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RICK MacLEAN: Evidence lost in a murder case? We need answers

It appeared in the “just the facts” style of reporting that is traditional when covering a court case.

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“More than two years after the police arrested a man in connection with the murder of former schoolteacher Byron Carr, the Crown has withdrawn the charges because of the loss of evidence,” this paper reported.

But that opening sentence was hardly typical. We are, after all, talking about a MURDER case. In P.E.I. Hardly a place known for a long list of the most violent of crimes, one person killing another.

The details didn’t get any better the further you read into the story about the cold case from 1988.

“In a statement sent Oct. 13, the Crown Attorneys’ Office said it planned to withdraw all charges against Todd Joseph Gallant (he also uses the last name Irving) as a result of the loss of ‘extensive crucial evidence.’”

Astonishing. Thunderstruck

I covered, or supervised coverage of, more than my share of murders and attempted murders in my approximately 20 years as an editor and reporter in my small hometown. Murder was admittedly – and tragically – far more common there.

I have never. Ever. Not once. Heard of a case being shut down because the police were unable to find evidence collected during........

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