EXCLUSIVE: A stately home at 1435 S. Fourth St. in Louisville, KY contains eight bedrooms, seven bathrooms, 8,000 square feet of living space – and one very grim secret.
In 2010, police discovered a body in the wine cellar, crammed into a hole. A gay couple living in the mansion blamed each other for the gruesome slaying.
That shocking crime is at the center of Murder in Glitterball City, a two-part documentary that premieres on HBO on February 19. It’s from directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (HBO’s Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures and The Eyes of Tammy Faye), founders of World of Wonder Productions, the company behind RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Watch the exclusive trailer above.
‘Murder in Glitterball City’
World of Wonder Productions/Courtesy HBO
“The city of Louisville, Kentucky is known for the beauty of its historic Victorian architecture and birthplace of the mirrored glitterball,” notes a synopsis of the documentary. “It also has a reputation for being one of America’s most haunted neighborhoods and is the backdrop for a dark tale of murder, lies, and deceit. With a uniquely colorful cast of local residents as tour guides, the two-part documentary explores the shifting landscape of a grisly murder, the toxic relationship of two ex-lovers, a vulnerable victim, and the unreliable accounts of flawed individuals on trial for their lives.”
The synopsis continues, “Inspired by the non-fiction book A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Dominé, the film chronicles a 2010 murder case that starts with a 911 phone call that leads police to the gruesome discovery of a body buried in the basement of a Victorian mansion. As two men face police interrogators, a story emerges of twisted liaisons. Each partner points an accusatory finger at the other and their respective accounts brim with glaring inconsistencies and false allegations. As two separate murder trials unfold, key pieces of video evidence emerge, subverting expectations about suspects Joey Banis and Jeffrey Mundt.”
Joey Banis (right) and Jeffrey Mundt in front of their Christmas tree months after the murder of Jamie Carroll.
World of Wonder Productions/Courtesy HBO
According to a release, the story is told through the lens of the community, “as friends, neighbors, police, attorneys join the author of the book in sharing their perspectives.”
In a statement, Bailey and Barbato tell Deadline, “In piecing together this story, we explored Louisville’s haunted history and unique community, and realized that every murder is a ghost story, haunting the present in so many ways.”
Randy Barbato (left) and Fenton Bailey, World of Wonder founders
Sheffield DocFest
Part 1 of the documentary premieres on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on HBO, followed immediately by part 2. Both parts will be available to stream on HBO Max.
HBO Documentary Films presents Murder in Glitterball City, a World of Wonder Production. Directed and produced by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato and produced by Mona Card. Johanna Gavard and Francy Kachler edited the documentary; cinematography is by Huy Truong, with music by David Benjamin Steinberg. For HBO, executive producers are Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez.
Watch the trailer for Murder in Glitterball City above.
