Conway presents the situation like she simply was scammed; she and Barbara eventually came to terms, and Conway moved in with her prior to the murder (though the docuseries alleges that there was tension between the two because Barbara had asked her to move out). Barbara Hamburg was found murdered outside her familys Middle Beach Road home on March 3, 2010, but the case went cold and no one has ever been charged in connection with her death. There are no corroborating witnesses for this alibi, according to the doc. In August 2020, the Freedom of Information Commission ruled that the Madison Police Department needed to release the requested records, including investigatory records, interrogation recordings, and crime scene recordings, including photos and videos, with the exception of signed witness statements. "Thank God that HBO saw the potential and the rest is history.". Barbara B. Hamburg was born April 29, 1961 in New Haven, Connecticut. Madison Hamburg and producer Anike Niemeyer had requested the files while filming the series and were summarily denied by the department. So many people had the opportunity, the motive, the means. Hamburg was only 18 years old when his mother's body was found in 2010 outside of her Connecticut home when her sister, Conway Beach, arrived back at the home with . Police Commission Chair Ed Downing warned at the meeting that the appeal could require significant legal resources that could be costly for the Town of Madison. Hamburg, for his part, said Beach Hamburg was behind on mortgage payments for their property. Attorney David Schulz, a Yale Law professor and member of the schools Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic that has worked with Hamburg and Niemeyer on the records fight, called Klaus decision thorough and thoughtful. He agreed the eventual conclusion of this case could help set new precedent for how the public access old police case files across the state, which is an important tool for holding investigators accountable, he said. Moreover, allowing the public to access cold case files after an appropriate period of time is far more likely to improve the odds of an arrest and successful prosecution than it is to prejudice that outcome.. The horrific 2010 murder of 48-year-old single mom Barbara Hamburg in front of her Madison, Connecticut, home remains unsolved, but there have been plenty of theories as to who could have. I moved to Austin after school and found out there was this alumni artist residency that the president of SCAD was funding personally, and so I reached out to them about it. It should be noted that this was at the height of the recession, and participants many of whom Barbara recruited from her Alcoholics Anonymous meetings were discouraged from telling their husbands or partners about their participation in the Tables. Its been twelve and a half years since my mother was killed, he said. The director of HBO's true crime docuseries discusses the emotions of investigating his own mother's murder. Jeffrey appears in Murder on Middle Beach where he repeatedly refuses to talk about Barbara's murder and insists that his ex-wife had dark secrets that he can't discuss. Jeffrey, who was an exorbitantly wealthy former CEO of Southern Electric International, and Barbara had an incredibly acrimonious divorce. "Murder on Middle Beach" premieres Sunday on HBO at 10 p.m. It premiered on November 15, 2020, on HBO. "Murder on Middle Beach" is currently streaming on HBO Max. I think the hidden conflict is the sacrifice of the act of making this, having over 1000 hours of footage and over 200 shooting days. NOW WATCH: We break down 'Chernolbyl's' Emmy win, the new 'Rambo,' and what we know about 'Birds of Prey' so far, Visit Insider's homepage for more stories, ruled her death a homicide, noting that she died as a result of "multiple blunt and sharp force injury. Upon hearing this new information, Beach alters her opinion of Ali as the murderer. Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Arguably the most popular theory on Reddit suggests that Jeffrey Hamburg hired someone to kill his ex-wife. Both Ali's father, Jeffrey, and Beach accuse Ali of hating her mother in the documentary, which Ali denies. In the series, Hamburg asks his family members if they had anything to do with his mother's murder, including his father . [2] The medical examiner's office soon concluded that Hamburg died from "blunt and sharp force injuries." Madison Hamburg. We also have to honor the victims and their families. On March 3, 2010, Barbara Beach Hamburg was found dead in her Connecticut house. Through interviews with and secret recordings of his immediate family and the police, Madison and his crew tell the story of Barbara Beach Hamburgs full life and tragic death. The documentary follows Madison as he investigates the shocking murder of his mother Barbara Beach Hamburg. The case was then brought to trial in the Superior Court of New Britain, which last month upheld the Freedom of Information Commissions ruling. Murder on Middle Beach is a four-part documentary by director Madison Hamburg about the unsolved 2010 murder of his mother Barbara Hamburg. One issue that was resolved in the documentary was the status of Ali Hamburg, Madison's sister and the daughter of Barbara, as a potential suspect in the case. My sister and my aunt are the closest thing I have to my mom, like they're the closest in DNA, and what they sound like. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. According to the doc, Jeffrey allegedly owed Barbara and their two children hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the two were due to appear in court together on the day Barbara was murdered to sort it out. Moreover, allowing the public access to cold case files after an appropriate period of time is far more likely to improve the odds of an arrest and successful prosecution than it it is to prejudice that outcome.. To allow police to say that because an investigation is active without any insurmountable obstacle to prosecution, the public must defer to their judgment, Ecker said, and does not take public concerns into account. On the other hand, we have a very, very compelling I would argue a more compelling interest in finding a murderer, and not letting a murderer run loose, Dugas said. She welcomes feedback and story ideas from readers. The series examined the Hamburg familys relationships in the wake of Barbaras death and focused on suspicions both the police and family had about her husband and Madisons father, Jeffrey Hamburg. Her body was discovered by Madison's aunt Conway and his sister, Ali. The personal gruesomeness of the murder and covering her body like he regrets it feels too personal to be a hit man. The police department initially provided two boxes of materials to the filmmakers late last year which the pair said were incomplete before the department reversed course and appealed the commissions decision in Superior Court. Although it seems like Conway is living a quiet life, she has mourned her sister publicly over the years, holding vigils and vowing to keep her memory alive. The. While the Madison Police Department has released some records, including the 911 call that led police to Barbara Hamburgs body, it challenged the commissions decision in court. The answer much like some of the details presented in "Murder on Middle Beach" is complicated. Where homicides involved I think the interest is too great not to err on the side of not disclosing.. Who Is John Dutton's Grandfather in '1923'? It's a sobering, overwhelming realization. Yeah, I reached out to him before our promotions started because I wanted him to hear a fuller context from me instead of seeing it on television or as a commercial somewhere, but I didn't reach him. Filmmakers could learn a lot from how Madison Hamburg focuses on the emotional ripple effects of crime, and the very human toll that loss takes on a family and community. At the time of her death, Beach Hamburg had primary custody of Madison and Ali, while their father received visitation rights. Have you had any other reactions surprise you? Seeking a way out of making those payments or seeing the inside of a jail cell could allegedly have been a motive for Jeffrey to kill Barbara. Madison Hamburg, who was a teenager when his mother died, went on to study documentary filmmaking. There have been corroborating leads, correcting things, things that we didn't know about. The series depicted how the investigation process caused rifts between the family and the secrets which suggested their involvement in the murder. Madison Hamburg has been transparent in interviews about wanting to produce "a different take on true crime. That's essentially a thousand more opportunities to discover not just what happened to his mother, but to find another slash in the family tree. That is as it should be. In a meeting of the towns Board of Police Commissioners on Thursday evening, Police Chief John Drumm said that if the courts ultimately ruled in favor of releasing the records, it could create a precedent that would affect police investigations across the state. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Would you do anything different now that it's aired? On March 3, 2010, Barbara Beach Hamburg, 48, was found murdered in the backyard of her Madison, Connecticut, home. When my mom died, I took a year off from school. Not looking into my mom's story would be the biggest regret of my life, so I don't know that I would do anything differently. Ultimately, though, the sisters reconciled, but it was never the same. This allegation feelscircumstantial at best. The first theory the documentary presents is that Barbara Hamburg was killed by her ex-husband, Jeffrey Hamburg. "And one of them was, if we don't solve my mom's case, then the documentary becomes a tool for me to get my mom's story out there and provide some momentum." Then there's Conway Beach, Barbara's sister. Beach also alleges that Ali killed Barbara, Jeffrey Hamburg hired someone to kill his ex-wife. It was a. By Valentina Valentini 12/06/20 11:00pm Madison Hamburg . What details, if any, does Conway remember about the person she planned to hire to kill Barbara? Barbara's sister, Conway Beach, makes a number of accusations in the series accusing Ali of murdering her mother, believing she did so before going to school on that day. And we ended up pitching to Lisa Heller, who was one of our last pitches at HBO and it was just incredibly emotional. I think the conflicts that I deal with in the fourth episode are pretty unique to the perspective. I wonder how far Ali's school was and how far Barbara's house was from the courthouse. Retracing the path of controversial Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe includes many stops in Connecticut. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this incorrectly statedAli Hamburg was diagnosed with bipolar disorder; she had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Her cover photo, quite fittingly, is one of her and Barbara, and the first thing youd see when you go to her profile is the headline GRATEFUL Conway may not have a concrete alibi for her sisters murder, but no one can deny that she loved and still misses her. We now know they have that information, which led them to ask additional questions of us of information that we had not shared with the general public, Drumm told commissioners, adding that the department needed to retain the information to complete its investigation. SALON is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. Stay up to date with what you want to know. The police were called, the crime scene was evaluated, and even some DNA was collected. On March 3, 2010, Barbara Beach Hamburg was found murdered in the backyard of her Madison, Connecticut, home. I was at a point in grief where I was trying to hold on to the memory of my mom and my greatest fear was losing my memory of the sound of her voice or how she smelled or how she looked, and I thought that taking advantage of the class to ask my family members about her could sort of memorialize her. If Barbara dropped Ali off at 7:47 am and the court hearing was at 9:30 am, perhaps the father had enough time to commit the murder. In one example, Justice Steven Ecker asked Dugas about the competing interest of uncovering police corruption or incompetence. The 48-year-old mother of two lived on Middle Beach Road in Madison, Connecticut. Barbara was said to be involved in "gifting. Klau reviewed the case and found in August that the police department cannot use the mere theoretical possibility of a future law enforcement action to keep the investigative files secret but conceded there is little precedent for how investigators or the FOIC should determine what constitutes such a future action. I left him a voicemail. You watched the last time I talked to my dad. Beach Hamburg and Hamburg married in 1989, but divorced in 2002. So we took the 160 hours and made a sample that turned out to be like 14 minutes. But Murder on Middle Beach is not a normal documentary. It was she who recruited Barbara into the tables, but the latter's ambition eventually caused problems for Platt. He never forcefully denies killing Barbara in the series. At the end of the series, Madison wins his case with the Freedom of Information Commission to receive case files relating to his mother's homicide investigation. In addition to the Beach family, Hamburg makes several appearances in the series as well although he's never formally interviewed. As he revealed in a video update on Dec. 8 through HBO's YouTube channel, he is currently combing through these files for additional information that could eventually help solve the case. Prior to her death, she'd been engaged in a legal battle over child support with her ex Jeffrey Hamburg, who's also the father of Madison and his younger sister Ali. The two had gone through a rough divorce and were not on good terms at the time of Barbara's death. Allowing that type of information to come out may be more likely to help them solve the crime [rather] than keeping everything secret. In a genre that so often luridly dehumanizes its victims, specifically women, as a means for salacious storytelling, "Murder on Middle Beach" is less about clinically dismantling family secrets for their evidentiary value, than it is about assessing how those family secrets bond and tie us and what it means when those bonds are severed. I'll admit, on my first watch of the finale, I was a little frustrated by the lack of answers. That said, in the final episode Ali's alibi is confirmed: her mother dropped her off at school the morning that she was killed. Would you do it? Murder on Middle Beach calls a handful of suspects into question. She's just such an amazing, beautiful human being and I think that really comes through. That was in 2016. Throughout the mini-series, the main suspect seemed to be Barbara's ex-husband and Madison's father, Jeffrey Hamburg. She cites the fact that the teenager had a rocky relationship with her mother, which was only intensified by Ali's struggles with borderline personality disorder. In 2012, according to the New Haven Register, Conway called Barbara loving, kind, giving, thoughtful, caring, a wonderful mother, a wonderful sister.. She remained in class until Conway picked her up. In October of 2019, Anike Neimeyer, the producer of Murder on Middle Beach, submitted a FOI request to the Madison Police Department on behalf of herself and Madison Hamburg requesting records of the case. Platt also cut off her relationship with Barbara, and drew hard lines on what areas were Barbara's Gifting Tables "territory" for recruitment and which were Platt's. It was Beach who discovered Barbara's body on the morning of the murder, but claims she was cleaning out the basement of a 90-year-old neighbor at the time of the murder. I didn't necessarily fit the mold, but SCAD agreed to a really unique deal with me where they funded 10 weeks of production and we shot all of our master interviews. But first here are the facts: According to the doc, Barbara Hamburg was a 48-year-old single mother who was bludgeoned and stabbed to death in the front yard of her Madison, CT home on the morning of March 3, 2010. In 2022 Otte was awarded "Rookie of the Year," by the New England Newspaper & Press Association. From the jump, the suspect list was long. So I pressed everyone pretty hard, and I ended up with 160 hours of footage. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. It's terrifying, and I think that something that was really important for me was naming and identifying the adverse effects of doing something like this in the documentary itself, because I just think that's one of the unique aspects of the point of view. Do you know who did it? That was mandatory to me, I wanted everybody to see how they come across and have a conversation about it to prepare them for what it's gonna be like when we release this thing. By the end of the series, the only suspect who has a truly rock-solid alibi is Ali, anda number of questions about that, in my mind, remained unanswered: Who was the masked man who was allegedly seen lurking outside Barbara's window the day before she was murdered? She was a woman who was known to be head-strong. We may earn a commission from these links. If I didn't ask these questions, the questions would go unasked, but I've tried my hardest to do this what I consider the right way. In a statement ahead of the hearing, Hamburgs son, Madison Hamburg, who helped make an HBO documentary series about his mothers death called "Murder on Middle Beach," called for the records release. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Harmon, however, said police did not say whether the new information led to new activity. This theory does seem to make a lot of sense, except when you consider how Barbara was murdered. Ali had always maintained her innocence, claiming that she had been dropped off at school by Barbara on the morning of the murder, and that she only returned home later that day with Beach, who picked her up from school after Ali's texts to her mother went unanswered. Beach also alleges that Ali killed Barbara, claiming that the then-high schooler acted bizarrely at the scene of the murder by declaring it a crime scene before any evidence of a crime was observed. The four-part series was released at the end of 2020. We got a lot of questions like, how does it end? The resulting documentary series was picked up by HBO, and the four-part Murder on Middle Beach premiered late last year. This issue warrants appellate scrutiny.. Beach was also accused of threatening an anonymous member of the Gifting Tables by leaving dead animals in her yard. A hearing was held in February 2020, where Detective Christopher Sudock testified on behalf of the department that the release could jeopardize a prospective law enforcement action, such as a search or arrest warrant, but could not identify any specific actions investigators had planned. The theorists point out that Jeffrey had the most obvious motive while also having an alibi that was almost too perfect. While Tyler appreciated it, it made Conway furious. Barbara Beach Hamburg, Madison's mother, was killed in 2010 in Madison, Connecticut. As long as an investigation is active without any impediments to prosecution, Dugas argued, the exemption should apply. Directed by Barbara's son, Madison Hamburg, the docuseries is a chronicle of Madison's return to his home as he is determined to understand . So he made a deal with us that he would give us an A if I never stopped working on it. While waiting for the person to arrive, she grabs a drink at the lobby bar. The television series, Murder on Middle Beach, documents the story of Madison Hamburgs search for the story behind his mothers murder. Back in 2010, in Madison, Connecticut, a quiet town on the shoreline, on the serene Middle Beach West, a crime occurred that shook the community to its core - Barbara Hamburg's murder. "When my mom died, I didn't tell anybody," says Hamburg. The four-part HBO Max series, now available on Sky Crime and NOW TV in the UK, follows director Madison Hamburg as he investigates the unsolved murder of his own mother, Barbara Beach Hamburg, on . As her son, I want to know what was and wasnt done. The Connecticut Supreme Court will decide whether the Madison Police Department must release records compiled in its investigation of the 12-year-old unsolved murder of Barbara Hamburg. In the series, Madison does some digging and is able to obtain school records that show Barbara did indeed drop Ali off at school on the morning of her death, confirming Ali's alibi and eliminating her as a suspect. Barbara Hamburg was found murdered outside her family's Middle Beach Road home on March 3, 2010, but the case went cold and no one has ever been charged in connection with her death. Platt was eventually arrested on various fraud charges related to the Gifting Tables in 2012, and she served 30 months in federal prison, according to the New Haven Register. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. The episodes also addressed skepticism about the police departments initial investigations and even included surreptitious recordings of Madison Hamburgs discussions with detectives at the department. "I was so messed up, I didn't know what to do. Murder on Middle Beach centers on the mysterious death of 48-year old Barbara Hamburg. 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