Jeffrey R. MacDonald

Several individuals believe MacDonald's claims of innocence, and he remains determined to clear his name. 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. If it takes me saying 'I killed my family' to the parole commission to get out of here and go home, I'm never going home."

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. On July 24, 2014, the district court rejected these claims in their entirety and re-affirmed MacDonald's conviction on all counts. Reportedly, MacDonald was disappointed, but not surprised, with this ruling. He presented a motion to alter or amend this judgment to the district court, although this was denied in November 2014. He then appealed the denial of this motion to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. On December 21, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling.

An evidentiary hearing relating to the claims within the Britt affidavit, the hair and fiber evidence, and further testimony pertaining to Stoeckley's verbal confessions, was held in September 2012. However, in July 2014, Judge Fox ruled against MacDonald's appeal, upholding his convictions.

MacDonald faced several legal obstacles in his efforts to incorporate a motion relating to the earlier results of DNA testing of hair and fiber evidence recovered from 544 Castle Drive into his motion regarding the claims made in Britt's affidavit, with the court stating he must obtain a pre-authorization for what should be a separate motion filed in relation to the results of the DNA testing. On April 19, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals granted a pre-filing authorization relating to his DNA claims, reversing the decision of the district court, and remanding his appeals for further proceedings.

On December 10, the 3rd Special Forces Group was deactivated, and MacDonald was transferred on base to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 6th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, to serve as a preventive medical officer.

In November 2008, Judge James Carroll Fox denied this appeal. This denial was based on the merits of the claim, specifically that, as Stoeckley had made many contradictory statements regarding her participation, or lack thereof, in the murders, her claims were unreliable. 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.

On April 16, 2007, MacDonald's attorneys filed an affidavit on behalf of Stoeckley's mother, Helena Teresa Stoeckley, who stated that her daughter had twice confessed to her that she was present in the MacDonald house on the evening of the murders and that her daughter was afraid of the prosecutors. MacDonald requested to expand his then-outstanding appeal to include this affidavit alongside all the evidence amassed at trial, the developments which he claimed had been subsequently discovered (including the 2006 results of DNA testing), and the statements of individuals to whom Stoeckley had made these confessions. This appeal also alleged that the trial statements of prosecutor James Blackburn should be considered unreliable as he had been convicted of fraud, forgery, and embezzlement, and subsequently disbarred in 1993.

On March 10, 2006, the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory announced that the results of this DNA testing revealed that the DNA of neither Stoeckley nor Mitchell matched that upon any of the exhibits tested. Furthermore, although a single hair found within Colette's left palm was also cited by MacDonald as belonging to one of the alleged intruders, this testing also revealed the hair to have come from his own body. This hair was also a precise match with others recovered from the bedspread within the master bedroom and upon the top sheet of Kristen's bed. A hair found in Colette's right palm was also determined to be her own. Three hairs, one from the bed sheet, one found in Colette's body outline in the area of her legs, and a single hair measuring one-fifth of an inch found beneath Kristen's fingernail did not match the DNA profile of any MacDonald family member or known suspect.

On January 12, 2006, MacDonald was granted leave to file a further appeal based upon a November 2005 affidavit of retired Deputy United States Marshal Jim Britt, who had served in this role during the trial. Britt stated that he had overheard Helena Stoeckley admit to prosecutor James Blackburn she had actually been present at the MacDonald house at the time of the murders and that Blackburn had threatened her with prosecution if she testified as a defense witness admitting this claim. (Stoeckley had earlier met with the defense counsel prior to this alleged meeting with Blackburn, and informed them she had no memory of her whereabouts on the night in question.)

In August 2002, MacDonald married a former children's drama school owner/operator named Kathryn Kurichh. The two had first met in Baltimore decades previously, but became reacquainted in 1997 after Kurichh wrote MacDonald a letter offering to assist with his legal case. Their friendship gradually became romantic, and their marriage occurred while MacDonald was incarcerated at a federal prison in California. 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.

