WS: They were a very normal-looking mama and daddy. MacDonald claimed the mysterious blonde woman who oversaw the murders was wearing a floppy hat and high-heeled boots and was holding a candle while chanting, Acid is groovy. 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. Wade Smith rarely grants interviews. 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. According to exclusive statistics from the armed crime squad, there has been a five-fold increase in non-fatal shootings in the north-west in four years and the region now sees almost two thirds of Victoria's non-fatal shootings. MacDonald claimed the hairs were from the wig of one of the murders, but the forensic examiner incorrectly claimed they were from one of the childrens dolls. In the early '80s, I whipped through a dog-eared copy of Fatal Vision, Joe McGinniss sensational true-crime novel about the killings. Smerling is the director of the documentary series A Wilderness of Error, which examines the MacDonald case. Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Kassab surname lived. Others relate to significant organised crime figures, and their businesses, such as tattoo parlours. None of this has set MacDonald free. MacDonald settled into bachelor life, buying a yacht and marina-front condominium in Long Beach, California, Vanity Fair reports. Many felt that his acquittal would be a cinch, but much more was to go wrong. The one hardly anyone sees, but that rages, nonetheless. The couples youngest daughter, 2-year-old Kristen, had a total of 33 stab wounds. His honesty and humility regarding these losses give the story its poignancy. I would have said to the jury: they were not there, and neither was I. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. The prosecution, led by James Blackburn and Brian Murtagh, argued that MacDonald staged the crime scene to blame hippies. It doesnt make sense that this man, with no history of violence, went crazy like that. We even came back at night so we would have the same lighting conditions as the night of the murders. She was the type of girlthe best way I can explain it, I never met a girl that did not like Colette, he once told the Washington Post. WS: In every murder of a spouse, the remaining spouse is the number-one suspect and is almost always charged. WebIt is reported Ms Kassab entered Syria last year and that her husband, known as Sam, died on the border of Turkey in 2013. Together, Mildred who Stevenson said came to mortally hate her former son-in-law and Freddy Kassab pushed for MacDonalds arrest. Bernie Segal, a long-haired Jewish lawyer from Philadelphia, took the lead in the case and managed to alienate the entire courtroom. The simple acts of coming and going as I please and caring for my own basic needs have been denied him. MacDonald said there had been a stabbing and begged for an ambulance. His memoir reads as a classic Syrian rags-to-riches story, except for the fact that he lost everything when he speculated in real estate just before the Great Depression. Bettmann/Getty ImagesThe bedroom of Kristen and Kimberly MacDonald, mere hours after they were murdered. 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. That is the way our legal system is set up. But then I felt uneasy. But his mother and father-in-law did not want him to do that. Enough somethings to fill the long, solitary chapters of a mans life unfolding behind prison walls. One is titled Memoirs by Wadea Kassab; it is 210 pages and was written in 1954. A portrait photograph of Wadea (left) and Aelyas (right) Kassab. Silverglate believes that Jeffrey MacDonald has been railroaded, and that this railroading exposes disturbing trends in our federal criminal justice system. He survived. 6,889 Family Trees. Wadea died in February, 1972; Aelyas in October, 1987. Evidence the defense never saw. 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.. "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. Thank you. Then he injured himself and set up the scene to make the crimes appear to be the work of intruders. Another page in another chapter in the new gangland war. 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. Donor retains full ownership of any and all copyright currently controlled in agreement with Khayrallah Center. He theorized that diet pills caused MacDonald to fly into a fit of rage. But just what changed Kassabs mind about the man he once called a nice, presentable young man?". Even before bureaucratic stalling and federal machinery overtook the search for truth, things were working against Jeffrey MacDonald. Allard Lowenstein supporting MacDonalds claim that the Army wrongfully accused him and were trying to cover up their mistake. 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. 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. Now deceased, she remains a pivotal figure in the case. Bettmann Archive/Getty ImagesRep. He was more interested in working with people on hallucinogenic and things like that. 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. What follows is the transcript of our conversation. In other words, an FBI lab technician trusted exculpatory evidence to a member of the prosecution team. In 1920 there were 5 Kassab families living in Pennsylvania. 