00:00:00
foreign
00:00:09
[Music]
00:00:13
deal with serious and often distressing
00:00:16
incidents if you feel at any time you
00:00:18
need support please contact your local
00:00:20
crisis center
00:00:21
for suggested phone numbers for
00:00:22
confidential support please see the show
00:00:24
notes for this episode on your app or on
00:00:27
our website
00:00:30
[Music]
00:00:35
41 year old Peggy Carr was employed as a
00:00:38
waitress at the Nicholas Family
00:00:39
Restaurant in South Central Florida
00:00:43
on October 23 1988 she was working the
00:00:46
Sunday morning shift when she started
00:00:48
feeling unwell
00:00:51
a strong pain seared in the middle of
00:00:53
her chest
00:00:55
at first Peggy thought she might be
00:00:57
having a heart attack
00:00:59
but one of her regular customers assured
00:01:01
her that couldn't be the case
00:01:04
Peggy's breathing and pulse were both in
00:01:06
the normal range and the bright pink
00:01:08
shade of her fingernails indicated she
00:01:10
was receiving plenty of oxygen
00:01:14
as the day wore on Peggy continued to
00:01:17
feel sick
00:01:19
around lunchtime her adult daughter
00:01:21
Jelena arrived at the restaurant
00:01:24
the two worked together and gelena was
00:01:27
scheduled to cover the lunch shift
00:01:30
and Jelena noticed something was wrong
00:01:32
with her mother almost right away
00:01:35
Peggy who rarely complained and was
00:01:37
never unwell told Jelena that her hands
00:01:40
were numb and her legs were aching
00:01:43
Jelena touched her mother's hands they
00:01:46
were ice cold
00:01:47
[Music]
00:01:48
she told Peggy to sit down and rest
00:01:51
Peggy did so but the pain continued
00:01:55
eventually she decided to leave work
00:01:58
early
00:01:59
perhaps a nap at home would cure
00:02:01
whatever was ailing her
00:02:09
[Music]
00:02:20
[Music]
00:02:23
thank you
00:02:25
[Music]
00:02:27
later that afternoon Peggy's husband
00:02:30
Perry Ellen Carr better known as pie
00:02:33
returned home from a hunting trip
00:02:35
he found Peggy sprawled on the living
00:02:37
room sofa
00:02:39
as she greeted him she looked sick and
00:02:42
her voice sounded weak
00:02:45
the two had only been married for six
00:02:47
months
00:02:48
it was a remarriage for both of them the
00:02:51
result of a whirlwind courtship
00:02:54
after the wedding Peggy moved into Pie's
00:02:57
home a remote property surrounded by
00:02:59
orange groves in the Florida town of
00:03:01
Alturas
00:03:03
she brought two of her grown children
00:03:05
with her her eldest Jelena
00:03:08
seventeen-year-old Dwayne Angelina's
00:03:11
two-year-old daughter
00:03:13
Peggy's other son Alan was stationed at
00:03:16
a naval base in Tennessee
00:03:19
two of pai's children also lived at the
00:03:22
home eighteen-year-old Tammy and a 16
00:03:24
year old Travis
00:03:26
it was an adjustment as the large
00:03:28
blended family got used to their new
00:03:30
living arrangements but Peggy and Pie
00:03:33
did their best to make it work
00:03:37
when Pai found Peggy sick on the couch
00:03:39
his first instinct was to call his
00:03:42
sister Carolyn who was a nurse
00:03:44
Caroline came over right away but
00:03:47
quickly gave Peggy the all clear
00:03:50
all of her vitals seemed fine although
00:03:52
her blood pressure was slightly high
00:03:54
[Music]
00:03:56
Peggy's daughter Jelena wasn't so sure
00:04:00
when she got home at around nine o'clock
00:04:02
that night she found her mother lying in
00:04:04
bed with her eyes tightly closed
00:04:07
Peggy's skin was deathly White and her
00:04:10
lips were badly chapped
00:04:12
she was so weak that she couldn't even
00:04:15
get up to walk to the bathroom
00:04:18
in a whisper Peggy told her daughter
00:04:21
you don't know how bad it hurts do you
00:04:24
hear what I'm saying
00:04:26
I'm just hurting
00:04:33
Jelena found her stepfather pie in the
00:04:36
kitchen
00:04:37
she asked him to take her mother to the
00:04:39
hospital
00:04:40
pie refused
00:04:42
he said Peggy didn't want to go to a
00:04:45
hospital and insisted she just had a
00:04:47
virus
00:04:48
Jelena pleaded and offered to drive
00:04:50
Peggy herself yet pie didn't budge
00:04:56
a little while later he changed his mind
00:04:59
he carried Peggy into his car and is set
00:05:02
out for Bartow Memorial Hospital which
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was about 11 miles away
00:05:07
Jelena followed behind in her own
00:05:09
vehicle
00:05:11
once they reached the emergency room a
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doctor performed a brief examination of
00:05:16
Peggy
00:05:18
even having her arm touched was
00:05:20
excruciating
00:05:22
in describing her symptoms Peggy stated
00:05:26
I feel like I'm on fire
00:05:30
the doctors were at a loss as to what
00:05:32
was wrong
00:05:34
tests failed to uncover a diagnosis
00:05:36
prompting one doctor to suggest Peggy's
00:05:39
symptoms might be psychosomatic caused
00:05:42
by a mental Factor rather than a
00:05:43
physical one
00:05:46
this Theory upset Peggy
00:05:48
whatever her illness was she knew it
00:05:51
hadn't been caused by stress or her
00:05:53
imagination
00:05:56
Peggy spent three days in hospital and
00:05:58
although no one could figure out what
00:06:00
had made her sick she soon began to
00:06:02
improve
00:06:04
she became well enough to sit up in bed
00:06:06
drink coffee and even eat by herself
00:06:10
when she complained about the quality of
00:06:12
the hospital's food her daughter Jelena
00:06:14
knew she was getting better
00:06:17
Peggy's signs of improvement prompted
00:06:19
the doctors to send her home
00:06:22
the next evening Pius sister Caroline
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brought over Fried Chicken for the
00:06:26
family
00:06:28
she portioned it out and served it
00:06:30
alongside a glasses of Coca-Cola
00:06:34
the next morning sixteen-year-old Travis
00:06:37
and 17 year old Dwayne felt sick
00:06:40
they figured it was likely a hangover as
00:06:43
they'd had a big night out with friends
00:06:46
but when their fate began to tingle it
00:06:48
became clear they were suffering the
00:06:50
same symptoms as Peggy
00:06:53
soon the boys felt a burning sensation
00:06:55
inside their bodies
00:06:58
Peggy's symptoms also started worsening
00:07:02
at 7 30 the following night she was led
00:07:05
away in an ambulance
00:07:09
this time Peggy was taken to Winter
00:07:12
Haven hospital where she was examined by
00:07:14
a neurologist a name to Dr T Richard
00:07:16
hosler
00:07:18
Dr hosler asked Peggy to try to keep her
00:07:21
eyes shut
00:07:22
he then tried to open them
00:07:25
Peggy couldn't resist and her eyes
00:07:28
opened easily
00:07:29
this was unusual for a healthy adult
00:07:32
she was also extremely sensitive to
00:07:35
touch and her mouth was filled with
00:07:37
ulcerations
00:07:38
[Music]
00:07:39
Peggy told the doctor that her feet felt
00:07:41
like they were on fire
00:07:45
when Dr hosler believed Peggy could have
00:07:48
