Boston, MA
Charles Stuart case: Infamous murder in Boston of pregnant wife unraveled by confession
A new three-part docuseries takes a fresh look at Charles “Chuck” Stuart’s money-motivated murder of his pregnant wife in 1989, his elaborate hoax to mislead police and its subsequent unraveling that gripped Boston and the nation.
Released on Dec. 4, HBO’s “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rage and Reckoning” was made in conjunction with The Boston Globe and combines archival footage with fresh interviews to paint a fuller picture of the infamous, tragic debacle.
Carol DiMaiti Stuart, 30, was shot in the head in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood shortly after she and her husband of four years, Charles Stuart, left a birthing class on Oct. 23, 1989.
“Rescue 911,” a CBS reality television series that rode along with emergency service personnel, captured the dramatic aftermath on film; Chuck and a visibly-pregnant Carol being extricated from their vehicle, the man’s strained conversations with EMS workers as they tended to his own gunshot wound and their frantic admission to a hospital.
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Carol and Charles “Chuck” Stuart married in October 1985. Carol was shot in the head on the night of Oct. 23, 1989, although her husband claimed a Black carjacker shot his wife. Police would later learn that he killed her in a plot for an insurance payout. (Getty Images)
At 2:50 a.m. the next morning, Carol succumbed to her injuries. Two months premature, her baby was delivered by cesarean section and baptized in the intensive care unit before dying 17 days later of oxygen deprivation and trauma sustained in the shooting, per the documentary.
Stuart would tell police that a young Black man with a raspy voice wearing a striped tracksuit forced his way into their car, ordered them to drive to the predominantly Black neighborhood and robbed them. Then, he claimed the unknown man shot him in the stomach with a silver gun before turning the weapon on his wife.
Charles’ wound would lead to seven hours of life-threatening surgery, which those close to the case said strengthened the credibility of his story.
“To turn the gun and shoot yourself there?” said Dan Hickey, one of the paramedics who treated Stuart. “Why not in the arm, leg or shoulder?”
Although Boston Police Detectives Robert Ahearn and Robert Tinlin immediately doubted Stuart’s story, suspecting he was the killer because he seemed too composed when recounting the attack, they were overruled by their superiors, The Boston Globe reported.
The Boston Police Department would carry out upwards of 150 “stop-and-frisk” searches in the city in the five days following the shooting. Then-Mayor Raymond Flynn ordered more than 100 extra police officers to search the city’s predominantly Black neighborhoods, per the outlet.
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however, they would later learn that Stuart, who had wanted his wife to get an abortion and feared she would not resume her career as an attorney after giving birth, was the shooter all along.
The hoax was revealed after two innocent men were already arrested, when the killer’s brother, Matthew Stuart, confessed his role in the scheme to police, per The Guardian.
On Oct. 27, 1989, before Matthew Stuart’s confession upended the case, Boston Police arrested homeless Black man Alan “Albie” Swanson based on a tip that he matched Charles Stuart’s description, according to the documentary.
When Officer William “Bill” Dunn searched Swanson’s Cornelia Court apartment, per the documentary and reporting by The Boston Globe, a black tracksuit matching Stuart’s description was found soaking in the sink, and several newspaper clippings pertaining to the Carol Stuart case were found behind his toilet.
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Charles Stuart worked as a fur salesman at Edward F. Kakas & Sons in Boston while his wife worked as a tax attorney at a publishing company. He received an $82,000 payout from his wife’s life insurance policy after her death. He then purchased a Nissan Maxima car and women’s jewelry, per The Boston Globe. (Photo by Steve Liss/Getty Images)
Swanson was charged with unarmed burglary, and his subsequent arrest and three-week incarceration was widely publicized.
Leslie Harris, Swanson’s attorney, said he was “scared to death.”
“He could barely talk,” she recalled in the documentary. “He was the person they believed had done the killing of a White pregnant woman. He wouldn’t have stood a chance in jail if they put him in the general population, because even Black inmates would have killed him – you don’t kill a pregnant woman.”
Swanson claimed he was too intoxicated at the time of the shooting to be Carol’s killer. He was released when another Black man, William “Willie” Bennett, was arrested based on another tip.
