CT CT - Barbara Hamburg, 48, Madison, 3 Mar 2010

[8th Bob-White]

I wonder what Ali remembers about the time of the court hearing. In Conway's statement she said Barbara was to be at court at 2pm. Since Ali was texting/calling in the morning did she think that her mom could pick her up before she had to leave for court?

 

[JLy]

I think Barbara told the ex that she was going to the police with all the information she had about the money laundering and that was the motive for the killing?

 

[sunshineray]

After watching the last episode, I'd have to say Barbara's husband is now fully at the top of my list of suspects. One thing in particular, when Madison was talking to his father about the confusing financial papers he found, his father's voice changed drastically. It sounded like a Jekyll and Hyde thing, very scary. AJMO

Another thing that bothers me is wouldn't a person's lawyer let them know if their court date time was changed? If by chance, like Madison was speculating, someone called impersonating a court official changing the court time, wouldn't Barbara call her lawyer and say what the heck is going on? Unless it was her husband that called?

I hope with the release of investigative records Madison and the rest of Barbara Hamburg's family can finally get answers. and a way forward to prosecuting her killer.

 

[Baba O'Riley]

Another thing that bothers me is wouldn't a person's lawyer let them know if their court date time was changed? If by chance, like Madison was speculating, someone called impersonating a court official changing the court time, wouldn't Barbara call her lawyer and say what the heck is going on? Unless it was her husband that called?

My thoughts exactly. I wonder why Madison didn't address this in the doc.

 

[JLy]

The documentary did not give a time line of that morning. Did the ex have enough time to kill her and then run to the court house? or did he use the court house has an alibi while he told the hit man she'll be home in the morning. I thought the documentary was going to give more details. But for sure the ex is number one suspect.
did anyone noticed how defensive the father was ? right away he would turn the attention away from him and blame Barbara like she was the one with the problem NOT him.
The father denied anything to do with the papers with his signature on it. I think he's a liar and a con man. i think the police dept is acting like they are on top of it but they are not.
Conway is so jealous of Ali, when she said that she thought that there was something wrong with Ali because she wanted to be close to Barbara when Ali was a child. Conway was disappointed when she found out that Ali was at school when Barbara was killed.

 

[NMurphy02]

I found it a little weird that the father went from "she was the love of my life" to "she was nuts and you should see the things she did" Very convenient that he was in court that day and had witnesses, and she was called & told court was moved to 2 pm. I honestly think this was a hired killing. Conway must feel horrible for all the things she said about Ali to have it proven that what she said was true. I kept yelling, you'd better pick up that phone and apologize. I need to know what was in those documents. But is it me? 1600 pages of documents didn't seem like that many for a murder that happened 10 yrs ago and supposedly had a few different cold case units look at it. I'd be furious if this was my mom. I get why Madison was doing this documentary. What a bunch of hooey. Oh we just interviewed someone last week. Sure you did....

 

[Trouble1321075]

Husband either was the killer or hired the killer. LE admitted the prime suspects phone was off for 24 hours which rules out the daughter, Ali and the sister, Conway as they were texting back and forth right before they arrived at the crime scene. LE says DNA evidence points to the prime suspect, likely husbands DNA but since he is a family member they need more proof, his DNA isn’t enough. Husband methodically planned killing, may be accomplices involved. Husbands secret life in the Middle East, shady dealings with money laundering and organized crime are a factor, he may have had experience and understanding of how to plan a murder. Tough case to solve but no other logical suspects remain, crime scene not indicative of a robbery, stranger or intruder type murder.

How do you explain the timeline?
He would of had to bludgened her to death, drug the body to the side of the house, covered the body with cushions from the other side of the house, drug the pallet to the front yard, cleaned himself up enough to not be noticed in court, change clothes, and make it to court, all of this in about 30 min window.
Even if the courthouse is only 1 minute away it seems like an impossible time window to make.

 

[Trouble1321075]

Good suggestion about turning the case over to the CT AG.

In the hearing re the FOIA - about releasing the records, when Madison said he had taped the conversations with the detective in his meetings... the look on the detectives face was priceless. If you have nothing to hide, you do not mind being taped - and he clearly minded.

I am struggling with the ski masked guy walking by the window the day before the murder. Barbara was there in the house with her friend - it is daylight - the ski masked person walks by the window and they just continued their conversation ? They do not become startled and look outside, call 911 or try to at least get a picture of the person ? Cellphones had cameras then ! No curiousity ? Why not?