been poisoned by some kind of heavy
00:07:50
metal
00:07:51
when he found out that two of the
00:07:53
family's children were also starting to
00:07:55
exhibit symptoms that strengthened his
00:07:57
conviction
00:07:59
he asked that Travis and Dwayne be
00:08:01
brought in for observation as well
00:08:06
according to pie the family's property
00:08:08
hadn't been sprayed with any
00:08:10
insecticides recently and there was no
00:08:12
reason a heavy metal should have been
00:08:14
present in their home
00:08:16
nonetheless Dr hosler decided to have
00:08:19
Peggy tested for lead Arsenic and
00:08:22
mercury poisoning
00:08:24
these three heavy metals were the most
00:08:26
common that people could encounter
00:08:29
Dr hosler also decided to test for a
00:08:33
fourth kind of poison thallium
00:08:35
[Music]
00:08:36
colorless odorless and tasteless
00:08:39
thallium was once widely used throughout
00:08:42
the United States as a rat poison and
00:08:44
pesticide
00:08:45
but in 1972 the U.S banned its use due
00:08:49
to safety concerns
00:08:52
thallium is so highly toxic that mild
00:08:55
contact with skin alone can be extremely
00:08:57
dangerous
00:09:00
the fact that thallium was illegal made
00:09:03
it rare and to therefore extremely
00:09:05
unlikely that Peggy Carr could have
00:09:07
encountered it in her home
00:09:09
yet Dr hosler was intrigued by Peggy's
00:09:12
description of feeling like she was
00:09:14
burning to death
00:09:16
one of his colleagues also noticed that
00:09:19
Peggy's hair had started falling out
00:09:22
both of these symptoms fit perfectly
00:09:24
with thallium poisoning
00:09:33
Peggy's Health deteriorated rapidly
00:09:37
that evening She was transferred to the
00:09:39
Intensive Care Unit where she lay in bed
00:09:41
surrounded by machines
00:09:44
tubes were attached to her nose and
00:09:46
mouth to enable her to breathe
00:09:49
Peggy's wrists had been tied down so she
00:09:52
couldn't pull the tubes out
00:09:54
she lost the ability to speak and open
00:09:57
her eyes
00:09:58
but she was still conscious and aware of
00:10:01
when she was being spoken to
00:10:04
both of Peggy's parents had been deaf
00:10:07
and she had learned sign language as a
00:10:09
child
00:10:10
now incapacitated in hospital she was
00:10:13
able to use signing as a way to
00:10:15
communicate
00:10:18
Peggy's sister Shirley drove to Florida
00:10:20
from her home in Alabama to see Peggy
00:10:24
when she asked her now unrecognizable
00:10:26
sister if she knew who surely was Peggy
00:10:30
signed yes
00:10:33
Peggy how are you feeling Shirley asked
00:10:36
Peggy signed again
00:10:39
I heard
00:10:43
the results of Peggy's tests came back
00:10:45
quickly
00:10:46
as Dr hosler had suspected she tested
00:10:50
positive for thallium
00:10:52
in fact the amount of thallium in her
00:10:54
system exceeded the amount the lab could
00:10:57
measure
00:10:58
Dwayne and Travis tested positive for
00:11:01
thallium too but at much lower levels
00:11:05
with the amount of thalium Peggy had in
00:11:08
her body doctors knew it would be
00:11:10
impossible for her to recover
00:11:12
the thallium was causing her nerves to
00:11:15
waste away and die
00:11:17
Peggy's symptoms would soon progress to
00:11:20
paralysis coma and death
00:11:25
in 1988 it was almost unheard of for
00:11:28
someone to experience thullium poisoning
00:11:30
in the United States
00:11:32
it simply wasn't a heavy metal that
00:11:34
people could encounter in their
00:11:36
day-to-day lives
00:11:38
Dr hosler was certain that Peggy's
00:11:40
poisoning wasn't a tragic accident it
00:11:44
must be a deliberate and malicious Act
00:11:49
the doctor broke the news to Peggy's
00:11:51
husband pie who in turn told Peggy
00:11:55
as she lay in a hospital bed with her
00:11:57
eyes closed and machines breathing for
00:11:59
her I said
00:12:02
Peggy do you know why you're here
00:12:05
no Peggy signed in reply
00:12:09
Peggy you've been poisoned pie told her
00:12:13
all Peggy could do in response was
00:12:16
signed the same word over and over
00:12:20
why
00:12:21
why
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[Music]
00:12:27
Dr hosler informed Pai that he believed
00:12:30
someone had tried to poison his family
00:12:31
and that quote
00:12:34
somehow you were spared
00:12:37
pie was silent for a moment
00:12:40
he then remarked
00:12:42
I don't think anyone dislikes us enough
00:12:45
to do that
00:12:46
[Music]
00:12:48
Dwayne and Travis continued to get
00:12:51
sicker while Peggy became completely
00:12:53
unresponsive
00:12:55
three days after Peggy arrived at Winter
00:12:57
Haven Hospital police attempted to
00:13:00
interview her to see if she knew who
00:13:02
might want to harm her
00:13:03
but she was unable to do anything except
00:13:06
squeeze her sister's hand
00:13:08
[Music]
00:13:10
the thallium eventually caused Peggy's
00:13:12
muscles to become entirely paralyzed
00:13:15
she lost the ability to close her eyes
00:13:18
and simply stared up blankly
00:13:21
unable to Blink it was inevitable that
00:13:24
ulcers would form on her corneas
00:13:28
the doctors had to sew her eyes shut to
00:13:30
protect them
00:13:33
within weeks Peggy fell into a coma
00:13:37
weeks turned into months
00:13:40
while Dwayne and Travis eventually made
00:13:43
full recoveries Peggy's family came to
00:13:45
accept that she would never get better
00:13:49
they continued to visit and talk to her
00:13:51
all the time
00:13:54
on Friday March 3 1989 about four and a
00:13:58
half months after Peggy first became
00:14:00
sick the decision was made to switch off
00:14:03
her life support system
00:14:10
Peggy's two eldest children Jelena and
00:14:13
Alan had their own suspicions as to who
00:14:15
would want to kill their mother
00:14:18
when Peggy remarried her children were
00:14:21
initially pleased for her
00:14:23
they felt she deserved some Joy after
00:14:25
her other relationships hadn't worked
00:14:27
out and Pie seemed to make her happy
00:14:31
but as the months went by Peggy
00:14:33
experienced some niggling doubts
00:14:36
the couple's children had initially
00:14:39
gotten along well but they soon started
00:14:41
to fight with each other
00:14:44
pie was employed at a Phosphate Mine and
00:14:47
worked incredibly long hours
00:14:50
Peggy began to suspect that something
00:14:52
else was going on
00:14:54
one night when pyre said he had to work
00:14:57
late Peggy and Jelena decided to
00:15:00
investigate
00:15:02
they got into jelena's car and drove out
00:15:05
to the mine
00:15:06
upon their arrival there were only two
00:15:09
cars in the parking lot
00:15:12
one was pies the other belonged to a
00:15:15
former girlfriend of his
00:15:17
pie was having an affair
00:15:21
Peggy left the family home with her
00:15:24
children and granddaughter
00:15:26
she left a note for pie that read
00:15:29
I do love you very very much right now
00:15:33
I'm at the point that I don't really
00:15:34
know how you feel
00:15:36
I told you I could handle anything as
00:15:39
long as I had you
00:15:40
