Jeffrey Robert MacDonald (born October 12, 1943) is an American former medical doctor and United States Army captain who was convicted in August 1979 of murdering his pregnant wife and two daughters in February 1970 while serving as an Army Special Forces physician.
MacDonald has always proclaimed his innocence of the murders, which he claims were committed by four intruders—three male and one female—who had entered the unlocked rear door of his apartment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and attacked him, his wife, and his children with instruments such as knives, clubs and ice picks. Prosecutors and appellate courts have pointed to strong physical evidence attesting to his guilt. He is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland.
The MacDonald murder case remains one of the most litigated murder cases in American criminal history.
Early life
Jeffrey MacDonald was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York, the second of three children born to Robert and Dorothy (née Perry) MacDonald. He was raised in a poor household on Long Island, with a disciplinarian father who, although nonviolent towards his wife and children, demanded obedience and achievement from his family. MacDonald attended Patchogue-Medford High School, where he became president of the student council. He was voted both "most popular" and "most likely to succeed" by his fellow students, and was king of the senior prom.
Towards the end of his eighth grade year, MacDonald became acquainted with Colette Kathryn Stevenson (b. May 10, 1943). He would later recollect he had first observed Colette "walking down the hallway (of Patchogue High School) with her best friend" and that, although he was attracted to both girls, he found Colette more attractive. Approximately two weeks later, they began talking and formed a friendship, with MacDonald soon "asking her out to the movies". The two formed a brief romantic relationship in the ninth grade, with MacDonald later recollecting they fell in love while holding hands on a balcony while watching the movie A Summer Place at the Rialto Theater in Patchogue. He would later reminisce that whenever he or Colette heard the song "Theme from A Summer Place" across the airwaves, "either of us would turn up the radio".
The following summer, while visiting a friend on Fire Island, Colette announced to MacDonald their relationship was over. MacDonald later formed a relationship with a girl named Penny Wells.
Scholarship and marriage
MacDonald's high school grades were sufficient for him to earn a three-year scholarship at Princeton University, where he enrolled as a premedical student in 1962. By the second year of his studies, MacDonald and Wells had separated. He soon resumed his romantic relationship with Colette, then a freshman at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. He would later recollect Colette had grown into a shy young woman with a "slight fear of the world in general" who would rely on his own self-confidence. MacDonald found her timidity touching, and gradually viewed himself as her protector in addition to her boyfriend. The two regularly exchanged letters, and he would frequently hitchhike to Skidmore College to be in her company on weekends. Although MacDonald was dating other women at the time, he resolved to marry Colette upon learning she was pregnant with his child in August 1963. She in turn left college to raise their child.
upright=0.65|right|thumb|Jeffrey MacDonald, pictured in the 1960s.
With the consent of Colette's family, the two married on September 14 in New York City.
Medical school
After his undergraduate work at Princeton, MacDonald briefly worked as a construction supervisor before he moved with his wife and child to Chicago in the summer of 1965, where he had been accepted at Northwestern University Medical School. The couple moved into a small one-bedroom apartment, with Colette committed to maintaining the household and raising their daughter as MacDonald focused on his studies, while also working a series of part-time jobs to assist with family finances. The following year, the family relocated to a middle-class neighborhood. Their second child, Kristen Jean, was born on May 8, 1967.
Shortly after MacDonald graduated from medical school in 1968, he and his family relocated to Bergenfield, New Jersey as he completed a one-year internship at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, specializing in thoracic surgery. MacDonald later described his internship year as "a horrendous year" for both himself and Colette, adding he frequently worked 36 hours with only 12 hours at home. Consequently, when at home, he was frequently exhausted and had limited interaction with his wife and daughters. At the completion of his internship, MacDonald and Colette vacationed in Aruba before MacDonald joined the Army.