On September 2, 1997, the district court granted MacDonald's motion to file a supplemental affidavit with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. This affidavit contended that, although several saran fibers found at the crime scene which did not match any evidentiary item recovered had most likely sourced from a doll and not a wig, these fibers were also used in the manufacture of human wigs prior to 1970, and thus added to "the weight of previously amassed exculpatory evidence". His motion for DNA testing upon these fibers was transferred from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to the district court. MacDonald's lawyers were also given the right to pursue DNA tests on limited hair and blood evidence on October 17, 1997. This testing began in December 2000, with MacDonald's lawyers hoping the results would tie Stoeckley and her then-boyfriend, Gregory Mitchell, to the crime scene.

On December 17, 1995, Judge Franklin Dupree died at the age of 82 following a short illness. Bernard Segal, MacDonald's lead defense attorney, died in California in 2011. James Blackburn, a lead prosecutor in the 1979 trial, later admitted that between 1990 and 1991 he had forged several court documents unrelated to the MacDonald case, and illegally wired money from his law firm's bank account. In 1993, Blackburn pleaded guilty to fraud, embezzlement, forgery and obstruction of justice. He was disbarred and served three-and-a-half months in jail.

Colette MacDonald's mother and stepfather, Mildred and Alfred Kassab, both died in 1994; she on January 19 and he on October 24. Alfred Kassab had initially believed MacDonald's testimony and been a staunch and vocal supporter of his son-in-law, but he drastically changed his opinion and became one of MacDonald's fiercest adversaries. Initially, Mildred had welcomed a 1971 diagnosis of breast cancer, writing in her diary the cancer would help her in her "desire to just die" following the murders of her daughter and grandchildren. 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. In 1984, Kassab reflected on the impact the events made on his marriage to Colette's mother, stating: "Most people who go through traumatic things like this, nowhere near as lengthy, almost always end up in divorce, but, with us, it's drawn us closer." With his own health in decline, in 1989 Kassab recorded a message on a tape recorder, stating he wished the recording to be played at any future parole hearings. In this recorded message, Kassab stated: "I want to be sure he serves out his sentence the way it should be served out. I don't want him walking the streets."

A further appeal was argued before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in February 1992. This appeal listed newly discovered evidence which MacDonald contended was suppressed at his trial and which, he claimed, corroborated his exculpatory account of the murders. This appeal contended that, had Judge Dupree permitted this evidence, the jurors would have learned that all of the doctors hired by the defense, who had worked for the Army, or the government at Walter Reed Hospital, had concluded that MacDonald was psychologically incapable of committing such acts of violence.

MacDonald became eligible for parole in March 1991, but he did not apply for parole at that time. At the urging of MacDonald's second wife and his attorneys, MacDonald applied for a May 2005 parole hearing. His parole request was immediately denied. His next potential parole hearing was in May 2020, although it is unknown whether he applied for parole on this date.

In April 2021, MacDonald was denied a request for compassionate release upon the grounds of his ailing health, with Judge Terrence Boyle citing the compassionate release law applies only to individuals whose crimes occurred on or after November 1, 1987. A further appeal against this ruling was dismissed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on September 16, 2021.

Reportedly, MacDonald had expected McGinniss's book to profess his innocence and the ongoing miscarriage of justice to which he had been subjected. In 1987, he sued McGinniss for fraud, claiming that the author had agreed to hear his innermost thoughts in order to write a positive account of his ongoing fight for justice for himself and his family, but had actually falsely claimed to believe his claims of innocence after he had already reached a conclusion of his guilt, in order that he (MacDonald) continue cooperating with him on the project. This lawsuit resulted in a mistrial on August 21, 1987. The two later settled out of court for $325,000, although the Kassabs subsequently filed their own countersuit against MacDonald, citing an inheritance clause, resulting in MacDonald receiving only $50,000.

MacDonald again appealed this decision, contending his conviction should be overturned due to suppressed exculpatory evidence. Dupree rejected these defense motions on March 1, 1985. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision October 6, 1986. 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. This ruling was appealed on the grounds of judicial bias on October 3, but was denied.

Helena Stoeckley died at the age of 30 in January 1983. Her body was found inside her Seneca, South Carolina apartment, with her death estimated to have occurred five days before her body was discovered on January 14. Her autopsy indicates she died of acute pneumonia and cirrhosis. In the years prior to her death, Stoeckley had undergone several years of treatment for drug addiction and psychiatric care.

