Murder mystery party exposes a poison conspiracy | Forensic Files

[Music] when members of a seemingly ordinary blended family begin falling ill one
after the other a remarkably dedicated investigation revealed a murder plot that can only be described as
diabolical I'm Olivia Lavo the Creator and host of the case File presents Bakersfield 3 podcast Casey and I have
selected some of Case Files most memorable cases to be featured here where you'll have a visual Guide to the
story today we're diving into case number 239 Peggy car it began as a typical Sunday for waitress Peggy car it was a
warm October morning in 1988 in South Central Florida where the 41-year-old attended her shift at the
Nicholas Family Restaurant but somewhat suddenly Peggy began to feel unwell and it came came on strong she felt a sharp
pain that seared in the middle of her chest she instantly feared the worst and thought perhaps it was a heart attack
but one of her regular customers reassured her that wasn't the case pointing out to Peggy that her breathing
imp pulse were normal and the bright pink shade of her fingernails indicated she was getting plenty of oxygen but as
the day went on Peggy continued to feel awful around lunchtime her adult daughter Galina arrived at the
restaurant where both mother and daughter work together Galina noticed something was off with her mother right
away Peggy was not one to complain about feeling sick she told her daughter her hands were numb and her legs were aching
Galina touched her mother's hands and they were ice cold eventually Peggy decided to leave work early and go lay
down at home later that afternoon Peggy's husband pie car came home from a hunting trip Pi noticed immediately his
new wife was Ill even her voice was quite weak the two had only been married for about 6 months it was both of their
second marriage that resulted from a whirlwind courtship after the wedding Peggy moved into Pi's home when Peggy
moved in she brought her daughter jelina and Jolina's 2-year-old daughter she also brought her 17-year-old son Dwayne
it was a full house as Pi also had two of his own children living with him his 18-year-old tamy and 16-year-old son
Travis it was an adjustment as the large blended family got used to their new living arrangements but Peggy and piie
were committed to making it work when pi found Peggy sick on the couch his first
instinct was to call his sister Carolyn who was a nurse but Carolyn couldn't find anything that was obviously wrong
with Peggy she told her all of her vitals were fine aside from slightly high blood pressure which she wasn't
overly concerned about but Peggy's daughter knew something was wrong when she got home from her shift at the
restaurant she found Peggy in bed her skin was deathly White and her lips were badly chapped Peggy was so weak that she
couldn't even get up to walk to the bathroom in a whisper Peggy told her daughter quote you don't know how bad it
hurts do you hear what I'm saying I am just hurting though initially he was reluctant gelina convinced pie that her
mother needed to go to the hospital at the ER Peggy said it was excruciating to even have a doctor lightly touch her arm
she describes the pain saying I feel like I'm on fire the doctors were at a loss to what could possibly be going on
with her tests they performed all came back normal prompting one doctor to suggest that Peggy's symptoms might be
psychosomatic caused by a mental factor meaning essentially it was all in her head this theory of course upset Peggy
whatever her illness was she knew it hadn't been caused by stress or Her Imagination Peggy spent 3 days in the
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 knew she was getting better
so Peggy was sent home that next day P sister Carolyn brought over Fried Chicken for the family and served it
alongside glass glasses of Coca-Cola the next morning Pi's 16-year-old son Travis
and Peggy's 17-year-old son Dwayne felt sick and when their feet began to tingle
it became clear they were suffering from the same symptoms that Peggy had soon after the boys felt a burning sensation
in their bodies Peggy's symptoms all started to come back as well and even worse than they were before the next day
she was taken back to the hospital by ambulance this time Peggy was taken to Winter Haven hospital where she was
examined by a neurologist named Dr T Richard holster the doctor asked Peggy to try to keep her eyes shut while he
tried to open them her eyes opened easily which apparently is very unusual for a healthy adult Peggy was also
extremely sensitive to touch and her mouth was filled with ulcers Peggy told the neurologist that her feet felt like
they were on fire Dr holster began to theorized that Peggy could have been poisoned by some kind of heavy metal and
when he found out that two of the family's children were also starting to have the same symptoms that strengthened
his conviction the doctor asked that Travis and Dwayne be brought in for observation as well according to Pi
there was no reason that a heavy metal should have been present in the home nonetheless the doctors decided to have
Peggy tested for lead arsenic Mercury and thallium poisoning the first three were common as far as heavy metal
