982–six years before the Carr poisoning–a man helping Mr. Trepal move had seen an “antique” bottle capper among Mr. Trepal’s belongings (R. 3628, 3631).
In closing, the State then wondered if it was coincidental that Mr. Trepal once had a bottle capper and asked why he did not have it when the police searched his home (R. 4198). – (Doc #1) PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS (Oct 15, 2001) : by Todd G. Scher
“Mental Gymnastics” Required To Believe Trepal Left Evidence Behind
Prosecutors, on one hand, presented circumstantial evidence that Trepal once owned a bottle capper, implying it could have been used in the crime.
No evidence was ever presented that the caps on the Coca-Cola bottles were replaced by a bottle capper, but because a witness remembered seeing one in Trepal’s house six years before the crime, the ‘inflammatory’ testimony was allowed to be entered as evidence.
The State then insinuated Trepal got rid of the bottle capper to cover his tracks.
On the other hand, Trepal allegedly left the “smoking gun” (bottle containing traces of thallium) in his home. The inconsistency is brushed off with the explanation Trepal believed he was too smart for police and they’d never figure it out.
According to criminal poisoning expert John Trestrail, Trepal’s “ego” is what led him to leave evidence behind (51:07).
…So he leaves the poison behind because “ego”, but not the bottle-capper…he gets rid of that.
Killers like Trepal “..can plan a script of a death (45:01). She’ll be here and she’ll be eating this and then she’ll do this and I’ll do this. It’s all laid out. So I think this takes a great deal of intelligence to plan this out.” – John Trestrail
Inexplicably, the highly intelligent Trepal didn’t think to include “get rid of the evidence” in his murder script.
Also, our minds have to be “flexible” enough to believe that even though the prosecution presented testimony Trepal was acting suspiciously and very “nervous” when they first interviewed him, and they (detectives) had revealed to him that his neighbors had been poisoned, he still failed to get rid of the “murder weapon”…because he didn’t think they were smart enough to look for it in his unlocked garage ?
Questions For You As A Juror
1) Would it have an effect on your decision if you became aware there was a note found in the Carr’s home, from Peggy to Pye, revealing the ‘serious state of the marriage, contradicting the testimony at trial from a number of state witnesses’ ? The letter was never disclosed to defense counsel.
“As discussed in Mr. Trepal’s post conviction proceedings, one key piece of evidence regarding the state of the Carr’s marriage was suppressed by the State. A letter from Peggy Carr to Pye was discovered in the Carr’s home during a search by Detective Mincey; this letter revealed the serious state of the marriage, contradicting the testimony at trial from a number of state witnesses. Mincey never showed the note to Pye Carr, but did show it to prosecutor John Aguero, who indicated that it had no evidentiary value; Mincey then put the note in an intelligence file and it was never disclosed to trial counsel.” – Doc #1 c. (below) – Todd G. Scher
“The defense wanted to ask such questions of the State’s first witness, Rita Tacker (R. 1511). The defense argued that in addition to testifying that Peggy Carr came to her home with the children for three days, Tacker could testify that Peggy Carr said she was leaving Pye Carr for good because he treated the children unfairly, worked late hours, had a girlfriend and drank too much (R. 1511-12).” – Doc #1 d. (below) – Todd G. Scher
“The defense wanted to ask Pye Carr whether he had told his girlfriend Laura Irving that he had made a mistake by marrying Peggy and that he wanted Irving back (R. 1724). Pye Carr said he would answer “no” to that question (R. 1724). The defense said that Irving had told the police that Pye Carr had said this (R. 1725). The court ruled the defense could not ask the question because it was hearsay (R. 1725).” – Doc #1 e. (below) – Todd G. Scher
2) As a juror, would it have an effect on your decision if you became aware the husband of the murder victim had recently taken out a large life insurance policy on his new bride ?
