Doctors race to solve a Florida mystery | Forensic Files

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

Case 239: Peggy Carr

When 41-year-old waitress Peggy Carr succumbed to a mysterious illness in October 1988, doctors in Alturas, Florida, struggled to figure out what was wrong with her. As other members of Peggy’s family became sick too, one neurologist came to suspect they were dealing with a case of poisoning. Tests soon confirmed the family had been deliberately poisoned with the rare heavy metal thallium, but no one could understand why.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-239-peggy-carr

Brief Summary

Peggy Carr was poisoned with thallium, leading to a murder investigation and the arrest of neighbor George Treepow.

Key points

Peggy's Mysterious Illness. Peggy Carr falls seriously ill, leading to a shocking diagnosis of thallium poisoning.
The Poisoning Revelation. Doctors discover Peggy has been poisoned with thallium, raising suspicions of foul play.
A Threatening Letter. The Carr family received a chilling warning to leave Florida or face dire consequences.
Sherry's Discovery. Sherry learns about a poisoning incident in her new neighborhood, raising alarms.
George's Dark Past. Investigators uncover George Treepow's criminal history involving a meth lab.
George Treepower Arrested. George Treepower is arrested for the murder of Peggy Carr, shocking his community.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I feel like I'm on fire.

Peggy describes her intense pain to the doctor.

5:26WatchMar 18, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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