A Deadly Recipe

In 1988 Perlin 'Pie' Carr lived on a small orange-grove property in Alturas, an unincorporated community in Polk County, central Florida. The property had two houses on it and the nearest neighbours were a little over a quarter of a mile away. Pie had lived there for some years with his son Travis and his daughter Tammy; his daughter Delena and his two-year-old granddaughter Casey later moved into an apartment converted from the garage. In 1988 Pie married Peggy, and Peggy moved in with her son Dwayne Duberley. Seven people were soon living in a house that had not been built for them. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Both were members of Mensa. The two households did not get on. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now In June 1988 Pie received an anonymous letter, postmarked near Bartow, telling him that he and 'all your so-called family' had two weeks to move out of Florida for ever or they would all die. It said 'this is no joke'. Pie thought it was a prank, probably by one of the teenagers. The two weeks passed. In September both of the family's dogs became ill and died. In October 1988 Peggy began with what seemed to be stomach flu. It did not go away. On 23 October she had nausea, chest pain, pain in her arms and legs and difficulty breathing. She was admitted to Bartow Memorial Hospital for three days and sent home when tests found nothing unusual. At home she got worse. Travis and Dwayne then began to feel ill in the same way. On 30 October, at the urging of Pie's sister Carolyn Dixon, a nurse, Peggy, Travis and Dwayne were admitted to Winter Haven Hospital. There a neurologist noticed that Peggy's hair was thinning and falling out and ordered tests for poisons. The tests found thallium, a tasteless metal poison once used against rodents and banned by the EPA in 1972. Peggy had 20,000 times the natural amount in her urine. Travis and Dwayne also tested positive; they would spend months in hospital. Pie, Tammy, Delena and Casey had traces that were not enough to make them ill. The well water was tested and was clean. The Coca-Cola link came from the family's drink of choice. Peggy had been given Coca-Cola while she was ill, and the house kept eight-packs of 16-ounce glass bottles. Investigators found seven bottles: three full and four empty. The empty bottles' washings contained thallium, and so did the sealed full bottles. Laboratory work showed the bottles had been opened and re-capped, and that the carbonation was not factory-fresh. The case changed from a possible environmental poisoning to a criminal investigation. No one in the family could remember buying the bottles, and the family did not lock their doors. Pie then told investigators about the letter. Attention turned to the neighbours. details of the account remain covered until revealed He said he had never heard of thallium. Asked why anyone would want to harm the Carrs, he said 'someone must have wanted them to move out of the neighbourhood', an answer no one else gave. He complained about loud music, about the Carrs' dogs, about Pie trying to sell him a barbecue cooker, and about Pie backing out of an oral agreement to sell him a workshop for $10,000. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Born in New York City in 1949, the son of a police officer and a schoolteacher, he grew up in South Carolina and Charlotte. He studied at Clemson and then at the University of South Carolina, graduating in 1972 with a psychology degree; he also studied chemistry. this part of the story is covered for now His method, the P2P process, used thallium nitrate. details of the account remain covered until revealed After his release he met Diana at a Mensa meeting. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it In April 1989 a newspaper reported that the name withheld heres were to host a Mensa murder-mystery weekend at a Holiday Inn. Detective Susan Gorick of the Polk County Sheriff's Office went undercover as 'Sherry Gwynn', joined the event and befriended the couple. details of the account remain covered until revealed He suggested she poison her husband to get a better divorce settlement. He also owned a tool for uncapping and recapping bottles and made homemade wine. In November 1989 the covered names moved to Sebring. Gorick rented their Alturas house, and on 12 December 1989 investigators searched it. In a drawer in a workbench in the detached garage they found a brown bottle containing a beige powder that tested positive for thallium. A search of the Sebring home found a homemade journal on poisoning, laboratory equipment, chemicals, a small amount of what was believed to be methamphetamine and a soundproof room in the basement fitted out for torture and bondage. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it The state called more than 70 witnesses, including chemists, FBI analysts, Coca-Cola laboratory staff, a DEA agent and David Warren, his former methamphetamine partner. The defence called no witnesses and relied on cross-examination. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now The United States Supreme Court denied relief in 2013. Diana divorced him in 1996. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it