What do you recall of the in-laws in the trial? Smerling is the director of the documentary series A Wilderness of Error, which examines the MacDonald case. MacDonald has had mostly good lawyers, though not always the appropriate ones. It implicates us all. Marc Smerling thinks he has some idea. Freddie Kassab and CID investigators returned to the crime scene in 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible. By now, many members of the original hearing and 1979 trial are dead, including Judge Dupree. 959 Census & Voter Lists. And were very fortunate. You trust him. It has Helena Stoeckley, the dominant person who continues to play a remarkable role. The shootings can be over particularly petty reasons, not just the drug trade: women, a perceived slight, or, increasingly, a prison feud. Wade Smith: Its a very spooky case. Investigating Officer Warren Rock ultimately recommended the charges be dismissed at the conclusion of the hearing and MacDonald began to move forward with his life, leaving the Army, selling most of the familys possessions in a yard sale, and moving to California. 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. He was a nice, presentable young man. MacDonald claimed that his daughter Kimberly wet his side of the bed, prompting him to go to sleep on the couch. I even laughed at the idea of hippie murderers in North Carolina. MacDonald, bloody but alive, was next to his wife, who had been pregnant with their third child when she was stabbed 16 times with a kitchen knife and 21 times with an icepick. "More senior criminal figures are exploiting the vulnerabilities of younger or less sophisticated offenders," he said. Kassab wanted to find justice and began writing letters to the Army and congressmen slamming the investigators for their errors and urging authorities to continue the investigation. Released and honorably discharged by the Army, MacDonald seemed to be in the clear. He adamantly denied all charges but was at a loss for words during cross-examination by the prosecution. Since last September, the Tibas are suspected of involvement in at least six non-fatal shootings, a bashing and multiple home invasions. Kassabs suspicions deepened after he received a copy of a transcript of the Article 32 hearing and began to pore through the evidence himself. 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. The Tibas, Haddaras, Chaouks, Kassabs, and Kheirs are north-west Melbourne's version of the Five Families, the major players in the New York mafia. It doesnt make sense that this man, with no history of violence, went crazy like that. Waters rubbished that explanation. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! He had biblical levels of persistence, Bob Keeler, a reporter for Newsday, recalled in A Wilderness of Error.. "There's a lot of luck good and bad in a non-fatal shooting, You can be shot once and die, or you can be shot five times and live. Kassab filed a citizens criminal complaint in April 1974, petitioning a federal court to convene a grand jury and determine if MacDonald could be charged. View all records. Or maybe theres something else at work: Picture #2 is even more awful to see than Picture #1. These fibers on the bodies didnt match any fibers found in the MacDonald house. LP: Did anything new come out in the Wilmington hearing in September? Not only were three hairs discovered at the crime scene that didnt match any of the familys DNA, but an affidavit revealed that Blackburn had allegedly threatened Stoeckley not to tell the truth in court. And she told him she had been there, at the MacDonald home, the night of the murders. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. LP: In Joe McGinnis book, Fatal Vision, Freddy Kassab, MacDonalds father-in-law, was presented as the protagonist. Kassab a one-time Canadian Army intelligence operator who had once lost his own wife and daughter in a bombing of London during World War II initially believed MacDonalds account of the night and became a staunch and vocal supporter of his son-in-law, the Washington Post reported in 1984. In 1920 there were 5 Kassab families living in Pennsylvania. - "Poynter" fonts provided by fontsempire.com. But while Kassab saw MacDonald as an engaged and loving father and husband, Army investigators grew suspicious of MacDonalds account of the killings and ordered him to appear for an Article 32 hearinga military process used to determine whether there was enough evidence to pursue formal charges against MacDonald. 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. Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Kassab surname lived. Wadea left Syria in 1889 with two companions and arrived in the United States that same year. MacDonald was convicted of the three murders in 1979, nine years after Colette and her children were slain. The walls will tell you what happened if you keep it pristine. WebIt is reported Ms Kassab entered Syria last year and that her husband, known as Sam, died on the border of Turkey in 2013. He survived. Will artificial intelligence overthrow its capitalist overlords? MacDonald claimed he'd broke his arm in the fatal scuffle, but Kearns would later say in an interview that authorities had MacDonald under surveillance at the time and did not observe any broken arm. But things got out of hand. He theorized that diet pills caused MacDonald to fly into a fit of rage. Soldiers corpses arrived at Fort Bragg stuffed with heroin. We even came back at night so we would have the same lighting conditions as the night of the murders. McGinniss stark rendering of Picture #1 stuck in my mind until recently when a friend from North Carolina told me that Errol Morris had published a book suggesting MacDonald was innocent. Pennsylvania had the highest population of Kassab families in 1920. Not only had the word pig been scrawled on the bedroom headboard in his wifes blood but she and her unborn baby were dead. Picture #1. 