Fatal Justice: Reinvestigating the Macdonald Murders (Paperback)

~ (Author), Fred Bost (Author) "At the end of a rainy Monday afternoon, February 16, 1970, Green Beret physician Jeffrey R. MacDonald left his office at Fort Bragg, North Carolina..." (more)
Key Phrases: pajama top fibers, pajama fibers, black wool fibers, Helena Stoeckley, Fort Bragg, Colonel Rock (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Finally, many years after Joe McGinniss's famous Fatal Vision, we have a well-documented argument for the other side of the Jeffrey MacDonald case--an argument that the prosecution mishandled key crime-scene evidence, withheld potentially exculpatory material, and even discounted confessions from other suspects. Whether you change your mind about MacDonald's role in the murder of his family, you will learn much about the case that puts it in a new light. For example, the army narrowed in on MacDonald as their prime suspect very early in the investigation, and discouraged the FBI from developing alternate theories. And the judge in the case, Franklin Dupree Jr. appeared to have been biased in favor of the prosecution. Janet Malcolm, the New Yorker writer who wrote The Journalist and the Murderer (about MacDonald's relationship with McGinniss), called this book "quietly convincing."

From Library Journal

Following up on Joe McGinnis's controversial Fatal Vision (LJ 9/1/83), the authors conclude that Green Beret Captain Jeffrey MacDonald was not given a fair trial for the murder of his wife and daughters.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 479 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393315444
• ISBN-13: 978-0393315448
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #442,357 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars MacDonald is guilty as charged (DNA proves more), January 20, 2007

By	mrw "martin" (Germany) - See all my reviews

Forget any account on the case. You can read Fatal Vision, which may be somewhat more one-sided. However, by now the case seems clear. The DNA-evidence that has been asked for by the defense team showed that the hair in Colettes hands was 1. her own 2. that of Jeffrey MacDonald, the defendant. None of the hair found at the scene belonged to the so-called "hippies". Making this case clearer than ever. For more read about the case go to the Jeffrey MacDonald information page (where 1000s of documents and pictures are available in a scanned form).

73 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Same Old Same Old, December 22, 1999

By A Customer

Fatal Justice does nothing to convince me of Jeffrey MacDonald's innocence. In my opinion, every point raised can easily be refuted. First, I discount EVERYTHING Helena Stoeckley ever said. This pitiful woman had no idea where she was or what she was doing on the night of February 17, 1970. Additionally, many reliable witnesses place her far away from the murder scene on the night in question. Helena was well-known for lying and she lived, in part, to please Prince Edward Beasley. It has always been my thought that Beasley, seeking his "fifteen minutes of fame" tried to convince Helena that she had something to do with the murders.

Ken Mica, who says he saw a woman in a floppy hat on a street corner near the MacDonald home has always been well-known as a MacDonald "groupie."

The book tells us that drug-crazed hippies broke into the MacDonald home and committed the murders, yet there was no sign of forced entry and no sign of mud or grass or footprints even though the night was damp and rainy. All of the murder weapons came from within the MacDonald home. It just doesn't make sense that four people intending to commit premeditated murder would fail to bring weapons, counting instead on finding them inside the home of the victims. The book talks of MacDonald being awakened by four intruders, yet MacDonald himself says that while he was fighting the four intruders near the sofa, he heard his wife screaming, "Jeff, Jeff, why are they doing this to me?" To my way of thinking, a normal mother whose life is in danger, not to mention the lives of her children, would scream as loudly as possible and perhaps even run from the home, seeking help, yet none of the neighbors heard anything. The book asks us to believe Helena Stoeckley, but in ALL versions of her many confessions she names only three intruders and herself.

The book states that MacDonald gave his wife and daughters mouth-to-mouth several times and saw bubbles coming from their chests. The first MPs on the scene couldn't even see the children without shining flashlights on them and MacDonald says he did not turn the lights on or off, which would be an illogical thing to do anyway, so how could he see something like bubbles? MacDonald claims he pulled a knife from his wife's chest. No doctor, let alone a surgeon would do this. No fingerprints were found on any of the weapons. I believe MacDonald wiped the weapons, not to conceal his own prints, which would naturally be on them since they came from his home, but to conceal the lack of prints from intruders. The many unmatched hairs and fibers found in the home could only show that Colette was a less-than-perfect housekeeper.

MacDonald received only very minor injuries while his wife and daughters were the victims of "overkill." The book asks us to believe the ringing of a phone scared the intruders off.

