Charlottetown, PEI — Byron Carr was last seen alive at approximately 3:00 am, Friday November 11, 1988, which was the beginning of a long Remembrance Day weekend. He was found dead in the bedroom of his home, 24 Lapthorn Avenue, Charlottetown, 31 hours later.
Time of death was determined to be between 3:00 and 9:00 am, November 11. Evidence at the scene indicated his death followed a sexual encounter with another male. Carr was strangled, stabbed and the killer left a note saying; "I WILL KILL AGAIN!"
Andrew still holds out hope for closure. He was friends with Byron Carr and recalls him fondly. He remembers Byron the host — an introvert, but one who loved to be with people. He remembers the music Carr liked — rock and roll and other things — and the dinner parties he threw.
But those memories are tinged with sadness because Carr's 1988 murder has never been solved. "I'm saddened for his family, and I'm sad for his friends," said Andrew, who spoke to SaltWire on the condition his surname is withheld.
"I hope and pray that this will get solved somehow. My second thought is, he has a lovely family."
On Friday November 11, 1988, a witness reportedly saw Byron Carr parked talking to a man on a bicycle at Prince and Richmond Streets. Carr pulled away, drove north up Prince Street in the direction of his house. The man on the bike appeared to follow. This is the last known sighting of Carr alive. Police believe the cyclist may be his killer.
Carr, a 36-year-old gay teacher who tried to keep his sexuality a secret, was known to cruise the Queen Square area of Charlottetown, a place where other gay men commonly frequented. In the early hours of Friday, Nov. 11, 1988, Carr dropped off a friend in the city's downtown area. He was last seen Friday between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. driving a white Ford Tempo west on Sydney Street approaching Great George Street. Next day Saturday, at 2:30 a.m., residents in his area reported hearing Carr's dog barking, which wasn't common, and a vehicle leaving the area at a high rate of speed.
Police believe the murderer and a second man returned to the house, and this is what the dog was barking at. It was at this time, they believe, the message "I will Kill Again" was written on the wall and Carr was stabbed with a long-handled kitchen knife.
Police believe the two men were looking to retrieve items from the house that might identify the killer. A pair of socks was left behind in the kitchen garbage.
Concerned that Carr has not appeared at a family function, relatives went to the house. They found the kitchen door ajar and the dog in his kennel. Carr's body was discovered in his bedroom at 11a.m.
Byron Carr Obituary
- Name: Byron Carr
- Birth: June 1, 1952 — Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
- Death: November 11, 1988 (aged 36) — Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
- Burial: Saint Mark Anglican Cemetery — Queens, Prince Edward Island
- Memorials New!
For the LGBTQ community in Prince Edward Island, Todd Joseph Gallant's arrest brings a long-waited sense of relief and closure. It acknowledges the collective pain they have endured.
