Forensic Files - Season 2, Episode 5 - Bitter Potion - Full Episode | Forensic Files

>> Narrator: AS PEGGY CARR LAY ILL IN A HOSPITAL INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT, DOCTORS WERE BAFFLED.
>> TAKE A DEEP BREATH FOR ME. >> Narrator: LAB TESTS WERE ALL NEGATIVE, BUT ONE OF THE
DOCTORS NOTICED A TINY CLUE -- HER HAIR WAS FALLING OUT. IT WAS A SYMPTOM OF A VERY RARE CONDITION -- ONE THE DOCTOR HAD
NEVER SEEN BEFORE. AND IF HE WAS RIGHT, THERE WAS NO KNOWN CURE. AND IF HE WAS RIGHT, THERE WAS NO KNOWN CURE.
AND IF HE WAS RIGHT, THERE WAS NO KNOWN CURE. PEGGY CARR WAS A 41-YEAR-OLD RESTAURANT WORKER WHO HAD BEEN
MARRIED TO HER SECOND HUSBAND, PYE, FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS. PEGGY WORKED AS A WAITRESS AT A DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT AND HAD
THREE CHILDREN FROM A PREVIOUS MARRIAGE. PYE HAD TWO CHILDREN AND WORKED AT A PHOSPHATE MINE.
>> THEY SEEMED TO BE HAPPY. MY MOM LOVED HIM MORE THAN ANYTHING. YOU KNOW, HE WAS JUST THE LIGHT OF HER LIFE.
YOU KNOW, HE WAS IT. >> Narrator: BUT SOON AFTER THEIR MARRIAGE, PEGGY BEGAN TO QUESTION THE LONG HOURS PYE WAS WORKING AT THE MINE.
>> HE WORKED ALL THE TIME. THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT IF HE WAS REALLY AT WORK OR IF
HE WAS OUT. >> Narrator: ONE NIGHT WHEN PYE SAID HE WAS WORKING LATE, PEGGY DROVE OUT TO THE MINE.
IN THE PARKING LOT, SHE SAW ONLY TWO CARS. ONE WAS PYE'S. THE OTHER BELONGED TO ONE OF HIS FORMER GIRLFRIENDS.
>> MY MOM WENT OUT TO WHERE HE WORKED, AND WE FOUND HIM WITH ANOTHER WOMAN. >> WHEN, I GUESS, SHE FOUND OUT THAT HE WAS CHEATING, THINGS
STARTED GOING DOWNHILL. >> Narrator: WHEN PEGGY LEARNED OF THE AFFAIR, SHE TOOK HER
CHILDREN TO A NEARBY MOTEL AND LEFT HER HUSBAND A NOTE. >> DEAR PYE, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT US.
I CAN'T LIVE LIKE WE HAVE BEEN. I CAN'T IMAGINE LIVING WITHOUT YOU, BUT I CAN IF YOU DON'T WANT
ME. I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART. PEGGY. >> Narrator: AFTER A BRIEF SEPARATION, THE COUPLE RESOLVED
THEIR DIFFERENCES, AND PEGGY AND HER CHILDREN MOVED BACK HOME. ON THE DAY SHE RETURNED, PYE LEFT FOR A PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED
HUNTING TRIP. WHILE HE WAS AWAY, PEGGY BECAME ILL, COMPLAINING OF AN UPSET STOMACH AND AN INTENSE BURNING SENSATION.
WHEN PYE RETURNED HOME, HE TOLD THE CHILDREN HE THOUGHT IT WAS ONLY A VIRUS. >> SHE WAS SICK.
SHE WAS VERY SICK. SHE WAS LAYING IN BED, AND SHE COULDN'T MOVE. SHE KEPT COMPLAINING OF HER HANDS AND HER FEET.
SHE SAID SHE COULDN'T OPEN HER EYES. SHE WAS NAUSEATED. >> Narrator: BY THE TIME PEGGY WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL,
DOCTORS NOTICED SOME WEAKNESS IN BOTH SIDES OF HER FACE. BUT WHEN LAB TESTS WERE NEGATIVE AND THEY COULDN'T DIAGNOSE HER
PROBLEM, PEGGY WAS RELEASED. >> THE NEXT DAY, I WENT UP TO CHECK ON HER, AND SHE WAS EVEN
WORSE. AND I TOLD PYE, I SAID, "WE NEED TO TAKE HER TO THE HOSPITAL AGAIN BECAUSE SHE'S NOT GETTING ANY BETTER."