Whether you believe MacDonald to be guilty or innocent, everything this book presents is "old stuff" that has already been litigated and will do MacDonald no good. A book only for those intetrested in the details of the case, as it is cumbersome and lengthy.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is a crime in itself, August 6, 2007

By	J. Green "Jayman" (Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I think the authors of this book took a lesson from Michael Moore in propaganda. Or perhaps Oliver Stone.

This book pretends to be a "re-investigation," but is nothing of the sort. It is a one-sided money-grab that was written with the help of the MacDonald defense team. In fact, Jeff MacDonanld himself assisted with the final editing. The book is not only factually inaccurate, but it omits much valuable information. Such as: 1) Gunderson & Beasely (the books' primary sources) were trying to shop a movie deal in which they "solved" the case; 2) Gunderson (a first class wack job) later reported that the so-called cult was trying to kill him, causing him to live life on the run; 3) Gunderson & Beasely posted bail for Stoekly's husband & promised them they would be provided with jobs & new identities in California in exchange for their "testimonies," which they later recanted anyway.

The authors' also try to convince the reader that Stoekley was a reliable source, but the truth is she would say anything to anyone, and recanted her so-called "confessions" many times. At other times, she reported that she saw MacDonald kill his family. Nothing she said can be taken seriously.

Further, the authors make large use of FOIA documents, but are deceitful in their use of them. For example, they report one note in which an investigator describes the failure of a match on a hair found at the crime scene, and says "this won't be reported by me." What the authors don't show you is the complete note, in which it becomes clear that the analyst is simply reporting that she is not going to label the hair, because another analyst will catalog and write the final report.

Additionally, the book fails to address the major points of the prosecution's case: 1) there was no forced entry; 2) not one single hair, fiber, foot or finger print linked to intruders 3) Jeff MacDonald, a well-trained & conditioned Green Beret, had no significant injuries, while his family was absolutely slaughtered; 4) MacDonald's story doesn't fit the crime scene - no fibers were found where supposedly a horrible fight took place; lots of fibers where there shouldn't be; 5) despite that fact that at least 6 "hippies" were wreaking all of that carnage, and the victims were screaming for help, no neighbors heard anything; 6) MacDonald cheated on his wife constantly, was spending every possible minute away from home, and lied about a trip to Russia during which time his son would be born, and never visited the graves even once (he even sold the contents of the family home, though he kept the stereo); 7) MacDonald lied about taking a polygraph, but in actuality failed two separate exams by defense friendly experts; 8) even the defense forensics expert acknowledged the fabric impression evidence was accurate & quite damning (in fact, Segal was advised by another defense expert who was quite shaken by this presentation to get as much into the record for appeal as he could).

To believe MacDonald, is to believe the impossible, such as 1) at least 6 hippies strung out on multiple drugs such as LSD found the back door unlocked; 2) carried candles (even though it was raining); 3) brought no weapons; 4) left no finger or footprints behind 5) killed a woman & two children, even though they were supposedly after him 6) did this quietly enough not to wake the neighbors; 7) knocked him unconsious with a couple of superficial blows, then left him alive as the only possible witness; 8) carefully cleaned the fibers from where they attacked him, then spread them out in the other rooms to fool the police; 9) inexplicably staged the crime scend by putting each of the children back in their beds & tucking them in, and carrying Mrs. MacDonald back to her bedroom; 10) escaped without anyone noticing them, and letting Helena walk home.

I could go on and on. But at the end of the day, though the crime scene was badly managed, it still all points to him.

One final note - my challenge to anyone who thinks MacDonald innocent is for you to view the crime scene & autopsy photos, which are easily found on-line from several websites. They are gruesome, but it shows the true disparity between the horrible injuries his family received, and the absolute lack of injuries MacDonald received. In fact, you have to look really hard to see any scratches on him at all. Viewing those photos, it made me wish for the death penalty (though I'm opposed to it).

The so-called "new" evidence has been reviewed by appeals' courts dozens of times, and the Supreme Court multiple times. To believe MacDonald, and the 10 or so people in the world who still think he was framed, is to believe the ultimate conspiracy, which of course involves hundreds of law enforcement personnel, judges, FBI agents, criminologists, DNA analysts, family members (which have turned against him), former friends & supporters, etc.

It requires believing in the impossible. Don't waste your time with this book.

My final recommendation for the authors' of this piece of trash is to write a follow-up on how O.J. Simpson is really innocent, the victim of a conspiracy.