poisonings go but thalium not so much it's colorless odorless and tasteless thallium was once widely used throughout
the United States as a rat poison and pesticide but in 1972 the US banned its use due to safety concerns thalium is so
highly toxic that mild contact with skin alone can be extremely dangerous the fact that thallium was illegal made it
rare and therefore extremely unlik ly that Peggy car could have encountered it in her home accidentally yet the doctor
was intrigued by Peggy's description of feeling like she was burning to death Peggy's Health continued to deteriorate
rapidly that evening She was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit where she lay
in a bed surrounded by machines and tubes that were attached to her nose and mouth pek's wrists had been tied down so
she couldn't pull the tubes out she had lost her ability to speak and open her eyes but she was still conscious and
aware when she was being spoken to both of Peggy's parents had been deaf and she
had learned signed language as a child which now very much came in handy when Peggy's sister asked the now
unrecognizable Peggy how she was feeling all she could do was sign back hurt the
results of Peggy's test came back quickly and just as her doctor suspected she tested positive for thallium in fact
the amount of th in her system exceeded the amount the lab could measure Dwayne and Travis tested positive for thalium
as well but at much lower levels this is so heartbreaking with the amount of thallium that Peggy had in her body
doctors knew it would be impossible for her to ever recover the thallium was causing her nerves to waste away and die
her symptoms would soon progress to paralysis coma and then death in 198 88 it was almost unheard of for someone to
experience thalium poisoning as it simply wasn't something people would encounter in their day-to-day lives Dr
holster was certain that Peggy's poisoning was not a tragic accident it must have been deliberate doctors broke
the news to Peggy's husband piie who in turn told Peggy as she lay in a hospital
bed with her eyes closed machines breathing for her quote Peggy do you know why you're here no Peggy signed
back Peggy you've been poisoned Pi told her all Peggy could do in response was sign the same word over and over why why
why Dr holster told P he believed someone had tried to poison his family and somehow Pi had been spared Pi
responded I don't think anyone dislikes us enough to do that meanwhile Dwayne and Travis continued to get sicker while
Peggy became completely unresponsive 3 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 the thalium eventually caused Peggy's muscles to become entirely paralyzed she lost the ability
to close her eyes and simply stared up blankly unable to link it was inevitable that ulcers would form on her corn is I
mean this is just what nightmares are made of this has to be absolutely one of the worst ways to die doctors had to
literally sew her eyes shut to protect them within weeks Peggy fell into a coma which turned to months while Dwayne and
Travis eventually did make full recoveries Peggy's family came to accept that she however would never get better
they continued to visit and talk to her all the time but on March 3rd 1989 about 4 and A2 months after Peggy
first became sick the decision was made to take her off of life support Peggy's two oldest children had their suspicions
about who would want to kill their mother see when Peggy remarried initially her children were happy for
her they felt she deserved some Joy after her other relationships hadn't worked out and piie seemed to make her
happy but as the months went by peky experienced some doubt and it did not help when the couple's children began
fighting with each other Pi was employed at a Phosphate Mine and worked incredibly long hours and apparently
Peggy began to suspect that something else was going on one night when pi said he had to work late Peggy and her
daughter decided to investigate and they found Peggy's suspicions were right there were only two cars in the parking
lot at the mine pie and his former girlfriend who it turned out he was having an affair with
Peggy left the family home with her children and granddaughter and she left a note for pie that read quote 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 this I can't live like we have
been no respect from the kids not talking not caring I love you and I 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 I 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 just a few days later the
couple reconciled and Peggy moved back into the home that same day Pi left for a previously scheduled hunting trip
which would keep him away all weekend when he returned Peggy was sick on the couch her daughter had been disturbed by
Pi's initial reluctance to take her mother to the hospital she immediately began to wonder if he was behind Peggy's
illness jelina confided in a coworker that she thought piie and his sister Carolyn were poisoning her mother and
Peggy's son Allan soon began to feel the same way the siblings weren't alone Larry duberly who was Peggy's ex-husband
and Dwayne's father was spending time at the hospital with his sick son he overheard Pi being questioned about the