“Peggy’s son Allen, in the navy in Tennessee, would testify that they developed a password system so that she could tell him when she was coming, without Pye knowing. Peggy was afraid, and she was planning her escape.” –Doc #2 j. (below) – Gray R. Proctor
3) Would it have an effect on your decision if you became aware evidence showed Peggy and the boys were also poisoned with arsenic while they were hospitalized ?
“Nowhere in this version of events is there any account of the arsenic poisoning that the doctors discovered. Peggy and the boys were also poisoned with arsenic, which the body processes and eliminates. In post conviction proceedings, Dr. Marland Dulaney would testify that the elevated levels of arsenic in their blood after two weeks of hospitalization indicated exposure to arsenic while they were hospitalized.” – Doc #2 h. (below) – Gray R. Proctor
Detectives ruled out Pye Carr as a suspect, in part because they didn’t believe he would poison his own son (Travis), “who he dearly loved.”
One evening, Larry was in Travis and Duane’s hospital room when Pye appeared at the door; Travis hollered “Larry, get him out of here. He’s trying to kill me.” He (Larry) later clarified on cross that Carolyn Dixon was also with Pye during this incident, and that Travis said “they” were trying to kill him again, meaning both Pye and Carolyn – (Doc #3) INITIAL BRIEF OF APPELLANT : By Todd G. Scher
The fact Peggy and the boys were poisoned with arsenic while they were hospitalized may be the most powerful evidence in Trepal’s favor. Was he ever seen at the hospital ? Are we to believe he somehow administered arsenic to the victims there ?
At the evidentiary hearing, Dr. Dulaney opined that Peggy had been initially poisoned with arsenic, leading to her initial hospitalization, after which she was released because she got better. After her release, Dulaney opined that she was exposed to thallium, in addition to an additional exposure to arsenic as, upon re-admission, she had 20 times the normal level of arsenic in her urine (Id.).
The second exposure to arsenic made the thallium more toxic (Id. at 2794; 2816-17). Dulaney also opined that Duane and Travis were exposed to thallium as well as arsenic resulting in their hospitalization on October 31 (Id. at 2795-96).81 The urine screenings of Duane and Travis, done 2 weeks later, revealed elevated arsenic levels, which is an “interesting diagnostic find” because they had been hospitalized for 14 days and still had arsenic in their urine (Id. at 2797).
This indicated two possibilities: that they had received a very high dose of arsenic before their hospitalization and the later readings was the “tail end” of that, or that between October 31 and November 14, “they’re being given arsenic again” (Id. at 2797; 2801-03).82
In denying relief, the lower court sub silentio accepted Dulaney’s testimony, but concluded that although the arsenic issue “raised some questions” and “was one of the most important claims” raised, trial counsel had to focus on the fact that (1) Peggy died of thallium, not arsenic, poisoning, (2) that arsenic exposure “did not exclude” Mr. Trepal as the guilty party, and (3) the State experts had “different opinions on why Peggy Carr became sick” (1PC-R 3365-66).
The lower court’s analysis is exactly wrong as to the significance of the arsenic poisoning. In a circumstantial case such as this one, the fact that a second and ongoing poisoning attempt was being perpetrated on the victims by someone other than the person on trial establishes the reasonableness of a hypothesis of Mr. Trepal’s innocence and the guilt of another suspect who had close contact with the victims over a long period of time.
The startling fact that the thallium level in one of the victims continued to increase while in the hospital was not presented to the jury, despite its obvious significance, alone and in conjunction with the other evidence in the case. – (Doc #3) INITIAL BRIEF OF APPELLANT : By Todd G. Scher
The final vote for the death penalty was 9 – 3 in favor.
Could (3) jurors have been swayed by this information ?
INADMISSIBLE, IRRELEVANT, INFLAMMATORY AND UNFAIRLY PREJUDICIAL EVIDENCE
The cumulative effect of all of this erroneously admitted evidence is clear: it resulted in Mr. Trepal’s convictions and sentences. – Todd G. Scher
Often times in homicide investigations we hear detectives talk about evidence “only the killer would know.” Authorities sometimes keep crime scene details to themselves for years in hopes a suspect will ‘slip up’ and tie himself (or herself) to a murder.
In an interview with American Justice, Detective Susan Goreck said she believes Trepal did just that. When Trepal, discussing the murder with Goreck for the first time said, “apparently it was some sort of personal vendetta…it’s not like they’re running around poisoning everybody”, this, to Goreck was absolute proof Trepal was the killer.
“No one knew that” Goreck states dramatically. “The case had not been solved.”
The ‘slip up‘ left no doubt in Goreck’s mind Trepal ‘had done it.’
Text of conversation
Goreck : I think you neglected to tell me something.
Trepal : Oh, what’s that ?
Goreck : That something had happened in the neighborhood. A lot of well meaning people scared me out of my wits.
Trepal : Oh, oh yeah. Somebody got poisoned next door.
Goreck : That might not be a lot to you, but it’s a lot to me.
Trepal : Oh, well sorry.
Goreck : You weren’t afraid, were you ?
Trepal : No, apparently it was some sort of personal vendetta. I mean it’s not like, uh, they’re running around poisoning everybody.
Goreck : “At that point, there was really no doubt left in my mind that he was the one that had done it.”
Considering the fact this conversation took place months after the murder, why would Trepal’s assumptions be suspicious to Goreck. ?
There were no additional poisoning deaths linked to the case from the time of the murder leading up to the conversation. The community wasn’t living in fear.
How do we know this ? The same way Trepal and everyone else knew it. From the news or lack thereof.
If someone was ‘running around poisoning everybody’ it would have been on the ‘front page’.
Assuming the poisoning was a ‘personal vendetta’ is a natural conclusion for anyone to make.
You wouldn’t need to be a ‘self-styled genius’ to figure that out.
In fact, the entire community had reached the same conclusion.
“PYE CARR COULD SENSE IT. IN the looks he caught people giving him. In the conversations that stopped suddenly when he walked by. Alturas was a small town. The poisoning was huge news. And a lot of people, even his own friends, subscribed to the prevailing theory: Pye had poisoned his wife.” – Mike McLeod “MURDER, HE WROTE”
Related – excerpt from (Doc #1) PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS (Oct 15, 2001) : by Todd G. Scher regarding video with undercover officer Susan Goreck
The court admitted a videotape of an encounter Detective Goreck had with Mr. Trepal while she was “Sherry Guin.” In December 1989, some 14 months after the poisonings, Goreck pretended to rent Mr. Trepal’s Alturas house (R. 3231-32, 3246).
In January 1990, after “renting” the house, Goreck arranged to meet Mr. Trepal and videotaped their encounter (R. 3733-34). The defense relevance objection to admission of the videotape was overruled (R. 3710, 3735).
On the videotape, Goreck told Mr. Trepal that she had just heard about the poisonings and that police had her asked about Mr. Trepal (R. 3739).
Mr. Trepal said an FBI agent had told him the neighbor was poisoned by something put in Coke bottles, that if the police were interested in him it was because of the poisoning, that he might be a suspect just because he lived in the area, that he hoped he was not the prime suspect, that Goreck had nothing to worry about because he was probably the prime suspect, and that it was probably his turn to be a suspect because the police had suspected everyone else (R. 3739-57).
After the videotape ended, Goreck was allowed to testify, over defense objection, that Mr. Trepal’s behavior during this conversation was different than usual (R. 3759- 60).
The State argued that the testimony regarding Mr. Trepal’s behavior was evidence that he had a “guilty mind” (R. 4197-98, 4226- 27). This evidence was irrelevant and highly prejudicial to Mr. Trepal. Evidence of a “consciousness of guilt” may be admissible, but only if the evidence clearly indicates a consciousness of guilt. See, e.g., Nichols v. State, 760 So. 2d 223, 225-26 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000); Brown v. State, 756 So. 2d 230, 231 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000).
For example, in cases where evidence of flight is relied on to show consciousness of guilt, this Court has noted that ‘flight alone is no more consistent with guilt than innocence.”
