Repeatedly emphasizing the case had occurred over nine years ago, and that, in the intervening years, "Jeff" had done his utmost to rebuild his life while "others" would not allow him to forget his painful past, their client had now been brought to trial to face the charges of murdering his wife and children, Smith emphasized to the jurors their ability to relieve their client of his ongoing ordeal by acquitting him of all charges. [13][n 14] Both he and Colette's mother, Mildred, had testified in support of MacDonald during the Army's Article 32 hearing,[113] informing the press: "My wife and I feel very strongly about Captain MacDonald's innocence. [142], One of the chief prosecution witnesses to testify was Paul Stombaugh, whom the prosecution summoned to testify on August 7. Hurry!" Prosecutor Cited Total Lack of Evidence on Motive. [171], MacDonald again appealed this decision, contending his conviction should be overturned due to suppressed exculpatory evidence. His parole request was immediately denied. The denial of these two motions was based on jurisdictional issues, specifically that MacDonald had not obtained the required pre-filing authorization from the Circuit Court for these motions to the district court. MacDonald, who maintains his innocence, has appealed and sought a retrial several times. Standing over him were three men and a blonde with long hair and a white, floppy hat holding a candle. Murder trial of Marine Raider in death of Army Green Beret begins Monday Gunnery Sgt. Rock also noted the fact that if no wet footprints and mud were found at the crime scene belonging to the alleged intruders, that meant the crime scene investigators had also failed to find any evidence of the large numbers of military police and civilians who also walked around the house. Stoeckley's mother's statements concerning her daughter are at odds with the details contained in her 1971 affidavit, in which she states her daughter had initially been adamant of her innocence in the murders, and of her concerns her daughter was being "railroaded" by MacDonald's defense attorneys. [206][n 31], Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen MacDonald were laid to rest side by side in Washington Memorial Park, Suffolk County, Long Island, on February 23, 1970. [103], In December, MacDonald received an honorable discharge from the Army and initially returned to New York City, where he briefly worked as a doctor before relocating to Long Beach, California in July 1971[33][104] in an effort to "put the past" behind him and to distance himself from the "constant reminders" of his wife and daughters. Blackburn typically began each question with a statement to the effect of: "Dr. MacDonald. After graduating from Princeton University, MacDonald attended medical school, then pursued a military career. His remaining points of appealincluding his contention the evidence presented at trial did not justify the finding of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubtwere heard on June 9, 1982, although his conviction was unanimously affirmed on August 16. In the month prior to the murders, MacDonald is known to have lost twelve. Five forty-four Castle Drive! Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. As military personnel approached, he whispered: "Check my kids! [148], Following Thornton's testimony, prosecutors Murtagh and Blackburn staged an impromptu re-enactment of the alleged attack on MacDonald. ET on Investigation Discovery. A further appeal was argued before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in February 1992. [55][n 5] MacDonald later claimed to have never seen these items before. I'm gonna kill those goddamned acid heads! [123] The following month, Justice Department attorney Victor Woerheide ruled the case worthy of prosecution. Mario Madera-Rodriguez begins what is scheduled to be a three-week trial at [218], Gregory Mitchell, whom Helena Stoeckley accused of murdering Colette MacDonald, died of cirrhosis of the liver on June 2, 1982, at the age of 31. MacDonald claimed that on that 1970 night, four intruders killed his wife, Colette, 26, and daughters Kimberley, 5, and Kristen, 2. He was disbarred and served three-and-a-half months in jail. After the Army charged MacDonald with the murders in May 1970, it held a six-week long Article 32 hearing (similar to a civilian preliminary hearing) with more than 70 witnesses. Whittington-Egan, Richard; Whittington-Egan, Molly. Prosecutors and appellate courts have pointed to strong physical evidence attesting to his guilt. He was first offered the chance to recount his version of events, and recounted his claims of being attacked by four intruders, with whom he grappled before falling to the ground, observing "the top of some boots" and being rendered unconscious before regaining consciousness, experiencing symptoms of pneumothorax, in the hallway after the intruders had left. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump has intervened in three high-profile murder cases involving U.S. service members, dismissing charges against a Green Beret However, her husband's steadfast determination to see MacDonald brought to justice compelled her to assist him in his quest for justice, and she consented to submit to radiation therapy. "[156], The following day, Bernard Segal and Wade Smith delivered their closing arguments on behalf of the defense. [33] He also became an instructor at the UCLA medical school, a medical director of the Long Beach Grand Prix, a lecturer on the subject of the recognition and treatment of child abuse, and a participant in the development of a national cardiopulmonary resuscitation training program. [1][151], Under oath, Stoeckley denied any culpability in murders, and any knowledge of who may have committed the acts. The grisly nature of the case and Manson-like details, as well as the length of litigation surrounding it, seem to have generated an almost mythical status around the case, says Dixon, a University of North Carolina School of Government defender educator, who has blogged about the murders. This ruling also stated that Helena Stoeckley's confessions of guilt pertaining to the murders were unreliable and conflicted with the established facts of the case, and accordingly, the judge's ruling against her being allowed to testify at MacDonald's 1979 trial was valid. MacDonald realized he was at a point of no return and needed to eliminate any witnesses, attorneys said. [158][n 25], Following a brief recess, Smith appealed to the jurors to question the lack of an obvious motive for MacDonald to have committed the murders. This hearing lasted until September. [97] Stombaugh contended that, in order for the holes to have been as smooth and devoid of fraying or tearing, the garment would have had to remain stationary, an extremely unlikely occurrence if, as MacDonald contended, he had wrapped it around his hands to defend himself from blows from an attacker wielding an ice pick or club. [126] A reporter who had covered the Article 32 hearing and who interviewed MacDonald after the charges were dropped also stated that, in his experience, individuals under the influence of LSD seldom become violent and that, by contrast, those who consume amphetamines frequently do. He referenced the family photographs of MacDonald enjoying the company of his wife and children in the years, and even weeks, before their deaths, stating: "It makes no sense. All Rights Reserved. [180], In September 2012, the district court conducted a formal evidentiary hearing regarding DNA evidence and statements relating to key witnesses who offered testimony indicating MacDonald's innocence. [75], Investigators were unconvinced of MacDonald's accounts. She lay on her left side. A single fragment of skin was recovered from beneath one of Colette's fingernails, although this evidence was later lost. The panel of this court ordered the indictment dismissed on the grounds of a defendant's right to a speedy trial on January 23, 1976. Blackburn and Murtagh agreed to forfeit 10 minutes of their allocated rebuttal time to allow Smith to make an argument to the jury. Prosecutors speculated MacDonalds rampage followed an argument with Colette that spiraled. Colettes stepfather, Freddy Kassab, was at first a staunch supporter of MacDonald, but then became convinced of MacDonalds guilt and crusaded for the case to be reopened. [184], In April 2021, MacDonald was denied a request for compassionate release upon the grounds of his ailing health,[185] with Judge Terrence Boyle citing the compassionate release law applies only to individuals whose crimes occurred on or after November 1, 1987. MacDonald had himself fallen asleep in the living room in the early hours of the following day. I need to walk out of here, back to life. He would later announce his engagement to his fiance, Randi Dee Mark Army surgeon MacDonald, who suffered a punctured lung, told police that drug-crazed hippies slaughtered his family. I don't want him walking the streets."[229]. [8] Kassab's suspicion greatly increased following MacDonald's casual and dismissive demeanor on The Dick Cavett Showjust days after he had himself hand-delivered 500 copies of an eleven-page letter to members of Congress requesting a congressionally mandated re-investigation of the murdersand he and his wife publicly turned against MacDonald. This question prompted MacDonald to deny the accusation before referencing his puncture wound and his having to persuade hospital doctors to insert a chest tube into his body as he was sure his lung was punctured. In addition, aside from a small smear of blood discovered upon the Esquire magazine and a single speck of blood upon MacDonald's spectacles, no other traces of blood were recovered from the room in which MacDonald claimed to have fought for his life. MacDonald's lawyers were also given the right to pursue DNA tests on limited hair and