这起案件涉及一名男子被指控于1988年谋杀了爱德华王子岛省的一名教师。如今，由于夏洛特敦警方承认定罪所需的关键证据已遗失，整个案件陷入僵局。警方究竟是如何弄丢关键证据的？这对案件后续发展又意味着什么？
The case against the man accused of murdering a P.E.I. teacher in 1988 has unravelled after Charlottetown police revealed the evidence crucial to securing a conviction was missing. How did police lose key evidence, and what does that mean for the case?
周二，59岁的托德·约瑟夫·欧文的所有指控均被撤销。此前他被指控犯有一级谋杀罪以及妨碍处理尸体罪，案件受害者为拜伦·卡尔，一名被发现遭勒颈并刺伤后死在家中的教师。
All charges against Todd Joseph Irving, 59, were dropped on Tuesday. He had been charged with first-degree murder and interfering with human remains in the killing of Byron Carr a teacher found strangled and stabbed in his home.
据爱德华王子岛省检方称，由于夏洛特敦警局丢失了关键证据，根本无法确保庭审定罪，因此继续起诉已无可能——原定于11月开始的庭审也因此无法进行。
According to the P.E.I. Crown Attorney's Office, moving forward with prosecution wasn’t an option because Charlottetown Police Services lost key evidence, leaving no chance of a conviction at the trial that was scheduled to begin in November.
夏洛特敦临时警察局长达伦·麦克杜格尔周二对加拿大广播公司表示，早在2007年该悬案重新被调查时——那时距离2024年初欧文被起诉还有很长时间——警方便已知晓案发时留在现场的凶刀以及用于勒死卡尔的毛巾均已遗失。
Charges laid in decades-old P.E.I. cold case murder withdrawn after key evidence lost Family of Byron Carr speaks out after murder charges in decades-old cold case withdrawn Darren MacDougall, Charlottetown's interim police chief, told CBC News on Tuesday that the agency knew when the cold case was reopened in 2007 — long before Irving was charged in early 2024 — that the knife left at the scene and the towel used to strangle Carr were missing.
“那是1988年，当时的警务工作标准与如今截然不同，”麦克杜格尔说道。因此，警方转而以现场提取的DNA作为定罪依据。
“This was 1988. It was a different time in policing, the standards were far different than they are today,” MacDougall said.
“2007年时，我们仔细评估了手头现有的证据，认清了面临的困难，随后着手研究当时可用的技术手段以锁定罪犯，”麦克杜格尔解释道。
So police instead built their case on DNA found at the scene.
警方原本寄望于法医证据能促成定罪。2024年初，警方宣布逮捕欧文时称，正是借助基因检测技术的进步，才将欧文的DNA与犯罪现场提取的样本相匹配，从而取得了破案突破。
“What we did in 2007 was we endeavoured to look at what we had, realize the challenges, and look forward to what was available to us as far as tools were concerned to identify the offender," MacDougall said.
在审前听证会上，警方表示在卡尔的尸体上、留在现场的一件内衣上，以及被放在卡尔肚脐处的烟蒂上都发现了欧文的DNA。
Police hoped forensic evidence would be enough When police announced Irving’s arrest in early 2024, they said the break in the case came thanks to advances in investigative genetic genealogy that linked Irving to one of the DNA samples found at the crime scene.
但在用于勒死卡尔的毛巾上，以及警方认为可能被用作手套（以防止留下指纹）的袜子上，并未发现欧文的DNA。
At a pre-trial hearing, police said Irving's DNA was found on Carr’s body, on a pair of underwear left at the scene and on an extinguished cigarette butt placed in Carr’s navel.
“我确实希望法医证据能够足以证明欧文的罪行，”曾领导该调查多年的前夏洛特敦警察局长布拉德·麦康奈尔（Brad MacConnell）说道；他现在担任该市的首席行政官员。
His DNA was not found on the towel used to strangle Carr, nor or on a sock left at the crime scene that police said was likely used as a glove to prevent leaving fingerprints behind.
“在过去的几个月里，我们逐渐意识到这些案件中的难题实在难以克服。”
"I certainly hoped that the forensic evidence would be enough to carry the day,” said former Charlottetown police chief Brad MacConnell, who led the investigation for years and now works as the city's chief administrative officer.
这名被指控于1988年谋杀拜伦·卡尔（Byron Carr）的男子如今已经获释。
“It became apparent over the last several months as we worked through this that the challenges were too much to overcome." The man police accused of murdering Byron Carr in 1988 is now free. Here's what happened October 13 Duration But the Crown's office didn’t know about the missing evidence until July — years after Irving’s arrest and just months before the trial was set to begin.
然而，直到7月——也就是欧文被捕多年后、审判即将开始的前几个月——检方才得知这些证据被遗失的事实。
Crown attorney Christopher White said he’s disappointed the case won’t go to trial.
检察官克里斯托弗·怀特（Christopher White）表示，他对案件无法进入审判阶段感到失望。
“This was a matter of personal and public significance,” he said.
“这起案件具有重大的个人和公共意义，”他说，“我认为所有相关人员都认为应该在一个公开的法庭上对案件进行审判；如果这一目标无法实现，实在令人失望，我无法想象卡尔先生的家人会作何感受。”
“I think that everyone involved viewed that it was important that it be adjudicated in a public venue, so for that not to be able to take place, it’s disappointing and I cannot image what it would be like for Mr. Carr’s family.”Charlottetown police say they haven’t ruled out a third-party review into how evidence is handled, but MacDougall said he’s confident something like this wouldn’t happen now.
夏洛特敦警方表示他们并未排除对证据处理方式进行第三方审查的可能性，但麦康奈尔表示他相信类似的情况不会再发生。检方表示不会重新对欧文提起诉讼。
The Crown said it won’t reopen the case against Irving.
尽管审判结果如此，警方和卡尔的家人都表示：虽然目前证据不足以将欧文送上法庭，但他们确信被逮捕的人就是凶手。
Despite the outcome, both police and Carr’s family say they’re confident that while there isn’t enough evidence to bring him to trial, the right person was arrested.
“当有人被杀害时，正义就无从实现，”拜伦的弟弟约翰·卡尔（John Carr）说道。
“There’s no justice when someone is killed,” said John Carr, Byron’s brother.
“无论他会被判处什么刑罚，都无法让拜伦复活，也无法让我们获得任何安慰。我们并不是为了报复谁；但你知道的，他必须自己面对自己的行为所带来的后果。”
“Nothing he could be sentenced to would ever bring Byron back or give us any more satisfaction. We’re not out to get anyone for it, but you know, he’s the one that’s got to live with himself.”