Opinion ID: 3047100
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Poisonings

Text: Trepal and his wife, Dr. Diana Carr, lived in Alturas, Florida, on property adjoining the home of victim Peggy Carr and her husband Parearlyn “Pye” Carr.2 2 Dr. Carr, a medical doctor, is no relation to Pye or Peggy Carr and their family. When we refer to the “Carr family,” we mean Pye and Peggy Carr and their relatives living on their property (whether or not those relatives bear the surname Carr), not Trepal’s wife or any of her 4 The two homes—Pye Carr’s and Trepal’s—were located amid orange groves and were very isolated. The next nearest neighbors were about a quarter-mile away. In June 1988, Pye Carr received an anonymous letter stating, “You and all your so-called family have two weeks to move out of Florida forever or else you will all die. This is no joke.” The letter was postmarked in nearby Bartow, Florida. Even though Pye’s home was in Alturas, the letter correctly listed Pye’s mailing address as being in Bartow, Florida. Pye’s and Trepal’s homes, both in Alturas, had Bartow mailing addresses because they got their mail on the Bartow post office route. Trepal would know this fact. On October 23, 1988, Peggy Carr began to show symptoms of an unknown illness, including nausea, pain in her chest and extremities, and difficulty breathing. She was admitted to Bartow Memorial Hospital the next day and stayed for three days. Back at home, Peggy’s symptoms worsened, and the children in the Carr home, Travis and Duane, began to show similar symptoms. On October 30, 1988, Peggy, Travis, and Duane were admitted to Winter Haven Hospital.3 relatives. To avoid confusion, we will refer to Dr. Carr as “Trepal’s wife.” 3 Peggy Carr and her teenaged son Duane Dubberly moved into Pye’s home after Peggy and Pye’s March 1988 wedding. Pye’s teenaged son, Travis Carr, lived in the home as well. 5 Treating neurologist Dr. Richard Hostler suspected thallium poisoning.4 Within 24 hours, lab tests confirmed the presence of thallium in Peggy’s tissues. Despite treatment, Peggy Carr’s condition deteriorated, and within a week she lapsed into a coma from which she never awoke. She died on March 3, 1989. Duane remained hospitalized for two months and Travis for six months, but both eventually recovered. Tests revealed the presence of thallium not only in Travis and Duane, but also in Pye, his daughter Gelena, and his granddaughter Kasey, who also lived with Pye and Peggy.5