On this day, Jan. 3, in 1990, the brother of Charles Stuart confessed to Boston police that he aided the robbery and murder of Stuart's pregnant wife, in a slaying that garnered headlines. The Oct. 23, 1989 shooting of Carol Stuart inflamed racial tensions because Charles Stuart claimed that he and his wife were shot by a black man. Police rounded up and strip-searched black men, and wrongfully arrested an ex-con after Stuart picked him out in a lineup. Stuart's brother, Matthew, went to police and said he helped his brother in what he thought was an insurance scam. After Stuart shot his wife and himself, Matthew ran off with a bag containing a wallet and jewelry -- and found it also had the murder weapon.

After the confession, Charles Stuart jumped to his death in the Mystic River.

Scott McCabe