Where Is Charles Stuart Now? His Wife’s Murder Turned To An Unjust Manhunt
If you’re watching HBO’s latest true crime documentary series Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning, you might be wondering where Charles Stuart is now.
Carol DiMaiti married Charles “Chuck” Stuart and were attending childbirth classes in Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The two were stopped in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston and Carol was shot in the head while Charles was shot five times in the stomach. Charles placed a frantic 911 call reporting that he and his pregnant wife have been shot by a Black man with a raspy voice. Carol later died at the hospital while her baby was delivered via Caesarian section. The baby, who was baptized with the name Christian, was born two months premature. The baby later died 17 days later due to trauma and oxygen deprivation. In turn, the case became a double homicide.
More from StyleCaster
The Boston Police Department believed Charles’ story and a manhunt ensued that was mainly targetted towards Black and Latino communities in the area. These areas have already been aggressively targetted by the Boston Police Department with “stop and frisk” methods, racial violence, and segregation.
Four days later, Alan “Albie” Swanson, a Black male that matched Stuart’s description, was arrested. Nearly two weeks later, a Black named William “Willie” Bennett was named as the prime suspect in the murders, per the Boston Globe. Charles picked him out in a police lineup. A Norfolk County grand jury indicted Willie Bennett for one count of armed robbery and three counts of assault with dangerous weapon for a video store robbery a month before the murders.
However later details emerged that the actual murderer was Charles himself. When Carol died, Charles was issued a life insurance check for Carol totaling $82,000. He also requested the check be delivered to his bedside in the hospital. After months of investigation, officials said Bennett was no longer a suspect. Police detectives later executed a search warrant at Chuck Stuart’s home in Reading.
Almost 25 years later, new perspectives of the case are released in the new HBO documentary series. The series is produced in partnership with The Boston Globe and features new interviews with Mission Hill residents Dereck Jackson, Joey “Toot” Bennett, Veda Bennett, Diane Bennett, Sharita Bennett, Ebony Bennett-Nelson, Aisha Bennett-Nelson, and community activist Ron Bell; community activists Reverend Jeffrey Brown and Kevin Patterson and many more. So where is Charles Stuart now? Read more to find out.
Where is Charles Stuart now?
Where is Charles Stuart now? Charles “Chuck” Stuart died by suicide on January 4, 1990. His suicide note did not have a confession to the murders.
Charles Stuart’s brother Matthew confessed to authorities that Charles orchestrated the plan to kill his wife. According to the New York Times, Matthew told police that, by prearrangement, he picked up the .38-caliber revolver used in the killing as well as Carol’s handbag from the car where she lay dying. Along with a family friend, he threw them into the Pines River. In 1991, Matthew was indicted for obstruction of justice and insurance fraud, while Jack McMahon was indicted as an accessory to murder. Both served three years in prison.
As for Willie Bennett, he currently lives in Boston with dementia. His family never received an apology for the false accusations and sued the city. They were awarded $12,500 in damages. In an interview with The US Sun, he attributed his release to Matthew’s confession. “No doubt about it, I would have went to jail,” he said. Bennett later called Charles a “monster.” “I aint got nothing to say about that man,” he said.”He did what he did and now he’s gone”
Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning premieres on HBO on Mon. December 4, 2023 and is available to stream on Max.
Best of StyleCaster
