Listen to part 3 of the MacDonald Family Murders and the case being made against Dr. Jeffrey R MacDonald. In this episode, we talk about the re-investigation and how someone who staunchly believed in the innocence of Dr. Jeffrey R MacDonald would come to change their mind.
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TuneInNovember 1970
Freddy Kassab was frustrated that after nine months no one had been formally charged in the deaths of his daughter and granddaughters. He took it upon himself to contact dozens of public officials wanting an investigation. He even went so far as to draft 500 11 page letters for every member of Congress. Freddy hand-delivered the letters requesting a hearing into the Army’s handling of the investigation.
He gave press conferences to keep the MacDonald murders in the collective consciousness of the country. He even set up an interview for Jeffrey with Look magazine. The hope was to put pressure on authorities to reinvestigate and clear MacDonald’s name once and for all. He also wanted to prevent the killers from striking again.
Look had two investigative reporters that worked on the story for approximately three months. When MacDonald asked about financial compensation, Freddy told him finances never came up. Within the hour Freddy got a call from Bernie Segal not to pursue the interview any further.
November 19, 1970
MacDonald called Freddy at his office and told him that he and some Green Beret buddies had found one of the four intruders. One of the white males that did not have a mustache. After beating him up and interrogating him they had killed him.
December 1970
Jeffrey R MacDonald is honorably discharged from the Army in December 1970. MacDonald moves back to New York state and begins work at the World Trade Center construction site. On the 24th, Freddy receives a copy of the article 32 hearing transcript. He could only have it for a week as Jeffrey needed it back for a lawsuit he was planning to file against the Army.
After reviewing the transcript Freddy had a lot of questions. When he returned MacDonald’s copy he wrote the Army and requested one for himself. He received his copy in February 1971 after MacDonald signed an authorization allowing it.
Walter Cronkite, CBS News Interview
MacDonald was interviewed by Bob Schieffer in a segment that aired on December 11, 1970. He claimed in this interview that he received close to 19 stab wounds in the attack. MacDonald complained about the CID investigation and their handling of the evidence. He claimed that the Army was refusing to search for his family’s killers.
Dick Cavett Show Interview
MacDonald appeared on the Dick Cavett Show on December 15, 1970. He talked about some of the happenings that occurred at his residence that evening. Again, he used this platform to complain about how he was treated by the Army, specifically the CID handling of the investigation and their incompetence.
He claimed that he had gotten 22 stab wounds during the attack and was in the intensive care unit for several days.
CID Reinvestigation
After the Article 32 hearing and Freddy’s tireless work in requesting a congressional inquiry, the CID Command in Washington DC began an internal investigation in December 1970. They looked into if there was any dereliction of duty on behalf of the CID at Fort Bragg and the laboratory technicians at Fort Gordon. At the conclusion of that review, the Army sent a letter to Congress that said though there were missed steps in the investigation…
“Neither had it been the amalgamation of incompetence, perjury, and malicious prosecution which Mr. Kassab envisioned.”
Fatal Vision
January 1971
Colonel Jack Pruett, CID Director of Internal Affairs, was given a new directive. He was assigned office space in the Federal Building in Fayetteville and a task force of 8 agents and warrant officer Peter Kearns. The directive was to:
- Focus an investigation on the hippie intruders.
- Stay away from MacDonald.
- Take as much time as was needed to be as thorough as possible
In the end, there was to be an indictment of the killer or killers responsible for the deaths of Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen.
Helena Werle Stoeckley
Helena Stoeckley graduated from Terry Sanford High School in Fayetteville. She was involved in a variety of activities such as Future Teachers of America, and the French club. Stoeckley volunteered as a candy striper at area hospitals. She is described by classmates as being quiet and as someone who would make up stories for attention. Stoeckley graduated in June 1969.
