I remember saying, It doesnt matter. In addition, DNA testing on evidence that was recovered from the fingernails scrapings of one of the victims and a hair found under another victim did not match MacDonald. But MacDonalds legal teamled by Bernie Segalpersuaded the Fourth Circuit Court to throw out the charges, claiming that MacDonald had been denied a speedy trial. MacDonald sued McGinniss for fraud in 1987, with a mistrial leading them to settle out of court for $325,000. Often, the spouse turns out to have committed the murder, so its not surprising that the case turned to McDonald. Carl Williams was a boy from Broady, whose fat fingers spread across the state, but we know little about the boys from Broady who are ordering murders and peddling drugs now. One thing about this case is never in doubt no matter whos talking: If Wade Smith had been able to lead and give his closing remarks, MacDonald would be a free man today. Detective Inspector Wayne Newman, from the North-West Metro region, says there has been an increase in higher ranking organised crime figures in the area insulating themselves from possible harm by using youth networks to do the grunt work. Smerling is the director of the documentary series A Wilderness of Error, which examines the MacDonald case. But, soon after MacDonald moved to Long Beach, California to continue his career at St. Mary Medical Center, and the tide turned once more. Morris researched the MacDonald case for 20 years and knows each labyrinthine turn of its progress through the criminal justice system. "There was a young kid that was shot, and he's paralysed from the chest down for the rest of his life. And she told him she had been there, at the MacDonald home, the night of the murders. He didnt do that. They were successful, and a grand jury indicted MacDonald for murder the following year. This was about 31% of all the recorded Kassab's in USA. A portrait photograph of Wadea (left) and Aelyas (right) Kassab. Picture #2. Bernie Segal, a long-haired Jewish lawyer from Philadelphia, took the lead in the case and managed to alienate the entire courtroom. Even back then, if you polled Fayetteville folks, you might have found that a lot of people did not believe that he did it. or click here to become a subscriber. Ive got the patience of Job.. Appearances didnt help MacDonald, either. Psychiatric professionals on both sides pronounced him incapable of having committed the crimes. WebWadea Kassab was born in Damascus in 1872 to an Orthodox family that had long and deep connections to British and American Protestant missionaries in Damascus and Beirut. It all was intruders. His most significant injury was a puncture wound and deflated lung. Out of all the evidentiary and procedural twists and turns, I asked Silverglate to name the one that bothered him the most about the MacDonald case. But it is also hard to feel any empathy, or concern as Victorians do about other crimes against more innocent victims that it could happen to them. In 1982, she sat down with Gunderson and Beasley in a taped interview, claiming that she had been part of a satanic cult that had killed the family because MacDonald was not cooperative in helping heroin addicts during his time at Fort Bragg. I dont have that magic. The popular story says there was no evidence of intruders. Some of the facts I thought I knew began to look more like ideas conjured by eager prosecutors and a journalist who had dealt so disingenuously with Jeffrey MacDonald in writing Fatal Vision that he was sued after publication. Then, if someone draws your attention to certain details, suddenly the picture transforms into the profile of an old woman. But for every Khayre, a case most people have heard of with a clear link to the north-west, there are dozens more that barely make a ripple. Bettmann Archive/Getty ImagesRep. Bettmann/Getty ImagesThe bedroom of Kristen and Kimberly MacDonald, mere hours after they were murdered. His wife Colette and his children have also been forever denied these things -- but not, I have come to believe, by the man who is currently serving three consecutive life sentences. Tonight when I retire to my bed, I will not feel as safe from unpredictable evils as I did when I was a teenager reading scary stories. It is hard not to be shocked by the footage of Oueida's shooting. When we were walking out of the house, I was warned that convicting MacDonald wasnt going to be that simple, Kassab said. Sometimes that doesnt happen. This collection is a part of a larger collection that has been divided into more specific collections. He explained his lie initially by attributing it to drug addiction-induced paranoia and then said he believed that once he told his family the lies, he had to keep lying.. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. There are only two possible pictures, both nightmares. Theres a note attached. At the time, Kassab still believed the real perpetrators of the crime had been the four hippies that MacDonald said had broken into the home. Invest with us. But just what changed Kassabs mind about the man he once called a nice, presentable young man?". Back in the 1979 trial, a lawyer named Jerry Leonard represented Helena Stoeckley. MacDonald at Los Angeles Terminal Island prison where Charles Manson had spent much of his youth. Colettes sister-in-law Vivian Pep Stevenson told the outlet that Colette knew of the affairs and was growing tired of the infidelities before she died, at one point lamenting, I dont want to do this anymore.. Since last September, the Tibas are suspected of involvement in at least six non-fatal shootings, a bashing and multiple home invasions. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Two members of the Tiba family have been charged in relation to the shooting. Kassabs unwavering support of his son-in-law also began to crumble as Kassabwho worked in telephone sales for the Quality Egg Co.began to question MacDonalds account of what happened. But he taunted the police. Then he injured himself and set up the scene to make the crimes appear to be the work of intruders. Who else is going to fight this thing if not me? Kassab said, who had moved to Florida from his Long Island home the year before. Bob Riha Jr./Getty ImagesMacDonald at Los Angeles Terminal Island prison where Charles Manson had spent much of his youth. Soon I was reading Morris A Wilderness of Error, feeling skeptical and wondering why this reputable man would involve himself in a case that everyone and their mother (including mine) knew the truth about. In Fayetteville, an army town, strong tensions existed between army types like Jeffrey MacDonald on one side of the war, and hippies and protesters on the other. Many think this woman could have been Helena Stoeckley, a drug abuser and professed member of a witchcraft cult who repeatedly confessed to having been at the MacDonald house the night of the murders, but recanted her story whenever she seemed to fear prosecution. He could get an answer by the end of this year. Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Kassab surname lived. The couple got married when Colette was just 20 years old after discovering that she was pregnant. @2022 - AlterNet Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Most notably, the holes in the shirt MacDonald had been wearing appeared too smooth and clear cut to indicate self-defense. 959 Census & Voter Lists. The lead prosecutor for the case, Jim Blackburn began to analyze every piece of evidence from the trial, including MacDonald's pajama shirt, which was draped over Colette's body, and the bedsheet she was wrapped in. MacDonald said there had been a stabbing and begged for an ambulance. WebIn 1971, his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and sought formal reopening of the case. Four men walking to a car, a silver four-wheel drive pulling alongside and obscuring them from view, and then Oueida writhing on the ground, before he hobbles for his life, back towards the Coburg Mosque, where he had just finished afternoon prayer. I was keeping Freddy happy, he said, according to Vanity Fair. The past year has been the most arduous of our lives. Another page in another chapter in the new gangland war. Wade Smith rarely grants interviews. But his mother and father-in-law did not want him to do that. The family claims his body has never been found. WebThe Kassab family name was found in the USA in 1920. He was a nice, presentable young man. Did Jeffrey MacDonald Brutally Slay His Pregnant Wife And Daughters Or Did The Cops Get The Wrong Guy? Oh, yes. The list of misfortunes goes on: exculpatory evidence withheld; possible prosecutorial misconduct; and fallible humans who twisted the MacDonald story to fit their own agendas. It frustrates police that low-level gangsters without a shred of integrity jut their chins out and shake their heads in a misplaced attempt at honour when asked who shot them, despite, in many instances, being maimed for life. What do you recall of the in-laws in the trial? I thought the world of Judge Dupree. But there is a reasonable doubt, and because there is a reasonable doubt it is absolutely clear that he should be set free. Jeffrey MacDonald had also been at the home at the time, but he suffered only minor injuries compared to what his family endured. The couple sued MacDonald in 1987 to try to prevent him from profiting from Joe McGinniss book Fatal Vision, which served as the inspiration for the mini-series. Many felt that his acquittal would be a cinch, but much more was to go wrong. Years after he was blasted with a shotgun by a crime figure who continues to wield influence in the north-west, one victim is still dealing with his injuries. Allard Lowenstein supporting MacDonalds claim that the Army wrongfully accused him and were trying to cover up their mistake. In 1989after Freddy Kassab had been diagnosed with emphysemahe decided to videotape his arguments against MacDonalds release and arranged for the tape to be played, if necessary, in front of a parole board after he died, according to the Orlando Sentinel. WebThe Kassab family name was found in the USA in 1920. A grandson, also called Abdul, was considered such a threat he was subject to a National Anti-Gang Squad investigation last year the Australian Federal Police led team that represents an even greater escalation in the police response than the formation of Santiago. Some criminal networks were recently identified as having more than 1000 members, of various ages and ethnic backgrounds; unlike the five families, they were not simply the first generation of children born in Australia to parents hailing from northern Lebanon. Two possibilities: MacDonald is a monster, or he is a victim of terrible injustice. In this case, it carries particular weight: police are trying to break the hold, in some cases, of family ties that go back generations. He has been imprisoned for three decades for a crime he did not commit. Two-year-old Kristen had 33 knife- and 15 icepick wounds in her torso, while five-year-old Kimberly was bludgeoned to death. Colette MacDonald and her daughters suffered horrific violence as they were killed on February 17, 1970 at their Fort Bragg home. Kassab said in that moment, as he stood in the preserved crime scene, he realized the man he had once considered a loving partner to his stepdaughter had slaughtered his family and then staged the attack. McGinniss made the murders sound like the work of a diabolical genius, a man who could transform in a moment from a loving father to a homicidal maniac, and again, in the blink of an eye, to a calculating conman. He moved to California to become the director of emergency medicine at St. Mary's Medical Center in Long Beach. It would take six more months before Mildred Kassab reached the same conclusion. Released and honorably discharged by the Army, MacDonald seemed to be in the clear. He tried to take his case to the Supreme Court in 1979, but they declined to review the lower courts decision. WS: Its an enormous problem. 6,889 Family Trees. By now, many members of the original hearing and 1979 trial are dead, including Judge Dupree. Its a case that if you were telling scary stories around the dining room table and you had all your family gathered, people could hardly believe it. 959 Census & Voter Lists. The Jeffrey MacDonald murder case is one of the most disturbing in living memory. Republicans furious after Democrat questions 'God-given' rights at House hearing, 'Beyond parody': Critics torch Marjorie Taylor Greene for her latest appeal to Republicans, Watch: Anti-drag GOP governor bolts from reporters who unearthed photos of him in drag, Probe finds far-right Tennessee Republican 'economist' major got a 'C' in his one college econ class. On the evening of the murders, Jeffrey MacDonald had taken his kids to ride the pony he had bought them, fed them dinner while their mother took a night class, and put them to bed. They were successful, and a grand jury indicted MacDonald for murder the following.! 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