It's revealed in the "Murder on Middle Beach" epilogue that in October 2020, Madison was granted that case file and that he and his team had started reviewing it for additional information about the murder. Barbara's sister, Conway Beach, makes a number of accusations in the series accusing Ali of murdering her mother, believing she did so before going to school on that day. It would not be in the interest of our own investigation to release it any further, said Drumm. I'm also so close to this, and I've seen it a thousand times over the past eight years that I don't have perspective as to what is objectively good or bad. 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? We may earn a commission from these links. His second goal was to absolve his family members of the crime, which dovetails with the obvious goal of discovering who actually killed Barbara. [2] Allowing that type of information to come out may be more likely to help them solve the crime [rather] than keeping everything secret. 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. Klau reviewed the case and found in August that the police department cannot use the mere theoretical possibility of a future law enforcement action to keep the investigative files secret but conceded there is little precedent for how investigators or the FOIC should determine what constitutes such a future action. 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. Theyve done multiple cold case reviews. Like I really didn't want to create caricatures of my family members. 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. When her body was found by her sister and daughter it was covered with outdoor furniture cushions. Jeffrey appears in Murder on Middle Beach where he repeatedly refuses to talk about Barbara's murder and insists that his ex-wife had dark secrets that he can't discuss. 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. 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. Barbara Beach Hamburg, Madison's mother, was killed in 2010 in Madison, Connecticut. accessed ), memorial page for Barbara Beach Hamburg (29 Apr 1961-3 Mar 2010), Find a Grave Memorial ID . Yeah, I reached out to him before our promotions started because I wanted him to hear a fuller context from me instead of seeing it on television or as a commercial somewhere, but I didn't reach him. My college was really supportive of me, Savannah College of Art and Design. Im hoping that this comes through sooner than later so that the town can hopefully work with these two other agencies and not foot a tremendous legal bill, he added. Its something that really has to work its way through the court, he told CT Examiner. What if theres concerns about corruption or incompetence and now its five years, now its 10 years a reporter wants to know or a family member wants to know. 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. 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. Did she ever try to contact them again? He never forcefully denies killing Barbara in the series. Would you do it? 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. 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. 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. But it's been tough watching this go week to week and having breaks in between where people on the internet can react to my family. None of that is the selling point of a true crime series. Murder on Middle Beach is a four-part documentary by director Madison Hamburg about the unsolved 2010 murder of his mother Barbara Hamburg. I can't get into details, but it's been extremely illuminating. 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. According to David Schulz, a lawyer representing the plaintiff, the department was only withholding the information on the off chance that new information about the case should come to light, and that there really was not an ongoing investigation. 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. 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. Im not trying to suggest anything was done improperly here, but theres no way to know without seeing what they did. But they have had no new leads for years, he said. Then there's Conway Beach, Barbara's sister. So we took the 160 hours and made a sample that turned out to be like 14 minutes. Sadly, her life was taken on March 3, 2010 in Madison, Connecticut. We filmed a lot and the story just kept going and going, and my professor realized we weren't gonna finish this project. Niemeyer appealed the decision with the Freedom of Information Commission. The decision also said police failed to prove that, even if there was a prospective law enforcement action, disclosure of the requested records would be prejudicial to such action.. And as the docuseries comes to a close there are a growing number of theories about Barbara Hamburg's death. Seeking a way out of making those payments or seeing the inside of a jail cell could allegedly have been a motive for Jeffrey to kill Barbara. It's a sobering, overwhelming realization. That all falls out of your test, doesnt it?. 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. The series examined the Hamburg familys relationships in the wake of Barbaras death and focused on suspicions both the police and family had about her husband and Madisons father, Jeffrey Hamburg. Beach was also accused of threatening an anonymous member of the Gifting Tables by leaving dead animals in her yard. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Just doing that over and over. The matter now is in the hands of the Connecticut Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments Wednesday. It was then Beach and Ali who discovered Barbara's body. A hearing was held in February 2020, where Detective Christopher Sudock testified on behalf of the department that the release could jeopardize a prospective law enforcement action, such as a search or arrest warrant, but could not identify any specific actions investigators had planned. 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)? The case isnt closed. To this day, the case that shocked a wealthy, idyllic seaside town has remained unsolved. 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.. The fight over the records now heads to the Connecticut Appellate Court, while the long-cold investigation into the murder itself remains at a standstill even in the wake of the popular TV series. In past cases in which the exemption was upheld, police showed the commission they were interviewing witnesses, in the final stages of an investigation or working on it weekly, according to Harmon. On March 3, 2010, Barbara was found brutally murdered in the yard of their Connecticut home. DNA found at the scene of the crime also did not match his own. Lauren Kranc is the assistant content strategy editor at Esquire, where she runs the brands social media accounts and covers pop culture and television, with entirely too narrow an expertise on true crime shows, .css-gk9meg{display:block;font-family:Lausanne,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding-top:0.25rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-gk9meg:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.15;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}Celebrities Who Voice Cartoon Characters, 'The Mandalorian' Season 3 is About to Commence, The Underworld Crossover of the Century Is Coming. My whole family wasn't speaking to me.". How did she contact them? Madison Hamburg has been transparent in interviews about wanting to produce "a different take on true crime. 