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On January 3, 1990, Charles Stuart's brother Matthew confessed that the carjacking was a hoax. Matthew told police officers that his brother had planned an [[insurance fraud]] scam in which Matthew would pretend to rob the couple of Carol's jewelry. Upon arriving, Matthew instead found that Charles had already shot Carol and himself, so he agreed to stash the murder weapon in the Stuart family's home. Matthew would later get his best friend John McMahon to help throw the jewelry, Carol's pocketbook, and Charles' gun over the Dizzy Bridge in their hometown of [[Revere, Massachusetts]], but most of the items were later recovered by police.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20116595,00.html|title=A Cold Killer's Chilling Charade|author1=Bill Hewitt |author2=Dirk Mathison |author3=S. Avery Brown |author4=Gayle Verner |author5=Stephen Sawicki |author6=Sue Carswell |date=January 22, 2009| work=People}}</ref>
On January 3, 1990, Charles Stuart's brother Matthew confessed that the carjacking was a hoax. Matthew told police officers that his brother had planned an [[insurance fraud]] scam in which Matthew would pretend to rob the couple of Carol's jewelry. Upon arriving, Matthew instead found that Charles had already shot Carol and himself, so he agreed to stash the murder weapon in the Stuart family's home. Matthew would later get his best friend John McMahon to help throw the jewelry, Carol's pocketbook, and Charles' gun over the Dizzy Bridge in their hometown of [[Revere, Massachusetts]], but most of the items were later recovered by police.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20116595,00.html|title=A Cold Killer's Chilling Charade|author1=Bill Hewitt |author2=Dirk Mathison |author3=S. Avery Brown |author4=Gayle Verner |author5=Stephen Sawicki |author6=Sue Carswell |date=January 22, 2009| work=People}}</ref>


In 1991, Matthew Stuart was indicted for [[obstruction of justice]] and insurance fraud, while John McMahon was indicted as an [[Accessory (legal term)|accessory to murder]].<ref name="brotherindicted" /> Despite three witnesses testifying that three people were in the car on the night of the murders and ballistic evidence suggesting that Charles' wounds were not self-inflicted, the grant jury declined to indict Matthew on murder charges.<ref name="globe1" /> Matthew pleaded guilty to the obstruction and fraud charges in 1992, and both he and McMahon were each sentenced to three years in prison.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Butterfield |first=Fox |date=November 3, 1992 |title=Guilty Plea in Fraud That Led to Boston Slaying |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/03/us/guilty-plea-in-fraud-that-led-to-boston-slaying.html |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref> Matthew was released on [[parole]] in 1997, but he was later rearrested for [[Illegal drug trade|drug trafficking]] until his case was successfully appealed.<ref name="sheltertoinvestigate">{{cite news |last=Guilfoil |first=John |date=September 7, 2011 |title=Shelter to investigate Stuart death |publisher=Boston Globe |url=http://articles.boston.com/2011-09-07/news/30123884_1_charles-stuart-drug-overdose-homeless-shelter |url-status=dead |accessdate=March 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118183353/http://articles.boston.com/2011-09-07/news/30123884_1_charles-stuart-drug-overdose-homeless-shelter |archive-date=January 18, 2013}}</ref> On September 3, 2011, Matthew was found dead in Heading Home, a homeless shelter in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Guilfoil |first1=John M. |last2=Irons |first2=Meghan |date=September 4, 2011 |title=Stuart Found Dead in Shelter |newspaper=The Boston Globe |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/09/04/brother_of_charles_stuart_found_dead_at_cambridge_homeless_shelter/?p1=News_links |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref>
In 1991, Matthew Stuart was indicted for [[obstruction of justice]] and insurance fraud, while John McMahon was indicted as an [[Accessory (legal term)|accessory to murder]].<ref name="brotherindicted" /> Despite three witnesses testifying that three people were in the car on the night of the murders and ballistic evidence suggesting that Charles' wounds were not self-inflicted, the grand jury declined to indict Matthew on murder charges.<ref name="globe1" /> Matthew pleaded guilty to the obstruction and fraud charges in 1992, and both he and McMahon were each sentenced to three years in prison.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Butterfield |first=Fox |date=November 3, 1992 |title=Guilty Plea in Fraud That Led to Boston Slaying |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/03/us/guilty-plea-in-fraud-that-led-to-boston-slaying.html |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref> Matthew was released on [[parole]] in 1997, but he was later rearrested for [[Illegal drug trade|drug trafficking]] until his case was successfully appealed.<ref name="sheltertoinvestigate">{{cite news |last=Guilfoil |first=John |date=September 7, 2011 |title=Shelter to investigate Stuart death |publisher=Boston Globe |url=http://articles.boston.com/2011-09-07/news/30123884_1_charles-stuart-drug-overdose-homeless-shelter |url-status=dead |accessdate=March 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118183353/http://articles.boston.com/2011-09-07/news/30123884_1_charles-stuart-drug-overdose-homeless-shelter |archive-date=January 18, 2013}}</ref> On September 3, 2011, Matthew was found dead in Heading Home, a homeless shelter in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Guilfoil |first1=John M. |last2=Irons |first2=Meghan |date=September 4, 2011 |title=Stuart Found Dead in Shelter |newspaper=The Boston Globe |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/09/04/brother_of_charles_stuart_found_dead_at_cambridge_homeless_shelter/?p1=News_links |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref>


