Drumm told commissioners he believed plaintiffs were led to ask the Madison Police Department for additional records after obtaining copies of evidence collected by other state agencies who were assisting on the case, such as the Connecticut State Police, who Drumm said processed evidence at their crime lab. We have the tip line, BarbaraHamburgTips.com, and I've requested a reward with the state, and the amount of tips, the amount of messages that we've received, and you never know what small detail is going to make a difference in an investigation, that's been really surprising. And sort of realizing that what I wanted as a character in the story and as a person is to know what happened to my mom, but I think what I need, and my sister said so beautifully as the beginning of the last episode, is peace. Murder on Middle Beach is a four-part documentary by director Madison Hamburg about the unsolved 2010 murder of his mother Barbara Hamburg. In HBOs Murder on Middle Beach, we watch as a nervous Madison Hamburg tapes a hidden microphone to his shirt and zips up his jacket before heading out to meet his Dad for a beer. 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. "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," Hamburg also told Esquire. Schulz echoed the judges world, noting that his clients planned to use the information as part of a documentary. Madisons mother, Barbara Beach Hamburg, before her 2010 murder. Yet the strangest thing was when Conway stated that Barbara, a week before she was slain, told her about a dream where she was violently murdered but refused to reveal who was behind it. 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. 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. There was no stone they had left unturned.. 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.. 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. The resulting documentary series was picked up by HBO, and the four-part Murder on Middle Beach premiered late last year. The court has attempted to resolve a long unsettled question about the degree of certainty concerning a prospective law enforcement action that is required to withhold records. 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. "Barbie, Barb, it's your sister." The call ends after about five minutes. While Tyler appreciated it, it made Conway furious. She totally got it and they made us an offer. 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. Ashlie D. Stevens is Salon's deputy food editor. But it's also really challenging for both my aunts, my sister and my family, so we've had a lot of conversations. Its an amazing thing as someone who's created something, because the conversations extend week to week and to see the effects that it has and the momentum that it causes is really beautiful. Beach Hamburg and Hamburg married in 1989, but divorced in 2002. Do we need a case to be closed, or at least a prime suspect in view, to feel like a narrative arc was actually achieved before the final end credits? 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. The dispute over the records goes back to 2019, when Anike Niemeyer, a filmmaker working with Madison Hamburg, requested all the departments investigatory records from the his mothers case. What details, if any, does Conway remember about the person she planned to hire to kill Barbara? 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. So we took the 160 hours and made a sample that turned out to be like 14 minutes. 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. Why did Jeffrey's financial dealings make Barbara feel like her family's safety had been compromised? I know what I've set out to do and tried like hell to fulfill that, to challenge the conventions of true crime and the way that we tell the story, and just to hear people think it's goodjust to think that people were watching and telling other people about it and it was a part of the conversation outside of the people in my immediate circle was just, I don't know, maybe it's silly, but it's something that is really gratifying. 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One of two masterminds to be jailed for their roles in the Gifting Tables, was Hamburg's aunt Jill Platt. Do you know who did it? 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 . Barbara Beach Hamburg, Madison's mother, was killed in 2010 in Madison, Connecticut. My college was really supportive of me, Savannah College of Art and Design. In 2010, Barbara Beach Hamburg was found bludgeoned in her yard next to the golf course in Madison, Connecticut. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. As for where she is now, Conway appears to be residing in Connecticut, where she spends most of her free time with her family, especially her mother, son, and toddler grandson. Valicia Harmon, a staff attorney who represented the Freedom of Information Commission before the court, said the statutory provision making certain law enforcement records exempt from release balances two consideration: the right of law enforcement to conduct their investigations in private, and the right of the public to have insight into these long, cold investigations.. Then, the public would never have any way of knowing whether [the police] were doing their job appropriately, said Schulz. That is as it should be. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Beach claims to have been accused of being jealous of her sister's success, but denies it in the docuseries. While her murder and its aftermath are explored on the show, it also paints a vivid portrait of who Beach Hamburg was before her death, and how her family is managing to cope with their loss 10 years later. 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. But in 2016 the pendulum sort of swung to this other role I was playing as an investigative documentarian, and I thought it might be my only opportunity to ask these questions on camera and get these authentic reactions. Allowing that type of information to come out may be more likely to help them solve the crime [rather] than keeping everything secret. Have you had any other reactions surprise you? Beach Hamburg had been expected in court, along with Hamburg, on the morning of her death, but never made it to her 9:30 a.m. appearance. "There have been corroborating leads, correcting things, things that we didn't know about," Hamburg told Esquire. And more importantly, should tuition go toward supporting bars around the XL Center? How Did Barbara Hamburg Die? 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. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. The department claims the case remains active and releasing the file could hinder a prospective prosecution or even result in witness intimidation. We got a lot of questions like, how does it end? 