Posted on 05/10/2005 7:58:41 PM PDT by nuconvert
May 10, 2005
Panel Recommends No Parole for Green Beret Doctor Convicted of Murdering His Family The Associated Press
CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) - A federal panel recommended no parole Tuesday for former Green Beret doctor Jeffrey MacDonald, whose conviction in the 1970 murders of his pregnant wife and two daughters was dramatized in the best-selling book and TV miniseries "Fatal Vision." The U.S. Parole Commission panel also recommended no reconsideration of the matter for 15 years, said U.S. Attorney Frank Whitney of the Eastern District of North Carolina. The recommendation will now be sent to the full commission.
Whitney made a presentation against MacDonald during the two-hour closed hearing at the Federal Correctional Institution near Cumberland. He called the murders the most heinous crimes in state history.
"We were pleased with the outcome," Whitney said, adding that MacDonald has served less than a third of his sentence.
MacDonald, 61, has been eligible to apply for parole since 1991 but refused until this year, contending it would involve a tacit admission of guilt.
MacDonald received three consecutive life sentences for the murders of his 26-year-old wife, Colette, and their daughters, ages 2 and 5, at their apartment at Fort Bragg, N.C. He claimed he and his family were attacked by drug-crazed hippies.
One of his lawyers, Tim Junkin, has said MacDonald's change of mind about seeking parole partly reflects a desire to live with his new wife, Kathryn MacDonald, whom he married in prison in 2002.
Junkin and Kathryn MacDonald attended Tuesday's hearing. Junkin declined to comment when reached by phone afterward. Kathryn MacDonald drove away from the prison without speaking to reporters.
At the hearing, Bob Stevenson, the 65-year-old brother of MacDonald's slain wife, gave a very "impassioned statement describing the pain MacDonald had inflicted on his family," Whitney said.
Stevenson said after the hearing that he was "delighted" by the panel's decision, calling it "everything I wanted."
"One of his lawyers, Tim Junkin, has said MacDonald's change of mind about seeking parole partly reflects a desire to live with his new wife, Kathryn MacDonald, whom he married in prison in 2002."
Why should he be allowed to marry again?
his new wife must be a loonytoon......
No, really? =)
this is series........rme
Life ought to mean life.
Particularly in this case.
McDonald actually killed 4 people - his wife was 5 months pregnant with a son at the time of her death.
I really hope the Dr never sees a moment of freedom for the rest of his life.
Whatever became of that chick in the floppy hat?
Her story flopped
Seriously, this guy is the textbook definition of a sociopath. Life was way too easy in his case.
I think I read that she'd died, can't remember when or how.
Definitely a sociopath. What struck me about this is that his wife and two kids were pretty brutally murdered, and his "injuries" were relatively minor cuts.
The author who wrote "Fatal Vision" was at first supposed to write a book about him at fist thought he was innocent of the murders, but became convinced that he was guilty.
What was his motive? Of course I remember the hubub about this, but I've got no clue as to the actual facts.
And not that a nut need a big motive, if we wonder about that we need look no farther then Illinois today, I'm sorry to say.
I'm not really sure what the motive was, but had heard that their marriage was pretty rocky and that he had been unfaithful. I also believe he was due to leave for some reason and would be away for awhile, and she wasn't happy at all with that.
I think the authorities believed they'd gotten into some sort of fight that night and it had ended up in murder, and he murdered his kids, too.
IMO he should not be considered eligible for parole until some 20-25 years past his life expectancy.
The miniseries was one of the most disturbing things I had ever seen.
Yes, she is a loonytoon. Her first husband was Daffy Duck,
after an engagement to Yosemite Sam.
Maybe he found and married the candle-holding "acid is groovy" blonde chick.
I think the floppy-hatted woman's drug lifestyle eventually killed her.
Helena Stoeckley died in 1983 of liver failure. Her death was a result of her taking heavy drugs for most of her adult life.
The answer to your question is this: A fight occured between Jeff and Colette in the master bedroom the night of the murders. The fight got out of hand and as a result, Jeff murdered his whole family. Motive? Could be any number of things. Could be the result of an unhappy marriage, or perhaps continuous financial problems that put a burden on the marriage. Perhaps it was Jeff's need to get away from his family (case in point is his lie to Colette that he was going away to Russia with the Ft. Bragg Army boxing team and would not be around during the summer of 1970 for the birth of their 3rd child).If you choose to believe Joe McGuinness'(author of Fatal Vision) theory, then the murders were the result of Jeff taking too many amphetamine's. He and Colette got into an argument, it got out of hand, he was on amphetamine's and the combination of the fight and pills sent him into an uncontrollable rage. However, I recently discovered a new theory via a website that honors the memory of Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen Stevenson (www.thejeffreymacdonaldcase.com) The Stevenson family believes that Jeff was sexually molesting Kimberly, the eldest daughter. The urine stain on the master bedroom bedsheet was identified as coming from Kimberly, not Kristen. Thus, Jeff and Colette went to bed that night. Kim crawled into bed with her parents. Colette got up and slept on the couch (a request that was made by Jeff and this was on more than one occasion). A little while later Colette got up because she heard Kim saying "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy". She walks into the master bedroom to see Jeff molesting Kim. She grabs a wood club from the utility room adjoining the master bedroom and hits Jeff on the forehead. Kim sees the fight between her parents, panics and wets the bed. Kim gets out of bed and stands in the master bedroom doorway. Jeff grabbed the wood club from Colette at this point and starts hitting Colette.He also in the process accidentally hits Kim, who is standing behind him in the doorway. Kim dies instantly. This is just a theory and it is one that the Stevenson family strongly beleives. The evidence certainly supports this theory. The family also has reason to beleive it is true because of Colette's change in behavoir in the few months leading up to the murders.
I learned of the Jeffrey MacDonald case after seeing the Fatal Vision movie telecast in 1984. I was only 14 years old at the time and because I lived in the town next to where Jeffrey and Collete were born and raised, I became obsessed in learning more about the case and who Jeffrey and Colette MacDonald were. I have researched this case for over 20 years and I can tell you that I have left no stone unturned. This man is guilty and for those that possibly believe he is innocent, he has you all fooled!
A former teacher of mine graduated with Jeff and Colette from Patchogue-Medford H.S. and he told me point blank that Jeff used to slap Colette around when they were dating in high school. Well, spousal abuse has a history and when Jeff and Colette fought in their bedroom in the early morning of Feb. 17, 1970, believe me it was not the first time!
As for the "hippies", Jeff conducted drug counseling with local hippies at a hospital in the Fort Bragg area from 1969-1970 to earn extra income. He knew who these "hippies" were and he knew they would present themselves as the perfect suspects for the murders. If you are going to accidentally kill your wife and kids (and I believe it was an accident with the exception of baby Kristen) you better come up with a believable story and that is exactly what Jeffrey MacDonald did! He handed these people over to the Army on a silver platter. He gave perfect descriptions of them because he knew who they were. He had encounters with them and could give perfect descriptions. The Army made a mess of this case and that is why it took 9 years to convict MacDonald. However, despite all the mistakes, there was still plenty of crucial evidence to convict Jeffrey MacDonald. It is much easier for a defense team to create a suspicion of doubt than it is for prosecutors to prove guilt. I could go on, but read the book, Fatal Vision. Jeff is in jail where he belongs and where he will rot to the day he dies! God Bless the justice system!
I have some websites that you may want to check out. Please know that I believe Jeffrey MacDonald to be 100% guilty. However, many of the websites that provide information on the case provide one point of view (Jeff's guilt) or another (Jeff's innocence). I have listed both types of websites. Perhaps you would like to review them all and come to your own conclusion. I have placed an asterick next to one website that I recommend, as it is relatively new and gives the testimonials of Bob Stevenson and the prosecuting attorneys, at the recent parole hearing of Jeffrey MacDonald that took place on May 10, 2005. I hope you find the websites useful. If you could share your opinion of them with me it would be appreciated. Thanks so much!
Websites to check out:
* www.thejeffreymacdonaldcase.com
www.themacdonaldcase.com
www.crimelibrary.com/macdonald.mac/macmain.htm
www.themacdonaldcase.org (This website is operated by the Jeffrey MacDonald Defense Team)
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