When she's not reporting, you can find her hiking Shoreline trails and eating her way through New Haven. The personal gruesomeness of the murder and covering her body like he regrets it feels too personal to be a hit man. Hamburg was 41 years old when she was found dead outside her home from what the medical examiners office called blunt and sharp force injuries.. 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. HBO. However, later in the documentary, director Madison Hamburg Barbara's son and Ali's brother obtains school records that corroborate Ali's alibi of being at school at the time of the murder. Her body was discovered by Madison's aunt Conway and his sister, Ali. But the uncomfortable history between the two made Conway come under scrutiny for her murder. Have you found anything surprising in the new police files that you received last month? It found police had offered only speculation that the disclosure of records responsive to the complainants request would be used in a prospective law enforcement action arising out of the investigation into the death of Barbara Hamburg, according to the commissions decision. Here's everything you need to know about Beach Hamburg's death and "Murder on Middle Beach.". I was a drug addict at the time, and really fell into my addiction and hit my rock bottom. Beach theorizes that Barbara was killed by Ali while on her way out of the house, rather than after returning home from dropping Ali off at school as the investigation suggests. So he made a deal with us that he would give us an A if I never stopped working on it. So I pressed everyone pretty hard, and I ended up with 160 hours of footage. We also have to honor the victims and their families. Do you know if your dad has watched or is watching? The theorists point out that Jeffrey had the most obvious motive while also having an alibi that was almost too perfect. A single mother of two, Hamburg was bludgeoned and stabbed to death in the front yard of her Madison,. The department denied the request, and Neimeyer appealed to the state Freedom of Information Commission, according to a Memorandum of Decision from the Superior Court in New Britain. One suspect was definitively eliminated from consideration. He said the Board of Selectmen would have to determine how much the town was willing to spend on the lawsuit.Downing expressed hope that state agencies would take up the case and relieve the town of a potentially significant financial burden appealing the case. While Beach's husband (and Madison's father) Jeffrey was questioned early on about his ex-wife's murder, there . The series depicted how the investigation process caused rifts between the family and the secrets which suggested their involvement in the murder. Madison. Barbara Beach Hamburg, Madison's 48-year-old mother, had been bludgeoned and stabbed to death, her body hidden under a pile of lawn-furniture cushions outside their Connecticut home. That was in 2016. So in a sense, it feels like we as viewers are coming full circle, which raises the question: What actually makes for a satisfying end for a true crime series? I was so angry. As we see in the documentary, some even suggest that Conway was envious of Barbara because of the money, success, and love the latter was able to attain. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. She remained in class until Conway picked her up. In 2010, Barbara Beach Hamburg was found bludgeoned in her yard next to the golf course in Madison, Connecticut. And if they can keep it closed forever, youll never be able to hold them accountable or give them an incentive not to cover something up.. "Thank God that HBO saw the potential and the rest is history.". There was sort of shame attached to that, telling someone that with the connotations around murder and true crime. In setting out to do this, I didn't have an expectation that we would solve my mom's case, but there are many goals I have had throughout this process and they sort of evolve. All rights reserved. It was then Beach and Ali who discovered Barbara's body. His second goal was to absolve his family members of the crime, which dovetails with the obvious goal of discovering who actually killed Barbara. Barbara Beach Hamburg, Madison's mother, was killed in 2010 in Madison, Connecticut. The show follows director Madison Hamburg as he investigates his mother's murder, and talks to his family members about how they were affected. Murder on Middle Beach is a four-part documentary by director Madison Hamburg about the unsolved 2010 murder of his mother Barbara Hamburg. During the last four minutes of of HBO's docuseries "Murder on Middle Beach," a black screen pops up with a single, heartwrenching sentence: My family still lives without answers about my mother's death. There's already inherent bias from my point of view. At a Freedom of Information hearing in February 2020, Madison police Detective Christopher Sudock said he regularly reviewed the case and that the agency had received a phone call about it the week before. And I've been really careful not to have hunches and not to express any opinions about what I think happened cause I think that's the biggest challenge with any investigation. Having access to these files and what the police are doing is one of the key ways we have to hold police accountable, which is a huge issue today. The police were called, the crime scene was evaluated, and even some DNA was collected. On the other hand, Dugas, the attorney for the Madison Police Department, argued the case was very much active. Once this financially-strapped individual realized she couldn't get her money back, the individual or perhaps the individual's angered husband, as Beach claims to have seen a masked man prowling through Barbara's yard the day before the murder opted to take out their frustrations on Barbara in a violent manner. 