now I'm not sure
00:15:44
I'm going to give you some time to think
00:15:46
about us
00:15:47
I can't live like we have been
00:15:51
no respect from the kids not talking not
00:15:54
caring
00:15:56
I love you and want to be your wife
00:15:58
key word is wife
00:16:01
I don't know if this is right or not
00:16:03
what I'm doing but I don't know what
00:16:06
else to do
00:16:08
I can't imagine living without you but I
00:16:11
can if you don't want me
00:16:14
there's no question in my mind whether
00:16:17
or not I want you and love you is there
00:16:19
a question in your mind
00:16:22
I'll be okay if anyone is interested
00:16:25
I love you with all my heart
00:16:28
Peggy
00:16:32
a few days later on Thursday October 20
00:16:35
the couple reconciled and Peggy moved
00:16:37
back home
00:16:39
that same day Pi left for a previously
00:16:42
scheduled hunting trip which would keep
00:16:44
him away all weekend
00:16:47
when he returned on Sunday October 23
00:16:50
Peggy was sick on the couch
00:16:54
Jelena had been disturbed by Pie's
00:16:57
initial reluctance to take her mother to
00:16:59
the hospital
00:17:00
she immediately began to wonder if he
00:17:03
was behind Peggy's illness
00:17:05
Jelena confided in a co-worker that she
00:17:08
thought pie and his sister Caroline were
00:17:11
poisoning her mother
00:17:13
Allen soon came to share his sister's
00:17:16
suspicions
00:17:17
[Music]
00:17:19
the siblings weren't alone
00:17:21
Larry doubly who was Peggy's ex-husband
00:17:24
under Dwayne's father was spending time
00:17:26
at the hospital with his sick son
00:17:29
he overheard pie being questioned about
00:17:32
the poisoning by a police officer
00:17:35
afterwards he noticed that pie was
00:17:38
trembling all over
00:17:41
on another occasion Larry doubly was
00:17:44
outside the hospital room where both
00:17:46
teenage boys were staying when he heard
00:17:48
a commotion from inside
00:17:50
he rushed in and saw pie and Caroline
00:17:53
standing there as Pie's son Travis
00:17:55
screamed
00:17:57
Larry help me they're trying to kill me
00:18:02
Caroline reassured him that they weren't
00:18:04
trying to harm him
00:18:06
but Larry had noticed how Caroline
00:18:08
brought food to the hospital for the
00:18:10
teens and wondered about her motives
00:18:14
he claimed that Peggy had told him pie
00:18:17
had taken out life insurance policies
00:18:19
for her and the boys
00:18:21
eighty thousand for Peggy and sixty
00:18:24
thousand for each boy
00:18:28
Larry doubly mentioned another troubling
00:18:30
story
00:18:32
one day several family members were
00:18:34
gathered around discussing thallium
00:18:37
one person speculated that it may have
00:18:39
come from the phosphate mites
00:18:42
Pie's ex-wife who was present faced pie
00:18:45
and said
00:18:47
you've been working at Silver City mines
00:18:49
all these years
00:18:51
they've got two chemist Labs out there
00:18:54
do you all have any of that out
00:18:56
there
00:18:57
do you know anything about this
00:19:00
according to Larry pie told his ex-wife
00:19:04
you shut your goddamn mouth
00:19:11
other people including Dr hosler and the
00:19:14
family's Minister told investigators
00:19:16
that they didn't find pie car suspicious
00:19:19
at all
00:19:20
they saw how pyre spent weeks by Peggy's
00:19:23
side talking to her constantly even when
00:19:26
she was unresponsive
00:19:29
the entire car household was tested for
00:19:32
thallium
00:19:33
everyone except Pie's daughter Tammy had
00:19:36
traces of the heavy metal in their
00:19:38
system
00:19:39
even Pai had enough in his body to make
00:19:42
a smaller person unwell
00:19:44
but due to his tall stature and larger
00:19:47
frame pie only experienced some slight
00:19:50
aches and pains
00:19:52
the fact that pie had also absorbed
00:19:55
thallium made detectives less inclined
00:19:57
to suspect him
00:20:01
the fastest way they could get to the
00:20:03
bottom of the crime was to figure out
00:20:05
how and where the family had been
00:20:06
exposed to thallium
00:20:09
this would also help calm the residents
00:20:11
of ordinarily sleepy Alturas who were
00:20:14
panicking after learning about the
00:20:16
poisoning
00:20:18
and just in case the exposure had been
00:20:20
accidental environmental officials
00:20:22
started testing the fields orange groves
00:20:25
and water wells surrounding the car
00:20:27
property
00:20:28
these tests came up negative for
00:20:31
thallium
00:20:33
investigators weren't surprised as the
00:20:36
car's nearest neighbors drank from the
00:20:38
same well as them and hadn't been sick
00:20:40
at all
00:20:42
Dwayne and Travis reported having seen a
00:20:45
tractor spraying pesticides in the area
00:20:48
it was tracked down and ruled out as
00:20:50
well
00:20:52
pie car's workplace was searched and a
00:20:55
tin of rat poison was recovered
00:20:58
it tested a negative for thallium
00:21:04
detectives turned their attention to the
00:21:06
car's home
00:21:08
they performed multiple sweeps of the
00:21:10
house cutting off item after item to be
00:21:13
sent off to a laboratory for testing
00:21:15
nothing resulted
00:21:18
then during a final inspection of the
00:21:21
house in November 1988 one detective
00:21:24
noticed some broken glass on the kitchen
00:21:26
floor
00:21:29
kneeling down he looked beneath the
00:21:31
nearby counter
00:21:33
there was a rubbish bin underneath and
00:21:36
behind that was a carton filled with
00:21:38
glass bottles of Coca-Cola
00:21:42
there were eight 16 ounce bottles in
00:21:45
total
00:21:46
three of them were empty while four were
00:21:49
full and unopened
00:21:51
the final bottle had a broken neck which
00:21:54
was presumably where the broken glass
00:21:56
had come from
00:21:59
the Coke bottles were tested by the
00:22:02
Florida Department of Health and
00:22:03
rehabilitative services
00:22:06
their Laboratories found between half a
00:22:09
gram and 1 gram of thallium in each of
00:22:11
the full bottles
00:22:14
one gram was enough to kill an adult and
00:22:17
a less was required to kill a child
00:22:21
the empty bottles all had thallium
00:22:23
residue at the base
00:22:28
six years earlier in 1982 seven people
00:22:32
died in the Chicago metropolitan area
00:22:34
after taking Tylenol capsules that had
00:22:36
been laced with potassium Cyanide and
00:22:39
then sold on Pharmacy shelves
00:22:42
as covered in episode 118 of case File
00:22:46
the case became known as the Chicago
00:22:48
Tylenol murders
00:22:51
the story made national headlines and
00:22:53
had huge Ripple effects throughout the
00:22:55
US
00:22:58
investigators on the Peggy Carr case had
00:23:01
to consider whether they were dealing
00:23:02
with a similar crime
00:23:04
there were no obvious signs that the
00:23:07
Coke bottles had been tampered with
00:23:09
there were no fingerprints nor did the
00:23:12
bottle caps have any scratches on them
00:23:15
in the full bottles the liquid appeared
00:23:18
to be the same color and consistency as
00:23:21
a regular bottle of Coke
00:23:24
although there were no reports of anyone
00:23:26
else suffering from thallium poisoning
00:23:29
investigators visited the nearest
00:23:30
Coca-Cola Bottling plant in Tampa
00:23:33
Florida
00:23:35
after inspecting the way the plant's
00:23:37
Machinery operated and how the bottles
00:23:39
were distributed They concluded that it
00:23:42
would have been impossible for anyone to
00:23:44
place eight poisoned bottles on the
00:23:45
assembly line and have them poured in
00:23:48
the same carton
00:23:50
it appeared that the car family had been
00:23:52
deliberately targeted with a carton that
00:23:55
was tampered with after being bored at a
00:23:57
store
00:24:02
no one in the family knew where the
00:24:05
bottles had come from
00:24:06
they just appeared under the counter one
00:24:08
day
00:24:10
although the family usually purchased
00:24:12
Pepsi brand Cola instead of coke nobody
00:24:15
thought anything of it
00:24:17
pyre recalled that when Peggy had first
00:24:19
become sick he'd made himself a whiskey
00:24:22
and Coke from one of the bottles
00:24:25
Pie's sister Caroline said she had
00:24:27
poured a glass of Coke for Peggy after
00:24:29
she returned from her first hospital
00:24:31
visit
00:24:33
believing Peggy had some kind of virus
00:24:35
Caroline encouraged her to keep her
00:24:37
fluids up
00:24:39
but all this had done was increased the
00:24:41
levels of thallium in Peggy's body
00:24:45
Caroline had also given Dwayne and
00:24:47
Travis coax when they complained of
00:24:49
feeling sick
00:24:52
the bottles were sent to FBI experts
00:24:55
when they examined the bottle caps under
00:24:58
an extremely powerful microscope they
00:25:00
detected tiny scratch marks on a
00:25:02
diagonal angle
00:25:05
this indicated that someone had removed
00:25:07
the caps with something like a
00:25:09
screwdriver or can opener put the
00:25:11
thallium inside then re-fastened the
00:25:14
caps
00:25:16
although the liquid in the full bottles
00:25:18
looked like a regular Coca-Cola testing
00:25:21
revealed it had lost some of its
00:25:23
carbonation
00:25:26
whoever had poisoned the bottles knew
00:25:28
exactly what they were doing
00:25:30
there was no sign of tampering that
00:25:32
would be visible to the human eye
00:25:35
but also would have taken some work for
00:25:37
them to figure out the correct ratio of
00:25:39
thallium to use to ensure the liquid
00:25:42
didn't change color or overflow from the
00:25:44
bottle
00:25:45
[Music]
00:25:46
while Peggy's two oldest children still
00:25:49
suspected pi and Caroline detectives
00:25:51
were less sure
00:25:54
they hadn't found any evidence of the
00:25:56
supposed life insurance policies pyre
00:25:58
had taken out on his wife son and
00:26:00
stepson nor did they find pie or
00:26:03
Caroline at all suspicious
00:26:06
they also found it extremely unlikely
00:26:09
that pire would have put his entire
00:26:10
family at risk if he was looking to end
00:26:13
his relationship with his new wife
00:26:17
's daughter Tammy was the only member of
00:26:20
the family who didn't test positive for
00:26:22
traces of thallium
00:26:24
this led to her being questioned as a
00:26:26
possible suspect as well
00:26:29
she told investigators that she only
00:26:31
drank diet sodas which was why she
00:26:34
hadn't consumed any of the coke
00:26:38
detectives ruled out all of the family
00:26:40
members as possible suspects
00:26:43
it seemed increasingly likely that
00:26:45
someone outside of the household was
00:26:48
responsible
00:26:49
whoever it was had tampered with the
00:26:52
bottles and somehow snuck them into the
00:26:54
house when no one was home
00:26:57
payakar found it hard to believe that
00:27:00
anyone would want to harm his family in
00:27:02
such a way
00:27:04
as far as he knew they didn't have any
00:27:07
enemies
00:27:09
but Peggy's sister surely told
00:27:11
investigators something that immediately
00:27:13
caught their attention
00:27:14
[Music]
00:27:16
four months before the poisonings in
00:27:18
June 1988 the Carr family had received a
00:27:22
threatening letter
00:27:24
when pyre was asked about the ladder he
00:27:27
said he'd forgotten all about it
00:27:30
however at the detective's request he
00:27:33
managed to locate it
00:27:37
the envelope had been addressed to pie
00:27:40
Carr
00:27:42
below was the family's address and
00:27:44
inside was a yellow Post-It note with a
00:27:47
typed message
00:27:50
you and all your so-called family have
00:27:53
two weeks to move out of Florida forever
00:27:55
or else you all die
00:27:58
this is no joke
00:28:02
the family had all gathered together to
00:28:05
study the note
00:28:06
the writer had misspelled Pie's first
00:28:09
name as pie instead of p-y-e
00:28:14
given that everyone who knew him knew
00:28:16
the correct spelling Pai and Peggy's
00:28:18
children dismissed the letter as a sick
00:28:20
joke
00:28:22
but Peggy took it seriously
00:28:25
she told her kids to be extra careful
00:28:27
saying
00:28:30
I want you to stay close to the house be
00:28:33
nice to people
00:28:34
this could be real
00:28:49
case File will be back shortly thank you
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00:32:15
[Music]
00:32:23
in the spring of 1989 33 year old Sherry
00:32:27
Gwynn came across a newspaper
00:32:29
advertisement for an intriguing event
00:32:32
it was a murder mystery weekend taking
00:32:34
place at a hotel in Winter Haven
00:32:38
the event was being hosted by a couple
00:32:40
who were leaders in the Polk County
00:32:42
chapter of Mensa an organization for
00:32:45
people who possess an IQ in the top two
00:32:48
percent of the population
00:32:51
Sherry typed a letter to one of the
00:32:54
event's hosts Whose name was George
00:32:56
treepow
00:32:58
Dear George this letter is to request
00:33:01
further information on the upcoming
00:33:03
Mensa murder weekend
00:33:06
as I am considering moving my home to
00:33:09
this quiescent County I am compelled to
00:33:11
find some type of stimulating
00:33:13
entertainment
00:33:15
although I am acquainted with the
00:33:17
renowned Mensa organization never before
00:33:20
have I been involved in a lifestyle that
00:33:22
would permit such endeavors
00:33:25
my background consists of years of
00:33:28
dedicated service to my perfidious mate
00:33:30
who took his thriving career and moved
00:33:33
upwards and onwards alone
00:33:36
a weekend filled with Intrigue and
00:33:38
intellect could be just what the doctor
00:33:40
ordered
00:33:42
sincerely Sharon Sherry Gwynn
00:33:48
shortly after sending the letter Sherry
00:33:50
received a registration form and a
00:33:53
brochure about the event in the mail
00:33:55
on Friday April 14 she arrived at the
00:33:59
Winter Haven Holiday Inn to attend the
00:34:01
murder mystery weekend
00:34:03
at the registration desk she met 39 year
00:34:07
old George treepow a small man with
00:34:10
thinning hair and thick glasses
00:34:13
he handed Sherry a pamphlet of
00:34:15
information about the weekend
00:34:19
for the murder mystery game guests were
00:34:22
assigned to different roles such as
00:34:24
bystander victim or murderer
00:34:28
at some point the victims would pretend
00:34:31
to be killed
00:34:33
other attendees would have to observe
00:34:35
the events that followed closely looking
00:34:38
for Clues as to who the murderers were
00:34:42
Sherry Gwynne was given the role of
00:34:44
bystander
00:34:47
over the course of the weekend Sherry
00:34:49
struck up a couple of conversations with
00:34:51
the George tree pal
00:34:53
George spent his time organizing Mensa
00:34:56
get-togethers programming computers and
00:34:59
working as a freelance technical writer
00:35:02
his wife and co-host Diana worked as a
00:35:05
doctor
00:35:07
Sherry learned that the couple were
00:35:09
thinking about selling their home
00:35:11
her interest immediately peaked
00:35:15
Sherry was in the process of divorcing
00:35:17
her lawyer husband and would be able to
00:35:19
buy a new place to live as part of this
00:35:21
settlement
00:35:23
George invited Sherry to come over and
00:35:25
look at the house anytime that Suited
00:35:30
a few days later Sherry headed out to
00:35:32
George tree Powell's property for a tour
00:35:36
George lived in an isolated area of our
00:35:38
tourists amongst some orange groves the
00:35:42
house was decorated with 1970s Decor
00:35:45
including yellow curtains into orange
00:35:47
cabinets
00:35:49
it had a library crammed with books on
00:35:52
scientific subjects
00:35:54
the main bedroom was also full of books
00:35:57
which were mostly detective novels by
00:36:00
authors such as Agatha Christie
00:36:03
another room which George described as
00:36:06
his junk room was full of crystals rocks
00:36:09
and minerals
00:36:12
visible through the junk room window was
00:36:14
a small brownish yellow colored building
00:36:18
George explained it was a garage his
00:36:21
neighbors had converted into an
00:36:23
apartment
00:36:24
George had reported them to the local
00:36:26
building board for doing so as they
00:36:28
hadn't obtained a proper permit
00:36:31
the incident had caused some bad blood
00:36:34
between George and his neighbors who
00:36:36
lived on the only other property in the
00:36:38
immediate vicinity
00:36:41
George hadn't liked them especially
00:36:43
because one of them had constantly tried
00:36:45
to sell him things like a pickup truck
00:36:49
George said the neighbors had moved out
00:36:52
and were possibly trying to sell the
00:36:54
property for way over its value
00:36:58
finally George took Sherry through his
00:37:00
garage Workshop
00:37:02
inside were lots of tools and the jugs
00:37:05
of what appeared to be chemicals
00:37:11
Sherry Gwynn decided against buying the
00:37:14
house telling George it was too big for
00:37:16
her
00:37:17
but she stayed in touch with the George
00:37:19
and the two built a friendship over the
00:37:21
following months
00:37:23
they chatted on the phone and met up in
00:37:25
person from time to time
00:37:28
George was sympathetic about Sherry's
00:37:31
difficult divorce and her acrimonious
00:37:33
relationship with her ex-husband Richard
00:37:37
the fact that Richard was a lawyer
00:37:39
didn't endear him to George who hated
00:37:42
lawyers
00:37:44
George offered ideas as to how Sherry
00:37:47
could rid herself of Richard by getting
00:37:49
him arrested
00:37:51
he suggested she write a letter accusing
00:37:53
Richard of molesting a child
00:37:56
another idea was to send a threatening
00:37:58
note to then President George Bush and
00:38:01
to sign it with Richard's name
00:38:04
he joked that Sherry should send him a
00:38:07
poisoned flower delivery
00:38:11
in November of 1989 George treepowell
00:38:14
and his wife Diana left their home in
00:38:17
Alturas and moved to nearly 40 miles
00:38:19
Southeast to the city of Sebring Florida
00:38:24
with their altura's house now empty
00:38:26
George told Sherry she was welcome to
00:38:28
move in
00:38:30
Sherry had been living in a condominium
00:38:32
but wanted somewhere with more space
00:38:35
she agreed to rant to George and Diana's
00:38:38
property temporarily
00:38:41
Sherry moved in on Tuesday December 12
00:38:44
1989.
00:38:46
she didn't see George for over a month
00:38:51
then on Thursday January 25 1990 George
00:38:55
received an urgent sounding phone call
00:38:58
from Sherry
00:39:00
she was in Sebring and needed to talk to
00:39:03
him about something
00:39:04
[Music]
00:39:07
Cherry asked to George to meet her at a
00:39:09
local McDonald's
00:39:11
a short time later the pair sat down at
00:39:15
an outdoor table
00:39:16
Sherry didn't waste any time in getting
00:39:19
to the point
00:39:21
she explained that shortly after moving
00:39:23
into George's home she'd received a
00:39:26
visit from a local sheriff's deputy who
00:39:28
was living next door
00:39:30
Sherry's voice shook as she said
00:39:35
I think you neglected to tell me that
00:39:37
something had happened in the
00:39:39
neighborhood
00:39:41
George sounded calm and unbothered as he
00:39:43
replied
00:39:45
oh yeah somebody got poisoned next door
00:39:49
[Music]
00:39:50
George tree Powers our tourist property
00:39:53
boarded the house where Pai and Peggy
00:39:56
Carr had lived
00:39:58
it had been 15 months since Peggy Carr's
00:40:01
poisoning and 10 months since her death
00:40:06
and the rest of the family had moved out
00:40:08
of the house within two months of Peggy
00:40:11
first falling ill
00:40:13
George trapal had never mentioned the
00:40:16
unsolved murder to Sherry Gwynne in all
00:40:18
the time they'd been friends
00:40:21
this was odd given his love for Murder
00:40:24
Mysteries and detective novels indicated
00:40:26
he had a strong interest in crime
00:40:30
Sherry was struck by the matter-of-fact
00:40:33
tone in which George discussed Peggy's
00:40:36
poisoning
00:40:38
she told him
00:40:40
that might not be a lot to you but it's
00:40:43
a lot to me
00:40:45
George laughed and apologized
00:40:49
Sherry asked if the poisoning was what
00:40:52
prompted George and Diana to leave the
00:40:54
neighborhood and if they were scared
00:40:57
no apparently it was some sort of
00:41:00
personal Vendetta George said
00:41:03
I mean it's not like they're running
00:41:05
around poisoning everybody
00:41:09
Sherry explained that some detectives
00:41:11
had dropped by to speak with her
00:41:14
they'd asked about George and his
00:41:16
whereabouts
00:41:19
Sherry handed the detective's business
00:41:21
cards over to George
00:41:23
he suddenly fell quiet
00:41:27
he told Sherry that he and Diana had
00:41:29
already spoken to the investigators
00:41:31
twice
00:41:33
he couldn't understand why they would be
00:41:35
looking for him now or why they would be
00:41:37
talking to Sherry about it
00:41:41
I hope I'm not a prime suspect George
00:41:43
added
00:41:45
that could be messy
00:41:54
case File will be back shortly thank you
00:41:57
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00:43:55
[Music]
00:44:01
Diana had problems with the Carr family