After graduating from high school her drug use increased to the point her parents kicked her out of their home in the fall of 1969. In January 1970 Stoeckley was living in a trailer with two Fort Bragg soldiers, Greg Mitchell and Don Harris. She moved frequently during this time and ended up living with two girls from New Jersey on Clark Street. At this point, Helena was using marijuana, LSD, and mescaline. She also used heroin intravenously. Investigators talked to Stoeckley’s parents who would also describe her as someone who was always seeking attention.
Detective Besley
Detective Besley of the Fayetteville PD provided a written statement that he had known Stoeckley for three years. She was a drug informant, user, and dealer. He claimed that he talked to her about the murders and she did not indicate any involvement in the murders. Stoeckley identified Bruce Fowler as the owner of the vehicle she was in the night Posey saw her. She also mentioned Greg Mitchell as the last person she remembers seeing on February 17th.
She named “Eddie” as a black male she knew that wore an army fatigue jacket. At the time of the murders Stoeckley had two roommates:
- Kathy Smith
- Diane Redden
Besley wrote that he believes that Stoeckley was involved in the MacDonald murders or at least thinks she was or that perhaps she “is doing this just to get all the attention that she possibly can.”
Mr. Pat Reese, a reporter with the Fayetteville Observer was interviewed. He had been covering Fayetteville’s drug culture for years and was active with the drug abuse rehabilitation programs in the area. Reese knew Helena Stoeckley and the friends she hung out with. He had interviewed Stoeckley a day or two after the murders. At the time she told him she had no connection to the murders and claimed she dropped mescaline that evening. He felt that she was a “complete fabricator” and it’s his opinion that Stoeckley decided to ingratiate herself into the investigation for the attention.
Associates of Stoeckley
Kathy Smith was a roommate of Stoeckley. In her written statement to CID, she verified that Helena was a drug user and her boyfriend was Greg Mitchell. She verified that Stoeckley and Mitchell returned to their apartment around 4 am on the 17th. Bruce Fowler was not with Stoeckley that night as he was with Smith who was his girlfriend. She didn’t believe that Stoeckley was involved with the murders. Kathy provided letters that Stoeckley had written her in which she denied any involvement in the murders.
Dianne Cazares (Redden) was a roommate of Stoeckley. Her recollection differed in the time Stoeckley returned to the apartment. She places the time closer to 5:30 am. Cazares verified that Stoeckley and Mitchell were both heavy drug users. She noted that Stoeckley liked the attention she was receiving from being questioned about the murders, but does not believe she was involved.
Greg Mitchell was Stoeckley’s boyfriend. In a sworn written statement he claimed that he could not remember being with Stoeckley on the 16th or the 17th. He claimed that he and Stoeckley had discussed the murders. Stoeckley told him she was not involved. Mitchell also denied any involvement in the murders. He passed a polygraph test in 1971 that showed no deception when asked if he was involved in the murders.
Bruce Fowler was an acquaintance of Stoeckley. Fowler denied any involvement in the murders per his sworn written statement.
Who Failed Their Polygraph?
Criminal Investigator Robert A. Briestine conducted polygraphs on:
- Helena Stoeckley.
She switched from non-involvement in the murders to being an eyewitness to the murders. After three days of polygraphs, the conclusion was that there could be no conclusion due to her excessive drug use.
- Bruce Fowler
- Janice Fowler
- Greg Mitchell
- William Posey
Post polygraph examination Posey admitted that he did not see Stoeckley exit a vehicle the night of the murders. He only saw her walking away from a vehicle. Posey did not know the make of the vehicle in question. He was not positive the morning he saw Stoeckley walking from the vehicle was the morning of the murders. The basis for his opinion of Stoeckley’s involvement in the murders was due to the manner that she talked about the murders. Also that she admitted that she was under drugs that night and could not account for her actions.
All five had their fingerprints taken and compared to the unidentified prints from the crime scene. There were no matching impressions. Helena gave a hair sample that would not match any hair samples that had been collected.
Fire Island Four
The Fire Island Four is also known as the New York Four. They came to the attention of the investigators when they checked with local police departments in the area of MacDonald’s family members in New York State. Specifically in Suffolk County. They rented a house with Jay MacDonald (older brother) in the summer of 1969.
