‘Racist and wrong’: Mayor Wu apologizes to Boston’s Black community, men falsely linked to Stuart killing

“I am so sorry for what you endured,” said Wu as she stood at a podium alongside Swanson, members of the Bennett family and Police Commissioner Michael Cox. “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, and this apology is long overdue.”

Neither Swanson nor Bennett was formally charged with any crimes related to the 1989 murder of Carol DiMaiti Stuart by her husband. But they both were publicly identified in the news media as suspects in one of the city’s most shocking crimes after each was arrested on unrelated charges and then interrogated about the shooting.

The mayor’s apology follows an extensive Globe investigation — and a related HBO documentary series — into the Stuart case and its aftermath. The series came out earlier this month.

Bennett, who is suffering from dementia, was not present Wednesday, but his nephew, Joseph Bennett, said during the briefing that he accepted the apology.

“I wish to emphasize the importance of strength, resiliency, empathy, and growth,” Bennett said. “It’s through these principles that we change the narrative so the world can be informed of what transpired 34 years ago, and begin the process of healing from our trauma.”

Stuart had claimed he and his wife had been carjacked by a Black man after leaving a childbirth class at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on Oct. 23, 1989, then were shot after being forced to drive to Mission Hill. Police combed the area, stopping and frisking Black men and boys. Later, Stuart’s story unraveled and he killed himself.

Cox, who started as a patrol officer for the Police Department just months before the Stuart shooting, issued a searing critique of the department for its “poor investigation . . . overzealous behavior, and more likely unconstitutional behavior.” He also apologized directly to “the Bennett, Swanson, and DiMaiti families for what they may have experienced for the lack of professionalism shown by our department during this investigation.”

Cox said he hopes the apology “signals our commitment to learn from our past and continue to strengthen the relationships for the community we serve.”

Swanson said he was “glad this is happening today,” but he and Bennett’s family both called for financial compensation.

Speaking after the press conference, Swanson, 63, said he was “broke,” and added, “I just need some financial compensation for all the trouble and pain I’m still going through.”

Wu said the city will make additional efforts to right the wrongs.

“I want to be very clear that this is just the beginning of a much longer journey of accountability and action,” Wu said.

Leslie Harris, a retired judge who was Swanson’s attorney when he came under scrutiny during the Stuart investigation, said the city’s apology was “bigger than anything I ever expected.”

Swanson, the first man to be publicly linked to Carol Stuart’s murder, was arrested five days after the shooting, when police officers found him and his girlfriend staying in an apartment in Mission Hill with a black track suit soaking in the sink. Charles Stuart had claimed a Black man in a track suit had committed the slaying.

Officials charged Swanson with trespassing, and he spent three weeks in jail while police tried and failed to find more physical evidence to tie him to the Stuart shooting. He was ultimately released after another charge of armed robbery was also thrown out.

As the case against Swanson faltered, police turned to Bennett, who had a lengthy criminal record and was well-known in Mission Hill, as a likelier suspect. Their case against him centered on the dubious testimony of two then-teenagers who reportedly heard that he had shot the Stuarts.

The teens’ stories shifted multiple times, and they recanted their statements before a grand jury. But Bennett looked likely to be indicted — until just days after the New Year, when Stuart’s brother Matthew went to police and said that his brother had killed his wife.

The closest the Bennetts had previously gotten to an apology from the city came shortly after Stuart’s suicide, when then-mayor Ray Flynn visited the Bennett family home to apologize, but stayed so briefly that family members said he did not even sit down. The city also reached a $12,500 settlement with the Bennett family in 1995 after years of lawsuits — but did not admit blame.

Among the findings of the Globe series was that some in the department were suspicious of Stuart’s claim that he and his wife had been shot by a Black man. The first detectives on the case — Robert Ahearn and Robert Tinlin — found several holes in his initial story, from the path he took leaving the hospital to the description of the area where they were shot. It reminded them of a case they’d worked before, where a man had shot himself to deflect suspicion after robbing and killing a man in Boston’s red-light district.

But Ahearn and Tinlin were sidelined as pressure to find the shooter grew. Ahearn received a tip weeks later that Stuart had asked a friend for help in murdering his wife, but dropped the lead after the friend denied the allegations in a phone call. A State Police trooper working dispatch on the night of the shooting also got the same tip within days of Carol Stuart’s death. But that trooper — Dan Grabowski — appears to have done nothing with the information.

Stuart’s brother Matthew confessed to being an accomplice, helping get rid of the murder weapon and some of her belongings. Matthew Stuart maintained throughout his life that he was unaware — until after the shooting — that his brother had planned to kill his wife.

The Globe series also revealed that within hours of Carol Stuart’s death, Matthew Stuart told people in his orbit that his brother was the murderer. Matthew’s friend John McMahon, who helped him get rid of the gun, also told several people in the following days. The Globe ultimately found at least 33 people knew Charles Stuart was responsible for his wife’s death before his brother went to the authorities.

Sean Cotter can be reached at sean.cotter@globe.com. Follow him @cotterreporter. Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.