Barbara's daughter was a teenager in 2010, and was with Beach when Barbara's body was discovered. How did she contact them? The Madison Department of Police filed an appeal on September 2. 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. 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. 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? I started in 2013 really fresh and very amateur to documentary. "Murder on Middle Beach" is currently streaming on HBO Max. 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. Just doing that over and over. [2] By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. 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. Sadly, her life was taken on March 3, 2010 in Madison, Connecticut. 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. HBO's new true-crime docuseries "Murder on Middle Beach" premieres Sunday, November 15. Madison, now 29 years old, talked to Esquire before the finale of Murder on Middle Beach airs on HBO this Sunday. At the time of her death, Beach Hamburg had primary custody of Madison and Ali, while their father received visitation rights. 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? Drumm told CT Examiner that the Police Department had gone through all the files relevant to the case. How did you balance your craft and the desire to tell a captivating story from a film perspective with the personal elementworking with your own family members and telling your own painful story? 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. My whole family wasn't speaking to me.". Through interviews with and secret recordings of his immediate family and the police, Madison and his crew tell the story of Barbara Beach Hamburg's full life and tragic death. Barbara was said to be involved in "gifting. "I can't get into details, but it's been extremely illuminating.". 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 don't know. 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. ------------------------------------------, details presented in "Murder on Middle Beach", killed by someone she had crossed through her participation in "The Gifting Tables,", "The Jinx," the shocking 2015 HBO docuseries, "true criminal justice" documentaries and docuseries. Why did Jeffrey's financial dealings make Barbara feel like her family's safety had been compromised? He also said that he had new evidence on the case that he did not want to share. Alex Murdaugh Faces Life In Prison For Allegedly Killing His Wife & Son, Heres What Happened To Riley In 'The Last Of Us' Video Game, Twitter Is Losing It Over Succession Ending With Season 4, Everything To Know About 'And Just Like That' Season 2, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. "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." It's really interesting. HBO. 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. . Murder on Middle Beach is a four-part documentary by director Madison Hamburg about the unsolved 2010 murder of his mother Barbara Hamburg. Arguably the most popular theory on Reddit suggests that Jeffrey Hamburg hired someone to kill his ex-wife. "There have been corroborating leads, correcting things, things that we didn't know about," Hamburg told Esquire. 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. She blacks out and wakes up the next morning upstairs on a bed, naked and cashless. Sign up for notifications from Insider! There are no corroborating witnesses for this alibi, according to the doc. 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. Her body was discovered by Madison's aunt Conway and his sister, Ali. As the pyramid scheme required a $5,000 "gift" to join, the thinking goes that Barbara could have recruited someone to the tables who couldn't actually afford to make such a payment. She's convinced, however, that she knows who the killer is: Ali, Madison's sister who was still in high school at the time. The series makes other allegations relating to Beach and her sister's involvement in a pyramid scheme known as the Gifting Tables. In addition to the Beach family, Hamburg makes several appearances in the series as well although he's never formally interviewed. 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. As long as an investigation is active without any impediments to prosecution, Dugas argued, the exemption should apply. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Who called Barbara to tell her that her court time had been changed from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. the day of her murder (ostensibly making time for the crime to be committed)? Its something that really has to work its way through the court, he told CT Examiner. After the Police Department appealed a commission order to the release the records, a trial court in August 2021 upheld the commissions decision. Throughout these four episodes, Madison Hamburg, and us, learned the truth about the life Barbara Hamburg really lived - that she was a recovering alcoholic who, at the . 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. That was in 2016. You watched the last time I talked to my dad. But as soon as I started asking questions I realized it was much bigger than that. Retracing the path of controversial Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe includes many stops in Connecticut. Barbara's sister had a rocky relationship with her sibling. Drumm told commissioners that a number of agencies, including the Madison Police Department, had already released information about the case, and that releasing further evidence could compromise the ongoing investigation. The four-part series was released at the end of 2020. I think that when my mom died and I went to rehab and I decided to face a life without her, I made a decision that day that I was gonna live with as little regret as possible. Before joining the Register, she worked on an independent journalism project about migration in Berlin, Germany. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. In HBO's latest true crime docuseries, Murder on Middle Beach, director Madison Hamburg tries to uncover every clue in the unsolved murder of his mother, Barbara Hamburg . 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). 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. The case was then brought to trial in the Superior Court of New Britain, which last month upheld the Freedom of Information Commissions ruling. 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. But they have had no new leads for years, he said. "Thank God that HBO saw the potential and the rest is history.". 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. As her son, I want to know what was and wasnt done. The following year, Beach was present at another vigil, where she called her . 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. She's just such an amazing, beautiful human being and I think that really comes through. 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. But they're in a really good spot now. 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. It was a. In one example, Justice Steven Ecker asked Dugas about the competing interest of uncovering police corruption or incompetence. Its not a normal father-son catch-up scene. In 2016, he began to film a project reviewing the circumstances around his mothers death, interviewing family members and pursuing information from the Madison Police Department about its investigation. She welcomes feedback and story ideas from readers. When her body was found by her sister and daughter it was covered with outdoor furniture cushions. Every Theory About Barbara Hamburg's Murder Murder on Middle Beach calls a handful of suspects into question. Madison Hamburg has been transparent in interviews about wanting to produce "a different take on true crime. 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