HBO has just announced the upcoming three-part true crime docuseries “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning,” directed by Jason Hehir (“The Last Dance,” HBO’s “Andre The Giant” ). Produced in association with The Boston Globe, the doc explores a murder that would ignite racial tensions in Boston.
On October 23, 1989, Charles “Chuck” Stuart placed a frantic 911 call reporting that he and his pregnant wife, Carol, a white couple, had been shot by a Black man in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood. The ensuing investigation proves to be a lightning rod for the city, igniting decades-old racial tensions and brutal targeting amidst a media firestorm.
“After Carol succumbs to her injuries that night, Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn declares a citywide manhunt for the killer. When Carol and Chuck’s baby also dies just days after being born, the homicides are thrust further into the spotlight. As the mostly Black and Latino residents of Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood suffer aggressive raids, “stop and frisk” searches, and some questionable police tactics, the already fraught relationship between residents and Boston Police disintegrates. Fanned by the media uproar and simmering tensions, and with skepticism from the Black community and some members of the press about the veracity of Chuck’s story, the police face increasing pressure to solve the case, and Boston is transformed into a powder keg as the quest for an arrest reaches a critical juncture.”
Thoughtfully braiding extensive archive coverage of the incident, the years leading up to it, and its aftermath, with more than a dozen present-day interviews of people affected at the time, including residents, community members, journalists who covered the case, Bennett family members, city officials, and a retired Boston police officer, “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning” chronicles the complex history of race-based hostilities in the city, which exploded with the desegregation of schools and the Garrity busing ruling of 1974. The series explores the enduring, painful toll the Stuart case has had on the families involved, on Boston race relations, and how a community can be brutalized in a rush to justice.
Along with a wealth of archival footage, the series features new interviews with Mission Hill residents, including Dereck Jackson, Joey “Toot” Bennett, Veda Bennett, Diane Bennett, Sharita Bennett, community activists Ron Bell, Reverend Jeffrey Brown, and Kevin Patterson; Boston historian Dart Adams; reporters Jack Harper and David Ropeik; The Boston Globe associate editor Adrian Walker; Boston Herald reporter Michelle Caruso; friend Barbara Williamson; former President of the Boston NAACP Louis Elisa; author and journalist Howard Bryant; attorney and activist Judge Nancy Gertner; attorney and activist Professor Ted Landsmark; hairstylist Will Zecco; surgeon Dr. Frederick Millham; former Boston Police commissioner William Bratton; former Boston EMS chief Richard Serino; retired Boston Police officer Detective Bill Dunn; former Chief Boston Mayoral Advisor Neil Sullivan; former Boston city councilor Tito Jackson; and former executive editor of The Boston Globe Brian McGrory.
Episodes
Episode 1: “Roots”
Debut date: MONDAY, DECEMBER 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT
The shocking shooting of a white couple at the hands of an alleged Black assailant makes headlines and Boston’s facade as a progressive city begins to slip as its unsavory legacy of racial violence and segregation again comes to the fore. Tensions escalate as police descend upon the Black community, arresting their first suspect – a Black man in Mission Hill whose possession of an Adidas tracksuit puts him in their crosshairs.
Episode 2: “Rampage”
Debut date: MONDAY, DECEMBER 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT
After evidence against their first suspect falls apart, the Boston Police Department continues its aggressive targeting of Black neighborhoods, eventually leading to a second suspect, a local man named William Bennett, with a long police record. Bennett is arrested and held on an unrelated charge while police continue to gather evidence against him. Newspapers vie for the chance to tell Chuck’s story as media and police ignore issues in his version of events.
Episode 3: “Reckoning”
Debut date: MONDAY, DECEMBER 18 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT
In a shocking twist two months after the murder, Chuck commits suicide, and surprising revelations emerge from his brother, Matthew. Troubling errors in the police investigation also come to light, and the Black community responds in anger at the prejudicial manhunt and the media’s handling of the story. Bostonians are left to confront the lasting impact of the Stuart case and to reflect on the enduring damage to their city.
The Boston Globe, in association with HBO, is also producing an original investigative podcast that will dive deep into the Charles Stuart story. This nine-part series will feature extensive reporting by acclaimed Globe journalists Evan Allen, Brendan McCarthy, Andrew Ryan, Elizabeth Koh, and Adrian Walker.
The series is directed and produced by Jason Hehir and produced by Jake Rogal, Nicholas Eisenberg, and Jillian Moosmamm. Executive producers include Joie Jacoby, executive producers for The Boston Globe include Linda Pizzuti Henry and Dan Krockmalnic. Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez executive produce for HBO.