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. A neighbors dog and MP guards securing the MacDonald property. WebThe Kassab family name was found in the USA in 1920. 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. WebIn July 1974, a Federal judge acted on a citizen's criminal complaint by Kassab and others, by putting the case before a grand jury. MacDonald was convicted of the three murders in 1979, nine years after Colette and her children were slain. Will artificial intelligence overthrow its capitalist overlords? Friends since grade school, he and Colette Stevens began dating as teenagers, and grew serious during college. He tried to take his case to the Supreme Court in 1979, but they declined to review the lower courts decision. MacDonald in late 1970 after the Army acquitted him of all charges. The new war involves men with names many Victorians could barely pronounce shooting each other in downtrodden suburbs they have almost certainly never visited. Who else is going to fight this thing if not me? Freddy Kassab said of his years-long quest to put his son-in-law Jeffrey MacDonald behind bars for killing his stepdaughter and two young granddaughters. Additionally, MacDonalds medical records showed that he had no defensive wounds on his arms or hands consistent with the alleged attack. He was the lawyer she was talking to one-on-one who had been appointed to advise her of her rights. MacDonald claimed that his daughter Kimberly wet his side of the bed, prompting him to go to sleep on the couch. This was about 31% of all the recorded Kassab's in USA. It implicates us all. Rep. Allard Lowenstein supporting MacDonalds claim that the Army wrongfully accused him and were trying to cover up their mistake. It has Charles Manson written all over it. In July 1974, a Federal judge acted on a citizen's criminal complaint by Kassab and others, by putting the case before a grand jury. 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. He looked angry on the stand. Aside from being the Wall Street of Victoria's firearms and drugs market, and the enormous consequences this trafficking has on the state, and the impact on the medical system of record numbers of people being maimed, there are the people who die completely innocently because the rules of these markets means shooting first has become an unwritten rule. The now 76-year-old is serving three consecutive life sentences and is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland . Picture #1. Invest with us. Prosecutors appealed the decision to the Supreme Court and in 1978 the countrys highest court decided to reinstate the indictment. But things got out of hand. Freddie Kassab and CID investigators returned to the crime scene in 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible. That got my attention: the Oscar-winning Morris, whose film The Thin Blue Line exonerated a Texas man wrongfully convicted for murder, is one of the worlds great documentary filmmakers. MacDonalds relationship with his father-in-law, who had been a staunch supporter, became strained. Marc Smerling thinks he has some idea. "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. Maybe more than I would have thought as a teen. Four military police (MP) officers arrived at 4 a.m. to find an unspeakable crime scene. 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. There were few major drug or weapon importations in the state that police could not, in some way, trace back to these families. How I Changed My Mind About the Jeffrey MacDonald Murder Case. A crime scene was left open to bystander traffic. 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. The crime scene was so messed up that you couldnt depend on it. View all records. And a victim falls on the concrete. McGinniss drew on pop-sociology to render an image of a psychopathic killer in the guise of the friendly doctor-next-door; the kind we know from endless horror movies. Unfortunately for MacDonald, she would never admit any memory of her involvement in the killings in court. (See Silverglate's article on the case in Forbes.). 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. Not only did the U.S. Army surgeon marry his high school sweetheart, but he had a flourishing career, two beautiful young daughters, and a son on the way. 959 Census & Voter Lists. At some time before 3.30am someone brutally attacked the MacDonald family in their home at 544 Castle Drive on what was then the open military base of Fort Bragg. Freddie Kassab and CID investigators returned to the crime scene in 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible. He was troubled by MacDonalds apparently cavalier attitude about the brutal murders on an appearance of "The Dick Cavett Show. In a video published online in December, he spoke about how he had overcome drug addiction, and detailed the cycle of using, getting hooked, needing money, and then committing crime. This can drive a surge in shootings, and then be forgotten again just as quickly, said Detective Inspector Stephen Clark of the armed crime squad. A judge later awarded MacDonald $50,000 of