U.S. Army
MacDonald was commissioned in the United States Army on June 28, 1969, and sent to Fort Sam Houston, Texas to undergo a six-week physician's basic training course. While at Fort Sam Houston, he volunteered to be assigned to the Army's Special Forces ("Green Berets") to become a Special Forces physician. He was then assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, where he completed their paratrooper training course. Although MacDonald had joined the Army knowing he might be deployed to serve in the Vietnam War, he later learned that, as a Green Beret doctor, he was unlikely to serve overseas.
Fort Bragg
left|thumb|One of the entrance signs to [[Fort Bragg.]]
In late August, He was joined by his wife and children, and the MacDonald family resided at 544 Castle Drive, in a section of the base reserved for married officers and afforded security by military police.
By the time the MacDonalds moved into their new apartment at Fort Bragg, Colette had accrued two years of studies, with aspirations to obtain a bachelor's degree in English literature and teach part-time. Both daughters had developed distinctive personalities: Kimberley being markedly feminine, intelligent, and shy; Kristen a boisterous tomboy who would "run over and crack someone" if she observed her older sister being bullied by other children.
On December 10, the 3rd Special Forces Group was deactivated, and MacDonald was transferred on base to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 6th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces,
Shortly before Christmas 1969, with his wife approximately three months pregnant with their third child and first son, MacDonald bought his daughters a Shetland pony, anticipating the family would soon relocate to a farm in Connecticut. He kept this purchase a secret from his wife and children, and he and his stepfather-in-law drove them to the stable as a surprise on Christmas Day. His daughters chose to name the pony "Trooper". The same month, Colette is known to have penned a letter to college acquaintances in which she described her life as "never [being] so normal or happy", adding she and her husband were content, that their baby son was due to be born in July, and her family would be complete.
By 1970, MacDonald had earned the rank of captain. He was planning to study advanced medical training at Yale University upon completion of his tour of duty as a Green Beret doctor.
February 16–17, 1970
On the afternoon of February 16, MacDonald took his daughters to feed and ride the Christmas pony he had bought them. The trio then returned home at about 5:45 p.m. MacDonald then showered, and changed into an old pair of blue pajamas. After the family ate supper, Colette left the household to attend an evening teaching class at Fort Bragg's North Carolina University extension.
According to MacDonald, he then played "horsey": allowing his daughters to ride upon his back as if he was their Shetland pony for a short while before he had put Kristen to bed at approximately 7 p.m. as Kimberley played a game on the coffee table. He then slept for an hour before watching Kimberley's favorite television show, Laugh-In, with her before his older daughter also went to bed. Colette returned home at 9:40 p.m., and the couple sat on the couch watching television together before Colette decided to go to bed midway through The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. MacDonald had himself fallen asleep in the living room in the early hours of the following day.
Murders
At 3:42 a.m. on February 17, 1970, dispatchers at Fort Bragg received an emergency phone call from MacDonald, who faintly spoke into the receiver: "Help! Five forty-four Castle Drive! Stabbing! ... Five forty-four Castle Drive! Stabbing! Hurry!" The operator then heard the sound of the receiver clatter against a wall or floor.
Colette MacDonald was discovered sprawled on the floor of the master bedroom. She lay on her back, with one eye open and one breast exposed. She had been repeatedly clubbed about her body, with both her forearms later found to be broken. The pathologist would note these wounds had likely been inflicted as Colette had raised her arms to protect her face. In addition, she had been stabbed 21 times in the chest with an ice pick and 16 times about the neck and chest with a knife, with her trachea severed in two places. A bloodied and torn pajama top was draped upon her chest, and a paring knife lay beside her body. The wounds inflicted to Kimberley's head were sufficiently severe in nature to have caused bruising to her brain, coma, and death soon after infliction.
Across the hallway, two-year-old Kristen was found in her own bed, also lying on her left side, with a baby bottle close to her mouth. She had been stabbed 33 times across the chest, neck, hands, and back with a knife and 15 times with an ice pick. Two knife wounds had penetrated her heart, and the ice pick wounds were noted to be shallow. The injuries to her hands were likely defense wounds. On the headboard of the MacDonalds' marital bed, the word "PIG" was written in eight inch capital letters. The blood used to write this word was later determined to belong to Colette.
Having received impromptu resuscitation, MacDonald sat upright, then exclaimed: "Jesus Christ! Look at my wife! I'm gonna kill those goddamned acid heads!" He was immediately taken to nearby Womack Hospital, shouting, "Let me see my kids!" as he was carried out of his home on a stretcher.
Questioned by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID), MacDonald claimed that at about 2:00 a.m. on February 17, he had washed the evening's dinner dishes before deciding to go to bed, although because his younger daughter, Kristen, had wet his side of the bed, he had taken her to her own bed. Not wishing to wake his wife to change the sheets, he had then taken a blanket from Kristen's room and fallen asleep on the living room couch. As he rose from the couch to go to their aid, he was attacked by three male intruders, one black and two white. The shorter of the two white men had worn lightweight, possibly surgical, gloves. A fourth intruder he described as a white female with long blonde hair (possibly a wig) and wearing high heeled, knee-high boots and a white floppy hat partially covering her face. This individual stood nearby holding a lighted candle, chanting, "Acid is groovy, kill the pigs!"
MacDonald claimed the three males then attacked him with a club and ice pick, with the female intruder shouting "Hit 'em again!" During the struggle, his pajama top was pulled over his head to his wrists and he had used this bound garment to ward off thrusts from the ice pick although eventually, he was overcome by his assailants and knocked unconscious in the living room end of the hallway leading to the bedrooms. When he had regained consciousness, the intruders had left the house. He had then stumbled from room to room, attempting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation upon each of his daughters, to no avail, before discovering his wife. He had pulled a small paring knife from Colette's chest which he then tossed onto the floor, attempted in vain to find her pulse, then draped his pajama jacket over her body. Then he had phoned for help.
Initial investigation
Within minutes of the discoveries at Castle Drive, military police were instructed to check the occupants of all vehicles in and around Fort Bragg, seeking two white men, one black man, and a white woman with blonde hair and a floppy hat in an effort to apprehend the four intruders MacDonald alleged had attacked him and his family. Despite these efforts, military police failed to locate the four intruders, and the initiative was abandoned by 6:00 a.m.
Shortly after daylight on February 17, investigators recovered the murder weapons just outside the back door. These instruments were an Old Hickory kitchen knife, an ice pick, and a 31-inch long piece of lumber with two blue threads attached with blood; all three were quickly determined to have come from the MacDonald house, and all had been wiped clean of fingerprints. Both he and Colette's mother, Mildred, had testified in support of MacDonald during the Army's Article 32 hearing, informing the press, "My wife and I feel very strongly about Captain MacDonald's innocence. After all, it was our daughter and two grandchildren who were butchered." In an apparent effort to discourage Kassab's efforts to obtain a copy of this transcript in his pursuit of the killers, MacDonald told his stepfather-in-law that he and some Army colleagues had actually tracked down, tortured, and eventually murdered one of the four alleged murderers.
Kassab successfully obtained a copy of the Article 32 transcript from the Army in February 1971. He repeatedly studied the document, realizing MacDonald's claims were inconsistent with the physical facts and concluding his account was nothing more than a "tissue of lies" that repeatedly contradicted the known facts of the case. He and his wife also later discovered that, by 1969, he had rekindled his relationship with Penny Wells.
With the cooperation of Colonel Kriwanek and other Army investigators, Kassab visited the crime scene for several hours in order to compare the physical evidence against MacDonald's testimony in March 1971. This personal assessment ultimately convinced Kassab of MacDonald's guilt, and he resolved to devote his life to pursuing all legal avenues to bring MacDonald to justice. As the Army's investigation was completed, the only way Kassab could bring MacDonald to trial was via a citizen's complaint filed through the United States Department of Justice. He filed this complaint in early 1972; however, because the murders had occurred while MacDonald was serving in the Army, and he had since been discharged, the citizen's complaint was declared moot. The FBI refused to take on the case.
Legal maneuvers
Between 1972 and 1974, the case remained trapped in limbo in the Department of Justice as legal issues were raised and debated over whether sufficient evidence and probable cause existed for indictment and prosecution. On April 30, 1974, the Kassabs, their attorney, Richard Cahn, and CID agent Peter Kearns presented a citizen's complaint against MacDonald to US Chief District Court Judge Algernon Butler, requesting the convening of a grand jury to indict MacDonald for the murders. The following month, Justice Department attorney Victor Woerheide ruled the case worthy of prosecution.
Grand jury
On August 12, 1974, a grand jury convened before U.S. District Judge Franklin Dupree in Raleigh, North Carolina, to hear the legal proceedings. Seventy-five witnesses were called to testify. MacDonald was the first individual to testify at this hearing. His testimony lasted five days, during which he conceded that although he had publicly resolved to pursue all legal avenues following the 1970 dismissal of the murder charges against him, and to hire investigators, he had failed to do so. Nonetheless, he was adamant he had made his own efforts to identify the perpetrators and to locate Helena Stoeckley. He also claimed the numerous fabrications he had provided to the Kassabs and to sections of the media in the intervening years were to placate his in-laws, and that he had received more stab and puncture wounds to his body than recorded in contemporary medical records (which he blamed on malpractice). When asked by Victor Woerheide if he would submit to either a polygraph or sodium amytal test to verify his version of events, MacDonald read a statement prepared by his attorneys denying their request.
Other witnesses to testify included surgeons on duty at Womack Hospital who had examined MacDonald and who testified that, aside from his punctured lung, MacDonald was "not in any great danger, medically", and that, save for a superficial stab wound to his upper left arm and abdomen, MacDonald had no other stab wounds to his body. A reporter who had covered the Article 32 hearing and who interviewed MacDonald after the charges were dropped also stated that, in his experience, individuals under the influence of LSD seldom become violent and that, by contrast, those who consume amphetamines frequently do.
On December 12, a former chief of psychiatry who had also testified at the Article 32 hearing, Bruce Bailey, testified. Bailey stated that, when discussing his family and the events surrounding their deaths with him, MacDonald would occasionally "become emotional, become tearful, but he recovered quickly". Bailey also testified he found MacDonald to be a controlling individual who was "extremely dependent on what others thought of him" and that he would often launch into a verbal "tirade" to allow his deep-seated emotions to become expressed by other means. When questioned as to whether MacDonald suffered from a mental disorder, Bailey testified he did not, although he could not discount the possibility of him murdering members of his family in a situation of extreme stress. This testimony was followed by a Philadelphia-based psychologist who conceded that, had MacDonald committed such an act of violence, he would successfully "completely block" the episode from his mind.
The chief of the FBI's crime laboratory chemistry section, Paul Stombaugh, then testified the pajama top placed over Colette's body had been heavily bloodstained before the garment was torn, and that—contrary to MacDonald's claims—a lack of tearing at the edges of these holes proved that all 48 holes within this item of clothing had been inflicted while the garment was stationary, rather than in motion. Stombaugh also testified all the cuts within all garments other than the pajama top had been inflicted with the Old Hickory kitchen knife found outside the family home and not the paring knife he claimed to have removed from Colette's body, that the majority of this blood had belonged to Colette, and her blood had transferred onto the garment on at least four locations prior to the garment being torn. Furthermore, the club used to bludgeon Colette and Kimberley, which MacDonald had denied any knowledge of, had also been sawn from one of the mattress slats in Kimberley's bedroom, and a single hair found in Colette's right palm had been sourced from her own body and not a blonde-haired intruder.
Further testimony
MacDonald was recalled to testify before the grand jury on January 21, 1975. On this occasion, he was markedly arrogant and sarcastic when questioned with regards to issues such as his infidelity or the prosecution's illustration of forensic contradictions between his version of events and the physical evidence, on one occasion shouting, "I have no idea! I don't even know what crap you're trying to feed me!" in response to a question as to how his blood and Colette's blood had transferred onto a sheet taken from Kristen's bedroom into the master bedroom. He also refused to discuss the results of a private polygraph test to which he had consented in 1970, the results of which had been given to Bernard Segal, indicating he would have to speak with his attorney on this matter before consenting to this line of inquiry.