poisoning by a police officer afterwards he noticed that Pi was trembling all over on another occasion Larry was
outside the hospital room where both teenage boys were staying when he heard a commotion from inside he rushed in and
saw pi and Carolyn standing there as Pi's own son Travis screamed Larry help me they're trying to kill me pi's sister
Carolyn tried to reassure everyone in the room they weren't trying to harm either boy but Larry had noticed how
Carolyn brought food to the hospital for the teens and wondered about her motives
Larry also claimed that Peggy had told him that Pi had taken out life insurance policies for her and both the boys
880,000 for Peggy and 60,000 for each boy and then Larry mentioned another troubling Story one day several family
members were gathered around discussing the thallium poisoning one person speculated it may had come from the
phosphate mines Pi'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 y'all have any of that [ __ ] out
there do you know anything about this according to Larry Pi told his ex-wife you shut your goddamn mouth but on the
other side there were people including Dr holster and the family's Minister who told investigators they didn't find pie
car suspicious at all they saw how Pi spent weeks by Peggy's side talking to her constantly even when she was
unresponsive eventually the entire car household was tested for thallium and everyone except for Pi's daughter Tammy
had traces of heavy metal in their system even Pi had enough in his body to make a smaller person unwell but due to
his size Pi experienced only some slight aches and pains so of course the fact that Pi also had thallium in his system
made detectives less suspicious of 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 residents of the ordinarily sleepy
Florida Town who were panicking after learning about the poisoning just in case the exposure had been accidental
environmental officials started testing the fields orange groves and water wells
surrounding the area these tests came up negative for salium p car's workplace was searched and a tin of rat poison was
recovered but that tested negative for thallium detectives turned their attention towards the car home they
performed multiple sweeps of the house cing off item after item to be sent off to a lab for testing and nothing
resulted positive for thalium and then during a final inspection of the house one detective noticed some broken glass
on the kitchen floor kneeling down he looked behind a nearby counter and there was a trash bin underneath and behind
that was a carton of glass bottles of Coca-Cola there were eight bottles in total and three of them were empty while
four were unopened the final bottle had a broken neck which was presumably where
the broken glass had come from the Coke bottles were tested and it was found that they each had half a gram to 1 gam
of thallium in each bottle one gram is enough to kill an adult by the way and less is required to kill a child the
empty bottles all had thalium residue at the bottom 6 years earlier in 1982 seven
people died in Chicago after taking Tylenol capsules that had been laced with 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 around the country investigators now on this case had to consider whether
they were dealing with a similar crime their initial observations was there was no obvious signs that the Coke bottles
had been tampered with and in the full bottles the liquid appeared to be the same color and consistency as a regular
bottle of coke and 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
poison bottles on the assembly line and have them put in the same carton it appeared that the car family had been
deliberately targeted with a carton that was tampered with after it was bought at
a store so here's where it starts to get crazy evidently no one in the family actually knew where these bottles had
come from they had just appeared underneath the counter in the car home one day and this was notable because the
family usually purchased Pepsi instead of Coke but that said no nobody thought anything of it at least not enough to
discuss it Pi recalled that when Peggy had first become sick he had made himself a whiskey and Coke from one of
the bottles Pi's sister Carolyn said she had poured a glass of Coke for Peggy after she returned from her first
hospital visit thinking that Peggy had some kind of virus Carolyn encouraged her to keep her fluids up but all this
had done was increased the level of thallium in Peggy's body Caroline had also given Dwayne and TR Coke when they
complained of feeling sick the bottles were sent to the FBI for examination underneath 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 and then screwed the Caps back on although the
liquid in the full bottles looked like regular Coca-Cola testing revealed it had lost some of its carbonation whoever
had poisoned the bottles knew exactly what they were doing it would have also taken some work for them to figure out
how to get the correct ratio of thalium to use to ensure the liquid didn't change color or overflow from the bottle
while Peggy's two eldest children still suspected piie and Carolyn detectives now were not so sure they hadn't found