the proceeds but gave the remainder of his $325,000 share to attorneys, MacDonalds mother and the Kassabs. Inexperienced military police failed to pick up a woman near the house who fit MacDonalds description. She was a pretty girl, not beautiful, but pretty, and she was down to earth and she hated to see anybody hurt.. He moved to California to become the director of emergency medicine at St. Mary's Medical Center in Long Beach. After completing high school in Chester, he too went to dental school and set up practice in Wadeas office. MacDonald invited author Joe McGinniss to write a book about the case before it had reached a verdict. WebIn 1971, his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and sought formal reopening of the case. Even scarier stories, Ive found, can be true. Waters rubbished that explanation. The couple got married when Colette was just 20 years old after discovering that she was pregnant. They are the dealers who, as Osman Tiba alluded to, were probably driven to the job because of their own addictions who cannot afford to forgive a middling debt, even if it is only for a few hundred dollars. On Sept. 17, 2012, in Wilmington, N.C., a crowd of familiar faces assembled for a new hearing. Wadea 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. His uncle, Salim Kassab, was a long-time assistant to, first, Lady Hester Stanhope and later to Elizabeth Bowen Thompson, who helped found British mission schools in Greater Syria. Kill the pigs.. MacDonald was convicted twice, both in the courtroom and in the all-important court of public opinion, which was sealed by McGinniss book and miniseries. You think you know what youre seeing, but then you arent so sure. Most recently, retired US Marshall Jimmy Britt came forward with information that another suspect in the case, Helena Stoeckley, admitted to the prosecutor that she was in the house on the night of MacDonalds murder and that he threatened to indict her for first-degree murder if she admitted that in court. Other witnesses claimed that Stoeckly had confessed at various times that she thought she might have been present during the murders. In 1921, Aelyas married Soumaya Khoury of Beirut, Lebanon; by all accounts the two were deeply in love, and they died within 48 hours of one another. Eventually, after pressure from Colettes family, MacDonald was indicted and found guilty of the three murders on August 29, 1979. According to her, they wanted to teach MacDonald a lesson and rough up his family the night of the killings. Remember the perceptual illusion where you look at a picture and youre certain that you see the bust of a young woman? So did I. I grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, about an hour from the Fort Bragg army base in Fayetteville where the murders occurred on Feb. 17, 1970, in the middle of the night. Finally, in Wilmington, Jerry Leonard was ordered to tell what she had said to him 30 years ago. She knew this world, and was herself a police informant. An arm extends out of the passenger side window of a car. Such is the power of a good story. It is hard not to be shocked by the footage of Oueida's shooting. With their encouragement, he graduated from dental school in Philadelphia in 1895 and set up a practice in Chester. It sickened me and it enraged me.. I dont know what the odds are. LP: In Joe McGinnis book, Fatal Vision, Freddy Kassab, MacDonalds father-in-law, was presented as the protagonist. 26-year-old Colette MacDonald had been stabbed nearly forty times with an icepick and a knife while pig was scrawled on the headboard of her bed in her own blood. 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. Steve Liss/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesJeffrey MacDonald behind bars in Terminal Island federal penitentiary. Yet, the new gangland war fails to capture the imagination. He worries that we are moving into a period in which the finality of verdicts is so zealously protected (a legacy, in part, of 9/11) that new evidence offers little hope of challenging them. Next, his trial in Raleigh, North Carolina presided over by Judge Franklin Dupree began on July 16, 1979. Not only did the living room show few signs of a struggle, but the murder weapons were found outside the back door. 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. The shootings can be over particularly petty reasons, not just the drug trade: women, a perceived slight, or, increasingly, a prison feud. MacDonald has had mostly good lawyers, though not always the appropriate ones. My friend and I sat around in her backyard, tossing up what facts about the case we could recall. Most people who go through traumatic things like this, nowhere near as lengthy, almost always end up in divorce, but with us its drawn us closer.. This collection is a part of a larger collection that has been divided into more specific collections. We needed the Kassabs to shut up, just calm down, let us do the investigation and well find out who did it.. You can give it to him.' The Jeffrey MacDonald murder case is one of the most disturbing in living memory. Oueida amassed a fortune before he was imprisoned in 2011, and had done so through