This section last updated February 2, 2021 at 8:10 p.m. (CST)
Issues With ‘Smoking Gun’ Evidence
“Armed with a sealed indictment, authorities arrested Trepal at his Sebring home in April 1990. Eight months later, Assistant State Attorney John Aguero rolled out four weeks of witnesses and evidence to a jury of eight men and four women. He described Trepal as a diabolical killer who perceived himself smarter than the police.” – The Ledger
The key piece of evidence that led to the arrest of George Trepal for the murder of Peggy Carr was a bottle containing traces of thallium found at his home in Alturas, Florida.
Susan Goreck, acting undercover as Sherry Guin, had rented the home from Trepal over a year after the murder occured, when Trepal and his wife Diana moved to Sebring, Florida for Diana’s medical practice.
The bottle containing thallium was found in an unlocked garage 15 months after the murder.
The discovery of the ‘damning’ piece of evidence raises serious questions. To believe the State’s case, we have to accept that the man they describe as a diabolical evil genius didn’t think to get rid of incriminating evidence.
We also have to trust it wasn’t planted.
“George and his eventually wife moved from their house, and because Susan had pretended to need help, they let her move in. That’s when Polk County police discovered the most important evidence: a bottle in the garage containing Thallium.
And so now we have the psychopath, killing to demonstrate his power, who left his “trophy” behind for anyone to find. Never mind that the bottle was literally in a rat’s nest, in a workbench that had come with the house, in a garage that was kept unlocked.” – Doc #2 g. (below) Gray R. Proctor
Search At Trepal Property Cut Short
In Poison Mind the details of the search that turned up the incriminating bottle of thallium were discussed.
After meeting crime scene technicians at the Circle K convenience store a short distance from the Trepal home she had just rented, detective Goreck and the crew caravanned to the property to begin their search.
Polk County Sheriff Deputy Charles Hicks was occupying the Carr home next door. Pye and his family had moved out and were staying with family members.
An hour into their search Hicks knocked at the door to inquire what was taking place.
In the odd encounter Hicks, serving as a “watchdog” over the house, doesn’t recognize Goreck or inquire about the multiple cars or technicians who had accompanied her. Goreck simply tells Hicks, who she knew but “hadn’t seen for years”, that she had “just moved in.”
After Hicks departs, Goreck tells the crew they need to wrap up.
Just before leaving, detective Brad Bekke, sifting through several “old jugs” in the unlocked “garage woodshop”, finds a small brown bottle containing a “white, crystalline residue.”
According to the account, despite the obvious potential of the find, no discussions about the “white” substance found in the bottle takes place. He simply places it with the other evidence bottles he collected.
After months of hoping for access to the prime suspect’s home finally materialized, we learn the plan to scour every inch of the property for evidence is cut short, because the man they had as a lookout “was about to knock off” at 9:00 p.m.
No Follow Up Search
Why wouldn’t detectives arrange for another more thorough search of the property at a later date, since this one was cut short ?
The department could have easily monitored Trepal’s whereabouts and searched during daylight hours in order to go over every nook and cranny, but by all accounts no additional searches on the property were conducted.
If one was, it wasn’t mentioned in Goreck’s book or any other available reports. Instead, they sent what they had gathered, in just a couple of hours, to the FBI lab and sat back and waited for the results.
If evidence had been planted, which has been alleged, then it actually makes sense just one search was conducted.
Why waste everyone’s time if you already know you “found” all the evidence you need ?
Goreck’s logs revealed that Mr. Trepal was continually under surveillance by airplanes, cars, phone taps, mail taps, pen registers, and tracking devices (Id. at 1270). Detectives pawed through garbage at his home and business under cover of darkness (Id. at 1271-72).
Phone calls by Diana Carr to her attorneys were monitored (Id. at 1274- 75). Every piece of mail, whether US Mail, UPS, or Federal Express, passing through Mr. Trepal’s house was secretly monitored and notated (Id. at 1275-76). If someone contacted him who appeared “suspicious,” that person’s privacy also became violated by secret phone taps (Id. at 1277).
One time, the phone number for a Mr. Mogul appeared on the phone tolls; when law enforcement went to interview him, detectives told him that they needed more evidence against Mr. Trepal because “some of his superiors had their jobs on the line” (Id. at 1280).
The detective also told Mogul that the only evidence they had was a brown bottle found in Mr. Trepal’s garage, but the detective “thought the bottle had been planted” (Id.). Mogul refused to provide information because “he didn’t know anything about the case” (Id.). (Doc #3) INITIAL BRIEF OF APPELLANT : By Todd G. Scher
Videos | Breakdown | Analysis
This section last updated December 7, 2020 at 6:20 p.m. (CST)
American Justice Video
Watch Documentary – Vengeance: Killer Neighbors (George Trepal)
Forensic Files – Season 2, Ep 5: Bitter Potion
2:03 “My mom went out to where he worked, and um, we found him with another woman.” – Gelina “Sissy” Shiver (Peggy Carr’s daughter)
7:19 “We thought, you know, Pye had something to do with it.” – Duane Dubberly (Peggy Carr’s son)
Lethal Dosage | Peggy Carr | The New Detectives
41:47 Erroneously states Pye Carr claimed he received a threatening note “two weeks before the poisoning”, when in fact the letter was received approximately four months prior (to poisoning).
Murder She Solved | Poison Heart
11:15 “I thought that he poisoned my mother because he wanted out of the marriage.” – Duane Dubberly (Peggy Carr’s son)
Case Information | Court Documents | Petitions
This section last updated January 11, 2021 at 3:15 a.m. (CST)
(Doc #1) PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS (Oct 15, 2001) : by Todd G. Scher
a. Access To The Carr House. Travis Carr unequivocally testified that he bought an eight-pack of 16-ounce bottles of CocaCola a couple of days before he became ill and that he and other family members drank those Cokes (R. 1624-25).18
b. “Cissy” Shiver, was convinced that both Pye Carr and his sister, Carolyn Dixon, had poisoned her mother. During the days when Peggy was at home sick, Dixon continued to bring food and drink into the house that was shared by everyone except Cissy and Tammy Carr. It bothered Cissy that as Peggy’s health continued to decline, Dixon administered medicines to Peggy that were not prescribed by a doctor. Dixon was also steadily plying Peggy with the Coca-Cola, on the pretext that it would provide some type of “nourishment” (R. 1800). While Dixon was freely passing out Coca-Cola to the family members, she herself did not drink any Coke (R. 6121). Dixon was one of the suspect that was not adequately investigated at the time of trial; this issue is addressed in more detail in Mr. Trepal’s Rule 3.850 appeal.
c. As discussed in Mr. Trepal’s post conviction proceedings, one key piece of evidence regarding the state of the Carr’s marriage was suppressed by the State. A letter from Peggy Carr to Pye was discovered in the Carr’s home during a search by Detective Mincey; this letter revealed the serious state of the marriage, contradicting the testimony at trial from a number of state witnesses. Mincey never showed the note to Pye Carr, but did show it to prosecutor John Aguero, who indicated that it had no evidentiary value; Mincey then put the note in an intelligence file and it was never disclosed to trial counsel. The note was revealed, however, pursuant to a Chapter 119 request made by Mr. Trepal’s post conviction counsel.
d. The defense wanted to ask such questions of the State’s first witness, Rita Tacker (R. 1511). The defense argued that in addition to testifying that Peggy Carr came to her home with the children for three days, Tacker could testify that Peggy Carr said she was leaving Pye Carr for good because he treated the children unfairly, worked late hours, had a girlfriend and drank too much (R. 1511-12).
e. The defense wanted to ask Pye Carr whether he had told his girlfriend Laura Irving that he had made a mistake by marrying Peggy and that he wanted Irving back (R. 1724). Pye Carr said he would answer “no” to that question (R. 1724). The defense said that Irving had told the police that Pye Carr had said this (R. 1725). The court ruled the defense could not ask the question because it was hearsay (R. 1725).
f. On cross-examination, the defense tried to ask Chester about Pye Carr telling him “he didn’t blame him for leaving Sissy, that he wishes that he could get out of his marriage, too, but it would cost him too much” (R. 3602-03).
