Liberals call for independent inquiry into lost evidence in Byron Carr case

A public inquiry into the handling of key evidence by Charlottetown Police Services is needed after all charges against the man accused of murdering PEI teacher Byron Carr were dropped on Tuesday, says Liberal MLA Carolyn Simpson.

Section 4 of PEI’s Police Act authorizes the Minister of Justice and Public Safety to appoint an investigator to examine matters relating to policing, including the operation and administration of a police department. Government also has authority under the Public Inquiries Act to order a public inquiry into “any matter connected with the good government of this province”. 

Simpson called on the Minister of Justice and Public Safety to exercise his authority and order a public inquiry into Charlottetown Police Services’ handling of the evidence in the Carr case. 

“The loss of key evidence by Charlottetown Police Services in this case raises serious questions that must be answered,” says Simpson. “A transparent, independent process to get to the bottom of what happened here is important to ensuring public trust in our institutions.”

At a minimum, Simpson said that the inquiry should seek to identify any failures in evidence management and reporting, and determine what changes are needed to prevent similar failures from happening again. Carr’s family deserves an explanation, and Islanders deserve answers.