CASE FACT

The book Fatal Vision was shown in a court of law to be a fraudulent and fictional account of the MacDonald Case.

For many years, Joe McGinniss's best-selling novel Fatal Vision was viewed as the definitive book on the MacDonald case.  The book, and the ensuing mini-series based on it, were accepted as fact, since McGinniss had direct access to, and cooperation from, his subject.  His portrayal of MacDonald as a cold, narcissistic killer has been indelibly imprinted in the public's collective psyche over the years; the residual effects have tainted 
every court proceeding since trial.  

People who are new to this case may be aware of Fatal Vision  and its impact, but few are aware of the fact that in 1984, Dr. MacDonald took the unprecedented step of suing Joe 
McGinniss for breach of contract and fraud - while incarcerated in federal prison.  McGinniss's manipulation of conversations and circumstances, conjecture, and blatant 
lies were exposed in court, and MacDonald won a settlement of approximately a third of a million dollars in 1987.

It wasn't until the publication of Fatal Justice (by Potter and Bost, 1995, W.W. Norton Publishers) that the full extent of McGinniss's betrayal was documented, and many of the case myths he created were exposed as such.  

CASE FACT

The Destruction of the MacDonald's Apartment at 544 Castle Drive

The apartment was kept sealed by the U.S. Army and Department of Justice from 1970 until 1981. Fort Bragg fought to regain custody of the quarters beginning in February of 1981, but the Justice Department kept rigid control of them for three years following, citing that the apartment where the murders occurred and its contents might be needed as evidence to offset anticipated defense appeals.

Throughout these same years, defense investigators were denied access to the quarters, as they sought evidence that might help Jeffrey MacDonald.

During a defense appeal in 1983-84, however, court arguments by MacDonald attorneys apparently unnerved the government prosecutor.  He suddenly, and without notifying the defense, reversed his stance and allowed the Army to take over the quarters, saying that the contents he had sought to preserve for so many years were now useless.

Many of the items in the apartment belonged to Jeff MacDonald.  In lieu of his right to possess those items, the government acted under a regulation that allowed it to confiscate MacDonald's personal property because it was considered to be evidence in a criminal case.  The government is required to pay the property holder for the property while they continue to hold it.  The title to the property, however, never changes hands.  Once such property is no longer required as evidence, the owner is allowed to retake possession by returning the payment.  (Of course, the government had said they no longer needed the apartment for evidence, so rightfully, Dr. MacDonald should have been notified under this regulation, so that he could reclaim his possessions.)

Instead, on the night of June 7-8, 1984, everything in the apartment was completely burned and then buried at the Fort Bragg trash dump.  This included all furnishings, the ceilings, walls, doors, window sills, ledges, hardwood floors...leaving nothing but a skeleton of joists and sub flooring. 

The destruction also included items that, by regulation, were required to be placed for public auction by the Army - things like furniture, light fixtures, appliances, sinks, etc. 

Most importantly, the burning and burying of the entire contents of the apartment destroyed everything that might have been touched or left behind by murderers.

In contradiction, to the regulation cited above, all items still in the house and owned by MacDonald were also destroyed.  This was against the law and done without Dr. MacDonald's consent.  He had been given no knowledge of any change in status regarding the apartment. 

As a cover for this deliberate crime, the government claimed in its paperwork that MacDonald had "abandoned" his property, when in truth, he was not allowed access to reclaim his property.

The secret destruction actually occurred while MacDonald's attorneys were still trying to wrest court permission to examine the quarters.  No one informed them that both the quarters and its contents no longer existed.

The Army renovated the premises for new occupants three years later, in 1987.

CASE FACT

Regarding Jeffrey MacDonald's wounds

There has been much speculation regarding the extent of Jeff MacDonald's wounds, given that he survived the attacks, but his family did not.  At trial, the government contended that Colette had caused all of the wounds except for one to his lung, which they said was self-inflicted.

The government contended that a surgeon would know how to injure himself "safely", and the seriousness of MacDonald's collapsed lung was minimized at trial.  Five of the six doctors consulted at the Army Hearing (Article 32) testified that MacDonald could not have predicted the outcome of what they termed a very "serious" stab wound to the chest, which collapsed the lung by 40%.  All agreed that the liver could have been damaged, with death resulting, and that even a doctor would not be able to predict the outcome of such a wound, should he inflict in on himself.

Interestingly, MacDonald's wounds were never photographed, while those his family suffered were rigorously documented.  Womack Hospital photographer John McCaffrey waited for a request 
to record MacDonald's wounds, but it never came. "Somebody goofed," he said.

However, eye witness accounts and medical records describe injuries to MacDonald that go far beyond those minimized by the prosecution.  

For example, the government claimed that MacDonald had only a small bruise to the head.  Doctors Paul Manson and Robert McGann both observed and testified to seeing " a large contusion" over his left mid-forehead area, and another one over the right temple, slightly obscured by the hairline.

Friend and fellow officer Ron Harrison, when interviewed by the CID, stated that when he went to the hospital, he not only observed the bruises on the front of MacDonald's head, but lumps at the back of the head, and numerous wounds to the chest, arms and abdomen, and what he believed to be ice pick wounds to the neck.  

Dr. Straub, at Womack Hospital, examined Jeffrey MacDonald's abdominal wound.  He testified at the Army hearing that he "spread it apart, as I recall, and saw that it had gone through a great deal of the muscle of the abdominal wall."

The government made a point of claiming MacDonald suffered no wounds to the hands or arms.  But Dr. Severt Jacobson, also of Womack Hospital, described to the grand jury in 1974 cuts he observed to MacDonald's forearms and hand "from a very sharp object".  The government also claimed there were only superficial wounds to the chest, other than the stab wound, and no ice pick wounds.  But Dr. Jacobson told of seeing four puncture wounds to the upper chest, and multiple punctures elsewhere (arms, abdomen).  The puncture wounds were corroborated by Dr. Robert McGann and officer Ron Harrison.

Dr. Frank E. Gemma, an Army surgeon wrote a report on MacDonald's injuries upon his admission to Womack Hospital.  He, too, noted "several small puncture wounds that may have come from an instrument such as 
an icepick."

In order to protect their scenario of Colette injuring her husband in self-defense, the government ignored any and all mention of ice pick wounds in the records.  It would have been implausible for Colette to have been wielding not only a knife and a club, but an ice pick, as well.  The presence of three different types of wounds from three different types of weapons gave credence to MacDonald's account of multiple intruders.

Considering all the statements from medical personnel, hospital records and eye witnesses, MacDonald summarily suffered at least seventeen stab wounds to the hands, arms, and torso, stabbings through the muscle in the bicep and abdomen, a stab wound to the lung requiring a chest tube and two surgeries, and multiple contusions to the head.  He required resuscitation at the murder scene.  He could not save his family because he was knocked unconscious.  (see Q&A section for more on this subject.)

CASE FACT

Colette MacDonald's attacker is believed by experts to have been left-handed.  
Jeffrey MacDonald is right-handed.