Telling murder stories differently

On Making Peace Visible, we are always questioning the mantra, if it bleeds, it leads. Boston’s Charles Stuart murder case is a classic example of what can go horribly wrong when you follow that mantra.

Charles Stuart was a father-to-be from the suburbs of Boston. Shortly after attending a birthing class in the city with his wife, Carol, Charles Stuart placed a 911 call. The couple had both been shot in their car. Stuart said a Black man pulled the trigger.

Carol died from her injuries the next day. She and Charles were white, and the reaction from authorities was worlds away from what usually happened when a Black person was shot in Boston. Mayor Ray Flynn asked the police commissioner to assign every available detective to the case. Police immediately began raiding the homes of Black residents and conducting strip searches of young Black men in the Mission Hill area. With TV news playing and replaying the 911 call and a photo of the Stewarts bleeding on the front page of the Boston Herald the next day, a media circus ensued.

But two months later - when Charles Stuart died by jumping off a bridge – it quickly became clear he was in fact the killer.

This episode, we’re joined by Adrian Walker, an associate editor and columnist at the Boston Globe who was a rookie reporter there at the time of the Stuart case. Walker headed up a team of investigative reporters who recently revisited this story in a new and fascinating way.

In the podcast Murder in Boston, and web series Nightmare in Mission Hill, investigative reporters at the Globe brought new evidence to light – like law enforcement officials who knew about Stuart’s guilt, but kept quiet. The podcast and the report also give voice to the family of Willie Bennett, the Black man who was the Boston police’s prime suspect.

In this retelling, Walker – who hosts the podcast, – and other journalists discuss the media’s shortcomings in covering the Charles Stuart story, and how the news reports often fanned the flames of racial tension around it. The project also offers a blueprint for how journalists can help bring about healing following community trauma.

Listen to the podcast, Murder in Boston

Read the web series, Nightmare in Mission Hill

This episode was edited by Faith McClure, and we had production help from Kristin Nelson. Special thanks to Lazzaro. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org

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