Could it have been a golfer who shanked a ball into her yard from the course? Even a golf course maintenance guy? The oil delivery man etc?
A person out for a walk who decided to explore ? Someone who sepent alot of time outdoors who kept covered due to past skin cancer? Or something more nefarious? I am interested to see the police files on this. Very possible he was the hitman and donned the face mask when he got to her property but we just don't know.
If a hit was put on Barbara by her husband, I hope we are about to see that blown open, between Madison's records, along with the info in the police records they should have something.
If not the husband, I still think Conway may have played a part. She has clearly not moved on, very much seems to struggle with her sobriety and has demons that may come from harboring a dark secret, all the while playing the devoted sister ( who once tried to hire a hitman to kill her sister) .
All just MOO of course -
I cannot wait to see the police files if we ever get access.
Also I had trouble hearing the 911 call - anybody have a transcript from that?

I have not ruled out it being someone who got in over their head with those gift tables. From the description of the attack it sounds like there was a lot of anger behind it.

 

[UnderWhelmed405]

Couple things & forgive me if I am mistaken, but JH mentioned he used his phone while at the courthouse waiting on BH.

That being said, the police in the recorded interview with MH (if they were in fact being 100% forthcoming) said that the POI turned their phone off for 24hrs immediately before/after the murder.

Also, the police mentioned that the DNA under BH's fingernails (if I heard him right) was of Hamburg lineage or something to that effect?

 

[nancyblue]

My “HOLY COW” was at the financial stuff Madison was going thru that his Aunt Conway had found. Lots to take in. I’m now wondering more about his dad

I have watched the series multiple times now, and I am beginning to think it was Jeff Hamburg and Aunt Conway.

Conway is sitting on boxes of proof of Jeff's international financial crimes. These documents are motive for murder, yet she never mentions Jeffrey as a suspect.

Jeffrey knows Conway hired a hitman once before. He was married to Barbara at the time that Conway was spiraling into addiction and threatening revenge on her sister. YEt he never mentions Conway as a suspect.

Barb asked Conway to move out of her house. Conway had no job, no money, and was recovering from surgery. It would have been terrifying to strike out on her own. Jeffrey had the means to manipulate Conway into helping him commit/conceal the murder.

Jeff makes an appearance in court at 9:30 a.m. to establish an alibi. Barb's attorney, Richard Callahan, says Jeff and his lawyer waited for Barb, and when she failed to show, they "left immediately."

We have no alibi for Jeff Hamburg between 9:45 a.m. and 11:25 when Conway made the 911 call.

We also have alibi for Conway Beach between 9:30 a.m. and 10:50 a.m., when she picked up Ali Hamburg from school.

Conway and Jeffrey, when they are backed into a corner, both throw the suspicion onto Ali, painting her a rage filled, mentally unstable teen. Ali was 16 at the time of Barb's murder, and while she was a troubled teen (makes sense with the divorce and Barb's alcoholism) she has a solid alibi, being at school from 7:45 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.

I think one of the following scenarios happened;

-Jeff needed Conway's help to mislead Barb into thinking court was scheduled for 2 pm, creating the window of opportunity for murder

- either Jeff murdered Barb with Conway's help,

-Conway murdered Barb while Jeff was in court,

-or Jeff and Conway murdered Barb (Conway with hammer, Jeff with knife) and they concealed the crime together, throwing suspicion onto Ali (Ali lives in Argentina at this point. Argentina is a tough place to be extradited from, so even if they throw suspicion onto Ali, they know she won't be arrested)

Barb dies. Jeff gets to keep his money, his freedom, access to his kids, and his financial crimes from ever coming to light. Conway gets revenge on the sister who took her son from her. She also gets the money she needs to rent a place and live independently. If it's the cash Jeff has been hiding from the courts, there's no trace.

What do we think?

I'd love to see security footage from the Golf Course. Either Jeff or Conway parked there and walked through the golf course, down Cherry Lane, onto the back of Barb's property.

 

[nancyblue]

How do you explain the timeline?
He would of had to bludgened her to death, drug the body to the side of the house, covered the body with cushions from the other side of the house, drug the pallet to the front yard, cleaned himself up enough to not be noticed in court, change clothes, and make it to court, all of this in about 30 min window.
Even if the courthouse is only 1 minute away it seems like an impossible time window to make.

What if Jeff made it to court at 9:30 a.m. to establish his alibi, "left immediately" (in the words of Barb's attorney,) when Barb didn't show, and THEN committed the murder?

If Jeff's whereabouts are unknown from 10 am to 11:25 a.m.––when Conway discovered Barb's body and the 911 call was placed––he would've had ample time to commit the murder, conceal the body, and flee the scene.

 

[Manwel]

After watching the last episode, I'd have to say Barbara's husband is now fully at the top of my list of suspects. One thing in particular, when Madison was talking to his father about the confusing financial papers he found, his father's voice changed drastically. It sounded like a Jekyll and Hyde thing, very scary. AJMO

Another thing that bothers me is wouldn't a person's lawyer let them know if their court date time was changed? If by chance, like Madison was speculating, someone called impersonating a court official changing the court time, wouldn't Barbara call her lawyer and say what the heck is going on? Unless it was her husband that called?

I hope with the release of investigative records Madison and the rest of Barbara Hamburg's family can finally get answers. and a way forward to prosecuting her killer.

I think in the moment Madison wasn't as aware of the switch, but I bet editing this episode together was hard when you have to listen to that sequence a few times over. It's very significant. I thought the same, I was actually quite concerned for him for a minute. The fact that the aunt got out of the car immediately was pretty telling, too. She knew she was in stormy weather and didn't want to be there. Madison handled it very well because he didn't push and get accusative, he just kind of played dumb and sad, and that worked to his benefit. I wonder if he had been more aggressive with his father if his father would have been angrier or gotten worse?

But his dad's frustration, tones of annoyance and irritation, and then the way he viciously trashed his ex-wife while in the same breath saying he really loved her but oh god what a drunk and trashy person? There was so much anger in what he had to say about his ex-wife. The way he didn't want to pay child support or share his money with her or the kids speaks volumes about how he doesn't think they deserve it or have "earned" it. Refusing to pay child support was like a way of punishing his ex. Anyone who wants to "punish" someone like that is only a few steps away from physical abuse, if you ask me.

Having watched all the episodes, I feel bad for having ever thought the sister had anything to do with it. It was evident in her time in Argentina that she really did just escape the whole family and went looking for something totally new. Her tics and attitude in her speech and the way she seemed very stiff and cold during her visit to Connecticut told me she's very defensive, protects herself emotionally, and is very careful with people; it also told me that she felt like a stranger, even around her brother. And that's fair.

When Ali talked about therapy and then talked extensively about needing to find a home, I fully understood that. It was really heartbreaking that this aunt has been harboring such cruel thoughts about her niece this whole time. Especially because the episode indicated that Ali continued to live with and be taken care of by Conway as her guardian after her mother's death until she was old enough to leave. With a bad relationship with her father who maybe is a murderer, with a dead mother, with an aunt in jail, with an addict brother who just went away from the situation, too, and stuck with an aunt who was an addict and suffering from her own mental health problems, I'm not the least bit surprised Ali told everyone bye. I'm really glad she actually found some peace in her life. She seems to be doing quite well.

As for Conway, I think the fourth episode attempted to absolve her by painting her as a total wreck; not a murderer, just a mess. But it's also fascinating that she had all the access to her sister's stuff—in a storage facility in Florida? So much of this case revolves around Conway and what she knows, and what she had access to pointed back at the father again.

Finally, as to the DNA, I've encountered people on Twitter who think the prime suspect is Madison himself because of the cigarette butt found at the scene. My understanding is that he was away in GEORGIA for school when he was called. No one can confirm he was still local when his friends were called by Ali. The fact that his phone was off the whole time makes people think that's what the cops were pointing at when they said their suspect's phone was off. But that's also the father, too. What I think Madison is going to find from that FOIA is that the cops originally had DNA evidence that they somehow lost or ruined that can't be used anymore in court. So if they ever had a case against the father, they can't prosecute it now.

 

[Manwel]

What if Jeff made it to court at 9:30 a.m. to establish his alibi, "left immediately" (in the words of Barb's attorney,) when Barb didn't show, and THEN committed the murder?

If Jeff's whereabouts are unknown from 10 am to 11:25 a.m.––when Conway discovered Barb's body and the 911 call was placed––he would've had ample time to commit the murder, conceal the body, and flee the scene.