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. I was a drug addict at the time, and really fell into my addiction and hit my rock bottom. Dowling said the Board of Police Commissioners and the Board of Selectmen were working on setting up a joint meeting, and that the lawsuit would be a topic of discussion for the meeting. ", initially questioned Hamburg after Beach Hamburg's murder, said her ex-husband failed to make alimony and child support payments, behind on mortgage payments for their property, primary custody of Madison and Ali, while their father received visitation rights, 'I'll Be Gone In The Dark' director believes we're drawn to true crime stories because 'you can close the book, you can turn off the TV, when in real life, you don't have that power', The 7 best true crime podcasts you can listen to right now, Watch the haunting new trailer for 'I'll Be Gone in the Dark', HBO's latest true-crime docuseries, The best true crime shows you can watch on Hulu right now. Barbara Beach Hamburg was found dead outside her home in 2010, but her case remains unsolved. 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. None of that is the selling point of a true crime series. I was so angry. It is more than a reasonable possibility, pun intended, that the Connecticut Appellate or Supreme Court will review this decision. I was most worried about Conway throughout this whole process and I think she's in a good spot. It premiered on November 15, 2020, on HBO. I think the conflicts that I deal with in the fourth episode are pretty unique to the perspective. "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. The following contains spoilers from the ending of HBO's "Murder of Middle Beach.". It was a really tough thing to balance with telling a compelling story, but I think it was knowing that the goal was to subvert the genre in a way, to lean in to those more kind of compelling conventions in order to eventually break them. In the doc, she admitted to having tried to hire a hitman to kill Barbara years prior over a custody battle involving her son, but the two were later able to make up. That all falls out of your test, doesnt it?. CT DOT faces criticism following overnight tree-cutting, Haar: Payouts at fading CT trash agency offer lessons in a crisis, State nursing homes could face fine due to too many empty beds, CT legislators revive debate over firefighters' cancer benefits. As long as an investigation is active without any impediments to prosecution, Dugas argued, the exemption should apply. She was a woman who was known to be head-strong. But one thing that surprised meI remember the first message I got after the release of episode one. Who Is John Dutton's Grandfather in '1923'? The documentary follows Madison as he investigates the shocking murder of his mother Barbara Beach Hamburg. We've had a lot of conversations, but both Conway and Ali have evolved. 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. I wanted to give their stories justice and unfortunately that involves exploring these conflicts. 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. In 2019, Madison Hamburg and Niemeyer requested the departments investigative files under the states public records law, but the department refused, claiming the case remains an open and ongoing investigation. When her body was found by her sister and daughter it was covered with outdoor furniture cushions. She's just such an amazing, beautiful human being and I think that really comes through. We also have to honor the victims and their families. November 30, 2020. So when she eventually got evicted, she moved to Florida, where she spent her days sleeping on park benches and just awaiting her death. He also said that he had new evidence on the case that he did not want to share. 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. Would you do anything different now that it's aired? But the uncomfortable history between the two made Conway come under scrutiny for her murder. The 48-year-old mother of two lived on Middle Beach Road in Madison, Connecticut. Harmon, however, said police did not say whether the new information led to new activity. The medical examiner later ruled her death a homicide, noting that she died as a result of "multiple blunt and sharp force injury.". 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. The brutal crime was committed in 2010 when Madison was 19-years-old. She welcomes feedback and story ideas from readers. 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.. 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. Beach Hamburg and Hamburg married in 1989, but divorced in 2002. His father, Jeffrey Hamburg, quickly became a person of interest. In the series, Hamburg asks his family members if they had anything to do with his mother's murder, including his father . Through interviews with family members and friends of his mother, Madison is able to come to a better understanding of who his mother was as a person. "Murder on Middle Beach" premieres Sunday on HBO at 10 p.m. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. It's like if you have a piece of popcorn in your teeth, finally getting that piece out. 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. 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. We may earn a commission from these links. Years before she was murdered, Madison Hamburg 's mother Barbara Hamburg gave him a gift that would shape his life forever. 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. The department did turn over two full boxes of documents to Hamburg and Niemeyer in October 2020, but the filmmakers alerted investigators in early November that dozens of files were apparently missing from those records. 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. Murder on Middle Beach didn't decisively eliminate any other suspects. I started in 2013 really fresh and very amateur to documentary. Barbara Alexandra Hamburg, who now goes by Ali, is the youngest member of the Hamburg family. Her body was discovered by her sister, Conway Beach, who visited the home with Hamburg's teenage daughter Ali Hamburg after picking her up from school. 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 following years, they appeared in court together numerous times after Beach Hamburg said her ex-husband failed to make alimony and child support payments. Sadly, her life was taken on March 3, 2010 in Madison, Connecticut. It was looked at routinely and remained a top priority of the department, he said. 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. About the person she planned to use the information as part of a true series! Kill Barbara a four-part documentary by director Madison Hamburg about the person planned... Four-Part documentary by director Madison Hamburg about the person she planned to to. 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