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. Niemeyer appealed the decision with the Freedom of Information Commission. Madison Hamburg, right, during a candlelight vigil and memorial service for his mother, Madison resident Barbara Hamburg, a 2010 slaying victim in an unsolved case, at the First Congregational Church in Madison on Feb. 29, 2020. "Barbie, Barb, it's your sister." The call ends after about five minutes. Meghan Friedmann is a reporter with the New Haven Register, covering North Branford, Guilford and Madison. I left him a voicemail. However, Jeffrey did have a very solid alibi of being in court at the time of Barbara's murder, which seems to make it physically impossible for him to have committed the crime personally. Upon hearing this new information, Beach alters her opinion of Ali as the murderer. The pace picks up in the fourth episode in such a way through the confirmation of Ali's alibi and the discovery of Jeffrey's financial records that it felt like we were rocketing towards a last-minute reveal that would position "Murder on Middle Beach" as the next "The Jinx," the shocking 2015 HBO docuseries, which shows Robert Durst in the final moments of the series mumbling what sounds like a confession on a still-hot lapel microphone: "What the hell did I do? The Madison Police Department is appealing a court ruling upholing an order by the state's Freedom of Information Commission that the department release all records except signed witness statements related to the unsolved murder of Barbara Beach Hamburg. This was actually where the four-part series began, as first-time filmmaker Madison Hamburg set out to investigate the events surrounding the murder of his mother, Barbara Beach Hamburg, who was . In the series, she denies killing Barbara while showing little to no remorse for her past crimes. The Madison Police Department is appealing a state judges order that it must turn over its investigative files on Hamburgs 2010 murder to a pair of documentary filmmakers, including Hamburgs son, who examined the investigation in the hit HBO miniseries Murder on Middle Beach.. Would I even do this if I teleported back eight years and said, you started this documentary, here are the sacrifices that you and your family are gonna make but here's what you have to gain. There have been corroborating leads, correcting things, things that we didn't know about. 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. "Murder on Middle Beach" adds to the genre as well. Then, the public would never have any way of knowing whether [the police] were doing their job appropriately, said Schulz. As her son, I want to know what was and wasnt done. "I was so messed up, I didn't know what to do. There are strong public policy reasons for denying the general public unfettered access to investigation files, while the police are actively investigating a crime and continuing to collect new evidence and pursue new leads, Klau wrote in his decision. Since 2016 there have been multiple cold case reviews and none of those reviews have turned up a new avenue of investigation, a new lead to follow or new steps to take, she said. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. That means that if you have a victim of a crime in your household tomorrow, they could start [submitting Freedom of Information Requests for] each and every single day in the investigation, said Drumm. Madison Hamburg has been transparent in interviews about wanting to produce "a different take on true crime. We have to maintain the integrity for them, he said. According to her own accounts, after Ali chose to live with her father, Jeffrey Hamburg, he became "super controlling" and implanted "a lot of fear" in her. Madison Hamburg On the Middle Beach Finale, India Oxenberg Finally Feels a Sense of Peace, More Coverage of the Documentaries That Matter, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. I can't get into details, but it's been extremely illuminating. I've written before about the trend of "true criminal justice" documentaries and docuseries the kind wherein the narrative is less about solving a mystery and more about turning the magnifying glass on the legal proceedings that surrounded it are an opportunity for filmmakers to present a fuller picture of criminality and victimhood. "When my mom died, I didn't tell anybody," says 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. Drumm also said that he hoped the Chief States Attorneys Office and that Attorney General William Tongs Office would file amicus briefs on their behalf. If a department cannot show there is a prospective law enforcement action and that disclosure of the records would be prejudicial to such an action, then the publics right to access the records wins out, Harmon said, arguing the Madison Police Department failed to meet its burden of proof in this case. A spokesperson for the Connecticut State Police Public Information Office said the State Police had not released any evidence regarding the murder of Barbara Hamburg. 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. As made evident in the series, Conway Beach is just one of the few family members who hasnt been able to move on from Barbaras murder no matter how much time has passed by. In the following years, they appeared in court together numerous times after Beach Hamburg said her ex-husband failed to make alimony and child support payments. ET. Then, there is the still-plausible idea that Barbara was killed by someone she had crossed through her participation in "The Gifting Tables," a pyramid scheme wherein potential members would "gift" existing members of the organization money in order to join, then recruit new members for their own eventual pay-outs. On March 3, 2010, Barbara Beach Hamburg was found dead in her Connecticut house. Beach Hamburg is survived by her children, Madison and Ali, 27, as well as her mother, also named Barbara, and numerous siblings. Jeffreyrefuses to discuss the case or his marriage with Madison, except to point to Barbara's alcoholism and, prior to recovery, her pattern of black-out drinking as evidence that Barbara wasn't necessarily to be trusted a line he holds even once Madison finds boxes of documents in the final episodes that could potentially implicate him in unethical (and potentially illegal) business practices that made Barbara feel unsafe. He never forcefully denies killing Barbara in the series. But after watching the entire series through again on Monday morning, I realized that's obviously the point one that I had lost sight of while tuning in week-to-week for the last month, eager to see how the case concluded. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Police never made an arrest in the case, though Floyd Dugas, the attorney representing the department in the records dispute, told the court Wednesday the agency long has had a prime suspect. The police could have an incentive to just not become the focus of second-guessing, Ecker said. By Valentina Valentini 12/06/20 11:00pm Madison Hamburg . "We miss her dearly, and it is a great loss to not have her with us," she said at a 2011 vigil, the New Haven Register reported at the time. In one example, Justice Steven Ecker asked Dugas about the competing interest of uncovering police corruption or incompetence. Beach Hamburg's sister, Conway, and her great-aunt, Jill Platt, are featured prominently in "Murder on Middle Beach," as is her mother. But they're in a really good spot now. As the series progresses, Madison gains new insight into his mother's life before her murder, including her troubled relationship with his father and Beach Hamburg's ex-husband, Jeffrey Hamburg. 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. Copyright 2023 Design by Julia Balfour, LLC, Federal Grant will Help Stamford Police Catch Auto Thieves, Hundreds of Elevator Malfunctions in Stamford and No Clear Fix, With Ambulance Response Times of as Much as 40 Minutes, Legislators Propose a Funding Fix, Researchers Target Housing in Pilot Program to Reduce Gun Violence, Firefighter in Rehab Calls on Department Leaders to Bolster Brotherhood, As More Weapons are Brought to Schools, Parents and Administrators Seek a Safe Path Forward. The two had gone through a rough divorce and were not on good terms at the time of Barbara's death. My college was really supportive of me, Savannah College of Art and Design. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. 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. You watched the last time I talked to my dad. But even if the central question at the center of the case remains a mystery, Murder on Middle Beach solved at least one question that had long plagued the decade-old case. In the height of his grief, he decided he could use his medium of choicefilmto memorialize her, and also explore who she really was, who might have wanted to hurt her, and why. HBOs four-part documentary series is the compilation of eight years of work for Madison, who was 19 when his mother was found bludgeoned to death outside their Connecticut home in 2010. I assume he has, but I'm not sure. The director of HBO's true crime docuseries discusses the emotions of investigating his own mother's murder. The courts justices challenged both Dugas and Harmon with questions. And I was just desperately trying to understand how to take the next step with something so personal and not sacrifice anything. One of two masterminds to be jailed for their roles in the Gifting Tables, was Hamburg's aunt Jill Platt. Ever since then, Madison has been looking to uncover every clue and secret so as to solve her case. Both Ali's father, Jeffrey, and Beach accuse Ali of hating her mother in the documentary, which Ali denies. This theory does seem to make a lot of sense, except when you consider how Barbara was murdered. They've seen the documentary, we had family screenings before we even sent it out to press. And what we were selling was a personal approach that wasn't a whodunit but more a story about identity, the duality of humanity, and the layers of what we share with each other, how open we are, and just me kind of coming of age and understanding my mother and in turn understanding my identity. Back in 1996, when Conway was out of control with her substance abuse, Barbara took her to court to get custody of her son, Tyler. The first is to further understand his mother as a person because, as he says early in the first episode, children rarely know who their parents actually are. In 2012, according to the New Haven Register, Conway called Barbara loving, kind, giving, thoughtful, caring, a wonderful mother, a wonderful sister.. Instead, he draws just as much suspense and intrigue by looking hard at his family history and asking his loved ones tough questions, even when they dont necessarily want to answer them. 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. It's really interesting. 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. Did she ever try to contact them again? That is unbelievably gratifying, so I don't know, there's a lot of mixed things swirling around in how I feel right now. Through Madison's eyes and camera lens, we watch as his relationship with his father crumbles, as he has to inform Ali that Conway believed she was capable of killing her own mother, as he has to badger his local police department again and again (before finally escalating to a formal Freedom of Information Act appeal) for a 1,600-page case file with details about their investigation into Barbara's death. He also said that he had new evidence on the case that he did not want to share. In the following years, they appeared in court together numerous times after Beach Hamburg said her ex-husband failed to make alimony and child support payments. 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