WELL, HE WENT TO WORK. >> Narrator: THE CHILDREN DROVE HER TO THE HOSPITAL ONCE AGAIN.
THIS TIME, ONE OF THE PHYSICIANS WHO EXAMINED HER NOTICED A TINY CLUE. >> I NOTICED THAT HER HAIR -- SIMPLY RAISING HER UP OFF THE
PILLOW TO LISTEN TO HER BACK, QUITE A BIT OF HER HAIR WAS LEFT ON THE PILLOW. >> Narrator: DR. ROBERT VAN HOOK AND HIS COLLEAGUES THOUGHT IT
MIGHT BE A POISON -- A VERY RARE ONE WHICH DOESN'T SHOW UP IN NORMAL LAB TESTS. A SPECIAL TEST CONFIRMED HIS SUSPICION.
IT WAS THALLIUM POISONING. THALLIUM IS A HIGHLY TOXIC METAL WIDELY USED AS A PESTICIDE
BEFORE IT WAS BANNED IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1972. ONCE INSIDE THE BODY, THALLIUM ATTACKS NERVE ENDINGS AND
MUSCLES, CAUSING THEM TO ATROPHY AND DIE. IN SEVERE CASES, IT CAN CAUSE DELIRIUM, PARALYSIS, COMA, EVEN
DEATH. TESTS REVEALED THAT PEGGY HAD 50 TIMES THE MAXIMUM HUMAN EXPOSURE IN HER SYSTEM, AND THERE IS NO KNOWN CURE OR ANTIDOTE.
WITHIN DAYS, PEGGY'S STEPSON TRAVIS AND SON DUANE WERE HOSPITALIZED, AS WELL. THEY, TOO, HAD THALLIUM POISONING.
>> IT WAS LIKE SOMEBODY TAKING A THOUSAND NEEDLES, PUTTING YOUR FEET IN THEM, AND JUST PRESSING ALL AT ONCE.
YOU KNOW, REAL, REAL PAINFUL. SOMETHING THAT YOU JUST COULDN'T LET GO. >> Narrator: HOW DID PEGGY CARR AND THE TWO BOYS INGEST SUCH
LARGE AMOUNTS OF THALLIUM? WAS IT ACCIDENTAL, OR WAS SOMEONE TRYING TO KILL THEM?
>> Narrator: SINCE THERE IS NO CURE OR ANTIDOTE FOR THALLIUM POISONING, PEGGY CARR'S CONDITION GREW PROGRESSIVELY
WORSE. AFTER LOSING ALL OF HER HAIR, SHE SLIPPED INTO A COMA. HEALTH OFFICIALS FRANTICALLY SEARCHED FOR THE SOURCE OF THE
THALLIUM. THE ORANGE GROVE NEXT TO THE CARRS' HOME WAS TESTED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THALLIUM HAD BEEN SPRAYED ON THE ORANGE
TREES, AND THE DRINKING-WATER WELL IN THE AREA WAS ALSO TESTED. BUT THALLIUM WASN'T FOUND.
NEXT, HEALTH OFFICIALS GATHERED AIR AND DUST SAMPLES FROM INSIDE THE CARRS' HOME AND TOOK MORE THAN 400 HOUSEHOLD ITEMS FOR
LABORATORY ANALYSIS. FRIENDS TOLD POLICE THAT THE FAMILY RECEIVED AN ANONYMOUS THREATENING LETTER JUST A FEW MONTHS EARLIER.
IT WAS ADDRESSED TO "PIE" CARR, MISSPELLING PYE'S NAME. >> "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." >> Narrator: POLICE WERE SUSPICIOUS OF PYE CARR, NOT ONLY
BECAUSE HE FAILED TO MENTION THE THREATENING LETTER BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF HIS EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR, THE FACT THAT HE WAS
AWAY WHEN PEGGY FIRST GOT SICK, AND HIS HESITATION IN TAKING PEGGY TO THE HOSPITAL.
>> WE DUG VERY DEEPLY, AT THAT POINT, INTO PYE CARR'S BACKGROUND. ANYTHING THAT WOULD SHOW MOTIVATION ON HIS PART TO POISON
HIS WIFE. >> WE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, PYE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT BECAUSE OF THE WAY HE WAS ACTING.
HE WAS ACTING SO STRANGE, YOU KNOW. HE WAS ALWAYS SO SECRETIVE. HE WAS ALWAYS -- IT'S LIKE HE ALWAYS HAD SOMETHING TO HIDE.