Following a brief recess, MacDonald read a statement prepared by his attorneys denying the prosecution's request to discuss the results of his 1970 polygraph examination, contending Woerheide had violated attorney-client privilege. He then read his own statement to the jury, claiming "five long years" had passed since the murder of his family and his efforts to start life afresh, and that the questions posed by the prosecution were ones he had had to "live with for five years".
Indictment
On January 24, 1975, the grand jury formally indicted MacDonald on three counts of murder. Within the hour, he was arrested in California. On January 31, he was freed upon a $100,000 bail raised by friends and colleagues, pending disposition of the charges, although he was arraigned on May 23, and pleaded not guilty to the murders on this date. On July 29, Judge Dupree denied the double jeopardy and speedy trial arguments successively filed by his attorneys, and allowed the proposed trial date of August 18, 1975, to stand, although the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to stay the proceedings on August 15. The panel of this court ordered the indictment dismissed on the grounds of a defendant's right to a speedy trial on January 23, 1976. MacDonald himself later claimed to weep "tears of relief rather than tears of joy" upon hearing this news, and later recollected to return to a "big celebration" that his ordeal was now over.
The Government appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which ruled on May 1, 1978, that the Fourth Circuit erred in dismissing the indictment for a speedy trial violation before the case had been tried. In response to this decision, Alfred Kassab informed the press he and his wife welcomed the developments, stating, "It has been [a] tremendous personal pressure to have someone running around that you are convinced killed your daughter and grandchildren." On October 27, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected MacDonald's double jeopardy arguments. The Supreme Court refused to review this decision on March 19, 1979.
Trial
MacDonald was brought to trial on July 16, 1979, charged with three counts of murder. He was tried in Raleigh, North Carolina, before Judge Dupree, and pleaded not guilty to the charges. MacDonald was defended by Bernard Segal and Wade Smith; James Blackburn and Brian Murtagh prosecuted the case. Initial jury selection began on this date, and would continue for three days.
Although MacDonald's lawyers had been confident of an acquittal, there were successive rulings against the defense. The first such ruling was Judge Dupree's refusal to admit into evidence a 1979 psychiatric evaluation of MacDonald, which suggested that an individual of his personality and mindset was highly unlikely to be capable of killing his family. Dupree justified this refusal by stating that, as MacDonald's attorneys had not entered an insanity plea for their client, he did not wish for the trial to be hindered by opinionated and contradictory psychiatric testimony from prosecution and defense witnesses. A further defense setback was the judge's ruling against a motion to suppress the introduction of MacDonald's pajama top as evidence.
Opening statements
In his opening statement to the jury, delivered on July 19, James Blackburn outlined the burden of proof the prosecution faced in proving MacDonald's guilt, that the prosecution intended to meet this burden, and that the murders had been committed with malice aforethought. Blackburn then outlined the prosecution's intention to outline both physical and circumstantial evidence indicating MacDonald's guilt, and to introduce numerous witnesses, imploring the jurors to "listen to the evidence that comes from the witness stand, [to] examine the evidence, as it is shown to you, and reach your own conclusion". Blackburn finished his opening statement by stating to the jurors: "Basically, we believe that the physical evidence points to the fact that, unfortunately, one person—not two, three, four or more—killed Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen, and that person is the defendant."