Defense lawyers filed a new motion for MacDonald to be freed on bail pending appeal, but the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals refused. His remaining points of appeal—including his contention the evidence presented at trial did not justify the finding of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt—were heard on June 9, 1982, although his conviction was unanimously affirmed on August 16. Shortly thereafter, MacDonald's licenses to practice medicine in both North Carolina and California were revoked.

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. Like Stoeckley, Mitchell is known to have been a heavy narcotics user. Prior to his death, Mitchell allegedly confessed to multiple people of his involvement in the murders, although he had previously passed a polygraph test in 1971 and the CID had cleared him of any involvement.

Six months later, on December 18, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals voted 5–5 to hear the appeal en banc. As a majority did not vote to hear this appeal, the application was accordingly denied, upholding the previous ruling. This decision was appealed, and on May 26, 1981, the US Supreme Court accepted the case for consideration, hearing oral arguments on December 7. On March 31, 1982, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that MacDonald's rights to a speedy trial had not been violated, stating the time interval between the dismissal of the military charges and the indictment on civilian charges should "not be considered in determining whether the delay in bringing [MacDonald] to trial violated his right to a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment". He was rearrested and returned to federal prison and his original sentence of three consecutive life terms reinstated. The following year, MacDonald dismissed Segal as his legal representative.

On July 29, 1980, a panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed MacDonald's conviction, ruling via a 2–1 margin that the nine-year delay in bringing him to trial violated his Sixth Amendment rights to a speedy trial. He was released on August 22, having posted $100,000 bail, and subsequently returned to work as the Director of Emergency Medicine at St. Mary's Medical Center in Long Beach, California. He would later announce his engagement to his fiancée, Randi Dee Markwith, in March 1982.

Shortly after MacDonald's initial release from prison in August 1980, his supporters hired a retired FBI Special Agent and private investigator named Ted Gunderson to assist in overturning his conviction. Gunderson contacted Helena Stoeckley, who on this occasion confessed that she and five members of what she described as a "drug cult" had developed a deep grudge against MacDonald as he had "refused to treat heroin- and opium-addicted" patients. Accordingly, she and other members of this group had plotted revenge against MacDonald, intending specifically to murder his family but leave him alive.

MacDonald was brought to trial on July 16, 1979, charged with three counts of murder. He was tried in Raleigh, North Carolina, before Judge Dupree, and pleaded not guilty to the charges. MacDonald was defended by Bernard Segal and Wade Smith; James Blackburn and Brian Murtagh prosecuted the case. Initial jury selection began on this date, and would continue for three days.

Although MacDonald's lawyers had been confident of an acquittal, there were successive rulings against the defense. The first such ruling was Judge Dupree's refusal to admit into evidence a 1979 psychiatric evaluation of MacDonald, which suggested that an individual of his personality and mindset was highly unlikely to be capable of killing his family. Dupree justified this refusal by stating that, as MacDonald's attorneys had not entered an insanity plea for their client, he did not wish for the trial to be hindered by opinionated and contradictory psychiatric testimony from prosecution and defense witnesses. A further defense setback was the judge's ruling against a motion to suppress the introduction of MacDonald's pajama top as evidence.

On August 28, 1979, both counsels delivered their closing arguments before the jury. James Blackburn argued first, first outlining the injuries inflicted upon Colette, Kimberley and Kristen as opposed to MacDonald. He then outlined the medical testimony which listed the sole serious injury MacDonald had suffered as being the pneumothorax wound to his chest, stating that even if the prosecution conceded the wound was potentially life-threatening, the wound was the sole serious injury he had sustained. Referencing the life-and-death struggle MacDonald claimed to have engaged in with the alleged intruders, Blackburn stated the evidence indicated a struggle had occurred in the MacDonald home, but this struggle was between "only one white male and one white female. The white female was Colette and the white male was her husband."

