Every Town - Alturas, Florida – The Conviction of Diabolical Poison Murderer George Trepal

Episode Date: October 15, 2020

Go to https://deadboltmysterysociety.com/ and use the promo code: deadbolt20 for 20% OFF your first order!Scary Mysteries Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiE86yS_VM7qjiICqRPmwLQ?view_as=subscriberOwn Shares In Our New HORROR MOVIE: https://www.startengine.com/an-angry-boyContact US: [e-mail] the mid-1980s, George Trepal was known as a highly intelligent chemist and computer whiz, and a part of Mensa, an elite organization whose members have intelligence quotients that place them in the top 2% of the worldwide population. It’s a great feat that 98% of the population could only wish for, but they’d never dare to be in Trepal’s shoes three decades later. Today, 71-year old George is death row inmate number 121965 at Polk County, Florida. For 29 years now, he has been dreading the day when his death warrant will finally be served for a murder he committed in 1988 in  Alturas, Polk County, Florida. It wasn’t a crime bursting with violence and rampage, but a carefully planned murder-by-poisoning only a knowledgeable chemist like George could pull off. Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The reviews are in from people all around the world and the Deadbolt Mystery Society has 4.9 out of five stars, according to over 260 independent reviews. Right now, they're offering 20% off your order when you use the code Deadbolt 20. So go to Deadboltmysterysociety.com and use the code Deadbolt 20 to get 20% off and become part of the Deadbolt Mystery Society today. Every town has a dark side. In this episode, we head to Ultris, Florida, where we learn about the dastardly deeds of a diabolical poison murderer named George Treppel. In the mid-1980s, George Treple was known as a highly intelligent chemist and computer whiz and a part of Mensa, in a lead organization whose members have intelligence that place them in the top 2% of the worldwide population. It's a great feat that 98% of the population could only wish for,

but they'd never dare to be in trepilled shoes three decades later. Today, 71-year-old George has death row inmate number 121965 in Polk County, Florida. For 29 years now, he has been dreading the day when his death warrant will finally be served for a murder he committed in 1988, an altruist, Polk County. Florida. It wasn't a crime bursting with violence or rampage, but a carefully planned murder by poisoning, only a knowledgeable chemist like George could pull off. I'm Andrew, and welcome to this week's episode of Everytown, where we'll feature the crime of the evil genius George Treppel. A voracious reader, Treple's murderous plan, was allegedly inspired by iconic writer Agatha Christie's

1961 detective fiction, The Pale Horse, which details deaths by thallium poisoning. George targeted the Carr family, his neighbors and altruous, but only the mothers succumbed to death. What were the circumstances that incited George to poison them? More interestingly, how was his seemingly perfect crime busted? Together, let's play detectives and uncover the answers. It was in 1982 when the 39-year-old George and his wife, Diana, moved into their two-story, a small rural area in central Florida's Polk County. It was the perfect sanctuary for the reclusive and childless trepull couple who valued their privacy. George, an only son of a New York salesman and an elementary school teacher,

entered South Carolina's Clemson University in 1966, and studied chemistry for two years. He then worked as a chemist for one of the largest methamphetamine manufacturing operations in the southeast and created computer programs for a living. His wife Diana was an orthopedic surgeon and a menza member as well. It was in a Mensa social event that they first met and hit it off right away as it was a perfect meeting of the minds. She was outgoing and driven.

a good match to his shy and nerdy personality. When George and Diana moved to the isolated orange growing area and altruous, the doctor-wife worked long hours, while George worked mostly on his computer projects. Their social life was mainly spent with the members of the Polk County Mensa chapter. They became neighbors with Perilene or Pi Carr, a 47-year-old divorce man, and his 16-year-old son, Travis.

When Pye remarried in January of 1988, his 41-year-old new wife Peggy and her son from her previous marriage, 17-year-old Dwayne, moved into the car home. Soon, the new family grew bigger when Pye's daughter Tammy and granddaughter Cassie, as well as Peggy's daughter, Galena, also decided to live in the car's altruous home. They were a picture of one big, happy family, But for the Treples, the seven-member car family was a threat to their guarded privacy and peaceful existence. Soon enough, conflicts started to brew.

Most people deem that their trivial tiffs didn't pose any peril. Pye thought so too, but not so much for the short, bearded, pot-bellied, thick eyeglass-wearing George Treple. His silent demeanor hiding his dangerous mind. In order to accommodate additional family members, Pi converted his garage into an apartment. The construction triggered the first dispute between the neighbors. In March of 1988, George complained to the zoning board about the construction, and Pye was ordered to cease and desist until he received the zoning variance and obtained the appropriate permits. More incidents further annoyed the treble couple.

