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Chuck Stuart

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“ Whatever this new accusation is, it has beaten me. ”
— Stuart's suicide note

Charles Michael "Chuck" Stuart was the murderer of his pregnant wife Carol Stuart and her prematurely born baby Christopher. The case is notable for its racial hoax, where Stuart's lie a black man was responsible sent the city of Boston into a panic and scapegoated the black community across the city.

History[]

Stuart had an early life as a short-order cook, before he successfully reached the career of manager at the Edward F. Kakas and Sons furs shop on Newberry Street in just around a decade, his salary being 100 grand a year. Carol worked in tax law ans was expecting the couple's first baby, their son Christopher. Stuart took a course on "Buying and Opening a Restaurant Successfully" in the hopes of opening his own eatery. Charles was hoping for handouts to start his business, but came up empty; he also feared having Christopher would eat into the family income, let alone end Carol's career. It's also speculated Stuart had an affair with a colleague, Deborah Allen, but this was never substantiated.

On October 23, 1989, the Stuarts were returning from their last childbirth class at Brigham and Women's Hospital, taking Roxbury presumably to get home. A short distance from Mission Hill, a predominantly black neighborhood, Stuart called 911 from his car phone, reporting a black man carjacked the couple at gunpoint, forced them to drive to Mission Hill, and shot them in a robbery. Police found the couple by timing their sirens to see which car was closest to the phone; Rescue 911 rode with paramedics to film the recovery of the Stuarts, and photos of the bloodied couple, crime scenes, and emergency response were graphically broadcast and publicized. Carol was pronounced dead at around 3am the next day, Christopher having to be delivered shortly beforehand. As he was a prematurely born baby and suffered severe health problems, he passed away 17 days later.

Police frisked countless black men across the city, with two men of color suspected most: Alan "Albie" Swanson, who was arrested with his girlfriend on burglary charges; and William "Willie" Bennett, who was arrested on a vehicular violation in Burlington. Swanson was suspected due to having clippings of the murders and a running suit in his bathroom, but his intoxication levels discounted him as a suspect. Bennett was suspected from a bullet in his mother's home with a similar caliber to the murder weapon, and Stuart falsely picking Bennett out in a lineup; although he was cleared, he was later charged with a video store robbery.

Matthew Stuart, Chuck Stuart's brother

Matthew Stuart, Chuck Stuart's brother

Many people naturally suspected Stuart, from his family and friends to Detectives Robert Ahearn and Robert Tinlin, whose superiors rebuked the assertions. Stuart never even mentioned Carol's pregnancy on the phone call, never spoke to her and didn't name any street signs or other defining features of the area. Stuart also purchased a new car and women's jewelry without an ounce of noticeable grief once he was released from the hospital. Some insurance policies were also reported to have been delivered to Stuart after Carol's murder. Stuart's brother Michael and friend David MacLean were originally solicited to kill Carol, David's brother, also named Michael, and Michael's friend John Carlson reporting to the police, but the lead was rejected. One of Carlson's relative was in the police, so they spoke with Ahearn about the information, which also wasn't pursued. Eventually, Stuart's siblings went to his lawyer, Jack Dawley, to reveal the hoax, Stuart's brother Matthew giving a statement to police on January 3, 1990.

Matt testified that when Stuart failed an insurance scam where he wanted Matt to take the couple's jewelry, Stuart told Matt to meet him in Mission Hill on the day of the murder and take a bag passed through the car windows, promising $10 thousand. It was Carol's Gucci handbag, and Matt went to his friend John McMahon to get to the Dizzy Bridge in Revere and throw the purse, its contents, and the gun used in the shootings into the river, most of which police later found. Matt insisted he never knew about the murder plot and couldn't clearly see Carol slumped over in the car, but witnesses have testified they thought they saw Matt in the car around the time of the shooting.

When Stuart met with Dawley that same night, Dawley dropped him and told Stuart to get a criminal defense lawyer. The next morning, on January 4, Stuart killed himself by jumping from the Tobin Bridge into the Mystic River, leaving his car at the bridge with his suicide note. Matt pleaded guilty to obstruction and fraud and served five years in prison. After being paroled in 1997, he was arrested again for cocaine smuggling in Revere, but the charges were later dropped. Matt later suffered homelessness and died from overdose in the Heading Home in Cambridge on September 3, 2011. McMahon pleaded guilty to several misdemeanors and was sent to prison for a reduced duration of time.

Bennett sued the city of Boston, receiving $12,500 in damages. Then-mayor Raymond Flynn personally apologized to Bennett at his house, and in 2023, mayor Michelle Wu issued a formal apology to both Bennett and Swanson, as well as the entirely of Mission Hill and Boston's black community. Carol's family established the Carol DiMati Stuart Foundation scholarship for kids in Mission Hill and who graduated from Malden High School, including Bennett's daughter.

Modus Operandi[]

Since Stuart had only two victims, the term "M.O." is misused. Stuart killed Carol with one shot to her neck with a pistol, then shot himself in his stomach to divert suspicion himself. Carol's baby Christopher was delivered through emergency C-section, but he died due to his premature birth depriving him of oxygen. Stuart then lied a black man was guilty to create a panic that would divert suspicion from himself. To disguise the crime as a robbery, he solicited his brother Matt to take Carol's purse and jewelry before the shooting, lying all he wanted to do was commit insurance fraud. Some witness reports implied Matt was also in the car with the couple, as well as may have fired the shot into Stuart's stomach as part of the ruse, as the trajectory of that bullet has never been conclusively determined to be self-inflicted.

Profile[]

A profile by Harvard psychologist Robert Coles was publicized in the New York Times, shortly after Stuart's suicide. Coles determined Stuart to be worse than a psychopath, lacking remorse, naturally inclined to lie and deceive, and wanting his fantasies fulfilled to the point everyone around him reciprocates them.

Known Victims[]

Carol Ann Stuart

Carol Ann Stuart

  • October 24, 1989, Boston, Massachusetts: The Stuart family shooting
    • Carol Ann Stuart (shot once in the back of her head)
    • Christopher William DiMaiti (prematurely born as a consequence of the shooting; later died from oxygen depravation)

On Evolution[]

References[]

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