Editing George Trepal

{{Villain Infobox
|Image = George_Trepal.jpg
|fullname = George James Trepal
|alias = The Mensa Murderer
|origin = New York City, New York, U.S.
|occupation = Chemist
|skills = 130+ IQ
|hobby = Attending Mensa Murder Mystery weekends
|goals = Kill the Carr family
|crimes = [[Murder]]<br>[[Drug trafficking]]
|type of villain = Egotistical Murderer}}
'''George James Trepal''' (born January 23, 1949) is an American man who poisoned his neighbours the Carr family with thallium, killing one. The case is known as the "Mensa Murder" because Trepal was a member of the Mensa society. 

==Biography==
Trepal was born in New York in 1949. In the 1980s he moved with his wife Diana to Alturas, Florida. Both had an IQ of 130+, qualifying them for membership of the Mensa club for geniuses. Trepal and his wife soon came into conflict with their neighbours the Carr family over garage renovations, with Trepal threatening to kill one of the Carr children. Trepal sent the family an unsigned note in June 1988 telling them they would be killed if they did not leave Florida within two weeks, but this was ignored.

In October 1988, Peggy Carr fell ill with a mysterious illness, displaying the symptoms of hair loss and extreme joint pain. She was admitted to hospital, followed by her sons Travis Carr and Duane Debberly after they began displaying the same symptoms. After several days, a doctor at the hospital realized the family were experiencing symptoms of thallium poisoning and confirmed this through testing. Other members of the family were also found to have higher than average amounts of thallium in their systems. Travis Carr and Duane Debberly survived thanks to treatment; however, Peggy Carr had a higher amount of thallium in her system than the others and could not be saved, slipping into a coma. She was eventually taken off life support on March 3, 1989.

Police began investigating the case, finding that an eight-pack of Coca-Cola that arrived at the Carr house a few days before Peggy Carr was admitted to hospital contained traces of thallium. Product tampering was quickly ruled out, meaning the killer must have been specifically targeting the Carr family. Suspicion soon fell on George Trepal and his wife due to their arguments with the Carrs. In a police interview, Trepal said he though the killer had poisoned the Carrs to get them to move out, implicating himself in sending the death threat months earlier. He had also previously been convicted of manufacturing [[Illegal drugs|methamphetamines]], which produce thallium as a by-product, giving him the knowledge to obtain thallium. 

Needing more evidence against Trepal, police placed Special Agent Susan Goreck undercover in the Alturas Mensa Society to study him. Goreck, under the alias "Sherry Guinn", befriended Trepal and attended several "Mensa Murder Mystery Weekends" organized by Trepal's wife Diane. At one of these weekends, Trepal provided a mystery almost identical to the poisoning of the Carr family, with the solution being thallium poisoning by the victim's neighbour. 

In April 1989, Trepal and his wife decided to move to Sebring, Florida, and Goreck convinced them to rent out their Alturas house to her rather than selling it. Once Trepal had left town, Goreck organized a search of the house. Police found a bottle of thallium, a bottle-capping machine that had been used to replace the caps on the Coca-Cola bottles after Trepal placed the thallium inside, several books about poisoning, equipment used in the production of methamphetamines, and Agatha Christie's mystery novel ''The Pale Horse'', in which the killer murders his victims by contaminating household products with thallium.

Trepal was charged with first-degree murder and six-counts of attempted murder, one for each surviving family member. He was convicted on all counts and sentenced to death. Multiple appeals and petitions for habeas corpus have been rejected and Trepal remains on death row. 
[[Category:List]]
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[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category:Modern Villains]]
[[Category:Living Villains]]
[[Category:Murderer]]
[[Category:Egotist]]
[[Category:Drug Dealers]]
[[Category:Wrathful]]
[[Category:Mastermind]]
[[Category:Psychopath]]
[[Category:Mentally Ill]]
[[Category:From Nobody to Nightmare]]
[[Category:Elderly]]
[[Category:Liars]]
[[Category:Saboteurs]]
[[Category:Imprisoned]]