any evidence of the supposed life insurance policies Pi had taken out on his wife son and stepson they also found
it extremely unlikely that Pi would have put his entire family at risk if he were
looking to end his relationship with his new wife and in general they didn't find
his behavior suspicious and remember Pi's daughter Tammy was the only member of the family who did not test positive
for traces of thallium so this led to her being questioned as a possible suspect as well her explanation was that
she only drank diet sodas which is why she hadn't consumed any of the Coke in time detectives ruled her out I think
that sounds like a reasonable explanation in time the detectives ruled out all the family members and believed
that the culprit was someone who had came in from outside the home tampered with the bottles and snuck them into the
house when no one else was there but who in the world would have it out for this
newly blended family to go to this extent I mean when you think about it whoever did this knew they could
possibly take out an entire family pie car could not think of anyone who would do this and found it really hard to
believe that it was possible that someone would have it out for them to this extreme but Peggy's sister surely
told investigators something that immediately caught their attention 4 months before the poisonings the car
family had received a threatening letter when pi was asked about the letter he said he had forgotten all about it but
he managed to dig back up the envelope it had been addressed to P car and inside was a small yellow piece of paper
with a typed message that read quote you and all your so-called family have two weeks to move out of Florida forever or
else you will all die this is no joke the family had all gathered together to study the note the writer had misspelled
Pi's first name as p i e instead of py given that everyone who knew him knew the correct spelling p and Peggy's
children dismissed this as some sort of sick joke but Peggy apparently was taking it seriously and told her kids to
be extra careful saying I want you to stay close to the house and be nice to people this could be real our story
pivots now but stay with me we're introducing you to a woman 33-year-old Sherry gowin in the spring of 1989
33-year-old Sherry came across a newspaper advertisement for an intriguing event it was a murder mystery
weekend taking place at a hotel in Winter Haven Florida the event was being hosted by a couple who were leaders of
the local chapter of Mena an organization for people possessing an IQ in the top 2% of the population Sherry
typed a letter to one of the event hosts Whose name was George tree pal Dear George this letter is to request further
information on the upcoming Mena murder mystery weekend as I'm considering moving to this County I am compelled to
find some type of stimulating entertainment although I'm acquainted with the renowned Mena 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 took up 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 go in shortly after sending the letter Sherry received a registration form and was excited to participate she
arrived at the Winter Haven holiday in to attend the murder mystery weekend at the registration desk she met
39-year-old George Tre pal a small man with thinning hair and thick glasses he handed Cherry a pamphlet of information
for the weekend and each guest was assigned a different role for the murder mystery such as bystander victim or
murderer at some point the victims would pretend to be killed and other attendees
would have to observe the events that followed closely looking for Clues as to who the murderers were Sherry was given
the role of bystander and over the course of the weekend Sherry struck up a couple of conversations with George
George spent most of his time organizing Mena 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 and 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 the
settlement so George invited Sherry to come over and look at the house a few days later Sherry headed out to George's
property for a tour George lived in an isolated area amongst some orange groves the house was decorated with 1970s Decor
including yellow curtains and orange cabinets it had a library crammed with books on scientific subjects the main
bedroom was also filled with books which were mostly detective novels 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 that his neighbors had converted into an apartment George had
reported them to the local building board for doing so as they had not obtained the 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 had not liked them especially because one of them apparently
constantly tried to sell him things like a pickup truck George to 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 jugs of what appeared to be chemicals ultimately Sherry decided the house was way too big for her but she
stayed in touch with George and in time considered him a friend George was sympathetic about Sherry's difficult
divorce with her soon Tobe ex-husband Richard and apparently George hated lawyers and Richard Sherry's a AR