Jeffrey R MacDonald visited his brother in the summer of 1969 and was seen at the Shortstop Bar in Long Island talking with four individuals. These associates fit the physical description of the assailants given by Jeffrey R MacDonald.
- Kenneth Barnett was caucasian and drove a car with N.C. plates.
- Annette Cullity was caucasian and had long blond hair. She also wore floppy hats.
- Gary Burnett was caucasian
- Joseph Lee was black and wore an Army field jacket.
None of their prints matched the unidentified prints at the crime scene.
The Russia Trip
In January 1970 Jeffrey R MacDonald began working out with the Fort Bragg boxing team. In February MacDonald was asked to become the team’s physician and he accepted. This would require traveling with the team from about February 20th until the first week in May for matches. They would go to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Trenton, New Jersey for Nationals.
MacDonald claims that Colette was very happy for him. She was pleased when he told her he would be going to Russia with the boxing team for a month and would be incommunicado. The reality was Colette was not pleased because MacDonald would be away during the late stages of her pregnancy. Colette had two difficult births and her last one almost cost her life. She related her concerns to her mother, a friend from New York in a letter, and to a classmate.
The team coach told the CID investigators that there was no trip to Russia planned and there never was. Why did he make up this lie? Where was he planning to go for that month?
The Affairs
Through the reinvestigation, investigators discovered a multitude of sexual relationships MacDonald had while married to Colette. They discovered that the day before he was to marry Colette he had given a black and red negligee to his former high school flame. He would continue to see this girlfriend off and on over the years.
In the summer of 1964, MacDonald had an affair with the secretary of a construction company that he had been working for. He had a relationship with the wife of a fellow medical student. During his internship year, he had relations with a nurse in the on-call room. At Fort Sam Houston for Army training, he slept with a stewardess. At Fort Benning for jump school, he had picked up numerous women.
When investigators questioned MacDonald about all of these sexual affairs he told them that while he may not have been sexually faithful to Colette, but he was emotionally faithful to her. After the murders when MacDonald was moved to the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters he had a sexual relationship with a civilian employee through the summer and fall of 1970.
Jeffrey R MacDonald
On February 19, 1971, Pruett and Kerns interviewed MacDonald in Segal’s Philadelphia office. He was questioned for three hours and was shown a picture of Helena Stoeckley to identify. He was unable to identify her.
In another interview in March, MacDonald was asked if he would be willing to take a polygraph examination. Again he declined.
Ron Harrison
Ron Harrison was a friend and fellow soldier at Fort Bragg and a frequent guest at the MacDonald apartment. He verified that at Thanksgiving he had been invited to a party at the MacDonald household and remembers that Jeffrey had asked where the ice pick was as he needed some ice. He also told the investigators that he had been asked by Jeffrey R MacDonald to pick up some Cold Duck Champagne and bring it to the hospital for him. This was contrary to what MacDonald initially told investigators. He had indicated that Harrison had brought the champagne to the hospital to cheer him up.
Physical Evidence
All of the physical evidence collected was re-evaluated at the FBI lab in Washington D.C. Paul Stambaugh, chief of the chemistry division looked at the blue pajama top and the various murder weapons. He verified that the ice pick holes in the pj top numbered 48 and each was cylindrical and had smooth edges indicating the top had been stationary when they were made. There were no ragged edges that should have been there if the top was being moved around fending off an attack
The Geneva Forge knife had a bent blade that was dull and if used would leave ragged cut marks. It was determined that this knife did not make any of the stab wounds on Colette or the children. The Old Hickory knife had a smooth sharp blade and it was this knife that was used on all three victims.
In looking at MacDonald’s pajama top and specifically the bloodstains it was determined that Colette’s blood was on the top before it had been torn.
Freddy Kassab
After re-reading the official transcript from the Article 32 hearing Freddy Kassab made a horrific realization. That his son-in-law, the boy he knew since his childhood, was responsible for the murders of Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen. Freddy had dissected the transcript and was left with a lot of inconsistencies between what MacDonald testified to and what, although limited, he had told him.
On March 27th, 1971 Freddy returned to Fayetteville to verify MacDonald’s story of having found one of the intruders and subsequently murdering him. After a search of police and area hospital records, there was no indication that anyone had been murdered in Cumberland County, North Carolina during November of 1970.
Freddy was granted permission to have access to 544 Castle Drive. He had not been there since Christmas of 1969. 544 Castle Drive was sealed up after the murders and was undisturbed.
Freddy Conducts His Own Investigation
Freddy conducted his own investigation referring to the transcript and walked away with a few determinations. One, the 31-inch club should have left marks on the ceiling – there was none.
Two, the amount of time between the first phone call at 3:40 am and then when he picked the phone back up at 3:42 am. MacDonald claimed that he had looked out the utility room door, gone into the hallway bathroom to check his own injuries, washed his hands, and then returned to the master bedroom. There he checked Colette for signs of life, again, gave her mouth-to-mouth, and then proceeded to both of the girls’ bedrooms to do the same. He then went to the kitchen and picked up the phone there. Freddy felt that MacDonald could not have done all those acts in a span of two minutes.
Three, Freddy got permission from the new tenets that lived next door to 544 Castle Drive and he laid in the bedroom that was directly above the living room. He could hear Pruett and Kearns carrying on a normal toned conversation below.
Four, the greeting cards on the dining room table were still there and when Freddy jumped up and down on the steps leading to the hallway they fell over. How could four men fighting in the same area not knock them over?
Five, Freddy returned to 544 Castle Drive later in the evening when it was dark. MacDonald needed glasses to read and drive. Knowing that Freddy didn’t see how he could have made out E-6 stripes on a jacket and other features he claimed. Especially just waking up when he was attacked.
Moving on
In May 1971 Jeffrey R MacDonald moved to California specifically Long Beach. He had taken a position at St. Mary’s Hospital as an emergency room physician. He began to rebuild his life. MacDonald bought a sports car, a condo along the shoreline, and a 28 ft sailing yacht. He also became an instructor in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He was a member of the American Heart Association and taught CPR.
After six months at St. Mary’s Hospital he was promoted to director of emergency room medicine. MacDonald became involved in community fundraising activities with the local police force and the Los Angeles Rams.
Reinvestigation Conclusion
On December 6, 1971, Colonel Pruett and his team concluded their investigation. They had traveled to 32 countries, interviewed 699 people, obtained 151 sworn statements, and had analyzed 34 additional pieces of evidence.
On June 1, 1972, their findings were submitted to the US Justice Department in a 3,000-page report. Their conclusion was that Jeffrey R MacDonald was the sole perpetrator of his family’s murders. This report was reviewed and on September 8, 1972, Warren Coolidge with the US Attorney Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina did not recommend moving forward with prosecuting MacDonald.
This did not sit well with the Kassabs and once again Freddy began a letter-writing campaign to officials asking for action to be taken on the CID recommendations. He was politely put off.
In January 1973 Freddy sat down for an interview with Newsday and on February 2, 1973, the headline “PARENTS LIVE TO SEE A KILLER CAUGHT” appeared. This article told the story of how the Kassab’s had gone from one of MacDonald’s staunchest supporters to accepting the inevitable conclusion that he was in fact solely responsible for the murders of Colette, Kimberley & Kristen. The article also highlighted the Kassab’s efforts to get the Justice Department to prosecute MacDonald for his crimes.
In March of 1973, Freddy once again gave another interview. This time to the New York Daily News and the story appeared with the headline REOPENED MURDER CASE INVOLVING EX-ARMY DOC. Despite all of the Kassab’s efforts, the US Justice Department’s only action was to send the case back to the Army for further investigation. They did not believe there was sufficient evidence to warrant any prosecution at that time.
