Autopsies reveal details of Carr deaths

Hollywood producer Terry Carr and his daughter appear to have snacked on yogurt and chips, then prepared to go to sleep in the back of their car just before they died under bizarre circumstances in the parking lot of a Clearlake Oaks gas station, according to autopsy reports released this week.

Carr, 62, whose credits include "On Golden Pond," "The Innocents" and "Predator 2," died of a heart attack. Arieka Carr, 9, was killed when her dying father fell backward across her torso, suffocating the child as she lay in the back of their Jeep Grand Cherokee, the report said.

The autopsy reports ruled out foul play, intoxication with either drugs or alcohol, and sexual abuse.

The reports provide glimpses into the Carrs' activities that tragic Aug. 1, but do not explain why the pair abruptly abandoned Carr's wife in an Ashland, Ore., market the day before.

Chika Carr, 50, told Ashland police she had no idea her husband was planning to leave. The family had recently left Los Angeles and had rented an apartment in Ashland days before the disappearance.

However, there are indicators Terry Carr may have planned the departure.

Two days before leaving Ashland, he dumped a box of personal belongings in a pasture on the outskirts of Ashland. And a black suitcase and a duffel bag were found inside the Jeep the day Terry and Arieka Carr died, according to the autopsy reports.

Terry Carr also had told his brother, John Carr, who lives in Clearlake Oaks, he would be visiting. But he didn't say when and did not contact his brother Aug. 1, according to Lake County detectives.

The Tower Mart parking lot where the bodies were found is a short distance from John Carr's home. Employees at the store reported seeing Terry and Arieka Carr walking around in the early morning hours. Their bodies were discovered inside the car in the early afternoon.

Inside the Jeep were four empty yogurt bottles and an opened bag of potato chips on the front passenger seat, according to the autopsy reports.

Detectives also found a child seat, a wallet and 17 small photographs of Arieka.

Detectives noted several details that led them to believe the Carrs planned to take a nap.

The back seat of the car was folded away to make room in the cargo department and several things had been placed in a shopping cart outside of the vehicle, according to the report.

Both victims also had removed some of their clothing.

Arieka Carr was in a pink polo shirt and underwear on a blue blanket that partly covered her face. She lay face down on the left side of the cargo compartment with her head toward the rear and her hands clenched in fists. Her pants and sandals were stacked at her feet.

Her father was face up in his T-shirt and underwear. His feet were toward the right passenger door and his head at the right.

The weight of his body on the child's back prevented the child from moving or taking sufficiently deep breaths to stay alive, according to the report.

Terry Carr weighed 212 pounds. Arieka Carr weighed just 55 pounds.

Forensic pathologist Kelly Arthur, whose company provides investigative reports on contract with Lake County, was not available Friday to explain her findings.