Jeffrey MacDonald

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Jeffrey R. MacDonald (born October 12, 1943 ) is an American military doctor and former officer of the Green Berets who was convicted in 1979 of the murder of his pregnant wife Colette (26) and his two daughters Kristen (2) and Kimberly (5) has been.

Life

The crime occurred on February 17, 1970 at Fort Bragg , North Carolina . The victims were slain and stabbed with extreme brutality. MacDonald never admitted the crime, but has since accused a group of hippies who allegedly committed the crime modeled on the Manson murders while intoxicated.

He was suspected on the one hand because of many contradictions in his statements, on the other hand because of obvious facts. For example, while the victims showed massive injuries, he only suffered harmless stab wounds, which, as an experienced surgeon , he could have inflicted on himself. In addition, there was no significant damage to the apartment that would have been expected in such a robbery with so many perpetrators. Despite thorough investigations, no physical evidence such as blood, hair, etc. of intruders could be found at the crime scene.

On the other hand, there were also several investigation errors. B. lost some evidence or was mistakenly destroyed. In 1979 the jury nevertheless assumed MacDonald's guilt because of the overwhelming chain of circumstantial evidence. The factual scenario could mainly be illustrated by the fact that each family member had a different blood type and it could thus be proven with certainty when, who, how and where had been attacked and injured.

MacDonald's medical license was revoked in 1983. Several petitions and petitions by MacDonald, including the request for a retrial, were all rejected. MacDonald is still serving his life sentence in Cumberland , Maryland.

Cinematic adaptations

  • In 1984 the case (based on the 1983 book Fatal Vision by Joe McGinniss ) was filmed as a miniseries under the title I'm not a murderer (Original: Fatal Vision ). Gary Cole plays Jeffrey MacDonald, Karl Malden MacDonald's father-in-law Freddy Kassab, and Barry Newman (known from the Petrocelli series ) MacDonald's defense attorney Bernie Segal. The film assumes MacDonald's guilt.
  • A film adaptation of McGinniss' follow-up book Final Vision was broadcast in 2017 on Investigation Discovery (German behind the facade ). Scott Foley played Jeffrey MacDonald and Dave Annable played McGinniss.

literature

  • Janet Malcolm : The Journalist and the Murderer . New York: Knopf, 1990

Weblinks (in English)

personal data
SURNAME MacDonald, Jeffrey
ALTERNATIVE NAMES MacDonald, Jeffrey R.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American murderer
DATE OF BIRTH October 12, 1943