NC - MacDonald family murders at Fort Bragg, 1970 - Jeffrey MacDonald innocent?

[Bobbisangel]

It's absured that Dr. Jeff still has his legions of groupies who continue to fund his defense. The issue has been beaten to death but there are folks that will never acknowledge the obvious. There are people out there who continue to believe the earth is flat and there is no point arguing with them. Before you get out your checkbook however, you might take a look at the link above. It pretty well sums up the case.

He is as guilty as sin. I read the book and came to that conclusion pretty fast.
He is a creep...then and now. His new wife is pushing for a new trial because she believes every word he says. They just want to be together...gag. He is still as cocky as ever...thinks he is hot stuff. Saw an interview with him in prison. Can't remember who did the interview.

 

[momof7]

FWIW, the section of Ft. Bragg where this housing is located is right off Rt 24 (I think that is the number). It is at the back of the base and anyone can drive on thru there as it is a main thoroughfare east and west. The housing development (i.e. Castle Drive area) did not require going through a gate or check point. Its a few simple turns off 24. It was late 90's since I have been there so not sure if they have changed that area since then. My brother is stationed over there now, so I would have to ask.

2 minutes from the housing development starts the regular community, housing, stores and rest. The civillian community is right around the corner and would have been easy access if it was the same in the 70's. Whenever I went through that area I would think of this case and wonder. I found it odd that the neighbors did not hear anything as these houses were probably old then. Having lived in military houses before there isn't much to them and with constant moving in an out of personnel, quality usually isn't uppermost in the minds of the builders. Getting enough housing up and filled from a waiting list is. So that pretty much clinches it for me, had there been drug crazy hippies in the house..a small house no less...there is no way IMHO their attached neighbor along with the neighbor on the otherside wouldn't have heard something. In base housing you can hear everything!


Kelly

 

[scandi]

What else is he going to spend his time on? And he does have his supporters (including a new wife!), some of whom have been financing multiple appeals over the years.

I've read Fatal Vision at least four times (over 30 years, so my memory is by no means infallible); it's one of my all-time favorite true crime books.

But I should point out that the prosecution withheld some evidence at the trial, evidence that Joe McGuinness, the author of the book, didn't know about.

MacDonald's supporters claim the crime-scene evidence isn't so convincing once one has all the facts. You can find sites discussing problems with the evidence all over the internet.

Thus far, the evidentiary problems haven't swayed an appellate court (or me).

Hi Nova, Me neither. Thank goodness he is well incarcerated at the Sheridan Federal Prison here in Oregon, that facility chosen because of it's high rating for security. He lives like a virtual king there as he has plenty of money to buy anything they allow - has a stocked pantry, quite a law library, etc. IMO

 

[~Lisa~]

MacDonald is a total creep!
I saw the movie, can't remember if I read the book or not. :waitasec:
He doesn't deserve to have anything in his cell!! That makes me sick!
jmo

 

[caroline]

Hi Nova, Me neither. Thank goodness he is well incarcerated at the Sheridan Federal Prison here in Oregon, that facility chosen because of it's high rating for security. He lives like a virtual king there as he has plenty of money to buy anything they allow - has a stocked pantry, quite a law library, etc. IMO

Inmate is not incarcerated in Oregon. Since he married a woman named Katheryn, he was transferred to Cumberland, Md. from a California prison. I hope he never gets out.

 

[UdbCrzy2]

Jeffrey MacDonald appeal: More DNA testing considered; prosecutors have until December to respond in Fort Bragg case

MacDonald 's lawyers argue that in addition to the DNA evidence, he should get a new trial because of testimony from a retired U.S. marshal who said a prosecutor threatened a witness to lie in the original trial. That marshal has since died.

Fox ordered an evidentiary hearing dealing solely with that claim to be held in Wilmington on Oct. 31.

Prosecutors have countered in previous filings that the marshal's testimony was unreliable and that the DNA evidence does not clear MacDonald.

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2011/09/21/1124568?sac=Home



________________________________________________

adding:

Looks like his wife had been his penpal in prison. Here is an article about it:


Jeffrey MacDonald: Time For Truth

She was instantly fascinated when she first read MacDonald's story and says the more she read, the more convinced she was of his innocence. Eventually, she decided to write him in prison.

"I wrote just a little typed paragraph, you know, saying if I could be of any help, you know, please let me know. I was a very fast typist, I think I said that," she recalls.

Jeffrey MacDonald says they grew very close very quickly, and the couple had a wedding ceremony behind bars on Aug. 30, 2002.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/02/48hours/main1002954_page4.shtml

__________________________________________________


Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh

Argued: March 23, 2010
Decided: April 19, 2011

http://pacer.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinion.pdf/088525.P.pdf

 

[PeteJ]

Allegedly, McDonald had been taking amphetamines in order to work multiple shifts and became enraged to find one of his daughters, sleeping in his bed..had wet the bed. No killer would slightly injure a grown man and bludgeon ( spelling its late) to death a helpless woman and murder children. There was no sign of a struggle downstairs where JM was sleeping on the couch, just a coffee table on its side. Cards (greeting)standing on the top of a shelf were still standing. HS had many problems mental as well as drug use but was never known to be violent. Mentally ill people confess to crimes they didn't do all the time, its very common.