00:44:03
that dated back years long before Peggy
00:44:07
Carr ever lived on the property
00:44:09
the two households had never been
00:44:11
friendly
00:44:13
George and Diana prided themselves on
00:44:16
their more intellectual Pursuits while
00:44:18
Pai and his family were more salt of the
00:44:20
earth types
00:44:24
back around 1984 when pyre still lived
00:44:27
with his ex-wife he was given a
00:44:29
Rhodesian Ridgeback dog
00:44:31
the dog sometimes jumped to the
00:44:34
property's fans and chased after
00:44:35
George's cat
00:44:37
had seen George throwing sticks at the
00:44:40
dog in response
00:44:42
one day the young healthy dog suddenly
00:44:45
started losing weight and died
00:44:49
had always suspected it had been
00:44:51
poisoned but didn't know who would do
00:44:54
such a thing
00:44:56
after Pia divorced his wife and married
00:44:59
Peggy things only got worse between
00:45:01
their neighbors
00:45:03
George and Diana thought the car
00:45:05
property was too noisy
00:45:08
in retaliation George disconnected the
00:45:11
water supply for the well that the cars
00:45:13
used
00:45:15
George was also unhappy about the way
00:45:18
Peggy and pies teenage Sons rode their
00:45:20
motorcycles through the area sometimes
00:45:23
onto his property
00:45:24
[Music]
00:45:26
there was a lake beside George's house
00:45:28
and he'd added some sand to the area to
00:45:30
create a little Beach
00:45:32
Pie's son Travis had once ridden his
00:45:35
motorbike on the beach messing up the
00:45:37
sand
00:45:39
an upset George had reported the
00:45:41
incident to Pai who replied
00:45:44
kids will be kids
00:45:48
in October 1988 George and Diana made
00:45:51
several complaints about how loud the
00:45:53
car's Sons were playing their radio when
00:45:56
hanging out in the garage
00:45:59
while pyre was away on his hunting trip
00:46:01
Diana came over to complain and a verbal
00:46:04
altercation broke out between her and
00:46:06
Peggy
00:46:08
the next day Peggy fell ill from the
00:46:11
poisoning that eventually ended her life
00:46:15
when the detectives investigating Peggy
00:46:18
Carr's homicide learned that a
00:46:20
threatening letter had been sent to the
00:46:21
family months before Peggy's death
00:46:23
warning them to quote
00:46:26
move out of Florida or else you all die
00:46:29
initially wondered whether pie car
00:46:32
himself could have written it
00:46:34
it seemed unbelievable that he'd
00:46:36
forgotten to mention it
00:46:39
they asked Pai if he knew of anyone who
00:46:41
would want to harm his family
00:46:44
pie drew a blank
00:46:46
the only people he'd had any trouble
00:46:48
with were their neighbors George treepow
00:46:51
and his wife Diana
00:46:56
this was a major breakthrough for
00:46:58
detectives
00:47:00
they were fairly confident that the Carr
00:47:02
family had been targeted by an outsider
00:47:05
instead of from within
00:47:07
but the remote location of their
00:47:10
property meant it would have been
00:47:11
incredibly difficult for someone to
00:47:13
sneak in a poisoned carton of Coca-Cola
00:47:16
without being seen
00:47:18
someone was almost always at home and
00:47:21
they would have noticed if any strange
00:47:23
cars were in the area
00:47:26
whoever had committed the crime had to
00:47:28
have struck when the house was empty
00:47:31
the only house with a view of the car
00:47:33
residents was George tree powers
00:47:37
in the past Pie's teenage daughter Tammy
00:47:41
had received obscene phone calls when
00:47:43
she was Home Alone
00:47:45
the caller who sounded like an educated
00:47:48
white male often called right after
00:47:51
Tammy's mother left the house
00:47:54
he would describe exactly what Tammy was
00:47:57
wearing
00:47:58
[Music]
00:48:00
two days before Peggy got sick there had
00:48:03
been a window of time when no one was
00:48:05
home
00:48:06
that same day Dwayne and Travis had gone
00:48:10
into the kitchen to get a Coke from an
00:48:12
eight pack they'd noticed under a
00:48:13
counter earlier
00:48:15
but it wasn't there
00:48:18
the teenagers searched several rooms but
00:48:21
couldn't find it
00:48:23
the cotton mysteriously reappeared
00:48:26
beneath the counter a short time later
00:48:29
[Music]
00:48:30
the back door to the car property didn't
00:48:33
always latch properly and could
00:48:35
sometimes be opened when it appeared to
00:48:37
be locked
00:48:39
around the time Peggy and the two
00:48:41
teenagers had been admitted to hospital
00:48:43
Pai founded the back door open
00:48:49
a profile of Peggy's poisoner had been
00:48:51
built by an agent from the FBI's
00:48:53
Behavioral Sciences unit
00:48:56
the agent said that most people who
00:48:59
choose poison as their murder weapon
00:49:01
were intelligent individuals who liked
00:49:03
to solve problems without direct
00:49:05
confrontation
00:49:08
the agent also believed that the culprit
00:49:11
would be an educated white man in his
00:49:13
mid-30s
00:49:15
he would see himself as intellectually
00:49:17
Superior to others
00:49:20
George trepower fit the profile almost
00:49:23
to a T
00:49:24
[Music]
00:49:27
some digging revealed that George had a
00:49:29
criminal record
00:49:31
in September 1975 he was arrested by a
00:49:35
federal agent with the Drug Enforcement
00:49:37
Administration
00:49:40
he had been operating a large illegal
00:49:42
methamphetamine lab in North Carolina
00:49:44
and was involved in manufacturing the
00:49:47
drug himself
00:49:50
the agent described a George tree power
00:49:52
as quote
00:49:54
probably the smartest chemist that I've
00:49:57
ever known
00:49:58
[Music]
00:50:00
to make the methamphetamine George used
00:50:02
a chemical known as P2P
00:50:05
although this could be bought legally
00:50:07
federal drug agents kept records of
00:50:10
people who purchased it
00:50:12
to get around to this problem George
00:50:14
sometimes brewed his own P2P
00:50:18
homemade P2P was sometimes made using
00:50:21
the heavy metal thallium
00:50:25
after being convicted of running an
00:50:28
illicit drug lab George treepower was
00:50:30
sentenced to three years in federal
00:50:32
prison
00:50:34
he was a model inmate and prison
00:50:36
official soon recommended him for parole
00:50:40
it was denied
00:50:43
George found himself frustrated by his
00:50:46
fellow inmates
00:50:48
in particular he hated how loudly some
00:50:51
of them played their radios
00:50:54
he even sent a lengthy memo to prison
00:50:56
officials complaining about the matter
00:50:58
[Music]
00:51:02
not long after it was determined that
00:51:05
Peggy Carr had been poisoned detectives
00:51:07
visited George tree Powell at home
00:51:11
George sounded slightly nervous and
00:51:13
hesitant and didn't express any sorrow
00:51:15
for what the cars were going through
00:51:19
he said he didn't know his neighbors
00:51:21
well but they would wave and say hello
00:51:23
when they saw each other
00:51:26
they're not really our kind of people
00:51:28
George added
00:51:31
when asked if he had any problems with