It doesn't line up with the time Barb had a coffee cup in hand and dropped Ali off at school. Ali says they got coffee before school. Barb was in pajamas. Barb had that cup at 8 am in her car after signing Ali in at 7:50. She's in pajamas so she's not likely to go anywhere else. She goes directly home. The coffee cup was found outside her house after the attack. It's presumed that she was attached on her way into the house. That says it happened before 8:30 am. Otherwise too much time would have passed to make it unbelievable that the coffee cup would still be outside. Especially with pajamas, it negates the victim's ability to add more time to the morning before the attack. My guess is 8:30 am or even sooner depending on how fast you can drive from the high school to her house. If it was a matter of 10 minutes? Could have been 8:10 am. But, here's a point in favor of JH: Is 50 minutes enough time to blitz-attack someone, clean up, and get to court in a suit by 9?

 

[nancyblue]

Here is the 911 call, made by Conway Beach at 11:25 a.m. on March 3, 2010

C 911 - 44 Middle Beach W 3 - 3-10 11 - 24 - 36 (mp3cut.net)

Something feels off about this call. It reminds me a bit of the Patsy Ramsey call from the JonBenet case...

 

[isabella88]

Long time away from the site but I finished the doc this evening. Devastating to watch Jeffrey plead the fifth to his own son. I don't believe there is any way that Ali had anything to do with it. As messed up as Conway is, I am still more suspicious of Jeffrey than I am of Conway. She strikes me as someone who loves the spotlight. In a family of six kids, I'll bet she was starved for it. She acted out to get attention but got it in a negative way. The death of her sister is no different. JMO.

 

[isabella88]

Here is the 911 call, made by Conway Beach at 11:25 a.m. on March 3, 2010

C 911 - 44 Middle Beach W 3 - 3-10 11 - 24 - 36 (mp3cut.net)

Something feels off about this call. It reminds me a bit of the Patsy Ramsey call from the JonBenet case...

I want to hear the entire call. It was over 5 minutes?

 

[isabella88]

I watched the first two episodes of the docu by her son. I then read quite a few news articles about the case. With ten yrs gone by, this will be a very difficult one to solve. The positioning of her house so far off the street with her back yard seeming to abut the golf course - easy to just walk in and out - and maybe even drive in and out in March with
just the off season population around.

IMO -Most likely suspects in my mind so far ?

The husband paid someone to kill her. ESP since he will not talk about the murder with his son and is so disconnected from the kids since the divorce. He knew the house and property. And seemingly loads of motive. Follow the money.

The other suspect in my mind IMO is the sister Conway - more of a gut feeling than anything else. Although lots of potential motive percolating in my head but not enough info yet.

If someone scary was approaching I would have expected signs of a fight by the door with the keys still in the door.

If Conway drove up, or someone she knew, she may have just left the keys and gone to greet them.

Just not enough info. She may have left the keys in the store on her way in to quickly grab something and then head out again for court and when she was running out ran into the big scary murderer.

I know the reports say blunt force trauma to head and torso and I think stab wounds too but do we know where exactly the blows and stabbings were actually inflicted - if head, top front or back ? Facial stab wounds? Torso - front or back ? Anybody know? Maybe I missed it or it will be known in the next episodes. Feels important to me.

IMO, this was a crime of passion. Up close, personal, body covered up. So no hitman, as they would execute, not personal. That leaves Jeff and Conway as far as I'm concerned. Not Ali, troubled teen but no murderer who could drag 160 lbs of dead weight in broad daylight without being seen or covered in blood.

If you follow the money, which I agree is wise, then it's more likely Jeff. Barb knew a lot about his financial crimes. Conway didn't seem to have a pot to pee in. IMO, she likes the spotlight and is strangely proud of her extremely troubled past. I feel like the doc is just another way to get attention, this time nationally. She doesn't care if it's positive or negative attention. But Jeff sure seems to. JMO.

 

[isabella88]

I wonder what Ali remembers about the time of the court hearing. In Conway's statement she said Barbara was to be at court at 2pm. Since Ali was texting/calling in the morning did she think that her mom could pick her up before she had to leave for court?