Shortly after 4:00 p.m. on August 29, 1979, the jury, having deliberated for six-and-a-half hours, announced they had reached their verdict. 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. Four jurors wept as they announced their verdicts, and MacDonald's mother rushed out of the courtroom. MacDonald himself displayed no emotion. Judge Dupree imposed a life sentence for each of the murders, to be served consecutively. Bail was revoked, and MacDonald was temporarily transferred to a Butner County jail, prior to his permanent transferral to the Federal Correctional Institution in Terminal Island, California.

Subsequent to this November 2008 decision, a government motion to modify the decision to negate Britt's claims was denied. Included within the motion was jail documentation establishing that Stoeckley was originally confined to the jail in Pickens, South Carolina, not Greenville, South Carolina, as Britt had claimed. Also included were custody commitment and release forms indicating that, although Britt and fellow Deputy United States Marshal Geraldine Holden had escorted Stoeckley into the Raleigh courthouse on August 16, 1979, agents other than Britt and Holden had actually transported Stoeckley to the 1979 trial. MacDonald appealed the district court's denial of his claim to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2011, the Court of Appeals reversed this decision, remanding MacDonald's claims back to the district court for further consideration.

In June 1979, MacDonald invited author Joe McGinniss to write a book about his case. Initially unsure of MacDonald's guilt or innocence, McGinniss agreed to his request, and was given full access to MacDonald and his defense team during the upcoming trial.

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. McGinniss quotes a 1979 report compiled by a psychologist named Hirsch Lazzaar Silverman, who stated MacDonald "handled his conflicts by denying that they even exist", adding that MacDonald lacked any sense of guilt, had been capable of committing "asocial acts with impunity", and had been "incapable of [forming] emotionally close" relationships with females of any age. Silverman further states MacDonald had avoided and resented his commitments as a husband and father and that, given his ongoing "denial of truth", he would continually seek both attention and approval.

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. All efforts have proved unsuccessful, as successive courts have ruled that these uncovered and stipulated items do not establish any proof of innocence and thus would not have influenced the verdict of the jury.

An appeal on behalf of the Government led to a reinstatement of the indictment via an 8-0 margin within the United States Supreme Court on May 1, 1978. In response to this decision, Alfred Kassab informed the press he and his wife welcomed the developments, stating: "It has been [a] tremendous personal pressure to have someone running around that you are convinced killed your daughter and grandchildren." On October 22, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected MacDonald's double jeopardy arguments. The Supreme Court refused to review this decision on March 19, 1979.

MacDonald was recalled to testify before the grand jury on January 21, 1975. On this occasion, he was markedly arrogant and sarcastic when questioned with regards to issues such as his infidelity or the prosecution's illustration of forensic contradictions between his version of events and the physical evidence, on one occasion shouting: "I have no idea! I don't even know what crap you're trying to feed me!" in response to a question as to how his blood and Colette's blood had transferred onto a sheet taken from Kristen's bedroom into the master bedroom. He also refused to discuss the results of a private polygraph test to which he had consented in 1970, the results of which had been given to Bernard Segal, indicating he would have to speak with his attorney on this matter before consenting to this line of inquiry.

On January 24, 1975, the grand jury formally indicted MacDonald on three counts of murder. Within the hour, he was arrested in California. On January 31, he was freed upon a $100,000 bail raised by friends and colleagues, pending disposition of the charges, although he was arraigned on May 23, and pleaded not guilty to the murders on this date. On July 29, Judge Dupree denied the double jeopardy and speedy trial arguments successively filed by his attorneys, and allowed the proposed trial date of August 18, 1975 to stand, although the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to stay the proceedings on August 15. 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. MacDonald himself later claimed to weep "tears of relief rather than tears of joy" upon hearing this news, and later recollected to return to a "big celebration" that his ordeal was now over.

Between 1972 and 1974, the case remained trapped in limbo in the Department of Justice as legal issues were raised and debated over whether sufficient evidence and probable cause existed for indictment and prosecution. On April 30, 1974, the Kassabs, their attorney, Richard Cahn, and CID agent Peter Kearns presented a citizen's complaint against MacDonald to US Chief District Court Judge Algernon Butler, requesting the convening of a grand jury to indict MacDonald for the murders. The following month, Justice Department attorney Victor Woerheide ruled the case worthy of prosecution.

