NIGHTMARE IN MISSION HILL

THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE CHARLES AND CAROL STUART SHOOTING

READ ACT I

Boston police have spent 12 days searching for the suspect. They’ve stopped countless Black people in Mission Hill, all to no avail.

But now, there’s a tip about a notorious man in the neighborhood who's been bragging about shooting the Stuarts.

The whole story starts with a few teens smoking weed one afternoon and takes off from there.

For so long it was their story – and only their story – that got any attention. Charles and Carol Stuart.

The media dubbed them “The Camelot Couple,” and they became the picture of domesticity and purity. White folks could see themselves in their car.

The Stuarts were pretty, popular, and on the cusp of starting a family. But really, who were Charles and Carol?

Everything you know, everything you’ve heard, is flipped on its head when one morning a man walks to the edge of the Tobin Bridge and steps off, falling 145 feet into the frigid waters below.

The death sends waves of disbelief, rage, and guilt through Boston.

And it forces everyone to examine themselves and the role they’ve played in a terrible hoax.

Explore more audio, documents and photos from the Globe’s two-year investigation into the Charles Stuart case.

ARCHIVES

FRONT PAGES

GLOBE: NOV 13, 1989

PODCAST

MURDER IN BOSTON

LISTEN: EPISODE I

LISTEN: EPISODE II

LISTEN: EPISODE III

CASE FILES

DOCUMENTS

POLICE INTERVIEW:

ERICK WHITNEY

WITNESS STATEMENT:
DONALD GARNETT