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Michael Stuart, pictured sitting in a white dress shirt, is pictured at a press conference with his siblings after admitting his role in the death of Carol Stuart. (Photo by Steve Liss/Getty Images)
A subsequent search uncovered a bullet in Bennett’s mother’s home that matched the caliber of the gun used in the murders, per The Boston Globe. The second man was arrested on Nov. 13, 1989. He had a lengthy arrest record, and police held him on an unrelated charge, per The Guardian.
Stuart would identify Bennett as his attacker in a police lineup, according to the outlet.
However, plagued with a guilty conscience, Matthew Stuart approached Boston detectives on Jan. 3, 1990. His attorney John J. Perenyi later told People that “the lineup” – the idea that an innocent man would be framed for Carol’s murder – “pushed Matthew over the brink.”
In mid-October, Matthew told homicide detectives, his brother asked him to “steal” Carol’s jewelry from the couple’s home. Stuart said he would then file a fraudulent insurance claim, per a transcript of his interview published by The Boston Globe.
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A police officer is pictured searching a man in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood in 1989. More than 150 stop-and-frisk searches were carried out in the five days following Carol Stuart’s shooting. (The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The plan changed, he said, and he agreed to meet his brother in Mission Hill on Oct. 23 in exchange for $10,000. Charles told him he would throw a bag from his own car window into Matthew’s, then Matthew would dispose of that bag – which turned out to be Carol’s Gucci purse.
Along with the purse, People reported, Charles passed Matthew a nickel-plated, snub-nosed .38 revolver.
Matthew, who was 25 at the time, hid the bag in the Stuart family home before asking his best friend to help him throw the purse off the Dizzy Bridge in Revere, Massachusetts.
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However, Matthew held onto Carol’s engagement ring, which he later handed over to authorities, People reported. He only learned that Carol had been killed the next day when he watched news reports the next day, he said. Over the course of his six-hour interview, he denied knowing his brother’s intentions to kill his wife.
Per People, police recovered the revolver in the Pines River the next week.
However, the evidence did not contribute to Charles’ conviction. After getting wind of his brother’s confession, he drove his car – a $22,000 Nissan Maxima he had purchased with an $82,000 insurance payout from the publishing company where his wife worked, per the Greensboro News & Record – to the Tobin Bridge.
There, he jumped from approximately 145 feet to his death, per Boston.com.
In the passenger seat, Charles left a suicide note claiming he had been “sapped of [his] strength” by a “new accusation,” Slate reported.
Police search the Pines River in 1990 for the gun believed to be used in the murder of Carol Stuart. Two days earlier, Charles Stuart killed himself after his brother Matthew confessed his role in Carol’s murder to police. (The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Even in death, Charles would fool those around him. Carl DiMaiti, Carol’s sister, told the Greensboro News & Record that their family was “grieving” after his suicide because they “thought he killed himself through grief.”
The next year, Matthew was convicted on obstruction of justice and insurance fraud charges, per Boston.com. He died of a drug overdose in a city homeless shelter 20 years later, the outlet reported.
In a later analysis by The Boston Globe, the outlet found that at least 33 people knew that Stuart had killed his wife before his brother confessed.
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“Folks, Charles Stuart took us all in,” Flynn later told reporters, per the Greensboro outlet.
“Murder in Boston” director Jason Hehir told WGBH that he was often asked why he “wanted to open [the] wound” of the controversial Stuart case with the new documentary.
“It’s a good way of examining our past and examining the mistakes that were made,” “The Last Dance” filmmaker told the outlet. “I always thought the Stuart case would be great, not only as a true-crime story with all the twists and turns and characters, but also as a way of examining Boston’s fraught racial history through the lens of one case.”
There is NBA action on Sunday, Jan. 12 that sees the Boston Celtics welcoming the New Orleans Pelicans to TD Garden in Boston.
The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on NBC Sports Boston. Fans looking to watch this NBA game can do so for free by using DirecTV Stream, which offers a free trial. You can also watch on FuboTV, which also offers a free trial and $30 off your first month, or SlingTV, which doesn’t offer a free trial but has promotional offers available.
The Celtics have lost two of their last three and are 11-8 since the start of December, and now sit at 27-11, still the second-best mark in the East. The Pelicans are 8-31, but have won three of their last five.