On August 12, 1974, a grand jury convened before U.S. District Judge Franklin Dupree in Raleigh, North Carolina, to hear the legal proceedings. Seventy-five witnesses were called to testify. MacDonald was the first individual to testify at this hearing. His testimony lasted five days, during which he conceded that although he had publicly resolved to pursue all legal avenues following the 1970 dismissal of the murder charges against him, and to hire investigators, he had failed to do so. Nonetheless, he was adamant he had made his own efforts to identify the perpetrators and to locate Helena Stoeckley. He also claimed the numerous fabrications he had provided to the Kassabs and to sections of the media in the intervening years were to placate his in-laws, and that he had received more stab and puncture wounds to his body than recorded in contemporary medical records (which he blamed on malpractice). When asked by Victor Woerheide if he would submit to either a polygraph or sodium amytal test to verify his version of events, MacDonald read a statement prepared by his attorneys denying their request.

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 in an effort to "put the past" behind him and to distance himself from the "constant reminders" of his wife and daughters. He obtained employment as an emergency room physician at the St. Mary Medical Center, frequently working long hours. 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. MacDonald lived in a $350,000 Huntington Beach condominium apartment, and is known to have lived a promiscuous lifestyle prior to forming a long-term relationship with a 22-year-old airline stewardess named Candy Kramer in the late 1970s.

Kassab successfully obtained a copy of the Article 32 transcript from the Army in February 1971. He repeatedly studied the document, realizing MacDonald's claims were inconsistent with the physical facts and concluding his account was nothing more than a "tissue of lies" that repeatedly contradicted the known facts of the case. One example was MacDonald's assertion that he had sustained life-threatening injuries—including ten ice pick wounds—during the alleged physical assault at the hands of his assailants; Kassab had met MacDonald in hospital less than 18 hours after the attack and had observed him sitting up in bed, eating a meal, with very little bandaging or other medical dressing on his body. An examination of hospital records confirmed MacDonald had received no such wounds. Kassab also discovered that, within weeks of the murders of his family, MacDonald had begun dating a young woman employed at Fort Bragg. He and his wife also later discovered that, by 1969, he had rekindled his relationship with Penny Wells.

With the cooperation of Colonel Kriwanek and other Army investigators, Kassab visited the crime scene for several hours in order to compare the physical evidence against MacDonald's testimony in March 1971. This personal assessment ultimately convinced Kassab of MacDonald's guilt, and he resolved to devote his life to pursuing all legal avenues to bring MacDonald to justice. As the Army's investigation was completed, the only way Kassab could bring MacDonald to trial was via a citizen's complaint filed through the United States Department of Justice. He filed this complaint in early 1972; however, because the murders had occurred while MacDonald was serving in the Army, and he had since been discharged, the citizen's complaint was declared moot. The FBI refused to take on the case.

Stoeckley had submitted to a polygraph test in April 1971, with the military examiner stating: "It is concluded that Miss Stoeckley is convinced in her mind that she knows the identity of those person(s) who killed Colette, Kimberley, and Christine MacDonald. It is further concluded that Miss Stoeckley is convinced in her mind that she was physically present when the three members of the MacDonald family were killed. No abnormal physiological responses were noted in the polygraph tracings: however, due to Miss Stoeckley's admitted confused state of mind and her excessive drug use during and immediately following the homicides in question, a conclusion cannot be reached as to whether she, in fact, knows who perpetrated the homicides or whether she, in fact, was present at the scene of the murders."

By 1970, MacDonald had earned the rank of captain. He was planning to study advanced medical training at Yale University upon completion of his tour of duty as a Green Beret doctor.

At 3:42 a.m. on February 17, 1970, dispatchers at Fort Bragg received an emergency phone call from MacDonald, who faintly spoke into the receiver: "Help! Five forty-four Castle Drive! Stabbing! ... Five forty-four Castle Drive! Stabbing! Hurry!" The operator then heard the sound of the receiver clatter against a wall or floor.