>> Narrator: ALL OF THE REMAINING FAMILY MEMBERS WERE ASKED TO UNDERGO THALLIUM TESTING, AS WELL, JUST AS A
PRECAUTION. AND THE RESULTS WERE SURPRISING. PEGGY'S DAUGHTER CISSY AND HER CHILD KASEY BOTH HAD TRACES OF
THALLIUM IN THEIR SYSTEMS...AND SO DID PYE. THE ONLY FAMILY MEMBER FOUND NOT TO HAVE THALLIUM IN HER SYSTEM
WAS PYE'S DAUGHTER TAMMY. WHEN THE LABORATORY ANALYZED THE ITEMS FROM THE CARRS' HOME, THEY
FOUND THE SOURCE OF THE THALLIUM IN SOME EMPTY SODA BOTTLES. DETECTIVES RETURNED TO THE CARR HOME AND FOUND THREE FULL
BOTTLES FROM THE SAME CARTON. THE FBI FOUND NO FINGERPRINTS ON THE FULL BOTTLES RECOVERED FROM
THE CARRS' HOME. BUT, UNDER A SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE, MAGNIFIED 100 TIMES,
THE FBI DISCOVERED TINY SCRATCH MARKS ON THE CAPS -- AN INDICATION THAT THEY HAD BEEN METICULOUSLY REMOVED AND
REPLACED. USING A PROCESS CALLED FLAME ATOMIC-ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY, THE SODA PRODUCED A DISTINCTIVE GREENISH COLOR TO THE FLAME -- A
POSITIVE INDICATION THAT THALLIUM WAS PRESENT. TESTS REVEALED THAT EACH OF THE THREE BOTTLES CONTAINED MORE
THAN A GRAM OF THALLIUM, ENOUGH TO KILL AN ADULT. THALLIUM CAUSES DRINKS TO OVERFLOW, ALTERS THE COLOR, AND
PRODUCES A NOTICEABLE SEDIMENT ON THE BOTTOM. BUT THE MIXTURE FOUND IN THE SODA AVOIDED THESE PROBLEMS AND
WAS A MIXTURE WHICH WILL NOT BE REVEALED IN THIS PROGRAM. THE FBI KNEW THIS WAS NOT THE WORK OF AN AMATEUR.
THE SOPHISTICATED KNOWLEDGE OF CHEMISTRY, THE PROFESSIONAL REMOVAL AND REATTACHMENT OF THE BOTTLE CAPS TOLD THE FBI THAT
THE KILLER WAS VERY SMART, VERY ORGANIZED, AND WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT TO CATCH.
>> Narrator: WHEN PEGGY CARR SLIPPED INTO A COMA, HER DOCTORS HAD LITTLE IF ANY HOPE FOR HER RECOVERY.
HER SON AND STEPSON WERE BOTH IN SERIOUS CONDITION BUT EXPECTED TO RECOVER. PYE'S DAUGHTER TAMMY WAS THE ONLY FAMILY MEMBER WITHOUT
THALLIUM IN HER SYSTEM. SHE TOLD POLICE SHE DIDN'T DRINK THE SODA BECAUSE SHE CONSUMED
ONLY DIET DRINKS. AND WHEN THALLIUM WAS FOUND IN PYE'S SYSTEM, HE WAS NO LONGER CONSIDERED A SUSPECT.
WITH NO OTHER LEADS, THE FBI WAS ASKED TO PROVIDE A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE OF THE POISONER.
THE PROFILING UNIT BELIEVED THAT THE POISONER WAS HIGHLY INTELLIGENT, A WHITE MALE IN HIS MID-30s, WHO RESOLVES CONFLICT
WITHOUT DIRECT CONFRONTATION. HE LIKED TO READ ABOUT MURDER, WATCH VIOLENT MOVIES, AND WOULD
THEN FANTASIZE ABOUT COMMITTING MURDER. >> IT'S MORE OF A PASSIVE TYPE OF PERSON, AND IT'S MORE OF A
COWARDLY TYPE OF CRIME. YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK THE INTENDED VICTIM IN THE EYE. IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO A BOMBER -- VERY SIMILAR TYPE OF
PERSONALITY. >> Narrator: THE FBI SUGGESTED POLICE QUESTION THE NEIGHBORS, BECAUSE WHOEVER POISONED THE FAMILY KNEW THEIR COMINGS AND
GOINGS AND PLANTED THE SODA WITHOUT BEING SEEN. THE CARRS' ONLY NEIGHBOR WAS DR. DIANA CARR, NO RELATION TO
PEGGY CARR, AND HER HUSBAND, GEORGE TREPAL. DIANA CARR HAD A MASTER'S DEGREE IN CHEMISTRY AND GRADUATED FROM
MEDICAL SCHOOL AS AN ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON. HER HUSBAND, GEORGE, WAS A FREE-LANCE WRITER FOR A COMPUTER
MAGAZINE. BOTH WERE HIGHLY INTELLIGENT AND MEMBERS OF MENSA, AN ORGANIZATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH IQs IN THE TOP 2% OF THE
POPULATION. POLICE LEARNED THAT DIANA CARR HAD A FIGHT WITH PEGGY JUST A WEEK BEFORE SHE WAS POISONED.
