However, when law enforcement has effectively exhausted all efforts to arrest and prosecute a suspect, and when the statistical data show that the probability of a prosecution resulting from long-unsolved cases approaches zero, it is difficult to understand how denying public access to criminal investigation files in perpetuity serves the public interest in solving crimes and bringing perpetrators to justice. Allowing that type of information to come out may be more likely to help them solve the crime [rather] than keeping everything secret. Her body was discovered by Madison's aunt Conway and his sister, Ali; his father . HBO's new true-crime docuseries "Murder on Middle Beach" premieres Sunday, November 15. 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. How Did Barbara Hamburg Die? And the series has certainly accomplished that. Barbara Beach Hamburg, Madison's mother, was killed in 2010 in Madison, Connecticut. It would not be in the interest of our own investigation to release it any further, said Drumm. Schulz echoed the judges world, noting that his clients planned to use the information as part of a documentary. Dec. 10, 2020 HBO The HBO true crime documentary series Murder on Middle Beach has reached its conclusion, without any grand reveal regarding who killed Barbara Hamburg. What details, if any, does Conway remember about the person she planned to hire to kill Barbara? But the uncomfortable history between the two made Conway come under scrutiny for her murder. In October 2020, they passed over 1,600 documents about the case which he is now poring over - and hopes it will give him a definitive answer about who killed his mother. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Barbara's husband Jeffrey Hamburg was the suspect in the case, though he was never charged with her murder, he was jailed for monetary frauds. Evidence of a struggle was strewn across the lawn. . A list of additional records submitted to the court includes surveillance video, recordings of specific voicemails, non-police tape-recorded conversations and copies of items seized from Barbara Hamburgs bedroom safe. I'm in awe of my sister. On the other hand, Dugas, the attorney for the Madison Police Department, argued the case was very much active. Sign up for notifications from Insider! 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.. Here are the facts: on March 3rd, 2010, Barbara Beach Hamburg was beaten to death in front of her modest house in Madison, Connecticut. Conway Beach is Barbara Beach Hamburgs elder sister and the woman who, unfortunately, discovered her body. 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. But the court has no doubt that this decision is not the last word on this issue, nor should it be, Klau wrote in his conclusion. And they just thanked me for releasing this story, and it's really gratifying as someone who's gone through something so traumatic to hear that someone else can watch this and feel a little less alone. 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? As her son, I want to know what was and wasnt done. 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. Beach Hamburg is survived by her children, Madison and Ali, 27, as well as her mother, also named Barbara, and numerous siblings. The latest true crime series Murder on Middle Beach just hit HBO. 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. The case isnt closed. I was a drug addict at the time, and really fell into my addiction and hit my rock bottom. So I pressed everyone pretty hard, and I ended up with 160 hours of footage. DNA found at the scene of the crime also did not match his own. "Murder on Middle Beach" is currently streaming on HBO Max. It was a. The resulting documentary series was picked up by HBO, and the four-part Murder on Middle Beach premiered late last year. That is unbelievably gratifying, so I don't know, there's a lot of mixed things swirling around in how I feel right now. If you say youre going to keep a file closed forever on the chance that something might develop, that means the public in most cases will never get to look at these files, Schulz said Friday. So he made a deal with us that he would give us an A if I never stopped working on it. Barbara Beach Hamburg was found dead outside her home in 2010, but her case remains unsolved. There's already inherent bias from my point of view. ET. "Murder on Middle Beach" premieres Sunday on HBO at 10 p.m. HBO. 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. On March 3, 2010, Barbara was found brutally murdered in the yard of their Connecticut home. It is more than a reasonable possibility, pun intended, that the Connecticut Appellate or Supreme Court will review this decision. I hope at the end of this that they can see the adverse effects of that and that we're all human beings, you know? 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. We filmed a lot and the story just kept going and going, and my professor realized we weren't gonna finish this project. Madison police have not yet filed a brief outlining the grounds of their appeal with the Appellate Court, and attempts to reach the department this past week were unsuccessful. ", "It wasn't a story about a murder, it's a story about identity and about my mom and that's a really hard sell," he told the Connecticut Insider. HBO's new docuseries "Murder on Middle Beach," directed by Madison Hamburg, focuses on the death of Hamburg's mother, Barbara. She. Barbara was found dead on the morning of March 3, 2010, in the yard of her rental house on Middle Beach Road in Madison, Conn. Police responded at 11:25 a.m. to a 911 call reporting an injured . 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. The department denied the request, citing a portion of the state Freedom of Information Act exempting certain law enforcement records from release if the disclosure of such records would not be in the public interest because it would result in the disclosure of information to be used in a prospective law enforcement action if prejudicial to such action.. 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. 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. So we took the 160 hours and made a sample that turned out to be like 14 minutes. There was no stone they had left unturned.. 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. 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. Its something that really has to work its way through the court, he told CT Examiner. In the series, Hamburg asks his family members if they had anything to do with his mother's murder, including his father . Barbara's daughter was a teenager in 2010, and was with Beach when Barbara's body was discovered. 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. Alaine Griffin, director of communications in the Office of the Chief States Attorney said that the department had no comment at this time. A single mother of two, Hamburg was bludgeoned and stabbed to death in the front yard of her Madison,. I know the case is still open. There's a double-edged sword in the fact that the episodes are released weekly. Ultimately, though, the sisters reconciled, but it was never the same. So I was at film school when my mom died, in this doc class, and I told my immediate group. 