Calls mount for an investigation into how crucial evidence in P.E.I. murder case was lost

People in PEI's gay community are demanding answers tonight. They're still reeling from news that Charlottetown police lost key pieces of evidence, including the towel used to strangle PEI teacher Byron Carr and the knife later used to stab him. It's kind of reopened some old wounds. It's made some mistrust resurface. And I think really it's important that an independent investigation is done looking at what role homophobia played back in the 80s and now and looking at any kind of mishandling of the crime scene, the evidence. Dave Stewart lived in Charlottetown in the 80s. He still remembers how targeted the island's gay community felt following Byron Carr's murder, especially the note written in ink on Carr's bedroom wall, I will kill again. I do believe in accountability. Charlottetown's police chief says he welcomes an independent investigation. Darren McDougall says he doesn't know what that might look like or who may do it, but he believes one is necessary to get to the bottom of how critical evidence in this high-profile cold case could have gone missing. Incorporated in trying to determine where the evidence went, I also believe that the people responsible for it, that they should be looked into as far as their actions are concerned, their motivations, other things, and most definitely I'm open to any type of review that would, you know, for us, enforce accountability for the sake of the community. But McDougall says it will be challenging. Most of the members who were part of the Byron car investigation in 1988 are no longer with the force or have died. I was eight. Peers Alliance, a group that supports the 2SLGBTQ plus community, says an independent investigation is needed. Although we can't have justice for the person who committed the murders, I think that what we can do at least is acknowledge the ways in which this community was failed. And this community was failed in a very systemic way that was rooted in homophobia and dehumanization. Do you believe that homophobia or racism may have played a part in what happened back in 1988? I mean, Wayne, I can't say with certainty. Did I see it in the community? Was it rampant? And I would say, yeah, yeah, for sure. Was it in existence within the ranks of the police department? I would expect that it likely was. McDougall says Charlottetown's police force now includes a diverse group of people. And he says he doesn't see the homophobia that may have existed 40 years ago in his police force today. As for the province, it says it's in talks with Charlottetown police about the Byron Carr case to determine the appropriate scope of a review. Wayne Thibodeau, CBC News, Charlottetown.