00:51:33
pie Carr and his family George became
00:51:36
more animated
00:51:38
he complained that pie had always tried
00:51:40
to sell him things like a barbecue pit
00:51:43
made from a 50 gallon drum
00:51:46
the detectives asked to George what he
00:51:48
knew about thallium
00:51:50
he said he knew nothing at all except
00:51:52
what he'd heard on news reports about
00:51:54
the case
00:51:57
why would somebody want to poison the
00:52:00
car family one of the detectives asked
00:52:03
it was the standard question they'd been
00:52:06
asking everyone they spoke to in
00:52:07
relation to the case
00:52:09
the details of the threatening letter
00:52:11
had never been made public
00:52:14
most people said they had no idea why or
00:52:17
suggested the culprit must have hated
00:52:19
the family
00:52:21
but George's answer was unique
00:52:25
he nodded his head towards the car
00:52:27
property and said
00:52:29
to get them to move like they did
00:52:34
[Music]
00:52:36
George treepower was becoming an
00:52:38
increasingly likely suspect but with no
00:52:41
physical evidence linking him to the
00:52:43
case it was decided that he should be
00:52:45
put under surveillance
00:52:47
detectives recruited a colleague at the
00:52:50
Polk County Sheriff's Office to help
00:52:52
with the task
00:52:54
Susan gorak was 33 years old and had
00:52:57
previously worked Undercover on a number
00:52:59
of drug-related cases
00:53:03
the investigation into George treepower
00:53:05
was dubbed to operation Pale Horse a
00:53:08
reference to an Agatha Christie novel in
00:53:10
which the killer murders his victims
00:53:12
with thallium
00:53:15
agent gorak spent several weeks reading
00:53:18
up on George creepel and observing him
00:53:20
as he went about his Daily Business
00:53:23
she and a colleague also searched a
00:53:26
dumpster outside of his office looking
00:53:28
for incriminating evidence ideally
00:53:30
something linking him to a thallium
00:53:32
supplier but nothing was found
00:53:37
after Peggy Carr died detectives decided
00:53:41
they needed to try a different approach
00:53:43
they would assign an undercover agent to
00:53:46
get close to George in the hopes he
00:53:48
might confide his secrets
00:53:51
they thought a woman would be best as
00:53:53
George would view her as non-threatening
00:53:58
Susan gorak was given the task
00:54:01
she constructed her Alter Ego a divorcee
00:54:04
named Sherry Gwynn
00:54:07
knowing that George tree Powell hated
00:54:10
lawyers agent gorak decided her
00:54:12
fictional ex-husband would be an
00:54:14
abrasive attorney
00:54:16
she would flatter George and earn his
00:54:19
Sympathy by discussing her marital
00:54:21
problems with him
00:54:24
a Mensa murder mystery weekend that
00:54:26
George was hosting was agent gorax in
00:54:29
and she sent him a letter posing as
00:54:31
Sherry asking to attend
00:54:35
over the course of that weekend agent
00:54:38
gorak looked for Clues and took numerous
00:54:40
photographs
00:54:42
she took a particular note of a painful
00:54:44
at George had written up for the weekend
00:54:46
which was titled Voodoo for Fun and
00:54:49
Profit
00:54:51
the title was a nod to the theme of the
00:54:54
murder mystery which centered about
00:54:55
Voodoo practitioners
00:54:59
an excerpt of the painful at red
00:55:03
few voodooists believe they can be
00:55:05
killed by psychic means but no one
00:55:07
doubts that he can be poisoned
00:55:10
when a death threat appears on the
00:55:12
doorstep prudent people throw out all
00:55:14
their food and watch what they eat
00:55:17
hardly anyone dies from Magic
00:55:20
most items on the doorstep are just a
00:55:23
neighbor's way of saying I don't like
00:55:25
you move or else
00:55:30
to investigators this appeared to be a
00:55:34
not so subtle reference to The Poisoned
00:55:36
Coca-Cola bottles that appeared at the
00:55:38
car home
00:55:41
over the course of eight months agent
00:55:43
gorak built a friendship with the George
00:55:46
she complained to him about her
00:55:48
fictional ex-husband hoping it might
00:55:50
coax a confession out of him
00:55:53
the undercover operation was a long slow
00:55:56
process
00:55:58
eventually the higher ups began
00:56:01
complaining about the lack of results
00:56:04
then a breakthrough finally occurred
00:56:07
when George and his wife moved to
00:56:09
Sebring in November 1989.
00:56:13
agent gorak would ask to rent their home
00:56:16
in our tourists giving her unfettered
00:56:18
access to the property
00:56:23
agent gorak moved into George tree
00:56:25
power's home on Tuesday December 12
00:56:28
1989.
00:56:30
that evening crime scene technicians
00:56:32
descended on the property
00:56:35
they rubbed cotton balls dipped in
00:56:37
nitric acid along surfaces throughout
00:56:39
the house looking for traces of thallium
00:56:43
sinks drains and to the inside of
00:56:45
cabinets were all swabbed
00:56:48
the garage Workshop was also searched
00:56:52
George hadn't bothered to clear it out
00:56:54
when he moved
00:56:56
empty spray paint cans scraps of wood
00:56:59
and garden suppliers were littered
00:57:01
everywhere
00:57:03
the floor was covered with sawdust nails
00:57:06
and broken glass
00:57:08
there were also jugs filled with various
00:57:11
liquids
00:57:14
a couple of small bottles were found on
00:57:16
George's workbench
00:57:18
one was made of brown glass and had a
00:57:21
white residue inside
00:57:24
these were packaged up to be examined at
00:57:26
an FBI lab
00:57:30
while investigators were waiting for the
00:57:32
results to come back agent gorak met
00:57:35
with George as Sherry to tell him that
00:57:38
she knew about the poisoning next door
00:57:41
she hoped that he might be shocked into
00:57:43
giving something away
00:57:46
although George seemed rattled he didn't
00:57:49
say anything incriminating
00:57:53
in March 1990 one year after Peggy
00:57:57
Carr's death the results from the
00:57:59
property search came back
00:58:01
the brown bottle found in the garage
00:58:04
Workshop had tested positive for
00:58:06
thallium
00:58:10
at 8am on Saturday April 7 1990 agent
00:58:15
gorak dialed George tree Pal's home
00:58:17
number in Sebring from a mobile phone
00:58:21
when George came to the phone agent
00:58:23
gorak said in a shaky voice
00:58:25
[Music]
00:58:27
hi George it's Sherry
00:58:29
those two investigators came to my house
00:58:31
again this morning
00:58:33
they were asking about you again
00:58:35
something about chemicals
00:58:38
I don't know what they're talking about
00:58:41
do you
00:58:43
George told agent gorak to calm down as
00:58:46
she grew increasingly destroyed
00:58:49
the two chatted for a while then agent
00:58:52
gorak heard a disturbance on George's
00:58:54
end
00:58:56
in a calm tone George suddenly said
00:59:00
Sherry by coincidence the police are
00:59:03
here you'll have to call back Monday
00:59:07
while agent gorak had been talking to
00:59:09
George investigators had been making
00:59:11
their way to his home armed with a