strange husband was a lawyer so George was very much into helping Sherry rid herself of him one of George's ideas was
to try to get George arrested by accusing him of molesting a child another idea was to send a threatening
note to then President George Bush and sign it with Richard's name he also joked that Sherry should send him a
poisoned flower delivery and then in November of 1989 about a year after the car family was poisoned George and his
wife Diana left their home in alturus and moved to a town about 40 miles away with their home now empty George told
Sherry she was welcome to move in if she wanted to rent the home while looking for a house to buy Sherry moved in In
December 1989 about a month later she called George to tell him she needed to meet
and speak with him face to face immediately Sherry did not waste any time getting to the point she explained
that shortly after moving into George's home she had received a visit from a sheriff's deputy who was living next
door Sherry's voice shook as she said I think you neglected to tell me that something happened in the neighborhood
George sounded calm and unbothered as he replied oh yeah somebody got poisoned next door oh oh yeah somebody got
poisoned next door you see George's property bordered the house where pie and Peggy car had lived it had been 15
months now since Peggy car's poisoning and 10 months since her death P car and the rest of the family had moved out of
the house within 2 months of Peggy first getting sick now George had never mentioned the
unsolved murder to Sherry and all the time they had been friends and Sherry thought this was odd especially given
his love for Murder Mysteries and detective novels Sherry was struck by the matter OFA tone in which George
discussed Peggy's poisoning she reportedly said to him that might not be a lot to you but it's a lot to me George
laughed and apologized to Sherry that might not be a lot to you but it's a lot to me
oh well sorry they said they never caught the person that did it and it really frightened me Sher asked George
if the poisoning was what prompted him and Diana to leave the neighborhood and if they were scared George said back
something along the lines of no apparently it was some sort of personal Vendetta George said it's not like
they're running around poisoning everybody Sherry explained that some detective had dropped by to speak with
her they' asked about George and his whereabouts Sherry handed the detective's business card over to George
and he suddenly fell quiet he told Sherry that he and Diana had already spoken to investigators twice and he
couldn't understand why they would be looking for him now or why they'd be talking to Sherry about it I hope I'm
not the prime suspect George added that could be messy I hope I'm not a prime suspect that could be NY as it turned
out George and his wife Diana had a history of issues with the car family long before Peggy or her children ever
lived on the property the issues seemed to stem from Pi's dog jumping over the fence to George's yard and chasing his
cats when that young healthy dog fell ill and died P suspected the pup had been poisoned but couldn't imagine who
would actually do such a thing when Peggy moved in years later tensions flared again between the neighbors
apparently George and Diana thought the car household told was much too noisy and in retaliation George disconnected
the water supply for the well that the cars used George was also unhappy about the way that Peggy and Pi's teenage Sons
rode their motorcycles through the area there was a lake besides George's house and he had added some sand to the area
to create a little beach Pi's son Travis had once ridden his motorbike on the beach messing up the sand and upset
George had reported the incident to pie who replied kids will be kids in October
1988 George and Diana had made several complaints about how loud the car's Sons were playing their radio while hanging
out in the garage while Pi 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 car'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 they initially wondered whether P car himself could have written it it seemed unbelievable that he had
forgotten to mention this letter they asked Pi of course if he knew of anyone who would want to harm his family while
Pi initially couldn't think of anyone he did manage to say that the only people they had ever had trouble with were
their neighbors George and his wife Diana this was a major breakthrough for detectives who were already fairly
confident that the car 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 residence was George Tre Pal's and get this in the past Pi's teenage daughter
tamy had received obscene phone calls when she was Home Alone the caller often called right after Tammy's mother left
the house and he would describe exactly what Tammy was wearing indicating that he was watching her two days before
Peggy got sick there had been a window of time when no one was home the back door the car property didn't always
latch properly and could sometimes be opened when it appeared to be locked around the time that Peggy and the two
teenagers had been admitted to the hospital Pi found the back door open a profile of Peggy's poisoner had been