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. as well as other partner offers and accept our. Copyright 2023 Salon.com, LLC. 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. The documentary follows Madison as he investigates the shocking murder of his mother Barbara Beach Hamburg. "I can't get into details, but it's been extremely illuminating.". And, as Jeffrey alleged via a phone call to Madison, is there any evidence that the documents detailing his financial decisions had been fabricated? 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. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. That's essentially a thousand more opportunities to discover not just what happened to his mother, but to find another slash in the family tree. Judge Daniel Klau upheld the commissions decision that the files must be turned over in a ruling of his own last month, but last week the police department appealed that decision, too. 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. In the series, she denies killing Barbara while showing little to no remorse for her past crimes. 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. The courts justices challenged both Dugas and Harmon with questions. Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. They've seen the documentary, we had family screenings before we even sent it out to press. Barbara Beach Hamburg, Madison's mother, was killed in 2010 in Madison, Connecticut. Opening the file and turning the pages without acting on the file is not evidence the file is going to be used in a prospective law enforcement action, Harmon said. The first theory the documentary presents is that Barbara Hamburg was killed by her ex-husband, Jeffrey Hamburg. Ultimately, though, the sisters reconciled, but it was never the same. But one thing that surprised meI remember the first message I got after the release of episode one. In late December, Niemeyer filed another complaint with the FOIC over the missing records, and the department responded by appealing the commissions original order to release any of the documents in the first place. She remained in class until Conway picked her up. He also works to eliminate several of his family members as potential suspects in his mother's murder. Beach had also moved in with Barbara prior to the murder while she was recovering from brain surgery, and the documentary alleges that Barbara wanted her to move out. There's already inherent bias from my point of view. Who Is John Dutton's Grandfather in '1923'? 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. 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. Drumm told CT Examiner that the Police Department had gone through all the files relevant to the case. Years before she was murdered, Madison Hamburg 's mother Barbara Hamburg gave him a gift that would shape his life forever. I was most worried about Conway throughout this whole process and I think she's in a good spot. 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 . Initial buy-in was about $5,000 and, under leaders like Barbara, women would liquidate savings accounts or refinance their homes for a chance at entering the more lucrative circles of the group. HBO's latest four-part docuseries, 'Murder on Middle Beach' delves into the gruesome murder of Barbara Hamburg, a 48-year-old woman, who was found bludgeoned to death outside her home on Middle Beach Road. The documentary follows the murder of a Connecticut woman, Barbara Hamburg. Hamburg, for his part, said Beach Hamburg was behind on mortgage payments for their property. 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. What it did do, though, was bring light to the case and start a conversation around it. Here are the most notable suspects. Barbara's sister had a rocky relationship with her sibling. The show follows director Madison Hamburg as he investigates his mother's murder, and talks to his family members about how they were affected. ", "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. Barbara Alexandra Hamburg, who now goes by Ali, is the youngest member of the Hamburg family. I started the project in a documentary film class. 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. Zach Murdock can be reached at zmurdock@courant.com. She also suffered numerous stab wounds to her face, chest, and hands. Drumm said in the meeting that, along with the request from Madison Hamburg and Neimeyer, the department had received three other requests from media outlets from the other coast for the full case files. HBO's new docuseries "Murder on Middle Beach," directed by Madison Hamburg, focuses on the death of Hamburg's mother, Barbara. While their outing is filmed from a hotel window across the street from the bar, Madison prods his father on details about his marriage to Madisons late mother. 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. Evidence of a struggle was strewn across the lawn. Would you do anything different now that it's aired? The commission in August 2020 ordered Madison police to release all records responsive to the request except for signed witness statements. 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. 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. 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. It's a shocking twist and, just when viewers need things to be put into context, the details become murky. That's a question that I've asked myself a lot. 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? 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. But Murder on Middle Beach is not a normal documentary. Ever since then, Madison has been looking to uncover every clue and secret so as to solve her case. Beach claims to have been accused of being jealous of her sister's success, but denies it in the docuseries. HBO's '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. 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. 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. Every Theory About Barbara Hamburg's Murder Murder on Middle Beach calls a handful of suspects into question. Her body was discovered by Madison's aunt Conway and his sister, Ali; his father . It's something that I've been dealing with throughout this process since partnering with HBO last year, but the idea that this was going to be in the public eye and that these vulnerabilities that my family has trusted me with were going to be exposed didn't enter the equation until the stage was realized. Meghan Friedmann is a reporter with the New Haven Register, covering North Branford, Guilford and Madison. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. 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. The only way we can have oversight or accountability for law enforcement is to know what theyre doing.. I think the pendulum swung really hard in that direction when we started to really dig in in 2016 and I didn't really hold back with my family members, but once we partnered with HBO, that's when I started realizing that this could have adverse affects on my family. It was a huge learning process, balancing those two roles of family member and investigative documentarian. 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