Charles Stuart (murderer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles "Chuck" Stuart (December 18, 1959–January 4, 1990) was a Boston man who murdered his pregnant wife and inflamed racial tension by blaming a non-existent black suspect.
Contents |
[edit] Events leading to murder
On October 23, 1989, Charles Stuart, manager of Kakas Furs, and his pregnant wife Carol (born Carol DiMaiti, March 26, 1959), a lawyer, got into their car after attending childbirth classes at Brigham and Women's Hospital. According to Stuart's subsequent statement, a black gunman with a raspy voice forced his way into their car at a stoplight, ordered them to drive to Mission Hill, robbed them, then opened fire, shooting Charles in the stomach and Carol in the head. Stuart then drove away to escape, calling 911 on his car phone. A CBS film crew for Rescue 911 happened to be riding along with Boston Emergency Medical Services personnel and was able to capture the scene as police and EMTs assisted Stuart.
[edit] Fatal childbirth
Carol Stuart died that night, after her son, Christopher, was delivered two months early by caesarean section. The infant suffered seizures due to oxygen deprivation and died 17 days later after his father authorized discontinuing life support. Boston police searched for suspects matching Stuart's description of the assailant. Police suspected one Willie Bennett and, on December 28, Stuart picked him out of a lineup. Though investigating officers did ask doctors whether Stuart's wounds could have been self-inflicted, they were told that this was very unlikely given the severity of the injuries.
[edit] Charles Stuart identified
The case against Bennett abruptly collapsed when Stuart's brother, Matthew, identified Charles Stuart as the killer. Matthew admitted that he had driven to meet Stuart that night to help him commit what he'd been told was to be an insurance fraud; that he had seen that Carol had been shot, and that his brother — who had apparently shot himself to support his false story — was clearly in pain. Matthew took the gun and a bag of valuables that his brother handed him and threw them away; they were never recovered. Police later learned that Stuart had been interested in (but not actually involved with) an intern at the fur salon and was also having financial difficulties. An article in The Boston Globe alleged that a $480,000 check was issued to Charles Stuart in payment for a life insurance policy on his wife, but this was later found to be false, as no such check was ever found. On January 4, 1990, Stuart jumped from the Tobin Bridge to his death. He left no suicide note.
[edit] Aftermath and scholarship
In Carol Stuart's memory, her family established the Carol DiMaiti Stuart Foundation to provide scholarship aid to Mission Hill residents. By early 2006, the foundation had awarded $1.2 million to 220 students. [1]
One recipient of the scholarship who was also a murder victim in New York City was Mission Hill graduate 24-year old Imette St. Guillen.[2]
[edit] Media and song
Stuart was portrayed by Ken Olin in the 1990 CBS telefilm Good Night Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston.[3]
Mark Wahlberg and his former group "Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch" referred to this story in their song "Wildside".[4]
Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs refer to this story in the song Speak Upon It from the album Life Of A Kid In The Ghetto.
[edit] See also
- Susan Smith
- Imette St. Guillen (Recipient with her sister of Carol DiMaiti Stuart Foundation scholarship)
[edit] External links
- The Forgotten Victim
- Bizarro Boston
- Boston Globe article on William Bennett, ten years later
- Illusion and Tragedy Coexist After a Couple Dies, New York Times, January 7, 1990
- Videos of story on Rescue 911:
- Charles Stuart at Find A Grave
[edit] 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.