built by an agent from the FBI's Behavioral Science 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 tree pal fit the profile almost to a te a little 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 D in
manufacturing the drug himself the agent described George as quote probably the smartest chemist that I've ever known to
make 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
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 was sentenced to 3 years
in federal prison George found himself frustrated by his fellow inmates in particular he hated how loud some of
them played their radios he even sent a lengthy memo to prison officials complaining about the matter not long
after it was determined that Peggy car had been poisoned detectives visited George at home George sounded slightly
ner nervous and hesitant and didn't express any sorrow for what the cars had gone 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 P car and his family George became more animated he
complained that Pi had always tried to sell him things like a barbecue pit made from a 50 gallon drum random which
apparently really irritated George the detectives asked George what he knew about thallium he said he knew nothing
at all except what he had heard on news reports about the case why would someone
want to poison the car family one of the detectives asked it was a 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 George trepal was becoming an
increasingly likely suspect but with no physical evidence linking him to the case prosecutors decided to hold off on
pressing charges but detectives had an idea they recruited a colleague at the pulk County Sheriff's Office to help
with the investigation colleague was 3 3-year-old Susan gork she worked on a number of
undercovered drug cases before and was eager to help uncover evidence the investigation into George was dubbed
operation Pale Horse a reference to the Agatha Christie novel in which the killer murders his victims with thallium
agent goric spent several weeks reading up on George 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 car died detectives decided they needed to try a
different approach they would assign an undercover agent to try to get close to George in the hopes that he might
confide his Secrets they thought a woman would be best as George would have viewed her as
nonthreatening Susan goric was given the task she constructed her Alter Ego a divorce a named Sherry Goen knowing that
George tripal hated lawyers agent goric 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
am Mena murder mystery weekend that George was hosting was agent gor's in she sent him a letter she may remember
posing as Sherry asking to attend and over the course of that weekend agent goric looked for Clues and took numerous
photographs she took particular notes of a pamphlet that 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 was centered around Voodoo practitioners
an excerpt of the pamphlet read few voods believe they can be killed by psychic means but not 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 at the doorstep are just a neighbor's
way of saying I don't like you 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 goric built a friendship with George she complained to him about her fictional ex-husband hoping that it
might coax a confession out of him the undercover operation was a long slow process and eventually the higher-ups
began to complain about the lack of results but a breakthrough finally occurred when George and his wife Diana
moved out of their home in November 1989 agent Gerrick then asked to rent the home giving her complete access to the
property after agent goric moved into the home crime scen Tex descended on the property that same night there was an
incredibly thorough process to look for traces of thallium Tex also zeroed in on
George's Garage which he hadn't bothered to clear out a couple of small bottles were found on George's workbench one was
made of brown glass and had white residue inside these were packaged up to be examined at the FBI lab while
investigators were waiting for the results to come back agent goric met with George as Sherry to tell him that
she knew about the poisoning next store she hoped that he might be shocked into giving something away although George
did seem to be rattled he didn't say anything incriminating in March 1990 one year after Peggy car's death the results
came back from the property search the brown bottle found in the garage had tested positive for thallium soon after
agent goric called George and said in a shaky voice hi George it's Shar those two investigators came to the
house again this morning they were asking about you again something about some chemicals I don't know what they're
talking about do you George told agent grick to calm down as she was growing increasingly distra the two chatted for
a while and then agent goric 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 while agent goric 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 them entry
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 the stairs oh here's a fun fact he apparently was
wearing only a pair of women's bikini briefs George got dressed and was then placed under arrest for the murder of