- WATCH THE GAME FOR FREE HERE
Who: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Boston Celtics
When: Sunday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. EST
Where: TD Garden in Boston
Stream: FuboTV; Sling; DirecTV Stream (free trial)
Betting: Check out our MA sports betting guide, where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.
What is FuboTV?
FuboTV is an internet television service that offers more than 200 channels across sports and entertainment including Paramount+ with SHOWTIME. From the UEFA Champions League to the WNBA to international tournaments ranging across sports, there’s plenty of options available on FuboTV, which offers a free trial and $30 off the first month for new customers.
What is DirecTV Stream?
DirecTV Stream offers practically everything DirecTV provides, except for a remote and a streaming device to connect to your television. Sign up now and get three free months of premium channels including MAX, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and Starz.
What is SlingTV?
SlingTV offers a variety of live programing ranging from news and sports and starting as low as $20 a month for your first month. Subscribers also get a month of DVR Plus free if they sign up now. Choose from a variety of sports packages without long-term contracts and with easy cancelation.
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An NBA 1st: Jokic, Westbrook record triple-doubles in same game for 2nd time this season
By MICHAEL KELLY Associated Press
DENVER (AP) — Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook made NBA history on Friday night, becoming the first pair of teammates to record a triple-double in the same game multiple times in a single season.
Jokic finished with 35 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds for his NBA-leading 15th triple-double of the season in the Nuggets’ 124-105 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Westbrook had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
“I think it’s that’s the style both of us play,” Jokic said. “I’m just glad we’re winning the games because that’s more important than the stats. It’s special, the relationship, how the guys are willing to run the lanes and get to the corner. They know the ball’s going to find them.”
They’re also the first to record a 25-point triple-double in the same regular-season game.
“Wow. That’s pretty crazy. We’re watching history, folks,” Denver coach Michael Malone said.
The pair also accomplished the feat at Utah on Dec. 30. Jokic had 36 points, 22 rebounds and 11 assists that night while Westbrook had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Westbrook made all seven of his shot attempts, both free throw attempts and didn’t have a turnover in that game.
Westbrook credited Malone with giving him the freedom to play his game.
“Being able to do that allows me to be able to make guys around me better,” Westbrook said Friday. “Try to bring this team some leadership, some energy, some toughness. We’re just getting started on figuring it out.”
Jokic had missed the previous two games with an illness before returning against the Nets. He went to the bench late in the third quarter one rebound shy of his 145th career triple-double and the Nuggets leading by 18.
Brooklyn rallied to get within five and Jokic returned and had nine points, four assists and three rebounds in the fourth.
Jokic got his 10th rebound after Westbrook blocked Keon Johnson’s shot with 6:51 left.
Westbrook had four assists in the fourth to record his 202nd career triple-double, which is the most in an NBA career. It was his third triple-double this season, his first in Denver.
Westbrook signed with the Nuggets last summer after spending the last three seasons in Los Angeles with both the Lakers and the Clippers.
The Associated Press contributed to this article
The Boston Public Schools (BPS) enroll students from 139 different countries who speak 66 different languages at home. Roughly one-third of BPS students are classified as Multilingual Learners or English Language Learners (ELs), which means they are not fluent in English and need their instruction augmented in some way.
It’s the “in some way” which is the topic of intense debate both locally and nationally. The Boston Teachers Union (BTU) wants to change the way the BPS teaches EL students. The BTU wants the BPS to end its current practice of having a general education teacher also deliver English language instruction. President-elect Donald Trump recently told Time magazine that he wants to keep only some of the Department of Education operational “just to make sure they’re teaching English in the schools.”
In an effort to help ELs, the BPS recently announced the creation of new dual language programming for the ‘25-’26 school year. At first only 200 students will be served but expansions are planned. These programs range from “newcomers” who do not speak any or only very limited English, to advanced programs in high school where students are eligible to receive the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy upon graduation.
All of these approaches only nibble around the edge of the issue, and even if these programs are faithfully implemented the core issue remains unchanged: American students are at a disadvantage globally if they remain monolingual.
Finland, often hailed as the world exemplar of public education, requires its students to learn four languages by the time they graduate secondary school. Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. Whatever language a student speaks at home, that student learns the other official language in school. The goal is to have all Finns able to speak to one another in order both to build a national community and to make commerce easier. Then Finns learn two more languages (one of which is usually English).
