"It still haunts me everywhere I go": Man wrongfully accused in Carol Stuart murder hopes to move forward
BOSTON - Two men wrongfully accused in the 1989 murder of Carol Stuart in Boston received formal apologies from the city Wednesday and one of the men told WBZ-TV he hopes to move forward.
In October 1989, Charles Stuart told police a Black man shot him and his pregnant wife as they were leaving a birthing class at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Carol and her unborn baby died, Charles was shot in the stomach and survived. Alan Swanson was arrested and jailed for three weeks before another man, Willie Bennett, was targeted by police.
"It still haunts me everywhere I go, they say 'Swanson,' they refer to the Stuart case," said Swanson. "I think about it all the time, it's going to be on my mind until I leave this planet."
"I just get chills when I hear that man's name," said Bennett when he spoke to the I-Team's Cheryl Fiandaca back in 2017. "I know I didn't do it, they know I didn't do it."
In January 1990, Matthew Stuart told police his brother was the one who killed Carol. Before he could be arrested, Charles jumped off the Tobin Bridge. The case has received new attention recently thanks to a new HBO docuseries called "Murder in Boston."
Swanson was joined by members of Bennett's family at City Hall Wednesday; according to the Boston Globe, Bennett now has dementia. While there, Mayor Michelle Wu officially apologized on behalf of the city.
"I am so sorry for the pain that you have carried for so many years. What was done to you was unjust, unfair, racist and wrong," said Wu.
"It takes great humility and courage to acknowledge someone else's wrongdoings and to try make amends," said Bennett's nephew, Joey Bennett. "Your apology is accepted."
Swanson and Bennett's family both received letters of apology but they said they've been looking for more for years. Bennett later sued the city and his mother received a small monetary settlement of $12,500 in 1995. Swanson said he remains destitute as a result of the wrongful accusations and arrest.
"I need housing, reparations, I don't have anything," said Swanson. "I'm still homeless and still in the same position."