>> SHE WAS CUSSING AND RAVING ABOUT MY TWO BROTHERS HAVING MUSIC ON IN THE FRONT YARD, TELLING THEM TO TURN IT DOWN.
>> MY MOM HAD ENOUGH OF THIS LADY YELLING AT HER, SCREAMING AT HER, CUSSING AT HER, SO SHE TURNED AROUND AND WALKED OFF.
"I'M DONE TALKING WITH YOU." >> SHE SAYS, "THIS AIN'T OVER YET. THIS AIN'T OVER YET."
>> Narrator: A BACKGROUND CHECK REVEALED THAT TREPAL HAD BEEN ARRESTED IN NORTH CAROLINA IN THE MID-'70s FOR RUNNING ONE OF
THE LARGEST METHAMPHETAMINE LABS IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. THE DRUG AGENT WHO ARRESTED TREPAL CALLED HIM THE SMARTEST
CHEMIST HE HAD EVER KNOWN. ON MARCH 3, 1989, FOUR MONTHS AFTER SHE WAS POISONED,
PEGGY CARR DIED. IT WAS NOW A MURDER INVESTIGATION. THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT ASSIGNED SPECIAL AGENT
SUSAN GOREK TO THE CASE. SHE WAS ASKED TO GO UNDERCOVER TO INFILTRATE THE MENSA GROUP TO
WHICH GEORGE TREPAL AND DIANA CARR BELONGED, AN EXPERIENCE SHE VIVIDLY DESCRIBED IN HER BEST-SELLING BOOK
"POISON MIND." UNDER AN ASSUMED NAME AND IDENTITY, SUSAN GOREK ATTENDED A MENSA MURDER-MYSTERY WEEKEND WHICH GEORGE AND HIS WIFE DIANA
WERE HOSTING. >> BEFORE I WENT TO THE WEEKEND, I SPOKE WITH THE PEOPLE UP AT THE FBI BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE UNIT TO SEE IF COULD GET SOME TIPS ON
THE TYPE OF PERSON OR TYPE OF PERSONALITY THAT I SHOULD DEVELOP IF I WAS TO MEET GEORGE TREPAL.
>> Narrator: WHEN GOREK ARRIVED FOR THE WEEKEND, SHE RECEIVED A COPY OF THE MURDER SCENARIOS GEORGE TREPAL WROTE FOR THE
PARTICIPANTS. ONE WAS A MURDER BY POISONING. >> "FEW VOODOOISTS BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN BE KILLED BY PSYCHIC
MEANS, BY NO ONE DOUBTS THAT HE CAN BE POISONED." >> Narrator: SUSAN GOREK ACCOMPLISHED HER MISSION THAT
WEEKEND WHEN GEORGE TREPAL BEFRIENDED HER. >> HE'S VERY INTELLIGENT. HE MAY BE A LITTLE ECCENTRIC.
A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD CALL HIM ODD. BUT BECAUSE I SPENT SO MUCH TIME WITH HIM, I GOT TO KNOW HIM, AND
I DID SEE A GOOD SIDE OF HIM. I DID SEE A NICE PERSONALITY, BUT I ALSO SAW A VERY EVIL SIDE.
>> OH, YES, SOMEBODY GOT POISONED NEXT DOOR. >> Narrator: IN HER UNDERCOVER ROLE, ALWAYS UNDER SURVEILLANCE,
GOREK MET WITH TREPAL ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, HOPING TO GATHER EVIDENCE OF HIS INVOLVEMENT IN THE POISONINGS.