===Possible motives===
===Possible motives===

Revision as of 03:17, 2 December 2023

"Chuck Stuart" redirects here. For the ice hockey player, see Chuck Stuart (ice hockey).

Murder of Carol Stuart
LocationBoston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DateOctober 23, 1989
Attack type
Murder by gunshot
VictimCarol Stuart
PerpetratorCharles Stuart
ConvictionsCommitted suicide upon indictment
ChargesTwo counts of first-degree murder

On October 23, 1989, Charles "Chuck" Stuart murdered his pregnant wife, Carol. The case generated national headlines. Stuart falsely alleged that Carol had been shot and killed by an African-American assailant. Stuart's brother confessed to police that Stuart killed his wife to collect life insurance and Stuart subsequently died by suicide.

Murders

In 1989, Charles Stuart was serving as the general manager for Edward F. Kakas & Sons, fur garment workers on Newbury Street in Boston, Massachusetts. His wife, Carol (née DiMaiti), was a tax attorney and pregnant with the couple's first child.[1] On October 23, the couple was driving through the Roxbury neighborhood after attending childbirth classes at Brigham and Women's Hospital.[1] According to Stuart's subsequent statement, a young adult African-American gunman with a raspy voice and striped tracksuit forced his way into their car at a stoplight, ordered them to drive to nearby Mission Hill, robbed them, then shot Charles in the stomach and Carol in the head. Stuart then drove away and called 9-1-1 on his car phone.[2]

On the night of the murder, the CBS reality television series Rescue 911 was riding with Boston Emergency Medical Services personnel. The crew took dramatic footage of the couple being extricated from the car: Carol can be seen "in profile, her pregnancy prominent, being wheeled to the ambulance."[3] Other footage included Stuart straining to speak with ambulance workers, and graphic scenes of his rushed entry to the hospital's emergency room.[4]

Carol died just hours after the shooting, at approximately 3:00 a.m. on October 24 at Boston City Hospital.[5] Her funeral took place four days later at St. James Church in her hometown of Medford, Massachusetts.[6] During the funeral, Charles had his best friend read a note written from his hospital bed asking the public to forgive the murderer on religious grounds.[2] Shortly before Carol's death, doctors delivered her baby by caesarean section, two months premature. Baptized in the intensive care unit, the child was given the name Christopher, according to Charles and Carol's prior wishes.[5] Christopher had suffered trauma and oxygen deprivation during the shooting and died seventeen days later.[7] Both deaths were ruled homicides.[8] A private funeral service was held for Christopher on November 20, 1989. Both Carol and Christopher are buried under Carol's maiden name.[9]

Investigation

Boston Police detectives Robert Ahearn and Robert Tinlin immediately suspected Stuart because of his calmness in recounting the murder. They were overruled by their superiors, who pursued Stuart's description of the assailant.[10] The Washington Post described the situation: “The city's anger seems inexhaustible. That may be because it is impossible not to feel sullied by the Stuart case. Either one was duped by a fabrication with racist overtones, or one was impotent as police focused their investigation on a succession of innocent black men.” Meanwhile, Stuart himself was hospitalized for six weeks; the severity of his injuries required two operations and Stuart's surgeon claimed that the near-fatal wounds could not have been self-inflicted.[11]

On October 28, 1989, the Boston Police arrested Alan "Albie" Swanson, a Black male that matched Stuart's description of the shooter's height, weight, facial hair, and striped tracksuit. Officers found newspaper clippings covering the murder in Swanson's bathroom, but they concluded he was too intoxicated to have committed the crime.[2]

In early November, the police next arrested William "Willie" Bennett based on local rumors. Their suspicions increased after finding that a bullet in his mother's home matched the caliber of the gun used in the murders. On December 28, 1989, Charles Stuart identified Bennett as his attacker in a police lineup.[12] Later interviews show that at the time of Bennett's arrest, thirty-three acquaintances of Stuart already knew him to be the murderer. Two of them had contacted officer Dan Grabowski alerting him that Stuart was the murderer. This tip was ignored. When contacted for comment by The Boston Globe in 2023, Grabowski responded with a prolonged series of racist text messages and voicemails describing Willie Bennett as "trash" and a drug dealer.[10]

