The small white madonna is still nestled outside the brown-shingled duplex where Carol DiMaiti Stuart grew up and where her parents and aunt still live. But six months after her slaying, no one answers the door. The same is true a few miles away on Lowe Street in Revere, where the parents of Charles Stuart have maintained a silence about the horrifying crime that riveted the nation. Boston police, citing an ongoing grand jury investigation, have remained almost as closemouthed as the families. The case that took a shocking twist Jan. 4, when Charles Stuart apparently jumped to his death from the Tobin Bridge, remains a mystery. ``There are a hell of a lot more holes in this story than solid information,'' said Ken Englade, an Albuquerque, N.M.-based writer whose paperback, `Murder in Boston,' is due in bookstores at the end of the month. ``It doesn't help that nobody is talking.'' Englade said he was frustrated by the refusal of Boston police and Suffolk County District Attorney Newman Flanagan to disclose information about the case. They also have withheld medical reports. More baffling is the prosecutor's refusal to release tapes of the lineup where Charles Stuart allegedly identified William Bennett as his assailant. And even though life insurance money was thought to be Stuart's motive, only $280,000 in life insurance money was apparently taken out on his wife's life. The two $100,000 policies purchased by Stuart were ``barely enough to cover the mortgage on their house,'' Englade said. Carol Stuart was insured for $80,000 through her work. Based on his research, Englade said he is not convinced Stuart actually killed his wife or even if he jumped off the bridge voluntarily. He cited numerous contradictions in the case _ even in the hours before Stuart's apparent suicide when he left instructions with a hotel clerk to rouse him at 4:30 a.m. ``Who leaves a wake-up call to commit suicide?'' Englade asserted. The only person associated with the tragedy who is willing to talk is Carol's 37-year-old brother, Carl DiMaiti, a former high school teacher who has taken over the family's pizza dough business. He heads the scholarship foundation established in Carol's name for residents in Boston's Mission Hill district where she was shot. So far, the foundation has received more than $340,000. This week found him in a familiar setting: accepting a donation for the foundation at an inner city outreach center. He is usually accompanied by two public relations agent who monitor his remarks. DiMaiti said Thursday his family's ordeal has been eased considerably by their work with the foundation. ``I'm amazed that people have gone out of their way and responded like this,'' he said. ``It shows the deep well of goodness in people. It's been a very difficult time for us. This has especially helped my mother and father through a very tough time.'' Their ordeal began the night of Oct. 23 when Boston police received a frantic call over a car phone from Stuart. He said he and his wife had been shot by a black gunman who robbed them shortly after they left a childbirth class at a hospital in Mission Hill. Carol Stuart, a 30-year-old tax attorney who was seven months pregnant, was shot in the head. She died a few hours later after her son, Christopher, was prematurely delivered. The baby died 17 days later. Stuart, 30-year-old manager of a fur store, was shot in the stomach and remained hospitalized until December. His body was recovered from the waters of Boston Harbor the day after his younger brother, Matthew, told police he had been enlisted by Charles to aid in the crime. Since then, a grand jury has met seven times to hear testimony in the case, according to Dave Rodman, spokesman for the district attorney's office. Stuart's siblings and his mother have appeared before the grand jury. Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said several witnesses are still scheduled to testify. The families have picked up the pieces of their lives in various ways. Carol's mother, Evelyn DiMaiti, 58, has returned to her job in a state office. Mrs. DiMaiti's husband, Giusto, 64, is retired but can often be found at the family bakery in nearby Chelsea. Charles Stuart Sr., who suffers from Parkinson's disease, and his wife, Dorothy, remain in seclusion at the home they share with sons, Matthew and Mark. Matthew reportedly still holds his job as a mixer at a paint factory and is a familiar figure on the streets of Revere in his stone-washed jeans and leather jacket. In addition to the soon-to-be published paperback, at least two hardback books and a CBS television movie are planned. Paul Corkery, a freelance writer and former editor of Boston Magazine, has rented an apartment in Revere to work on his book for Simon and Schuster. He said he has 50,000 words of notes, culled mostly from interviews with friends and relatives outside the two families. ``It's not a typical whodunit,'' said Corkery. ``It's the story of a hero who turned out to be the villain.''