THEIR RELATIONSHIP LED TO AN IMPORTANT BREAK. A YEAR AFTER PEGGY CARR'S DEATH, GEORGE AND HIS WIFE, DIANA,
MOVED. THEY RENTED THEIR OLD HOME TO GEORGE'S NEW FRIEND -- SUSAN GOREK. SHE MOVED IN BEFORE ALL OF THE COUPLE'S BELONGINGS HAD BEEN
REMOVED. AND WHEN SHE DID, HOMICIDE DETECTIVES MOVED IN WITH HER. THEY SEARCHED THE HOUSE AND THE SHED TREPAL USED AS A WORKSHOP.
>> WE SENT EVERYTHING FROM THE WORKSHOP GARAGE TO THE FBI LABORATORY FOR THEM TO EXAMINE.
>> Narrator: INSIDE ONE OF THE BOTTLES, THE FBI DISCOVERED THALLIUM SIMILAR TO THE TYPE FOUND IN THE SODA BOTTLES IN THE
CARR HOME. >> WE HAD A LOT OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, BUT THIS WAS THE ONLY PIECE OF REAL EVIDENCE THAT YOU COULD ACTUALLY
PUT YOUR HANDS ON. >> Narrator: THE POLICE THEN SEARCHED TREPAL'S NEW HOME AND DISCOVERED A NOTEBOOK GEORGE CAPTIONED "GENERAL POISONING
GUIDES." INSIDE WERE EXCERPTS FROM BOOKS USED BY HOMICIDE DETECTIVES. ONE WAS "DEATH BY POISON."
ANOTHER LISTED DETAILS OF THE USES AND DEFECTS OF THALLIUM. GEORGE TREPAL WAS ARRESTED FOR THE MURDER OF PEGGY CARR AND THE
ATTEMPTED MURDER OF THE ENTIRE CARR FAMILY. >> Narrator: POLICE BELIEVE THAT GEORGE TREPAL GREW ANNOYED WITH
HIS NEIGHBORS, ESPECIALLY THE CHILDREN. WHEN THE THREATENING LETTER FAILED TO SCARE THE FAMILY AWAY,
TREPAL TOOK A MORE DIRECT APPROACH. HE PURCHASED SOME SODA AND CAREFULLY REMOVED ALL OF THE
BOTTLE CAPS WITH SPECIAL TOOLS. HIS CHEMICAL KNOWLEDGE LED HIM TO CHOOSE A POISON WHICH HAD NO
CURE OR ANTIDOTE -- ONE THAT COULDN'T BE DETECTED BY CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL TESTS.
IT WAS HAUNTINGLY SIMILAR TO THE PLOT HE WOULD LATER WRITE FOR THE MURDER-MYSTERY WEEKEND.
>> "WHEN A DEATH THREAT APPEARS ON THE DOORSTEP, PRUDENT PEOPLE THROW OUT ALL OF THEIR FOOD AND WATCH WHAT THEY EAT.
MOST ITEMS ON A DOORSTEP ARE JUST A NEIGHBOR'S WAY OF SAYING, 'I DON'T LIKE YOU.
MOVE, OR ELSE.'" >> Narrator: THE CARR FAMILY REMEMBERS DRINKING THE SODA AT A FAMILY DINNER WHEN THEY HAD
FRIED CHICKEN. PYE CARR WAS DRINKING BOURBON AND ADDED A SPLASH OF SODA FROM ONE OF THE BOTTLES.
PYE'S DAUGHTER TAMMY WAS DRINKING DIET SODA AND WAS THE ONLY FAMILY MEMBER WHO WASN'T POISONED.
PEGGY MOST LIKELY INGESTED MORE SODA THAN THE OTHERS BECAUSE SHE HAD THE HIGHEST THALLIUM LEVELS.
AFTER SHE WAS HOSPITALIZED, HER CONDITION DETERIORATED. SHE SLIPPED INTO A COMA AND DIED FOUR MONTHS LATER.
THE TWO BOYS WERE ALSO HOSPITALIZED BUT RECOVERED. >> I WOULD SAY THAT THIS WHOLE CASE IS SCIENCE.
THIS CASE WAS ABOUT BEING ABLE TO FIND THE THALLIUM IN THE WASHINGS OF THE EMPTY BOTTLES.
WHEN COCA-COLA DID THE EXPERIMENTS, THAT PROOF WAS EXTREMELY COMPELLING. THE SCIENCE AT THE FBI LAB -- IF YOU PICK UP THOSE BOTTLE CAPS,
YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY, I DON'T THINK WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS, FIND THOSE TOOL MARKS.