Peggy car meanwhile investigators carried out a search of George's new residence among his belongings they
found a loose leaf 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 and there was another book titled poison detection in human organs and there was a detailed
paragraph in there about thallium and then there was this a large amount of bondage equipment and toys were found in
a closet in another room a secret compartment behind a peg board lined 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 to it I don't even know that is it looks as though the room had only been recently built and to detectives
George had made his own little torture chamber news of George's arrest came as a shock to his fellow menum members to
them George was a friendly man who rescued Stray Cats Peggy car'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 pleaded not
guilty and his trial began in January 1991 FBI scientists testified about the way that Peggy had been poisoned and the
bottles with traces of thallium found in George's home agent Susan goric was the
state's star witness of course 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 what a [ __ ] you are George's defense
was that the evidence against him him was entirely circumstantial his defense team pointed
out the other possible suspects whom they felt investigators hadn't considered such as George's wife
Diana they also queried why detectives had been so quick to rule out Peggy Carr's husband given that the couple had
been having marital issues this is interesting his defense team cited a Jack Daniels bottle that had been found
in the car's shed and was filled with some sort of pesticide that Health officials had never tested so they
couldn't say whether or not that bottle had thallium in it which is pretty crazy
too bad we don't have more details on that it's a good defense anyhow the trial ran for 4 weeks the jury
ultimately found George treal guilty of 15 counts including one count of first-degree murder and six counts of
attempted first-degree murder at the jury's recommendation George was sentenced to death by lethal injection
32 years later George trepal remains on death row he is now 74 years old and maintains his innocence all of his
appeals however have been unsuccessful to this day George has what seems to be a decent amount of supporters who
believe he is innocent and feel the case against him is very circumstantial they
describe George as a gentle man that they have never known to be violent but investigators including agent Susan
goric who spent a year getting to know George have no doubt that the man dubbed the menum murderer is in fact guilty in
1995 agent goric co-wrote a book about the case with journalist Jeffrey good titled poison mind the book details
agent G's undercover work as Sher go in and examines the impact that the case had on Peggy car's family sadly Peggy's
children drifted away from their stepfather p P car and his kids and apparently they all have mixed feelings
about George's death sentence P car told the ler newspaper that he's still waiting for the day when he can see the
death sentence carried out he said 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 were to talk to him two of Peggy's children Dwayne and Galina say
they have forgiven George and don't believe he should be executed but Peggy's son Allan disagrees he believes
that George losing his life is a consequence he must suffer for his actions I think this is truly an
unbelievable Story I mean when you think about the lengths that George tree pal went to it seems just to get the car
family to move out and it's sickening to think of the horrific death that Peggy car went through I mean her eyes had to
be SE and shut unreal thank you for watching I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments until next time

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.

00:00 Intro

Based on Case 239: Peggy Carr https://casefilepodcast.com/case-239-peggy-carr/

CREDITS Anonymous Host - narration Erin Munro - research, writing Mike Migas - production, music Andrew D.B. Joslyn - music Milly Raso - creative direction

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Brief Summary

Peggy Car was poisoned with thallium, leading to a murder investigation that revealed George Trepal as the prime suspect.

Key points

A Family's Illness. Members of a blended family begin to fall ill, leading to a shocking investigation.
The Poisoning Begins. Peggy Car's sudden illness raises alarms as her symptoms worsen dramatically.
A Shocking Diagnosis. Doctors discover Peggy has been poisoned with thallium, a rare and deadly substance.
A Threatening Letter. Four months before the poisonings, the Car family receives a chilling warning.
Sherry's Intriguing Invitation. Sherry Gowin discovers a murder mystery weekend that piques her interest.
George's Dark Secrets. George Trepal's past reveals a criminal record and a potential motive for murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I feel like I'm on fire.

Peggy describing her excruciating pain to doctors.

3:34WatchOct 16, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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