Over 43 million people in the United States speak Spanish at home (13% of the population). In Boston,16% of the population speaks Spanish. So let’s follow the Finnish model and have all our students – and citizens – understand one another.
Boston already has a few dual-language programs in not only Spanish but also in Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, and American Sign Language. What if Boston simply expanded these programs so that all students in the BPS became proficient in at least two languages?
If this were to happen, then Boston graduates would be in high demand. A 2023 report by The Century Foundation states that bilingual students have better problem-solving skills and improved working memory due to their more active neural networks as a result of their learning two (or more) languages.
There are other benefits of bilingualism such as better social-emotional development and even a potential delay in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (again due to expanded neural pathways).
Practically speaking, bilingual employees can earn up to 20% more than their monolingual counterparts. Workforce Essentials reported in 2023 that US businesses lose roughly $2 billion annually due to language barriers and cultural misunderstandings. Undeniably our world is becoming more interconnected. BPS graduates who are multilingual would have a great advantage in both college and career.
Boston is already moving in the direction of increased multilingual instruction. In the Dec. 18, 2024 School Committee meeting, BPS interim CFO David Bloom gave a report which stated that over the past year the general education population in the BPS decreased by 22% whereas the number of ELs increased by 11%. Simply put, Boston has to increase its multilingual instruction anyway. Why not go all in?
There are two frequent arguments against bilingual education. One is xenophobia and the other is parsimony. For a “nation of immigrants” it is illogical for us to fear our neighbors’ words and cultures. As for the cost, let us beware of the “bait and switch” of vouchers or school choice.
It is also important to also note that many private/independent schools offer language instruction from Grade 1 through Grade 12. They know that doing so will make their graduates more competitive in college and beyond.
There is no denying that Boston needs to do better by its students. If we continue the current model we will likely continue with the current results. An expansive bilingual program would both improve our students’ lives and attract more families to the district.
Finally we could also help our students and families by having our teachers learn Spanish and/or other languages in their professional development sessions. We can all learn from each other.
Para los estudiantes de hoy, la educación bilingüe es esencial para la universidad, la carrera y nuestra sociedad global. Creemos que todos los estudiantes deberían tener la misma oportunidad de aprender otros idiomas.
(Michael Maguire teaches Latin and Ancient Greek at Boston Latin Academy and serves on the Executive Board of the Boston Teachers Union. Julie Caldarone is the retired Director of World Languages for Boston Public Schools. She currently co-teaches a course entitled, “Spanish for BPS Educators.” The ideas expressed here are their own.)
The Boston Red Sox hive mind doesn’t always come to a perfect agreement on what they want the team to do. That is, of course, unless David Ortiz is asking for it.
A three-time World Series champion, Hall of Famer, and one of the most clutch players of all time, Ortiz is unquestionably on the Red Sox’s all-time Mount Rushmore. Even though he retired in 2016, he’s still closely woven into the fabric of the organization.
Ortiz sees what we all do: this Red Sox team is close to being ready to contend for the playoffs, but there’s one key ingredient missing. He made his feelings known about what he hopes the front office does between now and Opening Day to address that issue.
On Saturday, Ortiz relayed a simple message to the Red Sox: spend whatever it takes to get one more big bat.
“There’s still some guys out there that we can still go for, and I think we have a really good front office,” Ortiz said in an appearance on NESN. “To put a good lineup together nowadays is not that difficult. What you got to do is just make it rain, and you can go pick a few guys. Now pitching, on the other hand, is the toughest thing to put together.
“We got pitching. Pitching can always stop good offenses. The playoff is a playoff pitching (staff) we got right now. We line up a couple of thunders in the lineup to help (Rafael Devers) and the rest of them boys — one good bat would do.”
Ortiz and NESN host Tom Caron both strongly hinted at the end of the interview who that big bat could be: former Houston Astros All-Star Alex Bregman. Manager Alex Cora also signaled earlier in the day that Bregman would be a great fit in Boston.
Bregman isn’t quite Ortiz, but he does have one thing on him: the career record for OPS at Fenway Park. He has a wild 1.245 mark in 98 plate appearances in Boston throughout his career.
When David Ortiz asks for something, the Red Sox would usually be wise to follow through. And it seems he wants Bregman. Will that move the needle in the suites at Fenway?
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