AND YET, THEY'RE SO OBVIOUS IN THE BLOWN-UP PICTURES THAT THE FBI DID. ANOTHER THING VERY IMPORTANT ABOUT THE SCIENCE WAS GEORGE'S
KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCIENCE AND THE AMOUNT OF LITERATURE WE FOUND IN HIS HOUSE THAT BACKED IT UP.
>> Narrator: WHEN TREPAL WENT ON TRIAL IN 1991, THE CASE AGAINST HIM WAS LARGELY CIRCUMSTANTIAL --
TREPAL'S CRIMINAL HISTORY AS HEAD CHEMIST FOR AN ILLEGAL METHAMPHETAMINE LAB, THE FACT THAT HE USED SIMILAR PHRASEOLOGY
IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE POLICE THAT WAS USED IN THE THREATENING LETTER, HIS AUTHORSHIP OF THE MURDER-MYSTERY STORY LINE
DEALING WITH BOTH A POISONING AND A THREATENING LETTER, THE BOTTLE WITH THALLIUM FOUND IN HIS WORK SHED, AND THE BOOKS
WITH INFORMATION ON THE USE OF THALLIUM FOUND IN HIS HOME. >> THE WHOLE CASE IS CIRCUMSTANTIAL.
I MEAN, THAT WAS MY WHOLE CLOSING ARGUMENT. AND THE WAY THAT WE APPROACHED IT BECAUSE OF THAT WAS TO
EXCLUDE EVERY OTHER PERSON ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. >> Narrator: THE DEFENSE ARGUED THERE WAS NO PROOF THAT TREPAL
PURCHASED THE SODA. HIS FINGERPRINTS WERE NOT FOUND ON THE SODA BOTTLES OR ON THE
VIAL OF THALLIUM. HIS LAWYER ALSO SUGGESTED THAT THERE WAS REASONABLE DOUBT. ALL OF THE EVIDENCE COULD ALSO POINT TO TREPAL'S WIFE, DIANA,
WHO HAD A MASTER'S DEGREE IN CHEMISTRY. IT TOOK THE JURY JUST SIX HOURS TO REACH A VERDICT.
GEORGE TREPAL WAS FOUND GUILTY OF ALL CHARGES, AND HE WAS SENTENCED TO DEATH. >> I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.
I HONESTLY DIDN'T BELIEVE IT, BECAUSE THE MAN THAT I KNEW, YOU KNOW, WAS THE MAN -- I MOWED HIS DRIVEWAY BECAUSE IT WAS 2 FOOT
OFF OF OUR PROPERTY LINE. I MOWED HIS DRIVEWAY. HE ALWAYS WAVED AT ME. SURE, HE WAS WEIRD, AND HE WAS A NERD.
YOU KNOW, I HEARD HE WAS A CHEMICAL FREAK OR WHATEVER, BUT HE DIDN'T SEEM CAPABLE OF MURDER -- NOT IN MY EYES.
>> HE DID THE MOST HORRIBLE ACT THAT I'VE EVER SEEN AS A HOMICIDE INVESTIGATOR -- A HEINOUS ACT.
HE KILLED ONE PERSON, PUT HER THROUGH TORTURE BEFORE HER DEATH. >> SHE WAS REALLY, TRULY MY BEST FRIEND.
SHE WAS MY MAID OF HONOR AT MY WEDDING. SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE I HAD FOR A LONG TIME.
MY DAD WASN'T ALWAYS THERE, AND SHE ALWAYS WAS. MY DAD WASN'T ALWAYS THERE, AND SHE ALWAYS WAS.
I MISS HER A LOT.

The flu-like symptoms of a mother and her children proved to be something more serious: thallium poisoning. After the mother's death, investigators turned their attention to finding the killer.

Forensic Files is the longest-running true crime series in television history. Evidence and interviews with experts help solve real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world.

Brief Summary

Peggy Carr suffered thallium poisoning, leading to a murder investigation and the arrest of neighbor George Trepal.

Key points

Peggy's Mysterious Illness. Doctors are baffled by Peggy's symptoms, leading to a shocking diagnosis of thallium poisoning.
The Affair Uncovered. Peggy discovers Pye's infidelity, leading to a painful separation.
The Poisoning Investigation. Health officials search for the source of thallium poisoning affecting Peggy and her family.
The Arrest of George Trepal. George Trepal is arrested for Peggy's murder after a thorough investigation reveals damning evidence.
The Verdict. After a tense trial, George Trepal is found guilty and sentenced to death.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I can't imagine living without you, but I can if you don't want me.

Peggy's heartfelt note to Pye after discovering his affair.

2:27WatchMay 27, 2021

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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