They complained of the loud music and parking dogs, coming from the car residence. There was also a long-running dispute over the sitting of a fence and damage that George claimed had been done to his garden by the car's three dogs. Then one time, Pye's two teenage boys crossed the property lines while riding their motorcycles, which prompted George to intimidate them. In June of 88, the car family received an anonymous letter containing a threatening message. It said,

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. Determining the source of the letter was a no-brainer, but Pine's family dismissed it as one of George's idle threats. Peggy, though, was doubtful and warned her kids to be careful. In October, it was Peggy who figured in a spat with Diana. They engaged in a heated argument after Diana had confronted Peggy's sons due to their radio blasting too loudly. When Peggy came to her son's defense, Mrs. Treple stormed off and shouted a stern warning. You won't get away with this.

Peggy didn't seriously mind it and moved on with her daily routine. They never dawned on her that Diana was mincing her words. Soon the threats from their next door neighbor became. terrifyingly real and fatal in Peggy's case. Peggy worked as a waitress at the Nicholas family restaurant and nearby Bartow, about 11 miles away from Utturus. While working on October 23rd, 1988, Peggy experienced chest pain, nausea, numbing of her hands,

tingling of her feet, and breathing difficulty, like she was having a heart attack. Initially, she thought it was caused by trouble in blood circulation, so she opted to rest at home, thinking that Peggy had a stomach bug. Her family members let her drink a bottle of Coke taken from an eight-pack supply kept in their garage. But when Peggy could no longer bear the pain, Pi brought her to the Bartow Memorial Hospital where she told the attending doctor, I feel like I'm on fire.

Her condition was strange even to the emergency doctors who attended to her. They were in a quandary determining the cause and finding a woman. a solution to the bone-deep pain that Peggy felt. Three days later, she got better and was discharged from the hospital. However, instead of recuperating at home, Peggy's condition only worsened. She had frequent vomiting, felt more excruciating pain, and suffered from hair loss. At about the same time, the two boys, Dwayne and Travis, complained of tingling fingers, upset stomachs, and burning sensations throughout the same.

their bodies. Pye's sister, Carolyn Dixon, who's a nurse, knew something, wasn't right. An ambulance then rushed Peggy, Dwayne, and Travis to the Winterhaven Hospital where neurologist Dr. Richard Hostler, an infectious disease specialist, Dr. Robert Van Hook, immediately ran some routine tests on the three patients. Dr. Hostler suspected that Peggy and her son's inexplicable pain, was caused by some kind of poison. In particular, thallium.

Discovered in 1861, thallium is a tasteless and odorless chemical in the aluminum family, which was used to treat gout, dysentery, syphilis, and gonorrhea, among other illnesses. But it was discovered to have toxic side effects on humans, causing nerves and muscles to wither. Thus, thallium has been mostly utilized as a pesticide since the 1960s. and its widespread use has been banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency since 1972. Dr. Hostler's initial speculation was validated when the urine tests of his three patients yielded amounts of thallium. Although it is natural that small traces of the chemical, being an occurring element, can be found in our body. Peggy's system contained 20,000 more times

than what is considered normal. The rare, poisonous, bluish-white metal was also found in the systems of Dwayne and Travis, but in less alarming amounts. The other car family members were victimized as well. Insignificant traces of thallium were also detected in Pye, Galena, and Casey. This prompted Dr. Hossler to raise his suspicion

that someone tried to poison the entire family, but Pye was skeptical and said, I don't think anyone dislikes us enough to do that. Despite the treatment given to Peggy, her condition deteriorated, and soon she lapsed into a coma. After four months of clinging to life support, with Neri a sign of recovery, Pye decided to disconnect the equipment that superficially enabled Peggy to live. She died on March 3, 1989. Dwayne remained hospitalized for two months and Travis for six months, but,

both eventually recovered. Dwayne said that he had never experienced so much pain and suffering like he did in that two-month period. Aside from being thankful for regaining his good health, as well as that of his half-brother Travis's, Dwayne got to live on to know who had done the diabolical crime against his family and witnessed how justice was achieved for his beloved mother. It didn't happen overnight, but the long and winding investigation conducted by a determined team, especially of one courageous woman, was highly commendable.

