“Nightmare in Mission Hill”

Following the death of George Floyd in the spring of 2020, reporters at the Boston Globe set out to put a new lens on a story that had hovered over Boston for almost 30 years. The nine-part investigative series revisits Boston in 1989 when Charles Stuart claimed a Black man shot and carjacked him and his pregnant wife in the Mission Hill neighborhood. The incident sparked a manhunt and highlighted racial tensions in the city before police determined Stuart was the perpetrator. 

The series uses Stuart’s deception as a lens to explore the systemic failings of the Boston Police Department and the city’s struggles with racial inequality. The reporters spoke to hundreds of people involved with the case in some way, from police and suspects to politicians and bystanders. They dug through countless documents, photographs, recordings and videos. They went through every step of the story from the initial 911 call to police officers talking to Stuart in the hospital as he recounted the incident.

And their work paid off. 

The Globe reporters put together a series, including a podcast “Murder in Boston,” that held a mirror to Boston’s past and present. Mayor Michelle Wu apologized to the city’s Black community and those impacted by the case. 

The Globe’s work is proof that it is never too late to go back to a story and make a difference. The Globe reporters helped correct historical records and foster conversations about the city’s complex social dynamics.

Article by: Abbi Ross