 

[Cracka*Jaxx]

In 1970 I was 19. I was fascinated with the Jeffrey MacDonald case and bought Fatal Vision. I STILL have that paperback! I also watched the made for TV movie about the case. That's when my interest in true crime began.

At the time I couldn't believe that a father could kill his own children. Kill his wife in a rage, yes, but not the children. I even wrote to MacDonald and received back propaganda asking for a donation to his defense fund. This was way before the internet and I was trying to find answers.

I couldn't decide if MacDonald was guilty or not and kept hoping that LE would come up with the smoking gun. The closest I came is a website I found a few years ago. It's packed with information and I found enough evidence to be finally convinced that he is guilty. If I can locate the site I'll post it here.

In answer to some of the questions that were asked: I think HS was off base when seen by the MP. I don't remember a broken spring on the rocking horse. One unidentified hair was found with one of the two children. It was not a human hair but a long, blonde doll hair.

Back in 1970 pretty much every girl had long hair and floppy hats were very popular. It was such a generic description, that many young girls at the time would easily fit MacDonald's description of the intruders.

I remember when Ted Bundy was on his murder spree and the newspapers were trying to profile his potential victims. They stated that he seemed to go after brunettes with long hair parted in the middle. Well, almost every girl I knew fit that description because it was the hairstyle back then. lol. And MacDonald's descriptions fit most young people, too- floppy hat, army jacket, candle, long hair, bushy hair (if I'm remembering correctly).

I've gained a lot of life experience since 1970, and now realize there are sociopaths and evil people all over the place. Unfortunately, Jeffrey MacDonald isn't as unique as I once thought. And though I still find it hard to imagine that people can kill and feel no remorse, I accept that it does happen.

 

[kline]

McDonald is a textbook narcicist and sociopath.
He is truly offended that many do not believe his lies or that the Justice system would dare to interfere with such a superior specimen as himself.
His moral indignation stems from that and that alone and is probably one of the few emotions he doesnt have to fake.
He is the star of his own movie and everyone else including his victims are one dimensonal walk on extras.

 

[Cracka*Jaxx]

McDonald is a textbook narcicist and sociopath. He is truly offended that many do not believe his lies or that the Justice system would dare to interfere with such a superior specimen as himself. His moral indignation stems from that and that alone and is probably one of the few emotions he doesnt have to fake. He is the star of his own movie and everyone else including his victims are one dimensonal walk on extras.

You summed this up perfectly!

 

[PeteJ]

McDonald is a textbook narcicist and sociopath.
He is truly offended that many do not believe his lies or that the Justice system would dare to interfere with such a superior specimen as himself.
His moral indignation stems from that and that alone and is probably one of the few emotions he doesnt have to fake.
He is the star of his own movie and everyone else including his victims are one dimensonal walk on extras.

You are so right about JM! Wonder how he manages to fool so many people?

 

[marge_rita]

You are so right about JM! Wonder how he manages to fool so many people?

Some found him handsome, intelligent and charasmatic.
From a very young age he knew he could fool some of the people some of the time.

imo

 

[Duke Fan4]

WOW 1970. It's been a long time hasn't it? You mean he hasn't give up yet? I thought this story was long gone.

 

[kline]

You are so right about JM! Wonder how he manages to fool so many people?

Sadly if youve met one/Borderline/Narcicist/Sociopath/anti-Social youve met them all.
They only play in one key and hit the same notes every solo..the only difference is how many trusting normal people they manage to dazzle onto the dance floor which is directly in proportion with how much damage and wreckage they leave behind.

 

[Mercyneal]

Mcdonald is still maintaining his evidence on tv interviews. But now he's got a weird nervous blinking tic. It's as if he's trying hard to hold back the REAL memories of what happened and it's no longer working.

He's a total psychopath...

I remember he started having an affair with a woman when he was under house arrest at the military compound just after the murders. Nice!

I understand some poor woman married him a few years ago.

 

[Dreamnine]

Guilty..

 

[waltzingmatilda]

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20111020/ARTICLES/111029987

~snipped~

MacDonald has an evidentiary hearing at 10 a.m. Nov. 28 in the Federal Courthouse in downtown Wilmington, according to the U.S. District Court Clerk's Office, although the date is subject to change.

 

[JoeFromLB]

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2011/11/09/1136239?sac=Home

The hearing has been postponed until April 30, 2012. His lawyers are withdrawing from the case due to a conflict of interest. They will have to be replaced.

 

[Angels_Not_Forgotten]

Update letter on his website from April 2011

http://www.themacdonaldcase.org/Update_Letter.html

 

[kline]

Sorry to bump my own thread but I just have to know? Would a hippie in 1970 still use the words "pig" and "groovy"? Does this sound like plausible slangfrom that time period?

I've always loved the 70's and am interested in the slang.

BTW, so this post isn't totally off topic I still think inmate Mac Donald is murdering scum.

You know that image of some hippie dippy flower girl with a candle in 1970 saying something like"Acid is Groovy" is such a contrived image....like something youd see on 'Mannix' or some other clueless TV show from the era...its one of the things that spoke loudly to me that Mc Donald pulled the whole story out of his you know what.
Lets just say that version of events hasnt aged well.
McDonald killed his wife and kids and is simply too much of a narcisstic psychopath to ever admit it.
He knows he did it but he still views his inlaws and those responsible for his conviction to be so far beneath him that it's a point of honor to him by now.