This is where the thrilling detective work begins, like pattern straight from the pages of an Agatha Christie best-selling novel. Dr. Hossler informed the Polk County Sheriff's Office of the Carr family's poisoning case, and homicide detective Ernie Mincy was assigned to investigate. From the beginning, the local authorities believed that the family had been deliberately poisoned, and they needed to find out who did it, why, and how. As in all cases of possible homicide, finding any clue starts closest to home. Thus, it wasn't remote that the car family members, particularly Pye, became the most likely culprit.

But Detective Mincy didn't find it logical since the father of the house also ingested the poison. Perhaps he was trying to cover up his tracks, but why would Pryton? want to kill Peggy and his children. There seems to be no compelling reason because they were all on good terms, which the detective agreed with, thus Pi and the rest of his kin were cleared. Polk County officials didn't yet consider Peggy's death a homicide officially, but they investigated into how the family came into contact with the thallium. In November of 88, around 400 items from the car's residence, including empty Coca-Cola bottles

from an 8-pack were sent to an FBI laboratory. The residue at the bottom of four of those Coke bottles tested positive for thallium, and three unopened bottles were also sent to the lab. Investigators determined that their bottle caps had been tampered with, and thalium was found in the contents of each bottle. Coca-Cola officials claimed that they hadn't received any other reports of poisoning or threats related to tampering with the product. Thus, investigators, of course, found it questionable that an 8-pack of Coca-Cola would contain thalium in each and every bottle.

At this point, Detective Mincy was joined by FBI agent Brad Breck from the Lakeland office. They asked the FBI's behavioral science unit in Virginia to come up with the psychological profile of a poisoner. So what kind of a person should they target, according to the experts? Their answer is, an intelligent white male in his mid-30s who like to resolve conflicts without direct confrontation, because poisoners are usually outwardly passive and find pleasure watching death from a distance. And this type of person would often leave a trail of threats. Pye then told Detective Mincy about the anonymous threatening letter they'd receive. The detective found something intriguing on the envelope.

It was actually addressed to Pye Carr in Bartow and not Ulturus, which was the proper way to send a letter to a resident in Ulturus with a home mailbox like Pi. And who else would know this quirky address system in the town? The town residents no less, right? So who among the 600 Uttorist residents wanted Peggy and her family members killed? By far we can come up with the most likely suspect without our own. much sleuthing done, but for true blue detectives, collecting solid evidence to substantiate the suspicion is the real hard work. Dozens of people from the altruous area were interviewed by Mincy and Breck, but one man was

put on their radar because he seemed to fit the poisoner's profile. George Treple, the intelligent man deeply interested in science and technology. During his interview on December 22nd, 1988, George was the guy. the only person who answered suspiciously as to why anyone would poison the cars. He replied, someone was after them, someone wanted them to move out. Mincey immediately realized that George's response had the same tone, same verbiage, as the threatening note. Moreover, the investigation revealed that he told lies to them.

First, George claimed that he was a self-employed computer programmer and technical writer who worked daily in his wife's office in Bartow. But George either worked at his Winterhaven office at varied hours or just stayed home so he could access the car residence since Pye told police that they rarely locked their doors. Also, George denied knowing anything about Thalium. However, his criminal records showed that George was arrested in 1975 and served two and a half years in a Danbury, Connecticut prison for conspiracy. to manufacture methamphetamine while employed as a chemist.

Valium is used to make the base product of the powerful addictive stimulant. Investigators also learned George made homemade wine and owned a device that could be used to recap soda bottles. These were pieces of circumstantial evidence that helped make George a primary suspect in the poisoning of the car family and death of Peggy, but it wasn't enough to charge him with any crime. Then entered Susan Gorek, a 35-year-old veteran special agent who went undercover in the Treple case that became known as Operation Pale Horse. In order to penetrate the world of George and