If Barb's relationship with Ali was as fragile as portrayed on the doc, I don't believe Ali would have necessarily known about the time of the court hearing, especially given that it was a strange hearing time. JMO

 

[isabella88]

It doesn't line up with the time Barb had a coffee cup in hand and dropped Ali off at school. Ali says they got coffee before school. Barb was in pajamas. Barb had that cup at 8 am in her car after signing Ali in at 7:50. She's in pajamas so she's not likely to go anywhere else. She goes directly home. The coffee cup was found outside her house after the attack. It's presumed that she was attached on her way into the house. That says it happened before 8:30 am. Otherwise too much time would have passed to make it unbelievable that the coffee cup would still be outside. Especially with pajamas, it negates the victim's ability to add more time to the morning before the attack. My guess is 8:30 am or even sooner depending on how fast you can drive from the high school to her house. If it was a matter of 10 minutes? Could have been 8:10 am. But, here's a point in favor of JH: Is 50 minutes enough time to blitz-attack someone, clean up, and get to court in a suit by 9?

Do we know if Barb smoked cigarettes? Could explain the cup being outside if she brought it out to smoke and forgot it. Only so many hands and all ...

 

[isabella88]

I think in the moment Madison wasn't as aware of the switch, but I bet editing this episode together was hard when you have to listen to that sequence a few times over. It's very significant. I thought the same, I was actually quite concerned for him for a minute. The fact that the aunt got out of the car immediately was pretty telling, too. She knew she was in stormy weather and didn't want to be there. Madison handled it very well because he didn't push and get accusative, he just kind of played dumb and sad, and that worked to his benefit. I wonder if he had been more aggressive with his father if his father would have been angrier or gotten worse?

But his dad's frustration, tones of annoyance and irritation, and then the way he viciously trashed his ex-wife while in the same breath saying he really loved her but oh god what a drunk and trashy person? There was so much anger in what he had to say about his ex-wife. The way he didn't want to pay child support or share his money with her or the kids speaks volumes about how he doesn't think they deserve it or have "earned" it. Refusing to pay child support was like a way of punishing his ex. Anyone who wants to "punish" someone like that is only a few steps away from physical abuse, if you ask me.

Having watched all the episodes, I feel bad for having ever thought the sister had anything to do with it. It was evident in her time in Argentina that she really did just escape the whole family and went looking for something totally new. Her tics and attitude in her speech and the way she seemed very stiff and cold during her visit to Connecticut told me she's very defensive, protects herself emotionally, and is very careful with people; it also told me that she felt like a stranger, even around her brother. And that's fair.

When Ali talked about therapy and then talked extensively about needing to find a home, I fully understood that. It was really heartbreaking that this aunt has been harboring such cruel thoughts about her niece this whole time. Especially because the episode indicated that Ali continued to live with and be taken care of by Conway as her guardian after her mother's death until she was old enough to leave. With a bad relationship with her father who maybe is a murderer, with a dead mother, with an aunt in jail, with an addict brother who just went away from the situation, too, and stuck with an aunt who was an addict and suffering from her own mental health problems, I'm not the least bit surprised Ali told everyone bye. I'm really glad she actually found some peace in her life. She seems to be doing quite well.

As for Conway, I think the fourth episode attempted to absolve her by painting her as a total wreck; not a murderer, just a mess. But it's also fascinating that she had all the access to her sister's stuff—in a storage facility in Florida? So much of this case revolves around Conway and what she knows, and what she had access to pointed back at the father again.

Finally, as to the DNA, I've encountered people on Twitter who think the prime suspect is Madison himself because of the cigarette butt found at the scene. My understanding is that he was away in GEORGIA for school when he was called. No one can confirm he was still local when his friends were called by Ali. The fact that his phone was off the whole time makes people think that's what the cops were pointing at when they said their suspect's phone was off. But that's also the father, too. What I think Madison is going to find from that FOIA is that the cops originally had DNA evidence that they somehow lost or ruined that can't be used anymore in court. So if they ever had a case against the father, they can't prosecute it now.

Madison is a mostly affluent town in which the local cops spend most of their time busting kids drinking and doing drugs. It would be interesting to know if any of the family members were popped by the cops, considering the alcohol and drug use that seemed to run rampant in the family.

I don't necessarily buy that the cops had iron-clad DNA evidence either. It's legal for them to lie to or mislead anyone during an investigation. Sad to me that the FBI didn't get more involved, especially considering the paperwork that shows a possible money trail leading to Jeffrey that could have inspired him to get rid of Barb.