Before O.J. and Scott Peterson, there was Charles Stuart, spinning a story so convincing it turned a grieving city into a weapon.
“Murder in Boston” is the best documentary on how a single lie, backed by systemic racism, can ignite an entire city and destroy innocent lives.
Trailer for “Murder in Boston”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Charles Stuart shot his pregnant wife, Carol. Then shot himself in the stomach to fake a robbery, and blamed an imaginary Black man. This set off a racially charged manhunt across Boston.
- The police arrested Willie Bennett based solely on Stuart’s false ID. They ignored glaring evidence pointing back to Stuart himself. At least 100 Black men were stopped, frisked, or strip-searched.
- Stuart’s brother Matthew finally confessed that Charles was the killer, forcing Charles to jump off a bridge and kill himself to avoid arrest.
More Highlights from the Doc
- The doc breaks down how Boston’s media and police immediately bought Stuart’s version, showing how a single lie fed into decades of racial bias.
- Jason Hehir (the same guy who directed “The Last Dance”) grew up in Boston hearing about the case daily. He uses that lens to dive into the city’s fraught racial history, especially around policing.
- We hear directly from community leaders like Ron Bell, Dart Adams, and Adrian Walker—who describe the trauma of being Black in Boston at that moment, when just walking outside made you a suspect.
- The Bennett family was skeptical at first, but after spending time with Hehir, they agreed to participate—and the series lets them reclaim their story.
- The series also points out how the police ignored key evidence: like how Charles delayed calling 911, or how he had just taken out a big life insurance policy on Carol.
Cameos – Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Michelle Caruso and Howard Bryant (journalists who covered the story) explain how quickly the media framed the story through race—and how slowly they corrected the record once the truth came out.
- William Bratton (who later became NYPD Commissioner) appears here explaining the early days of “broken windows” policing and how this case shaped law enforcement tactics nationwide.
- Former judge Nancy Gertner and NAACP leader Louis Elisa call out the systemic failures—not just by cops but also prosecutors, the press, and city leaders.
- The doc doesn’t just end with the Stuart case. It pulls the thread all the way to present-day Boston, showing how its legacy still scars neighborhoods today.
Watch “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage and Reckoning”
You can stream all 3 episodes of “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage and Reckoning” on HBO Max.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 95/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 92/100 (Users); 100/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Jason Hehir, known for “The Last Dance” (which I ranked 100/100), was thinking about this case since he was a teenager. He saw how it shaped the racial divide in his hometown and used this doc to finally dissect the myth—and damage—of Charles Stuart’s lie. The Stuart family declined to take part, but the Bennett family’s voice fills that gap with pain, clarity, and strength.
Release Date: December 4, 2023 (HBO)
My Review of “Murder in Boston”
The Setup
This is a 3-part HBO docuseries about one of Boston’s most infamous crimes: in 1989, Charles Stuart claimed a Black man shot him and his pregnant wife Carol during a carjacking. The city responded with full force—and got it dead wrong. This doc is about how one lie exposed Boston’s racial fault lines and sent shockwaves through every Black neighborhood in the city.
Wrap Up
“Murder in Boston” is not an easy watch, but it’s essential. If you care about race, media, and justice in America—this one forces you to look harder and think deeper.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc