Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Murder-related plea still leaves questions Date: Tue, 3 Nov 92 15:19:55 EST Message-ID: \SE A;NATION \SS (WS) \HD Murder-related plea still leaves questions \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT BOSTON BOSTON (AP) - Matthew Stuart pleaded guilty yesterday to charges connected with the 1989 murder of his brother Charles' pregnant wife, leaving unanswered questions about the death that heightened tensions between blacks and police. Matthew Stuart admitted disposing of the gun allegedly used to kill Carol DiMaiti Stuart three years ago and implicated his brother in the killing, which Charles Stuart initially blamed on a black mugger. Stuart's plea came as jury selection was scheduled to begin on fraud and obstruction of justice charges. He was sentenced to three to five years in prison after he and a brother of the victim, Carl DiMaiti, made statements to the court. Mr. DiMaiti said Matthew Stuart deserved as much blame for the murder as his brother. Stuart told the court: "I never knew of my brother's plan to murder his wife." He turned, looked at Mr. DiMaiti, and said in a choked voice: "I am truly sorry and hope that my actions today will help heal some of the pain of this terrible tragedy." While the plea closes the legal book on the major part of the case, it leaves much of the circumstances to speculation. "The rest of the questions were never answered, and are never going to be answered," said Nancy Gertner, Matthew Stuart's attorney. Charles Stuart, a white man, had claimed a black mugger killed his pregnant wife and wounded him in a dramatic attack. Stuart called for help on his car phone on Oct. 23, 1989, telling police he and his 30-year-old wife were shot as they were returning to the suburbs from a childbirth class in the city. Mrs. Stuart died that night, and her son, Christopher, was delivered prematurely and died weeks later. In January 1990, Charles Stuart apparently jumped from a bridge and was found dead a day after his brother implicated him in the crime. The revelation brought severe criticism on the Boston police and media from blacks who said they were all too willing to believe that a black man fired the shots. Matthew Stuart, now 26, maintained all along that he did not know there was a plot to kill Mrs. Stuart and that he only pieced it together after disposing of a gun and some of Mrs. Stuart's possessions. Police said he told officers he thought his older brother wanted him to help stage a phony theft for the insurance money. Earlier this year, he was charged with conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and to obstruct justice, compounding a felony, concealing stolen property and unlawful carrying of a handgun. He pleaded guilty today to all those charges. Attorneys had planned to select jurors in Northampton, about 100 miles west of Boston, who were unbiased by the publicity surrounding the case. The jurors would have been bused to Boston and sequestered for the trial. The case against Matthew Stuart hinged on a tape-recorded statement he made the night of Jan. 3, 1990, and the interpretation of a single word in a sentence indicating whether Matthew Stuart conspired with his brother to do more than hide the gun. The defense argued Matthew Stuart said his brother asked him to help with "something he wants to get rid of," and that the statement wasn't voluntary anyway since Matthew Stuart didn't know he might face charges. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM