Covered in the blood of his wife and children, he told the 911 operator a terrifying story that his home had been invaded by Charles Manson-style hippies — saying they killed his wife and two daughters. 7 Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald killed his entire family and then covered it up 7 Dr. MacDonald and his wife Colette seemed to be the perfect American couple 7 The couple had two children, Kimberley, right, and Kristen, left, with a third on the way MacDonald – a tall, good-looking army surgeon – seemed to be the ideal family man and at first managed to convince the officers that he was the victim. No one would suspect that he could be capable of such sickening violence. The all-American doctor thought he had committed the perfect murders and was going to get away with his crimes. But after nine years, he was finally caught as a detective and his father-in-law managed to unravel the twisted surgeon’s web of lies. Despite his cool and professional demeanor, MacDonald delivered with several key clues. The discovery of the murder weapons in the back garden of the house, with fingerprints mysteriously wiped away, pointed to a killer who had not left the scene. He also provided little evidence to support his lurid claims of a murderous hippie gang raid and refused to take a lie detector test. Also, despite his training in unarmed combat, the room where MacDonald was supposed to have fought for his life with his attackers showed little sign of struggle. Fibers from his pajama top were found under his wife’s body and in the bedrooms of his two daughters. When police first arrived at the home in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, they were greeted by a heartbreaking scene. Cold and calculating, MacDonald himself had called the police at 3.30am. on February 17, 1970. When the police arrived, they found him covered in blood next to the body of his pregnant wife. Colette had been stabbed 16 times with a kitchen knife and 21 times with an ice pick, and both of her arms were broken. The couple’s eldest daughter, five-year-old Kimberly, had been beaten to death and stabbed in the neck. Little Kristen, two, had 48 different stab wounds. MacDonald, 26, a medic and Green Beret, had suffered a punctured lung and multiple stab wounds, as well as a bruised head. He had recently finished a 24-hour shift at nearby Hamlet Hospital. In the garden, investigators later found the murder weapons, an ice pick and a large piece of wood. MacDonald claimed to police that he was sleeping on the sofa when he was attacked by “a gang of hippies”. They included a woman in a hat shouting “acid is groovy” and “kill the pigs”.

IMPOSSIBLE KILLER

The word “pig” had been scrawled in blood on a headboard, in an apparent imitation of the Charles Manson murders a year earlier. MacDonald said he was knocked unconscious in the attack and when he came to, his wife of six years and two young daughters were all dead. Born in Long Island, New York at school, Jeffrey was a popular kid at school and became student body president and prom king and was voted most popular and most likely to succeed by his classmates. He met his wife Collette in the 9th grade and they began dating, although they later separated, but the high school sweethearts eventually reunited and, in 1963, the couple married in a shotgun wedding after learning Collette was pregnant. A year later, their first child Kimberley was born. After joining the military and later volunteering to be a Green Beret, the family eventually moved into a home at Fort Bragg, and Colette became pregnant for the third time with the couple’s first son. 7 The crime scene was horrified – but officers were suspicious that nothing seemed out of place beyond Credit: North Carolina Police 7 His daughters had been brutally murdered in their bedsCredit: North Carolina State Police After MacDonald was treated for his injuries – which were far less serious than those suffered by the rest of his family – he was questioned by CID. Further investigations found that there was no evidence of MacDonald’s “hippie gang” and several suspicious weapons discovered around the property had been suspiciously fingerprinted. Forensic tests also turned up a number of findings and additional evidence that contradicted what MacDonald claimed had happened. MacDonald himself also provided little evidence to support his claims and refused to take a lie detector test after earlier agreeing to do so. On May 1, 1970, he was charged with murder.

IN TRIAL

In his first trial, MacDonald’s lawyer, Bernard Segal, claimed that coroners had destroyed crucial evidence supporting his client’s story. He even put a woman in as a possible suspect – teenage drug addict and police informant Helena Stoeckley. She matched MacDonald’s description of a blonde woman who claimed to have been at the scene of the murders and witnessed the night of the murders with several young men. Stoeckley also could not remember where she was on the night of the crimes and allegedly told a witness that she could not marry her boyfriend until they had killed someone. Although both Stoeckley and her boyfriend were questioned about the murders, they were never brought to trial and the charges against MacDonald were eventually dropped in October 1970. 7 The murder scene was made to look like the Manson murdersCredit: AP: Associated Press After being discharged from the army, MacDonald moved to California to work as a doctor. He became something of a celebrity, even appearing on television for interviews. However, Collette’s stepfather Alfred Kassab, who had initially supported MacDonald, had grown increasingly suspicious of him. He began his own investigation, obtained a copy of MacDonald’s police interview and revisited the original crime scene. Finally, Kassab was convinced. MacDonald had murdered his stepdaughter and two children. After a long court battle, MacDonald was brought to trial for a second time on July 16, 1979. On August 29, 1979, MacDonald was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to three life sentences. MacDonald was so convinced he would be acquitted that, before he was sentenced, he invited author Joe McGuinness to write a book about the case that would exonerate him. In contrast, the book Fatal Invasion portrayed MacDonald as a cold, calculating killer with no remorse for his actions. I am a decent person. My guilt was that I could not defend my family Jeffrey MacDonald Serial killer More than four decades have passed since his conviction, but MacDonald has maintained his innocence to this day. He has filed multiple appeals, but remains incarcerated at Cumberland Federal Correctional Institution in Maryland. In August 2002, he even married the former owner of his children’s drama school, Kathryn Kurich. In 1998, MacDonald again declared his innocence in an interview with Vanity Fair. “I am a decent man,” he asserted. “My guilt was that I could not defend my family. “They died. I didn’t… I didn’t have the luxury of picking my attackers and telling them the pounds per square inch to apply to my head and chest.” He has his defenders. Filmmaker Errol Morris, who was involved in the campaign, launched an effort to release MacDonald in 2012. Speaking to CBS at the time, Morris said, “I believe he’s innocent because no one has ever shown me any convincing evidence of his guilt.” He even wrote a book, A Wilderness of Error, which contained all the evidence he believes would be needed to free MacDonald. However, last year The Fayetteville Observer reported that MacDonald had rejected his latest bid for freedom. Federal records did not show why the 78-year-old rescinded his request to be released, and it is not known if he ultimately resigned himself to death in prison. 7 MacDonald, now 78, has continued to profess his innocence to this dayCredit: Getty