The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald

Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen

Updated on July 16, 2019

On this day in 1979, the trial of former Army doctor Jeffrey MacDonald for the murders of his wife Colette and their daughters, five-year-old Kimberley and two-year-old Kristen, began. On February 16, 1970, MacDonald had claimed that four hippies had broken into the MacDonald home in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and attacked him and his family. While Jeffrey MacDonald walked away from ordeal with a few minor stab wounds, the other members of the MacDonald family had each been stabbed at least 20 times. Investigators doubted MacDonald's story, due to very little evidence of the struggle that he claimed to have had with his attackers. They believed that he had read a story about the Manson murders in Esquire magazine and had attempted to make the murders look like a copycat killing. Despite there being lots of blood and fiber evidence, the forensic investigation was severely bungled and a three-month military hearing ended without a court-martial. MacDonald was honorably discharged from the army and he moved to California shortly after.

In the years following the murders, Colette's stepfather Freddy Kassab and her mother Mildred, began to doubt Jeffrey MacDonald's innocence. The Kassabs began to conduct their own investigation of the evidence and after years of them pressuring federal prosecutors, Jeffrey MacDonald was finally brought to trial. He was convicted and given three life sentences. On August 22, 1980 MacDonald was released on bail after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals found that his right to a speedy trial had been violated. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court, where the justices ruled 6-3, on March 31, 1982, that MacDonald's right to a speedy trial had not been violated. After his remaining points of appeal were heard, MacDonald's conviction was unanimously affirmed on August 16, 1982 and the Supreme Court rejected a further appeal.

Jeffrey MacDonald, who will turn 76 in October, is still serving out his life sentences in a federal prison in Cumberland, Maryland. He became eligible for parole in 1991 but did not apply, saying that a parole application would be the same as admitting his guilt. In 2005, he did apply at the urging of his second wife, who he had married in 2002. He was denied parole and won't be eligible again until 2020.

Before his trial began in 1979, MacDonald had hired author Joe McGinniss to write a book about his innocence of the crimes. However, the resulting book "Fatal Vision" portrayed MacDonald as "a narcissistic sociopath" who was indeed guilty of killing his family. MacDonald sued McGinniss for fraud, claiming that McGinnis lied to him about believing that he was innocent in order to get MacDonald to cooperate with him. The case was later settled out of court for $325,000. In 2012, in his book "A Wilderness of Error: The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald", filmmaker and author Errol Morris argued that McGinnis made many claims about MacDonald that were false and irresponsible. Morris is part of a group of steadfast supporters who believe in MacDonald's innocence, which MacDonald has continued to proclaim all these years.

In December 2018, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2014 ruling by a federal judge denying MacDonald's request for a new trial. The 3-judge panel agreed with the federal judge that the evidence presented by MacDonald's defense team did not warrant another trial. MacDonald's lawyer, Hart Miles, told the press that his client will continue to fight for his freedom.

Related Reading:

The Devil and Jeffrey MacDonald

Fort Bragg's Deadly Summer

Since 1979, Brian Murtagh has fought to keep convicted murderer Jeffrey MacDonald in prison

The Murders And The Journalists