Boston mayor Raymond Flynn was harshly criticized by residents of the Mission Hill and Roxbury neighborhoods for ignoring violence among the local African American community in weeks prior. The city's police indiscriminately used stop and frisk tactics on young Black men, which heightened racial tensions.[13][14] During the manhunt, Suffolk County District Attorney Newman Flanagan had called for reinstating the death penalty, which had been ruled unconstitutional in Massachusetts since 1984, prompting support in the state legislature.[2]

Confession

On January 3, 1990, Charles Stuart's brother Matthew confessed that the carjacking was a hoax. Matthew told police officers that his brother had planned an insurance fraud scam in which Matthew would pretend to rob the couple of Carol's jewelry. Upon arriving, Matthew instead found that Charles had already shot Carol and himself, so he agreed to stash the murder weapon in the Stuart family's home. Matthew would later get his best friend John McMahon to help throw the jewelry, Carol's pocketbook, and Charles' gun over the Dizzy Bridge in their hometown of Revere, Massachusetts, but most of the items were later recovered by police.[2][15]

In 1991, Matthew Stuart was indicted for obstruction of justice and insurance fraud, while John McMahon was indicted as an accessory to murder.[16] Despite three witnesses testifying that three people were in the car on the night of the murders and ballistic evidence suggesting that Charles' wounds were not self-inflicted, the grand jury declined to indict Matthew on murder charges.[10] Matthew pleaded guilty to the obstruction and fraud charges in 1992, and both he and McMahon were each sentenced to three years in prison.[17] Matthew was released on parole in 1997, but he was later rearrested for drug trafficking until his case was successfully appealed.[18] On September 3, 2011, Matthew was found dead in Heading Home, a homeless shelter in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[19]

Possible motives

Police later learned that Stuart had been upset at the prospect of becoming a father, particularly worried that his wife would not go back to work and their financial status would be diminished. Stuart had also started a relationship with Deborah Allen, an employee at Kakas & Sons, though Allen denied any romantic involvement.[20] The Boston Globe reported that a $480,000 check was issued to Stuart in payment for a life insurance policy on his wife, but no such check was ever found. The television show Cold Blood reported and confirmed that Stuart received a $100,000 life insurance check which he cashed just after being discharged from the hospital. On January 7, 1990, The New York Times reported that Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Paul K. Leary stated that a life insurance policy valued at about $83,000 held by Carol and naming her husband as beneficiary was cashed, and gold, jewelry, and a clock valued at about $950 was purchased by Stuart days before his suicide. Stuart also bought a new Nissan Maxima for $16,000 in cash.

Suicide

On January 4, 1990, hours after his brother, Matthew, revealed the truth to the police, Stuart met with his lawyer. Shortly afterward, Stuart's car was found abandoned on the Tobin Bridge in Chelsea. A note was found in his car, stating that he was "beaten" by the "new accusations" and was "sapped of [his] strength."[21] Stuart then apparently jumped to his death off the bridge; his body was found in the Mystic River the next day.[16]

Investigators later learned from several relatives and friends that Stuart had previously expressed a desire to kill his wife well before the October shooting. Several of Stuart's three brothers and sisters had known about his involvement in the killing before Matthew went to the police on January 3.[20]

Lawsuit

The Bennett family never received an apology from the Boston Police Department. No officers received punishment for the false arrest. After a lengthy lawsuit, the family was awarded $12,500. Willie's mother died soon after the lawsuit concluded. As of 2023, Willie Bennett is living alone in Boston.[10]

Memorial fund

In Carol DiMaiti's memory, her family established the Carol DiMaiti Stuart Foundation to provide scholarship aid to Mission Hill residents and Malden High School graduates.[22] This foundation helps students who show leadership ability and significant financial need, providing grantees with mentors and summer internships. One of the beneficiaries is the daughter of William Bennett, the man falsely accused of Carol's murder. By early 2006, the foundation had awarded $1.2 million to 220 students.[23] The DiMaitis' attorney Marvin Geller explained to the press: "Carol would not want to be remembered as the victim of a sensational murder, but rather as a woman who left behind a legacy of healing and compassion."[22][24]

The Law & Order episodes "Happily Ever After" and "Gaijin" are based on the Charles Stuart case. In "Happily Ever After", there are two apparent references to the initial suspect, Willie Bennett. David Brisbin plays Dr. Bennett and Kelly Neal appears as Willie Tivnan.