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. 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. Updated: 10:25 AM EDT October 19, 2022 MADISON, Conn. There are new developments in a Connecticut cold case that was the subject of the HBO documentary "Murder on Middle Beach." One of the. 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 . The medical examiner's office soon concluded that Hamburg died from "blunt and sharp force injuries." Madison Hamburg. 5 On March 3, 2010, Barbara Beach Hamburg was found murdered in the backyard of her Madison, Connecticut, home. 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. 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. by Johnny Brayson Dec. 4, 2020 HBO The HBO series Murder on Middle Beach has. 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. He said it was also important to preserve the rights of victims and family members, who he said he didnt believe would want information released while police officers were still working on their case. According to the doc, Platt believed Barbara was inviting too many unqualified people into the scheme, thinking that these peoples' lack of funds would lead the tables to collapse. This may be a long journey, and that may cost a lot of money I would appreciate it if the Attorney Generals Office would take it up, because its in the interest of law enforcement state-wide, not just the Town of Madison, Drumm told commissioners. Have you had any other reactions surprise you? 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. They didnt make any efforts to review their files to see what could be released, because it was already known, for example, Schulz told CT Examiner. Schulz said that the plaintiffs would be thrilled if the police were able to solve the crime, but he said that this wasnt a reason to keep a case open forever. 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. 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. "I was so messed up, I didn't know what to do. 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. The people in the States Attorneys office who oversee the cold case reviews agreed with them that there were no new leads to follow. The four-part docuseries explores the 2010 murder of 48-year-old mother of two, Barbara Hamburg, who was discovered blugeoned and stabbed to death at her own home in Madison, Connecticut in. Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. Drumm told CT Examiner that the Police Department had gone through all the files relevant to the case. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. And as the docuseries comes to a close there are a growing number of theories about Barbara Hamburg's death. Beach claims to have been accused of being jealous of her sister's success, but denies it in the docuseries. It's really interesting. 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. HBOs Murder on Middle Beach, from first-time filmmaker Madison Hamburg, is a four-part documentary series that examines the life and death of his 48-year-old mother, Barbara Beach Hamburg. But as soon as I started asking questions I realized it was much bigger than that. She suffered for years from alcoholism, addiction and physical and mental health issues as well as a palpable jealousy towards Barbara and Barbara's daughter, Ali. 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. They've seen the documentary, we had family screenings before we even sent it out to press. Theyve done multiple cold case reviews. 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. "My parents told me that . Where homicides involved I think the interest is too great not to err on the side of not disclosing.. So many people had the opportunity, the motive, the means. Conway and Ali are the ones who discovered the body and Conway said Ali acted "strangely." Both Ali's father, Jeffrey, and Beach accuse Ali of hating her mother in the documentary, which Ali denies. It's like crack, I can't stop going through and analyzing and its incredibly rewarding. On March 3, 2010, Barbara Beach Hamburg, 48, was found murdered in the backyard of her Madison, Connecticut, home. Many ancient pipes in CT aren't up to the task of draining storm water, yet officials just seem to shrug. 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. But Murder on Middle Beach is not a normal documentary. And we ended up pitching to Lisa Heller, who was one of our last pitches at HBO and it was just incredibly emotional. Yeah, I can't get into details but I will say that after spending eight years just putting together fragments of memories about my mom or about the case or about a specific time period, the transparency and the accuracy of these facts that have been kept from me for so long has been extremely relieving. 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. 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. The theorists point out that Jeffrey had the most obvious motive while also having an alibi that was almost too perfect. 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. I cant. Schulz said the department had provided two boxes of information about the case, but that they were still missing key documents, including witness statements, notes, computer records and telephone records. We still don't know who killed Barbara Hamburg, but with the renewed attention paid to the case thanks to Murder on Middle Beach, we could one day find out. The department claims the case remains active and releasing the file could hinder a prospective prosecution or even result in witness intimidation. In addition to the Beach family, Hamburg makes several appearances in the series as well although he's never formally interviewed. But they're in a really good spot now. 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. as well as other partner offers and accept our. 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? Madisons mother, Barbara Beach Hamburg, before her 2010 murder. While waiting for the person to arrive, she grabs a drink at the lobby bar. I started the project in a documentary film class. When Barbara Hamburg was brutally bludgeoned to death outside her home on Middle Beach Road in Madison, Connecticut in 2010, her sister Conway Beach publicly mourned her loss. I was living in Austin at the time with my girlfriend and we both moved to New York and just gave up everything in our lives to facilitate me doing this. The 48-year-old mother of two lived on Middle Beach Road in Madison, Connecticut. After the Police Department appealed a commission order to the release the records, a trial court in August 2021 upheld the commissions decision. This allegation feelscircumstantial at best. 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