blood evidence on October 17, 1997. Officials conducted an Article 32 military hearing (similar to a civilian preliminary hearing), then dismissed the case because of insufficient evidence in October. Should the jury find from the evidence"[153] MacDonald was unable to offer any plausible explanations for these discrepancies. As MacDonald was regularly taking the amphetamine Eskatrol in an effort to lose weight via a weight-control program for his Green Beret unit, McGinniss suggests MacDonald may have murdered his family in a spur-of-the-moment fit of psychotic rage as a result of his frequent consumption of the amphetamines. MacDonald found her timidity touching, and gradually viewed himself as her protector in addition to her boyfriend. Weighing heavily in the equation is the government's calloused and lackadaisical attitude which was solely responsible for at least the last two years of delay. MacDonald was convicted of one count of first-degree murder in the death of Kristen and two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Colette and Kimberley. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. There is no motive." In 2011, the Court of Appeals reversed this decision, remanding MacDonald's claims back to the district court for further consideration. [198], The book McGinniss authored relating to the murders, Fatal Vision, portrays MacDonald as "a narcissistic sociopath" who was guilty of murdering his family and who believed in his ongoing capabilities to deceive both legal personnel and personal acquaintances. Seventy-five witnesses were called to testify. Judge Dupree imposed a life sentence for each of the murders, to be served consecutively. The blood used to write this word was later determined to belong to Colette. Both have since died. [221] In the years prior to her death, Stoeckley had undergone several years of treatment for drug addiction and psychiatric care. He had been delighted his stepdaughter had become engaged to, then married, a presentable partner with a promising career ahead of him, and initially refused to believe MacDonaldwith his. [183] On December 21, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling. MacDonald later formed a relationship with a girl named Penny Wells. [128] This testimony was followed by a Philadelphia-based psychologist who conceded that, had MacDonald committed such an act of violence, he would successfully "completely block" the episode from his mind. Although MacDonald was trained in unarmed combat,[56] the living room where he had supposedly fought for his life against three armed assailants showed few signs of a struggle apart from a coffee table that had been knocked onto its side with a pile of magazines beneath the edge, and a flower plant that had fallen to the floor. "[81], When investigators asked MacDonald to submit to a polygraph test to verify his accounts, he readily agreed, although within ten minutes of the conclusion of the interview, he called investigators to state he had changed his mind, and would not submit to any polygraph testing. "[212], MacDonald's lawyers have repeatedly used the Freedom of Information Act to locate any evidence not presented by either counsel at his 1979 trial, citing suppression of evidence as justification for a retrial. A further defense motion that MacDonald should be granted a new murder trial on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct was denied on July 8, 1991. [25], On December 10, the 3rd Special Forces Group was deactivated,[26] and MacDonald was transferred on base to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 6th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces,[16] to serve as a preventive medical officer. At the conclusion of the 1970 Army investigation, military police sealed the crime scene although the file into the murders remained open. Its been nearly 50 years since former Green Beret surgeon Jeffrey MacDonalds wife and two daughters were brutally murdered at their Fort Bragg, North Carolina, home. [125], Other witnesses to testify included surgeons on duty at Womack Hospital who had examined MacDonald and who testified that, aside from his punctured lung, MacDonald was "not in any great danger, medically", and that, save for a superficial stab wound to his upper left arm and abdomen, MacDonald had no other stab wounds to his body. I would like to smell the flowers again, and I think I should.. [181][182] He presented a motion to alter or amend this judgment to the district court, although this was denied in November 2014. [n 10] Putting on surgical gloves from a medical supply in the kitchen closet,[73] he went to the master bedroom, where he used Colette's blood to write the word "PIG" on the headboard. Army Hearing Had Once Exonerated MacDonald. The case is the focus of the upcoming People Magazine Investigates episode The Accused, which airs Monday at 10 p.m. Vicki Draves and Sammy Lee become the first Asian Americans to win an