(Doc #2) Petition for clemency is prepared on behalf of inmate George Trepal : by Gray R. Proctor
(Excerpts)
a. This is a circumstantial evidence case that started with nothing more than a hunch and limped along for a year before the State, in suspicious circumstances, found something they felt they could use to charge him with.
b. The first officers thought George was acting suspicious, fidgeting and clucking his tongue. Mr. 4 Trepal suffers from a speech impediment known as dysarthria, secondary to problems in his neuromuscular system, which causes him to “make noise with the tongue” Dysarthria is neurologically-based, and differs from garden-variety stuttering. This renders him physically clumsy.
c. The authorities convicted Mr. Trepal the first time they met with him. As Officer Goreck writes in her account of the investigation, George was not a suspect until he made the mistake of giving an answer to the officer’s question – “Why would somebody want to poison the Carr family?” He replied, “to get them to move.” This reminded the police of a threatening note the Carr family had received the month before, a note that was never matched to George in any way. Moreover, the note was never matched to the poisoning in any way. But that answer was the nail in George’s coffin.
d. Ms. Goreck, who appears to have access to everyone involved, describes the officers at the scene giving each other highfives, and saying “He did it. Now all we have to do is prove it.”
e. As the investigation unfolded, it became clear that the case would make a great movie. But they never had enough to make a case, just a compelling story based on an unusual man who made a good character in a plot that they liked.
f. All you had to do to have this story was ignore his gentle, helpful nature, along with every other fact that didn’t fit. The mastermind, who carefully watched the house next door, retrieved an eight-pack of coke and replaced it poisoned during two thirty-minute windows where the house was empty, left the evidence for police to find while the house was emptied after the poisoning.
g. George and his eventually wife moved from their house, and because Susan had pretended to need help, they let her move in. That’s when Polk County police discovered the most important evidence: a bottle in the garage containing Thallium. And so now we have the psychopath, killing to demonstrate his power, who left his “trophy” behind for anyone to find. Never mind that the bottle was literally in a rat’s nest, in a workbench that had come with the house, in a garage that was kept unlocked.
h. Nowhere in this version of events is there any account of the arsenic poisoning that the doctors discovered. Peggy and the boys were also poisoned with arsenic, which the body processes and eliminates. In post conviction proceedings, Dr. Marland Dulaney would testify that the elevated levels of arsenic in their blood after two weeks of hospitalization indicated exposure to arsenic while they were hospitalized.
i. Paraearlyn “Pye” Carr was absent when the poisoning occurred. He had gone to South Carolina for a hunting trip on October 17, 1988. He and Peggy were having problems, and Peggy had written him a note telling him that if he didn’t want her, she would leave him.
j. Peggy’s son Allen, in the navy in Tennessee, would testify that they developed a password system so that she could tell him when she was coming, without Pye knowing. Peggy was afraid, and she was planning her escape.
k. The theory at trial was that George had synthesized the Thallium. Where could Pye have gotten it?
l. Pye could have gotten it from Silver City phosphate mine, where he worked. Again according to Larry, when Margaret Carr, Pye’s ex wife, suggested this in front of police, – “they’ve got two chemist labs out there, do you know anything about this – – the kids got into” – he told her to shut her goddamn mouth.
m. When you review his case, you should have at least a lingering doubt as to whether he’s really the culprit. If you have no doubt at all that he is guilty, you should question whether he put a nonlethal dose in each bottle with the intent to kill. Either way, Mr. Trepal should not be executed.
(Doc #3) INITIAL BRIEF OF APPELLANT : By Todd G. Scher
(Doc #4) Answer Brief Of The Coca-Cola Company
This section last updated December 4, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. (CST)
Photo | Evidence Gallery
Threatening note sent to Carr family in June 1988, approx 4-5 months prior to the poisoning
More to come
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