P.E.I. judge to decide this fall on legality of DNA taken from Byron Carr murder suspect

Dates have been set for court proceedings that will determine whether the DNA collected from Todd Joseph Gallant as part of the investigation used to charge him with the murder of Byron Carr violated his rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Gallant has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of interfering with human remains connected to the 1988 killing of the 36-year-old Montague Regional High School teacher.

Charlottetown Police had long said they believed Carr had consensual sex with a young man he brought to his Charlottetown home, and presumed that person was his killer.

Advances in technology prompted the force to reopen the Carr cold case in 2007.

Last year, Charlottetown Police announced it had used genetic genealogy to match a DNA sample taken from underwear at the Carr crime scene to Gallant, who lived on P.E.I. at the time of the murder but left the province shortly afterward. He returned to the Island in 2022.

Gallant's lawyer, Chris Montigny, told CBC News on Tuesday that the defence is taking issue specifically with one step in the process that investigators said they used to match the crime scene DNA to Gallant. 

"We're alleging that the seizure of some of the evidence was contrary to the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure," Montigny said.

"An accused person is allowed to ask a court to consider whether or not that evidence was collected in violation of their Charter rights — and if so, what is the appropriate remedy? 

"In this case, we're asking that that evidence that we say was gathered improperly be excluded from the trial."

Sample gathered in 2023

Montigny said this comes down to "an opportunity to get DNA" from Gallant in 2023 when had returned to P.E.I. and was living in Souris. No details have emerged in court about how this DNA was gathered. 

Gallant has already pleaded not guilty and elected for his case to be heard before a judge and jury in the Supreme Court of P.E.I. 

But the arguments on whether the DNA evidence can be produced will be made before a judge alone, starting Oct. 8.

In the meantime, both Montigny and the Crown prosecutor handling the case will be preparing for that hearing. They have to file documents with the court on dates that were fixed during a court appearance on Tuesday.

The hearing in October will involve calling witnesses, which Montigny said will likely include police officers who took part in the investigation. 

Gallant has been in jail for a year and a half so far and will stay there until his next scheduled appearance, at the October hearing.