The 1990 made-for-television film Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston is based on this case. Charles Stuart is played by Ken Olin and Carol Stuart is played by Annabella Price.[25]

The song "Wildside" by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch refers to the case.[26][27]

American poet Cornelius Eady ends his poem "COMPOSITE" with a summary of this case.

The documentary TV series City Confidential covered the Stuart murder in its December 2000 episode titled Boston: Betrayal in Beantown.[28]

Puerto Rican poet Martín Espada alludes to the case in his 2018 poem "Jumping Off the Mystic Tobin Bridge."

The 2019 TV series City on a Hill opens with a title describing the murder and frame-up, as context for the setting for the racially polarized content of the series.

The 2020 Netflix documentary series Trial 4 included the episode "The Usual Suspects," which referenced the case as an example of wrongful arrests and police racism toward African-Americans in the late 1980s.

The 2023 HBO documentary series Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, and Reckoning covers the case. Directed by Jason Hehir, the series was co-produced by The Boston Globe following two years of retrospectively investigating the case.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Englade, Ken (1990). Murder in Boston. New York: Saint Martin's. pp. 2–5. ISBN 0-312-92396-1.
  2. ^ a b c d e Walker, Adrian; Allen, Evan; Koh, Elizabeth; Ryan, Andrew; Nelson, Kristin; McCarthy, Brendan (December 1, 2023). "Nightmare in Mission Hill". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  3. ^ Englade, pp. 245–249.
  4. ^ Rescue 911: Episode 120 "Boston" Part 2 of 3, retrieved July 24, 2023
  5. ^ a b Englade, p. 19.
  6. ^ Englade, p. 61.
  7. ^ Englade, p. 73.
  8. ^ Hays, Constance L. (November 11, 1989). "Baby's Death Makes Boston Case Double Homicide". The New York Times. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  9. ^ Englade, p. 83.
  10. ^ a b c d "Charles Stuart the murderer and police brutality: a Boston legacy". The Boston Globe. December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  11. ^ Butterfield, Fox (January 11, 1990). "Confusion Grows Over Boston Murder". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  12. ^ Flowers, R. Barri (March 21, 2013). The Dynamics of Murder: Kill or Be Killed. CRC Press. ISBN 9781466588752.
  13. ^ Butterfield, Fox; Hays, Constance L. (January 15, 1990). "Motive Remains a Mystery In Deaths That Haunt a City". New York Times.
  14. ^ Bernard, Diane (January 4, 2020). "'They were treated like animals': The murder and hoax that made Boston's black community a target 30 years ago". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  15. ^ Bill Hewitt; Dirk Mathison; S. Avery Brown; Gayle Verner; Stephen Sawicki; Sue Carswell (January 22, 2009). "A Cold Killer's Chilling Charade". People.
  16. ^ a b Butterfield, Fox (September 27, 1991). "Charles Stuart's Brother Indicted In Murder Case". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  17. ^ Butterfield, Fox (November 3, 1992). "Guilty Plea in Fraud That Led to Boston Slaying". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  18. ^ Guilfoil, John (September 7, 2011). "Shelter to investigate Stuart death". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  19. ^ Guilfoil, John M.; Irons, Meghan (September 4, 2011). "Stuart Found Dead in Shelter". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  20. ^ a b Butterfield, Fox (January 10, 1990). "Gun That May Be Stuart's Is Found". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  21. ^ "Report: Suicide note contained no confession". Nashua Telegraph. Associated Press. February 1, 1993. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  22. ^ a b Englade, pp. 231–233.
  23. ^ Negri, Gloria (January 21, 2006). "Evelyn DiMaiti, reached out to help many after loss; at 74". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  24. ^ "White Boston Family Sets Up Scholarship to Ease Racial Tension". Jet: 9. February 12, 1990.
  25. ^ "Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston (TV Movie 1990) - IMDb". IMDb.
  26. ^ Washburn, Jim (March 12, 1992). "RAPPIN' WITH MARKY : 'The Fame Can Be a Headache at Times, You Know'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 3, 2022. "Wildside" is a chopped and channeled replay of Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wildside," with a recitation recounting drug deaths, gang violence, and the racism-tinged Carol Stuart murder case.
  27. ^ "Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch - Wildside". YouTube.
  28. ^ "City Confidential : S2 E18 : Boston: Betrayal in Beantown". AECrimeCentral.com. A&E Networks. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  29. ^ Pelt, Veronica; Rosenthal, Erica (November 6, 2023). "HBO Original Three-Part Documentary Series Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning Debuts December 4". Warner Bros. Discovery. Retrieved November 23, 2023.

Further reading

  • Sharkey, Joe (1991). Deadly Greed: The Riveting True Story of the Stuart Murder Case That Rocked Boston and Shocked the Nation. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-13-584178-X.
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