CID investigators then theorized that MacDonald attempted to cover up the murders, using articles on the Manson Family murders that he had recently read in the March 1970 issue of Esquire investigators had found in the living room. Putting on surgical gloves from a medical supply in the kitchen closet, he went to the master bedroom, where he used Colette's blood to write the word "PIG" on the headboard. MacDonald then laid his torn pajama top over her dead body and repeatedly stabbed her in the chest with an ice pick, then discarded the weapons close to the back door of the property after wiping them clean of fingerprints. Finally, MacDonald took a scalpel blade from the supply closet, entered the adjacent bathroom, and stabbed himself once in the chest while standing beside the sink before disposing of the surgical gloves. He had then used the family telephone to summon an ambulance before lying down beside Colette's body as he waited for the military police to arrive.

On April 6, 1970, Army investigators formally cautioned, then interrogated MacDonald. 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.

An initial Army Article 32 hearing into MacDonald's possible guilt, overseen by Colonel Warren Rock, convened on July 6, 1970. This hearing lasted until September.

To the chagrin of Colonel Kriwanek, on October 13, 1970, Colonel Rock issued a report recommending that charges be dismissed against MacDonald as insufficient evidence existed to prove his guilt, adding his belief no truth existed in the charges, and that the nature of the murders led him to believe the perpetrator(s) were either insane or under the influence of drugs. Rock also recommended that civilian authorities further investigate Stoeckley. Later the same month, all charges were formally dismissed, although a new CID investigation tasked with finding the murderer(s) was assembled in February 1971, with MacDonald still considered a suspect.

Within days of the dismissal, MacDonald began granting press interviews and media appearances, most notably on the December 15, 1970, episode of The Dick Cavett Show, during which he appeared flippant as he complained about the Army investigation and their focus on him as a suspect. On this occasion he claimed to have sustained 23 wounds—some of which he claimed were "potentially fatal".

MacDonald's stepfather-in-law, Alfred Kassab, had initially believed in his stepson-in-law's innocence. Both he and Colette's mother, Mildred, had testified in support of MacDonald during the Army's Article 32 hearing, informing the press: "My wife and I feel very strongly about Captain MacDonald's innocence. After all, it was our daughter and two grandchildren who were butchered." However, by November 1970, Kassab had grown suspicious of MacDonald's repeated reluctance to provide him with a copy of the 2,000-page transcript of the Article 32 hearing. In an apparent effort to discourage Kassab's efforts to obtain a copy of this transcript in his pursuit of the killers, MacDonald told his stepfather-in-law that he and some Army colleagues had actually tracked down, tortured, and eventually murdered one of the four alleged murderers. Kassab's suspicion greatly increased following MacDonald's casual and dismissive demeanor on The Dick Cavett Show—just 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 murders—and he and his wife publicly turned against MacDonald.

Following a brief recess, MacDonald read a statement prepared by his attorneys denying the prosecution's request to discuss the results of his 1970 polygraph examination, contending Woerheide had violated attorney-client privilege. He then read his own statement to the jury, claiming "five long years" had passed since the murder of his family and his efforts to start life afresh, and that the questions posed by the prosecution were ones he had had to "live with for five years".

On the first day of the trial, Judge Dupree allowed the prosecution to admit into evidence the March 1970 copy of Esquire magazine, found in the MacDonald house, part of which contained the lengthy article relating to the Manson Family murders. However, Dupree also refused the prosecution's request to allow any sections of the earlier Article 32 transcripts from MacDonald's 1970 Army hearing to be produced as evidence, ruling that as the current trial was a civilian trial and the Article 32 military hearing held several reports from the military investigators, which had suggested that MacDonald had murdered his family in a drug-induced rage, this evidence was also opinionated.

Wade Smith then argued on behalf of the defense. Smith referenced the events of February 17, 1970, the Army investigation and subsequent dismissal of all charges. 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.

