Monday, January 4, 2010

On this day: Charles Stuart leaps off the Mystic River Bridge

In one of Boston's last big race-war stories, Charles "Chuck" Stuart abandoned his car in the middle of the Mystic River Bridge, and leapt to his death on January 4, 1990. Stuart had claimed that a black man had carjacked him and his pregnant wife, killed her, and shot him as well. In a city still reeling from a decade of race relations issues, this was big news.

But it didn't stand up. While Stuart's wounds were not likely self-inflicted, his brother stepped forwards and said that it was a ruse to get a hefty life insurance payment. With the new allegations swelling, Stuart drove to the apex of the highest bridge in the city, parked his car, and jumped. Well, case closed.


The case has had some staying power, and while it peaked in 1989 and 1990, Charles Stuart has been rather constant coverage of the case for the last two decades.

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