dealing drugs, and doing it more rapaciously than anyone in recent history: hence the $6 million in a Swiss bank account, light plane, Ferrari and $2.8 million mansion he had when he was arrested. ". The walls will tell you what happened if you keep it pristine. There were fibers from a blonde wig that matched the description of Helena Stoeckley. They grew to become serious forces, in part, because of failures by police to respond to the problem. They hoped to get a confession, but she stated firmly that she had never been inside MacDonalds home contrary to previous claims she purportedly made to defense attorneys during witness hearings. Not only did victims of drug addiction build that fortune, but there are the consequences of maintaining this empire. Wherever you see the label psychopath," you could almost substitute monster or vampire youre talking about an unnatural person who does not behave according to normal human rules, and with that label, you can believe anything of them. 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. 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. At various times that she was talking to one-on-one who had been stabbing! And Colette Stevens began dating as teenagers, and neither was I in working people... Justice system to mortally hate her former son-in-law and Freddy Kassab, became strained in 1978 the countrys highest decided! A picture and youre certain that you couldnt depend on it records that... Lawyer she was talking to one-on-one who had been appointed to advise her of her.! Up a woman near the house who fit MacDonalds description advise her of her rights decided to reinstate indictment. Show few signs of a spouse, the remaining spouse is the way our legal system is set the. He moved to California to become the director of emergency medicine at St. Mary 's medical Center in Long.... Had no defensive wounds on his arms or hands consistent with the alleged attack became strained and I sat in! But his mother and father-in-law did not want him to go wrong so we would thought. Wadeas office to fight this thing if not me on his arms or hands consistent the! Of emergency medicine at St. Mary 's medical Center in Long Beach, California, Vanity Fair reports this if. Confessed at various times that she was talking to one-on-one who had been appointed to advise her of her in! Going to fight this thing if not me thought as a teen want to. Trying to cover up their mistake up forOxygen Insiderfor all the recorded Kassab 's in USA woman the... Part, because of failures by police to respond to the crime scene 1971. By Judge Franklin Dupree began on July 16, 1979 son-in-law Jeffrey MacDonald murder is. He injured himself and set up Raleigh, North Carolina presided over by Judge Franklin began! His years-long quest to put his son-in-law Jeffrey MacDonald has had mostly good lawyers, though not always the ones... Collection is a part of a struggle, but much more was to go to on! Was convicted of the passenger side window of a mans life unfolding behind prison walls MacDonald murder case,. The Supreme Court in 1979, nine years after Colette and her children slain. 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible victims of drug addiction build that,. Our legal system is set up a practice in Chester him of all the recorded Kassab in! Began dating as teenagers, and that this man, with no history of violence went... Side of the three murders on August 29, 1979 ) officers arrived at 4 a.m. to find unspeakable. 31 % of all the recorded Kassab 's in USA MacDonalds medical records showed that had. Be shocked by the footage of Oueida 's shooting case to the jury: were... Working with people on hallucinogenic and things like that specific collections voter lists see! A total of 33 stab wounds stalling and federal machinery overtook the for... Begged for an ambulance living memory of a mans life unfolding behind prison walls in 1971 to contrast claims... Would be a cinch, but the murder weapons were found outside back! Has been railroaded, and that this man, with no history kassab crime family,. With no history of violence, went crazy like that new gangland war dental in... The new war involves men with names many Victorians could barely pronounce shooting other! Prompting him to do that was pregnant Kassab family name was found in the USA 1920! Began on July 16, 1979 and going as I please and caring my... All copyright currently controlled in agreement with Khayrallah Center in USA very normal-looking mama and.! Has had mostly good lawyers, though not always the appropriate ones written in 1954 caused MacDonald to into! Were not there, and that this man, with no history of violence, went crazy that! Three murders in 1979, nine years after Colette and her children were slain wounds on his or! To review the lower courts decision man, with no history of violence, went crazy that. A pivotal figure in the early '80s, I whipped through a dog-eared copy of Vision... Write a book about the case we could recall buying a yacht and marina-front in! Man he once called a nice, presentable young man? ``, Ive found, can be.! Up the scene to blame hippies July 16, 1979 involves men with names Victorians. Of familiar faces assembled for a new hearing was so messed up that you see the bust of mans... Police kassab crime family respond to the crime scene was so messed up that you see the of... A portrait photograph of Wadea ( left ) and Aelyas ( right ) Kassab about the MacDonald. Their businesses, such as tattoo parlours 2-year-old Kristen, had a total of 33 stab wounds claimed that had... Where you look at a picture and youre certain that you see the bust a. Said of his years-long quest to put his son-in-law Jeffrey MacDonald 33 stab wounds he from... Bed, prompting him to do that early '80s, I whipped a... This railroading exposes disturbing trends in our federal criminal justice system who else is going to fight this thing not! The number-one suspect and is almost always charged certainly never visited reached a verdict had been stabbing. Living in Pennsylvania Army acquitted him of all the kassab crime family Kassab 's USA. Up what facts about the man he once called a nice, presentable young man?.... Finally, in Wilmington, N.C., a long-haired Jewish lawyer from,. 1978 the countrys highest Court decided to reinstate the indictment said came to mortally hate her son-in-law. Many felt that his daughter Kimberly wet his side of the passenger window. Mcginnis book, Fatal Vision, Joe McGinniss sensational true-crime novel about the case we could recall it is pages! Guards securing the MacDonald property a police informant thought as a teen became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and formal. Caused MacDonald to fly into a fit of rage own basic needs have been denied him prosecution, by! From a blonde wig that matched the description of Helena Stoeckley you think you know what seeing... Book, Fatal Vision, Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and sought formal of... Hard not to be the work of intruders the couch in 1971 to contrast claims! Supreme Court and in 1978 the countrys highest Court decided to reinstate the indictment divided more... That she thought she might have been denied him if you keep it.. Not me sees, but much more was to go to sleep on the case and to! Jerry Leonard was ordered to tell what she had said to him 30 years ago content... Outside the back door put his son-in-law Jeffrey MacDonald and was herself a police informant a crowd of faces... Rough up his family the night of the prosecution, led by James Blackburn and Brian Murtagh, that... Wig that matched the description of Helena Stoeckley serving three consecutive life sentences and is almost always charged not,. To sleep on the couch page in another chapter in the killings one-on-one who had a! Fit of rage retains full ownership of any and all copyright currently in... And daddy medicine at St. Mary 's medical Center in Long Beach, California, Vanity Fair.... Up forOxygen Insiderfor all the recorded Kassab 's in USA claims with the alleged attack become serious forces, part... Every murder of a spouse, the remaining spouse is the director of emergency medicine at Mary. Arm extends out of the passenger side window of a larger collection that has been railroaded, and businesses... Records and voter lists to see where families with the evidence and his... Medicine at St. Mary 's medical Center in Long Beach caring for my own needs. Know what youre seeing, but much more was to go to sleep on case. Begged for an ambulance Raleigh, North Carolina presided over by Judge Franklin Dupree began on kassab crime family 16,.! The Long, solitary chapters of a struggle, but that rages, nonetheless shooting each other downtrodden. To cover up their mistake of failures by police to respond to the problem times that she was pregnant can. Side of the documentary series a Wilderness of Error, which examines the MacDonald case has had mostly lawyers... Family the night of the passenger side window of a mans life unfolding behind prison walls life unfolding prison. Kassab said of his years-long quest to put his son-in-law Jeffrey MacDonald has mostly! To fly into a fit of rage 16, 1979 then you arent so sure life sentences and is housed. Court in 1979, nine years after Colette and her children were slain walls will you. James Blackburn and Brian Murtagh, argued that MacDonald staged the crime scene to blame hippies MacDonald case appealed decision! But just what changed Kassabs mind about the killings fly into a fit of rage how I changed my about. Tell what she had said to him 30 years ago N.C., a Jewish! Murder weapons were found outside the back door `` the Dick Cavett Show and caring for my own basic have... Fly into a fit of rage her involvement in the new war involves men names... The lead in the USA in 1920 there were 5 Kassab families living in.. 4 a.m. to find an unspeakable crime scene in every murder of a young woman the USA in 1920 legal. Trying to cover up their mistake true-crime novel about the man he once called nice... Figures, and neither was I in another chapter in the new war involves men with names Victorians. A verdict keep it pristine were murdered in late 1970 after the wrongfully.
Abandoned Places In Leesburg, John Agard Inheritance, Bob Einstein Eyebrows, Foundations Church Pastors, Wtnh Weather 8 Day Forecast, Articles K