The Murder in Boston Podcast

Charles Stuart dials 911 from his car phone. His pregnant wife, Carol, is in the seat next to him, with a gunshot wound to the head. They are the epitome of the urban nightmare of the late 1980s. And their terror is captured on tape.

The shocking Stuart shooting incites a massive dragnet for a Black man in a striped track suit. Virtually every young Black male is a suspect. Boston is gripped by fear. Race, class, crime, and punishment -- the city's raw nerves are laid bare.

The shooting hits at the heart of Boston's most bitter divisions and reopens a wound around race relations that was just beginning to heal. In 1974, the city was thrown into turmoil when a judge ordered the desegregation of Boston schools.

Boston police have spent 12 days searching for the suspect. Then, there's a tip about a notorious man in the neighborhood who's been bragging about shooting the Stuarts. Hear never-released police interrogation tapes and meet the suspect: Wild Bill.

For so long it was their story -- and only their story -- that got any attention. The media dubbed them The Camelot Couple, and they became the picture of domesticity and purity. But who were Charles and Carol Stuart really?

Everything you know is flipped on its head when a man walks to the edge of the Tobin Bridge one morning and steps off. The death sends waves of disbelief, rage, and guilt through Boston.

More than 30 years later, Boston Globe reporters dive into the case, unearth secret grand-jury files, and obtain never-before-released recordings. The reporters find a conspiracy that was bigger than anybody knew and uncover new evidence.

Thirty-four years later, many reporters are still dragging the sins of their Stuart coverage around, in one form or another. This includes your host, Globe columnist Adrian Walker. It's time to reckon with that coverage.

Two innocent people lost their lives. The suspect's family had their world upended, too. And countless others will never be the same. So, what now? How does this story end? Has anything changed? And is it too late for justice?

Days after this podcast wrapped, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called a press conference. She had a major announcement about the Stuart case.