00:59:13
warrant for his arrest
00:59:16
George's wife Diana tried to refuse
00:59:19
their mantri and had to be pulled from
00:59:21
the doorway to the front yard
00:59:24
Diana yelled and swore at the police but
00:59:27
George seemed relaxed as he met them at
00:59:30
the top of their stairs wearing only a
00:59:32
pair of women's bikini briefs
00:59:35
he got dressed and was then placed under
00:59:37
arrest for the murder of Peggy Carr
00:59:42
meanwhile investigators carried out a
00:59:45
search of George's Sebring residence
00:59:48
amongst his belongings they found a
00:59:50
looseleaf binder filled with Pages taken
00:59:53
from scientific textbooks
00:59:56
George had written a title on the front
00:59:59
General poisoning guides
01:00:03
inside the binder featured information
01:00:05
for law enforcement on identifying
01:00:08
poisoning cases
01:00:10
another book titled poison detection in
01:00:13
human organs had a detailed paragraph on
01:00:16
thallium
01:00:19
a large amount of bondage equipment and
01:00:22
toys were found in a closet
01:00:24
in another room a secret compartment
01:00:27
behind a pegboard aligned with tools
01:00:29
revealed a tiny soundproofed room
01:00:32
it had black paneled walls and no
01:00:35
windows
01:00:37
on the floor was a wooden platform the
01:00:39
size of a bed with manacles attached
01:00:43
it looked as though the room had only
01:00:46
recently been built and testing revealed
01:00:48
nothing untoward such as blood or other
01:00:51
bodily fluids
01:00:53
but it looked to detectives as though
01:00:56
George had been making a torture chamber
01:00:58
with the space to tie someone up
01:01:03
[Music]
01:01:05
news of George treepow's arrest came as
01:01:08
a shock to his fellow Mentor members
01:01:11
they told the media they couldn't
01:01:13
believe that such a great guy would be
01:01:15
capable of murder
01:01:17
to them George was a friendly man who
01:01:20
rescued Stray Cats
01:01:23
Peggy Carr's children were also in
01:01:26
disbelief that their eccentric former
01:01:28
neighbor could do such a thing
01:01:29
especially over something as minor as
01:01:32
loud music
01:01:35
George treepower pleaded not guilty and
01:01:38
his trial began in January 1991.
01:01:42
FBI scientists testified about the way
01:01:45
Peggy had been poisoned and the bottles
01:01:48
with traces of thallium found in
01:01:50
George's home
01:01:52
agent Susan gorak was the state star
01:01:55
Witness
01:01:57
the day after she testified about her
01:02:00
undercover work on the case George's
01:02:02
wife Diana approached the agent outside
01:02:05
the courtroom and screamed
01:02:08
I hope you know just what a you
01:02:10
are
01:02:13
George tree power's defense team argued
01:02:15
that the evidence against their client
01:02:17
was entirely circumstantial
01:02:20
they pointed to other possible suspects
01:02:23
whom they felt investigators hadn't
01:02:25
considered such as George's wife Diana
01:02:29
they also queried white detectives had
01:02:32
been so quick to rule out Peggy Carr's
01:02:34
husband given that the couple had been
01:02:36
having marital problems
01:02:39
they cited a Jack Daniels bottle that
01:02:42
was found in the car's shed and was
01:02:43
filled with some sort of pesticide
01:02:47
Health officials had never tested the
01:02:49
pesticide so couldn't say whether or not
01:02:52
it had thallium in it
01:02:55
a search of the car's garage apartment
01:02:57
had also revealed a trace of thallium
01:03:00
beneath the sink
01:03:02
however the state pointed out that this
01:03:04
Trace had been so minuscule that a
01:03:07
second test of the sink found to know
01:03:09
thallium at all
01:03:10
it was possible the first test had been
01:03:13
a false reading
01:03:16
the trial ran for four weeks
01:03:20
the jury ultimately found George
01:03:22
trepower guilty of 15 charges including
01:03:25
one count of first-degree murder and six
01:03:28
counts have attempted first degree
01:03:30
murder
01:03:33
at the jury's recommendation George was
01:03:36
sentenced to death by lethal injection
01:03:40
32 years later George treepow remains on
01:03:43
death row
01:03:45
he is now 74 years old and maintains his
01:03:49
innocence
01:03:50
all of his appeals have been
01:03:52
unsuccessful
01:03:57
to this day some people believe that
01:03:59
George treepowell is innocent
01:04:02
his supporters point to the
01:04:03
circumstantial nature of the case
01:04:05
against him and maintain that detectives
01:04:07
had tunnel vision from the start
01:04:10
they describe George as a gentle man
01:04:13
they've never known to be violent
01:04:15
but investigators including agent Susan
01:04:18
gorak who spent a year getting to know
01:04:20
George tree Powell have no doubt that
01:04:23
the man dubbed the Mensa murderer is
01:04:25
guilty
01:04:26
[Music]
01:04:28
in 1995 agent gorak co-wrote a book
01:04:31
about the case with the journalist
01:04:33
Jeffrey Goode
01:04:35
titled poison mind the book of details
01:04:38
agent gorak's undercover work as Sherry
01:04:41
Gwynne and examines the impact that the
01:04:44
case had on Peggy Carr's family
01:04:48
Peggy's children drifted away from their
01:04:50
stepfather pie Carr and his kids
01:04:54
they all have mixed feelings about
01:04:55
George tree Powell's death sentence
01:04:58
piekar told The Ledger newspaper that
01:05:01
he's still waiting for the day when he
01:05:03
can see the death sentence carried out
01:05:05
quote
01:05:07
I still want to be there when he's
01:05:09
executed but I don't have anything to
01:05:11
say to him
01:05:12
I don't think I could control myself if
01:05:15
I was to talk to him
01:05:19
two of Peggy's children Dwayne and
01:05:21
Jelena say they have forgiven George
01:05:23
tree pal and don't believe he should be
01:05:26
executed
01:05:28
but Peggy's son Alan disagrees
01:05:31
he believes that George losing his life
01:05:34
is the consequence he must suffer for
01:05:36
his actions
01:05:39
thank you Alan Jelena and Dwayne have
01:05:42
all found their own ways to keep their
01:05:44
mother's memory alive
01:05:46
Dwayne had the battle with physical
01:05:48
trauma as well as emotional pain
01:05:52
the poisoning that took his mother's
01:05:54
life also led to Dwayne losing Harpy's
01:05:56
body weight and spending three months in
01:05:59
hospital
01:06:00
he had to use a wheelchair until he
01:06:03
could walk again
01:06:05
although he eventually made a full
01:06:07
recovery he struggled in the aftermath
01:06:11
while going through some difficulties he
01:06:13
found strength in writing a letter to
01:06:15
Peggy
01:06:17
today he wishes his mother was still
01:06:19
alive so she could meet his wife and see
01:06:22
how he's turned his life around
01:06:26
Alan thinks of Peggy anytime he sees a
01:06:29
waitress whose apron Pockets jingle with
01:06:31
the sound of coins
01:06:34
whenever Jelena wants to connect with
01:06:36
her mother she says aloud
01:06:40
mama
01:06:41
I love you
01:06:42
[Music]
01:06:55
[Music]
01:07:06
[Music]