Citizens Complaint
Having tried to go through legal channels with the US Government the Kassabs decided to file a citizens’ complaint against Jeffrey R MacDonald with three counts of murder. On April 30, 1974, they appeared in Raleigh, North Carolina in front of the Honorable Algernon Butler, chief judge of the federal district court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Freddy also sent a 13-page letter to every member of the House and Senate Judiciary Committee informing them of their efforts over the last three years. He wanted to bring the person responsible for Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen’s murders to justice.
Efforts Pay Off
Finally, in June 1974 the case is given to Victor Woerheide, a career attorney with the US Justice Department. Woerheide would not be the only attorney involved with the MacDonald case as Brian Murtaugh, a 27-year-old attorney with the CID Command in Washington DC asked to be transferred to the Justice Department to assist in MacDonald’s prosecution.
Grand Jury
In July 1974 a grand jury was impaneled in the Eastern District of North Carolina to hear the case against former Green Beret Army Captain Jeffrey R MacDonald. This case would be heard by 23 randomly selected citizens of North Carolina.
MacDonald was called as the first witness to testify and he did so on August 12, 1974. He would end up testifying for five days. Woreheide’s plan was to get as many details on the record from MacDonald then he would bring in other witnesses that would contradict what MacDonald had said.
Woreheide got MacDonald to admit that he never hired private investigators to track down the alleged intruders from that night. This was a claim he made to Newsday in an article published in October 1972. He also got MacDonald to admit that he had made up the story of finding one of the male assailants and killing him. MacDonald also admitted to making up the story about him having made four trips to North Carolina and Florida to hunt down his family’s killers. MacDonald said he made up these stories to allay the fears of the Kassabs that nothing was being done to find the murderers.
Woerheide confronted MacDonald about his statements of never having had an affair, he only “very rarely” slept with other women while married to Colette. He also confronted him about the Russia trip story.
Grand Jury Hand Down an Indictment
Finally, Woreheide had MacDonald relate the events of February 16 and 17th to the grand jury. It was MacDonald’s testimony to the grand jury that he never claimed to see “hippies” that night. He blamed the “hippies” description on the provost marshal. He also claimed he never saw a candle either. Only a light on the female assailant’s face and he never saw her face specifically only her hair, hat, and facial outline.
MacDonald also told the grand jury that his blue pajama top had been pulled over his head and wrapped around his wrists and he couldn’t get his hands free while he was fighting off three male attackers. He claimed that he had sustained more injuries than those indicated in his medical report from that evening. Four contusions on his head. A large contusion to his left shoulder. Three stab wounds and seventeen puncture wounds.
MacDonald testified to how he felt the CID did a poor job at securing the crime scene and that they had jumped to conclusions based upon the neatness of the living room. He basically explained how he had been treated unfairly by the Army.
In the end, the grand jury would remain impaneled until January 1975. More than 75 witnesses were called to testify. Stambaugh testified to the reevaluation of the evidence specifically the blood and fiber evidence. The grand jury would hand down an indictment against Jeffrey R MacDonald for three counts of murder.
Jeffrey R MacDonald is Arrested
On Friday, January 24, 1975, FBI agents arrested MacDonald at his home in Long Beach, California and he was soon released on bail. He resumed his job at St. Mary’s as the nun’s who ran the hospital felt that his arrest was just a misunderstanding. Bernie Segal filed two motions to have the charges dismissed.
- His indictment was a violation to double jeopardy.
- MacDonald had already been cleared during his article 32 hearing.
It was a violation of MacDonald’s right to a speedy trial. This indictment was coming almost five years after the original charges were filed against him. Judge Franklin Dupree in the Federal District Court in Raleigh North Carolina denied both motions.
His reasoning was an article 32 hearing is not equal to a jury trial it’s only an investigative proceeding. The right to a speedy trial does not go into effect until a person has been formally accused (i.e. charged) and in MacDonald’s case, this didn’t happen until the grand jury indictment.
Judge Dupree set a trial date for August 18, 1975.
Resources
Resources will be included in Part 4.