Olympic gold medal for the U.S. Joseph Force Crater becomes the missingest man in New York, American bomber drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Gertrude Ederle becomes first woman to swim English Channel, President Johnson signs Voting Rights Act. [211] In 2017 MacDonald stated: "I am not going to get out saying a falsehood to the parole commission in order for them to give me a break. U.S. district court and 4th Circuit Court of Appeals judges rejected requests for a retrial in 2014 and again in 2018. The 16-year-old daughter of these neighborswho occasionally babysat for the familyinformed investigators the two had seemed taciturn and indifferent to each other in the month prior to the murders. In addition, MacDonald's claim that Stoeckley had been expected to testify in a manner favorable to him at trial until she had been threatened by Blackburn is contradicted by the official trial records. Nov. 1, 2013. Stombaugh demonstrated to the jurors how MacDonald's pajama top had been pierced by 48 small, smooth, and cylindrical ice pick holes after the garment had been placed atop his wife's chest. [94][n 13], Stoeckley was located and questioned regarding her whereabouts on February 17. [4][n 1], Shortly after MacDonald graduated from medical school in 1968, he and his family relocated to Bergenfield, New Jersey as he completed a one-year internship at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, specializing in thoracic surgery. Colette had answered and stated a babysitter would be there in the early evening but that after she had left, all the family would be present and alone. The MacDonald murder case remains one of the most litigated murder cases in American criminal history. [101], MacDonald's testimony was followed by that of a clinical psychologist, who testified as to conclusions of a series of tests he had conducted on MacDonald. Upon entering, the sergeant walked into the master bedroom before running to the front of the house, shouting, "Tell them to get Womack, ASAP! His wallet was also stolen as were two rings from his wifes jewelry box. Military Police Did Not Photograph MacDonalds Injuries. He had suffered cuts, bruises, and fingernail scratches to his face and chest, although none of these wounds were life-threatening or required stitches. Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the PEN app on Apple TV, Roku Players, Amazon Fire TV, Xumo, Chromecast, iOS and Android devices. When they entered the apartment, they found McDonald, a Green Beret trauma surgeon, lying unconscious across his wife Colettes dead, mutilated body. That October, Col. Warren Rock, who presided over the hearing, issued a report exonerating MacDonald and urging civilian authorities to investigate Helena Stoeckley, a troubled drug addict and narcotics informant for Fayetteville, North Carolina, police who had told police and friends she was at the MacDonald home that night. MacDonald's motions regarding the DNA results and the affidavit of Stoeckley's mother were denied. [115][n 16], Kassab successfully obtained a copy of the Article 32 transcript from the Army in February 1971. Eventually, after pressure from Colettes family, MacDonald was indicted and found guilty of the three murders on August 29, 1979. He also had numerous small stab and puncture wounds across his body and a partially collapsed lung. Amid 50 years of uncertainty about whether Jeffrey MacDonald killed his family, there is no doubt his wife and two young daughters died in pain and anguish. However, fibers from the pajama top were found beneath Colette's body and in the bedrooms of both of his daughters, and one fiber from this garment was also found under Kristen's fingernail. MacDonald was later transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution at Cumberland, Maryland, which is closer to his new legal state of residence as well as to his wife. May 10, 1944). When no one answered the door, they circled to the back of the house, where a police sergeant discovered the back screen door closed and unlocked and the back door wide open. The white female was Colette and the white male was her husband. [157] Segal spoke for over three hours, using virtually all of the defense's allotted time. ", Investigator Franz Grebner, questioning MacDonald as to the minor nature of the wounds inflicted to himself by comparison to his wife and daughters. He would later announce his engagement to his fiance, Randi Dee Markwith, in March 1982. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Jeffs second wife, Kathryn, 55, a longtime family friend whom he married in 2002, became a paralegal to help him with his case and started a website in 2000 that has yielded some of the new evidence that is part of his appeal. WebLife imprisonment, Green beret, jeffrey macdonald Unformatted text preview: Jeffrey was sentenced to 3 life sentences- being served consecutively. 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