#MURDER ON MIDDLE BEACH RD FULL#

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.īy the end of the series, the only suspect who has a truly rock-solid alibi is Ali, and a 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? Who called Barbara to tell her that her court time had been changed from 9:30 a.m. 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. 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. She remained in class until Conway picked her up. That said, in the final episode Ali's alibi is confirmed: her mother dropped her off at school the morning that she was killed. Conway and Ali are the ones who discovered the body and Conway said Ali acted 'strangely.' 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. This allegation feels circumstantial at best.

She's convinced, however, that she knows who the killer is: Ali, Madison's sister who was still in high school at the time. She blacks out and wakes up the next morning upstairs on a bed, naked and cashless.Ĭonway 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). While waiting for the person to arrive, she grabs a drink at the lobby bar. Conway remembers taking a bag of money to a Florida hotel to meet someone who presented themselves as a hitman. It's a shocking twist and, just when viewers need things to be put into context, the details become murky. 'I was so messed up, I didn't know what to do. 'My ulterior plan was to get all my money out of my 401(k) plan and get revenge against my baby sister, your mother, your father, and both of you, even Ali,' she told Madison. Due to Conway's addiction, she lost custody of her son to Barbara, after which Conway attempted to hire a hitman to kill Barbara because she 'snapped.' 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. Then there's Conway Beach, Barbara's sister. Jeffrey refuses to discuss the case or his marriage with Madison, except to point to Barabaara'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 documents in the final episodes that could potentially implicate him in unethical (and potentially illegal) business practices that made Barbara feel unsafe. The day Barbara was found killed, she and Jeffrey were actually due in court to discuss Jeffrey's claim that he could not afford his child support and alimony payments. Jeffrey, who was an exorbitantly wealthy former CEO of Southern Electric International, and Barbara had an incredibly acrimonious divorce. Madison's's father, Jeffrey Hamburg, was presented as a main person of interest throughout the series. 'We Keep the Dead Close' author Becky Cooper on the ritualistic murder that shocked Harvardįrom the jump, the suspect list was long. Related Articlesīill Murray is back as a lovable rascal in Sofia Coppola's poignantly charming 'On the Rocks' His second goal was to absolve his family members of the crime, which dovetails with the obvious goal of discovering who actually killed Barbara. The first is to further understand his mother as a person because, as he says early in the first episode, children rarely know who their parents actually are.

Over the course of the docuseries, which began as a student film when Madison was in college, Madison says that he has a few goals. The answer - much like some of the details presented in 'Murder on Middle Beach' - is complicated.

#MURDER ON MIDDLE BEACH RD FULL#

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? Do we need a case to be closed, or at least a prime suspect in view, to feel like a narrative arc was actually achieved before the final end credits?

Murder on middle beach rd