Diana Treple, Susan posed as Sherry Gwyn, a fictional Houston, Texas woman fleeing from her abusive husband. In April of 1989, the Treple couple hosted the Mensa murder weekend at the Winterhaven Holiday Inn. It was a gathering of Mensa members, wherein they staged, made up murder scenes, and tried solving them while acting out their roles. Diana created the murder scenarios, while George wrote a booklet given to participants that discussed, among other things, poisoning and threats by neighbors. Luckily, Susan, as Sherry got herself invited and finally met George, who initially avoided eye contact with her, and stuttered with nervousness. But Susan won him over through pleasant conversations without threatening his ego and intelligence,

and they soon became friends. In her guise as Sherry, Susan met with George on several occasions and found him interesting, knowledgeable, and witty. But like a pro, she never let her guard down and focused on her mission, even if George never did. doubted her Sherry Gwynn's story. Despite their closeness, George was also careful not to mention anything about Peggy Carr's murder, which made Susan more convinced that George was the right suspect. One time, Susan got invited to the trepull home where she found another circumstantial clue. Lying on a table was Agatha Christie's novel, The Pale Horse,

about a murderer using thalium to poison his victims. But again, this wasn't enough to obtain a search warrant for the triple home. This left Susan frustrated and pressured to produce tangible results. That breakthrough came in November of 89, more than a year after Peggy's death. Diana was moving her medical practice to Sebring, Florida, and she and George would be renting out their altruous home. Susan jumped at the opportunity to lease the house until a little bit of her. fictitious divorce was final, and George agreed. The moment Susan had the treple house to herself in December of 89, a team of crime scene

technicians began searching for evidence that would link George to Peggy's murder and the car family members poisoning. Different parts of the house, including closets, kitchen cabinets, and sink were swathed with cotton balls dipped in nitric acid in the hopes of finding traces of thalium. Then they found several small bottles containing residue inside them in the garage. The bottles, along with the cotton balls, were sent to the FBI lab in Virginia. They also discovered several chemical and poison-related books, and George's journal with his fingerprints on it,

had a photocopy from a book discussing thallium poisoning. The year 1989 ended. In January of 1990 was halfway done, but still, there was no word from the FBI about evidence linking George to the crimes. Growing more disappointed, Susan Still, posing as Sherry Gwynn, decided to meet George in late January in Sebring to tell him about two detectives asking her about the murder of a neighbor and altruous. The undercover agent thought George would be caught off guard and say something incriminating, but all he nonchalantly said was,

Oh yeah, somebody got poison next door. But when Susan gave him the business cards of detectives Mincy and Breck, a stammering George told Susan to be quiet and said, I hope I'm not a prime suspect. That could be messy. Yet nothing really valuable came out of that meeting. Worn out. Susan was on the verge of quitting when at last, the FBI lab technicians confirmed traces of thalium nitrate

were found in the bottles taken from George's garage. The Operation Pale Horse investigating team ultimately nailed George Treple. On April 7, 1990, authorities were finally able to say, George Treple, you are under arrest for the murder of Peggy Carr at his house on Lake Jackson and Seabring. In December that year, Polk County Assistant State Attorney John Aguero rolled out four weeks of witnesses and evidence to a 12-member jury. He described Treple as a dialogue. a diabolical killer who perceived himself smarter than the police.

In January of 1991, Susan Gurek took the witness stand and gave a damning testimony against George, especially her report of the discovery of the thallium contaminated bottles from the triples' home garage. Yet, George maintained his innocence. His defense team focused on their argument that the prosecution's evidence against him was circumstantial. and in a desperate attempt to confuse the jury, their closing argument stunned the courtroom. There's just as much evidence, just as much reason, to suspect Dr. Diana Carr as there is George Treple, dragging their client's wife into the mess. On February 5, 1991, the jury nonetheless found George guilty a first-degree murder

and 15 other counts, including poisoning food or water with the intent. to kill and tampering with consumer products. 31 days later, he was then sentenced to death. The so-called Mensa murder was a case that pitted authorities against an ingenious and arrogant poison murderer who apparently fancied himself so smart that no mere policeman or woman could ever bring him down. But George Trepull also regrettably lost in the perfect crime that he himself plotted. Since March of 91, George has filed more than a dozen appeals to reverse his death sentence,

the latest of which was in 2018. But they've all been rejected, and George continues to languish inside a six-by-nine cell on death row in Florida's Union Correctional Institution. As for Pyecar, he is ready to witness a lethal poison, seep into George's veins until he breathes his last breath, just like how Thicester. Thalium excruciatingly took his wife's life. Pye said, I still want to be there when he's executed. So that's it for this week's episode of Everytown.

If you're interested in hearing more creepy stories that are currently happening in our world, then make sure to check out our Scary Mysteries podcast and YouTube channel, where each week we cover topical stories in our twisted news segment, and every month we have the strange and scary mysteries of the month. Tune in next week for another episode filled with scary, strange, and mysterious stories about every town out there. And who knows, maybe your town will be next.