The Grand Jury Decision: On January 21, 1975, MacDonald appeared at the grand jury for a second time and three days later and 24 days before the statue of limitations would take effect, he was indicted on three counts of murder. He was placed under arrest and sent to jail. Friends and colleagues of MacDonald's raised $100,000 for his bail. For the next few years MacDonald's case went through a legal maze as he fought for his freedom and others fought equally as hard to keep him behind bars.
The Legal Maze:
- 1/76 - All charges are dismissed against MacDonald on the grounds that a speedy trial was denied.
- 5/1/78 - The Supreme Court reversed the decision stating that a trial must take place for a speedy trial complaint is valid.
- 7/79 - MacDonald's murder trial began.
- 8/79 - Jeffrey MacDonald is convicted of the three murders and sent to federal prison.
- 8/80 - All charges were dismissed by the Fourth Circuit court based on the grounds that a speedy trial was denied.
From August, 1980 until the end of March, 1982, MacDonald returned to work at the St. Mary Medical Center. He became involved in community volunteer work and also became engaged in March of 1982 to a woman he met at the hospital. But the engagement would not last long because in that same month, the Supreme Court reversed the speedy trial decision and Jeffrey was returned to prison.
Joe McGinniss and Fatal Vision: Author Joe McGinniss befriended MacDonald and the two became close friends. In an agreement to write MacDonald's story based on the truth, McGinniss was granted full access to MacDonald's legal defense. In the spring of 1984, the book,[il Fatal Visions was released and quickly became a best seller. In an act of betrayal to MacDonald, McGinniss portrayed MacDonald as a drug-crazed maniac who murdered his family.
MacDonald Files a Suit Against McGinniss: MacDonald filed a civil suit against McGinniss that was settled out of court. McGinnis paid $325,000 to MacDonald, but he personally received only $48,000. The Kassabs sued MacDonald for the settlement and received $80,000. MacDonald's mother received $93,000 and his lawyers received $104,000.
Fatal Justice: Jerry Potter and Fred Bost, began work on the book Fatal Justice in early 1988. The book is based on MacDonald’s innocence and offers the argument that crime-scene evidence was mishandled, confessions to the crime ignored, and exculpatory evidence withheld. The author's present strong documentation that supports the theory that the army was determined to see MacDonald arrested for the murders and failed to investigate other possibilities.
MacDonald's Refuses to Admit Guilt: In March of 1991, MacDonald became eligible for parole, but he did not apply because he was
not willing to say he was guilty of the murders.
Where MacDonald is Today: Jeffrey MacDonald now sits in a prison in Cumberland MD. In August of 2002 he married his long time friend, Kathryn Kurichh. MacDonald has decided, after being eligible for more than 14 years, to apply for parole and will attempt to prove his innocence to the North Carolina parole board.
Updates:
- December 15, 2005: Witness Backs Up Jeffrey MacDonald's Defense
- January 18, 2005: Jeffrey MacDonald Files Parole Request
- May 13, 2005: Parole Denied for 'Fatal Vision's' Jeffrey MacDonald
- January 13, 2006: Court Okays Jeffrey MacDonald's 4th Appeal
- March 12, 2006: DNA Tests Show Mixed Results for MacDonald
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Source:
The MacDonald Case Web Site
Fatal Justice by Fred Bost, Jerry Allen Potter
Fatal Vision by Joe McGinniss