A further piece of damaging evidence against MacDonald was an audio tape made of the April 6, 1970 interview by military investigators, which was played in the courtroom immediately after the jurors had returned from visiting the still-intact crime scene. The jury heard MacDonald's matter-of-fact, indifferent recitation of the murders. They heard him become angry, defensive, and emotional in response to suggestions by the investigators that he had committed the murders. He asked the investigators why would they think he, who had a beautiful family and "everything going for [him]", could have murdered his family in cold blood for no reason. The jury also heard investigators later confront him with their knowledge of his extramarital affairs, to which MacDonald murmured, "Oh... you guys are more thorough than I thought."

Under oath, Stoeckley denied any culpability in murders, and any knowledge of who may have committed the acts. Insistent she was unable to recall her whereabouts on the date of the murders, Stoeckley emphasized her extensive drug use in 1970 and the intervening years, adding the night of February 16–17, 1970 was "by no means" the first or last night in which she was unable to recall her whereabouts. Following this testimony, Murtagh and Segal alternately argued before Judge Dupree for the dismissal, or introduction of, testimony from several witnesses to whom Stoeckley had earlier allegedly confessed. On August 20, Dupree refused the introduction of this testimony, citing legal trustworthiness requisites and stating the introduction of these witnesses would add no further value to the proceedings than what they had experienced from Stoeckley's own testimony.

MacDonald was first questioned by Bernard Segal, who sought to humanize his client in the eyes of the jury. He began his questioning by asking MacDonald about his family. MacDonald described each family member and their individual personalities, stating the family "shared almost everything ... we were all friends. Colette and I shared the children growing up. We shared our life experiences." He also claimed the reason he had never remarried was the fact he was unable to forget his wife and children, whom he thought about daily. Segal then asked MacDonald to recount his family background, his career at Fort Bragg, and his family's general lifestyle in February 1970. He then produced several family photographs and artifacts, asking MacDonald to describe each item or the circumstances surrounding each photograph, and to identify the individual in each image. MacDonald then recounted his life in the years since the deaths of his family, describing his decision to relocate to California as an effort to distance himself from well-wishers and insisting the reason he worked up to eighty hours a week was that it was "easier than sitting and thinking" about his family.

The following day, James Blackburn cross-examined MacDonald. He outlined every piece of physical and circumstantial evidence recovered at the crime scene which contradicted MacDonald's own accounts of "the assailants" attacking him and murdering his family and instead indicated his own guilt. Blackburn typically began each question with a statement to the effect of: "Dr. MacDonald. Should the jury find from the evidence..." MacDonald was unable to offer any plausible explanations for these discrepancies. For example, he was unable to explain how the piece of lumber used as a weapon came from a mattress slat on Kimberley's bed, but claimed there "may have been" some wood in the utility room, later adding his insistence the club which had struck him across the head was "sort of smooth" and may have been a baseball bat as opposed to a wooden instrument. He also claimed the earlier testimony of Army investigators pertaining to his questioning on April 6, 1970, was unreliable due to the poor conduct of the investigators, and the fact several weeks had elapsed between the murders and his formal questioning.

In his rebuttal argument, James Blackburn referenced Smith's earlier observation regarding "the unbelievability" of a successful doctor murdering his family, but contended the events of February 17, 1970, occurred "because events overtook themselves too fast ... everything else, ladies and gentlemen, we say, in that crime scene, flowed from that moment". He then referred once again to the physical evidence, stating the evidence unequivocally illustrated the chain of events which occurred and which only pointed to MacDonald's guilt. Blackburn closed his rebuttal argument by stating that, although the prosecution was convinced of MacDonald's guilt, they only wished he was not, given the final moments of the victims and "who it was that was going to make them die", adding that the defendant would never have peace.

The court ruled against awarding a new trial on June 2, stating Judge Dupree had acted correctly when he refused to allow the jury to view a transcript of the 1970 Article 32 hearing, and because this was not an insanity trial, he had also acted properly in not allowing the jurors to hear any of the psychiatric testimony. 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.

Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen MacDonald were laid to rest side by side in Washington Memorial Park, Suffolk County, Long Island, on February 23, 1970. Each grave was initially inscribed with the surname of MacDonald, although the gravestones were later changed to Colette's maiden name of Stevenson.