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. But an unfortunate thing happened in the following years. First responder Kenneth Mica discovered the bodies, with MacDonald laying wounded but alive next to his battered and lifeless wife. He went directly to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where a teacher of his had settled. MacDonald settled into bachelor life, buying a yacht and marina-front condominium in Long Beach, California, Vanity Fair reports. But even though Jeffrey MacDonald has spent decades behind bars, his case doesnt seem to be closed just yet. Ive had many cases in court. But there is a reasonable doubt, and because there is a reasonable doubt it is absolutely clear that he should be set free. Steve Liss/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesJeffrey MacDonald behind bars in Terminal Island federal penitentiary. He was a true gentleman, even though there were things in the trial and there were decisions he made that I disagree with. Furthermore, an FBI lab technician reenacted how MacDonald claimed he defended against the intruders attacks and proved his testimony contradicted the evidence. No attempt was made to locate the woman that night. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 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. Young woman; old woman. Aelyas kept the practice going while Wadea gave himself to real estate; when Wadea lost everything, he was able to resume his practice seamlessly by rejoining his brother. The defendant has no obligation to prove anything whatsoever. Bettmann/Getty ImagesMacDonald in late 1970 after the Army acquitted him of all charges. On Sept. 17, 2012, in Wilmington, N.C., a crowd of familiar faces assembled for a new hearing. I personally delivered a copy by hand to every congressman and every senator in the country.. A lengthy trial heard Moustafa and Kassab had gone to the Brunswick panel beating shop to confront Moustafa over $50,000 in cash and $10,000 in aftershave they believe he had stolen. Inside The Assassination Of Detlev Rohwedder, The Politician Who Tried To Unify East And West German Businesses, Someone Just Paid Over $81,000 For A Blood-Stained Lock Of Abraham Lincoln's Hair, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Steve Liss/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. They were successful, and a grand jury indicted MacDonald for murder the following year. The CIDs five-month-long interrogation (referred to as an Article 32 hearing) began in April, with officials intent on using only physical evidence and MacDonalds own statements to form their view. But Im an optimist generally about our system of justice, and I hope that MacDonald gets a break. Interview: The Spookiest Case Wade Smith Ever Encountered. "We're concentrating on the actions of the shooter, because what happens to the victim is outside our control the line between a non-fatal shooting and a murder is wafer thin. While both Detective Inspectors want to reiterate this is rare, it is also their worst fear, and what they are working to stop. And as is believed to have been the case when a large drug shipment made its way to the region in the past five years, and the Kassab/Kheir family made temporary peace with the Tibas that can sometimes mean forming a truce to distribute the product, and ensure its security. MacDonald now waits to see if the federal judge will vacate his 33-year-old conviction. In the early '80s, I whipped through a dog-eared copy of Fatal Vision, Joe McGinniss sensational true-crime novel about the killings. Silverglate predicts that even after examining the new evidence, Judge Fox will not grant Jeffrey MacDonald a new trial. Freddy was not going to quit. I think that one of the problems MacDonald had was that they expected him to undertake to find these killers, to go on a mission to find them. But his mother and father-in-law did not want him to do that. Four military police (MP) officers arrived at 4 a.m. to find an unspeakable crime scene. Back in the 1979 trial, a lawyer named Jerry Leonard represented Helena Stoeckley. But he had multiple bruises and puncture wounds, and two stab wounds, including one that collapsed his lung -- a serious injury that left him falling in and out of consciouness. And yet there are thousands of people in North Carolina who do not believe he did it. When police showed their hand regarding the organised crime threat, back in 2011, the Tibas were at war with the Kassabs and Kheirs. Freddy Kassab had inserted himself into the 1970 military hearing and made himself the center of a media circus, holding news conferences and firing off letters to members of Congress. "Memoirs" by Wadea Kassab recounts Wadea's life from his childhood in Damascus and Bloudan, to his immigration to America in 1889, and through his pursuit of education and a career in dentistry. 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.. Unfortunately for MacDonald, she would never admit any memory of her involvement in the killings in court. MacDonald sued McGinniss for fraud in 1987, with a mistrial leading them to settle out of court for $325,000. @2022 - AlterNet Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Stories about the innocent caught in a machine that perverts every possibility of justice. The military hearing found that the charges against MacDonald were not true. He was more interested in working with people on hallucinogenic and things like that. Melbourne's north-west has become a hotbed for armed crime. He could have gone on with his life, and he should have. As if they had seen it with their own eyes. In 1978, MacDonalds case went to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, who rejected it. That kind of story never ends. Weve always understood the importance of calling out corruption, regardless of political affiliation. There is no finality in injustice. Both brothers married women in Syria and brought them back to the United States. The Tibas are the only clan in the five families that can boast three generations of serious offenders from murderers to drug traffickers. Make a one-time contribution to Alternet All Access, Scott Adams and why American capitalism kneels before a bigger God. "There was a young kid that was shot, and he's paralysed from the chest down for the rest of his life. Yet, the new gangland war fails to capture the imagination. The bedroom of Kristen and Kimberly MacDonald, mere hours after they were murdered. I held out to the last ditch. Additionally, MacDonalds medical records showed that he had no defensive wounds on his arms or hands consistent with the alleged attack. Did Jeffrey MacDonald Brutally Slay His Pregnant Wife And Daughters Or Did The Cops Get The Wrong Guy? The couple got married when Colette was just 20 years old after discovering that she was pregnant. Earlier, evidence came to light that a FBI forensic examiner mislead the jury about synthetic hair evidence. Next, his trial in Raleigh, North Carolina presided over by Judge Franklin Dupree began on July 16, 1979. Colette had been stabbed 16 times and punctured 21 times with an ice pick, while 5-year-old Kimberley was killed by six blows to the head and eightto 10 stab wounds, according to a. Jeffrey MacDonald had also been at the home at the time, but he suffered only minor injuries compared to what his family endured. Despite a lack of motive and no history of violence, MacDonald was convicted of the second-degree murders of Colette and Kimberly, and the first-degree murder of Kristen. While none of the hairs found at the scene matched Stoeckleys DNA or that of any of her known associates, MacDonald maintains they prove something more essential to his freedom that someone else was there that night. Morris researched the MacDonald case for 20 years and knows each labyrinthine turn of its progress through the criminal justice system. I wouldnt allow myself to believe it, because it made it so much worse that it was he instead of strangers, she later said in an interview, according to the docuseries. There are only two possible pictures, both nightmares. It has Charles Manson written all over it. Now deceased, she remains a pivotal figure in the case. When the show was over, I retired to the security of my bed, safe from unpredictable evils. Nothing unique in any way. Picture #2. I would have said to the jury: they were not there, and neither was I. I dont have that magic. WebThe Kassab family name was found in the USA in 1920. Nonexclusive right to authorize all uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA). This was about 31% of all the recorded Kassab's in USA. Materials provided by the families of Wadea and Aelyas Kassab. Kassab a one-time Canadian Army intelligence operator who had once lost his own wife and daughter in a bombing of London during World War II initially believed MacDonalds account of the night and became a staunch and vocal supporter of his son-in-law, the Washington Post reported in 1984. Shes haunting this case. That is why, police say, it is important to consider what the shooting represents, rather than the act itself. 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. WebWe found 33,440 records for Kassab last name. MacDonald had been just a teenager at the time and was dating Colette, his high school sweetheart. Bernie Segal, a long-haired Jewish lawyer from Philadelphia, took the lead in the case and managed to alienate the entire courtroom. Abdul Tiba has eight sons, aged from their 50s to their 20s. In other words, an FBI lab technician trusted exculpatory evidence to a member of the prosecution team. Should Trump be allowed to hold office again? Most notably, the holes in the shirt MacDonald had been wearing appeared too smooth and clear cut to indicate self-defense. For all of us independent news organizations, its no exception. That, in turn, drives a burgeoning black market for firearms, and has made the north-west the centre of the gun trade in this state. That didnt happen here. Judge James Fox, a close friend of Dupree's and quite elderly himself, has taken over and has dismissed appeals. Many felt that his acquittal would be a cinch, but much more was to go wrong. WebWe found 33,440 records for Kassab last name. Were working to restore it. It all was intruders. The family claims his body has never been found. LP: One of the things that struck me in reading Errol Morris book was the use of the psychopath diagnosis in court and how problematic that is. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. We decided we needed Freddie and Mildred Kassab on our sides, lead investigator Peter Kearns said in a December 1986 lecture on the case, according to the docuseries. At one stage last year, there was only one of the six Chaouks, father and sons, that were alive and free. Until recently, most people saw Picture #1. In this case, it carries particular weight: police are trying to break the hold, in some cases, of family ties that go back generations. The FBI lab guy turned over two copies to Brian Murtaugh, the prosecutor. or click here to become a subscriber. Maybe more than I would have thought as a teen. At the moment, the five Haddaras are similarly constrained, with only one of them free, two dead and two in prison. The loving husband and father. He didnt do that. 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. Waters rubbished that explanation. 741 Immigration & Travel. The family claims his body has never been found. A lengthy trial heard Moustafa and Kassab had gone to the Brunswick panel beating shop to confront Moustafa over $50,000 in cash and $10,000 in aftershave they believe he had stolen. Shortly after relocating to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, he was made Group Surgeon to the Green Berets. Two members of the Tiba family have been charged in relation to the shooting. Colette MacDonald and her daughters suffered horrific violence as they were killed on February 17, 1970 at their Fort Bragg home. 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. Two members of the Tiba family have been charged in relation to the shooting. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. He made fun of them. 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