MacDonald enlisted in the United States Army on June 28, 1969, and was sent to Fort Sam Houston, Texas to undergo a six-week physician's basic training course. While at Fort Sam Houston, he volunteered to be assigned to the Army's Special Forces ("Green Berets") to become a Special Forces physician. He was then assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, where he completed their paratrooper training course. Although MacDonald had joined the Army knowing he might be deployed to serve in the Vietnam War, he later learned that, as a Green Beret doctor, he was unlikely to serve overseas.

Shortly before Christmas 1969, with his wife approximately three months pregnant with their third child and first son, MacDonald bought his daughters a Shetland pony, anticipating the family would soon relocate to a farm in Connecticut. He kept this purchase a secret from his wife and children, and he and his stepfather-in-law drove them to the stable as a surprise on Christmas Day. His daughters chose to name the pony "Trooper". The same month, Colette is known to have penned a letter to college acquaintances in which she described her life as "never [being] so normal or happy", adding she and her husband were content, that their baby son was due to be born in July, and her family would be complete.

Fatal Vision also alleges a possible motive for the killings. 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. Furthermore, the book emphasizes the fact MacDonald worked extremely long hours in several medical employment roles in 1969 and 1970, and his extensive social and family commitments, resulted in his suffering from an increasing lack of sleep.

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. MacDonald later described his internship year as "a horrendous year" for both himself and Colette, adding he frequently worked 36 hours with only 12 hours at home. Consequently, when at home, he was frequently exhausted and had limited interaction with his wife and daughters. At the completion of his internship, MacDonald and Colette vacationed in Aruba before MacDonald joined the Army.

Upon completion of his undergraduate degree at Princeton, MacDonald briefly worked as a construction supervisor before he moved with his wife and child to Chicago in the summer of 1965, where he had been accepted at Northwestern University Medical School. The couple moved into a small one-bedroom apartment, with Colette committed to maintaining the household and raising their daughter as MacDonald focused on his studies, while also working a series of part-time jobs to assist with family finances. The following year, the family relocated to a middle-class neighborhood. Their second child, Kristen Jean, was born on May 8, 1967.

With the consent of Colette's family, the two married on September 14 in New York City. One hundred people attended the service, with the reception held at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. The couple then honeymooned at Cape Cod. Their first daughter, Kimberley Kathryn, was born on April 18, 1964.

MacDonald's high school grades were sufficient for him to earn a three-year scholarship at Princeton University, where he enrolled as a premedical student in 1962. By the second year of his studies, MacDonald and Wells had separated. He soon resumed his romantic relationship with Colette then a freshman at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. He would later recollect Colette had grown into a shy young woman with a "slight fear of the world in general" who would rely on his own self-confidence. MacDonald found her timidity touching, and gradually viewed himself as her protector in addition to her boyfriend. The two regularly exchanged letters, and he would frequently hitchhike to Skidmore College to be in her company at weekends. Although MacDonald was dating other women at the time, he resolved to marry Colette upon learning she was pregnant with his child in August 1963. She in turn left college to raise their child.

In late August, MacDonald reported to the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina to serve as the group's surgeon. He was joined by his wife and children, and the MacDonald family resided at 544 Castle Drive, in a section of the base reserved for married officers and afforded security by military police. The couple quickly became popular among their neighbors, although MacDonald and Colette are known to have argued occasionally.

Towards the end of his eighth grade year, MacDonald became acquainted with Colette Kathryn Stevenson (b. May 10, 1944). He would later recollect he had first observed Colette "walking down the hallway (of Patchogue High School) with her best friend" and that, although he was attracted to both girls, he found Colette more attractive. Approximately two weeks later, they began talking and formed a friendship, with MacDonald soon "asking her out to the movies". The two formed a brief romantic relationship in the ninth grade, with MacDonald later recollecting they fell in love while holding hands on a balcony while watching the movie A Summer Place at the Rialto Theater in Patchogue. He would later reminisce that whenever he or Colette heard the song "Theme from A Summer Place" across the airwaves, "either of us would turn up the radio".

Jeffrey Robert MacDonald (born October 12, 1943) is an American former medical doctor and United States Army captain who was convicted in August 1979 of murdering his pregnant wife and two daughters in February 1970 while serving as an Army Special Forces physician.