Wade Smith then argued on behalf of the defense. Smith referenced the events of February 17, 1970, the Army investigation and subsequent dismissal of all charges. Repeatedly emphasizing the case had occurred over nine years ago, and that, in the intervening years, "Jeff" had done his utmost to rebuild his life while "others" would not allow him to forget his painful past, their client had now been brought to trial to face the charges of murdering his wife and children, Smith emphasized to the jurors their ability to relieve their client of his ongoing ordeal by acquitting him of all charges. Stombaugh contended that, in order for the holes to have been as smooth and devoid of fraying or tearing, the garment would have had to remain stationary, an extremely unlikely occurrence if, as MacDonald contended, he had wrapped it around his hands to defend himself from blows from an attacker wielding an ice pick or club. Furthermore, Stombaugh demonstrated that by folding the garment in the manner depicted in the crime scene photographs, all 48 holes could have been made by 21 thrusts of the ice pick through the garment, and in an identical pattern, implying Colette had been repeatedly stabbed through the pajama top while the garment was lying on her body. Although Segal subjected Stombaugh to a harsh cross-examination—repeatedly raising his voice as he challenged Stombaugh's credentials and forensic methods—Stombaugh remained steadfast as to his conclusions.
A further piece of damaging evidence against MacDonald was an audio tape made of the April 6, 1970, interview by military investigators, which was played in the courtroom immediately after the jurors had returned from visiting the still-intact crime scene. The jury heard MacDonald's matter-of-fact, indifferent recitation of the murders. They heard him become angry, defensive, and emotional in response to suggestions by the investigators that he had committed the murders. He asked the investigators why would they think he, who had a beautiful family and "everything going for [him]", could have murdered his family in cold blood for no reason. The jury also heard investigators later confront him with their knowledge of his extramarital affairs, to which MacDonald murmured, "Oh... you guys are more thorough than I thought."
Despite earlier rulings against the defense counsel, the prosecution was also hampered by the lack of an obvious motive for MacDonald to have committed the murders. He had no history of violence or domestic abuse against his wife or children. The defense also argued the crime scene was hopelessly compromised during the investigation and potential evidence either was destroyed, was lost, or remained uncollected.
MacDonald's defense attorneys also called several favorable character witnesses, plus a forensic expert named James Thornton, to the stand. Thornton attempted to rebut Stombaugh's contention that the pajama top was stationary on Colette's chest, rather than wrapped around MacDonald's wrists as he warded off blows, stating that he had attempted to stab a pajama top wrapped around a ham with an ice pick as an assistant moved the item back and forth, resulting in perfectly cylindrical holes with no tearing around the edges of the garment.
Following Thornton's testimony, prosecutors Murtagh and Blackburn staged an impromptu re-enactment of the alleged attack on MacDonald. Murtagh wrapped a pajama top of the same material around his hands and attempted to fend off a series of blows that Blackburn attempted to inflict on him with the ice pick used in the murders. The resulting ice pick holes in the pajama top were jagged and elongated, not smoothly cylindrical like the ones within the garment recovered upon Colette's body. Furthermore, Murtagh received a small wound on his right arm. MacDonald had received no defensive wounds on his arms or hands consistent with a struggle. In addition, aside from a small smear of blood discovered upon the Esquire magazine and a single speck of blood upon MacDonald's spectacles, no other traces of blood were recovered from the room in which MacDonald claimed to have fought for his life.
Helena Stoeckley
One of the final defense witnesses Segal subpoenaed to testify was Helena Stoeckley. Intent on extracting a confession from her that she had been one of the intruders MacDonald claimed had entered his house, murdered his family and attacked him, Segal talked to Stoeckley in private for over two hours, attempting to persuade her to confess to end MacDonald's years of "suffering unjustly"—also promising her immunity from prosecution due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. Stoeckley repeatedly informed Segal she was unable to help him. She also denied ever having seen MacDonald, and refused to testify to acts she was adamant she did not commit.
Under oath, Stoeckley denied any culpability in murders, and any knowledge of who may have committed the acts. Stoeckley was insistent that she was unable to recall her whereabouts on the date of the murders; she emphasized her extensive drug use in 1970 and the intervening years, adding that the night of February 16–17, 1970 was "by no means" the first or last night in which she was unable to recall her whereabouts. Following this testimony, Murtagh and Segal alternately argued before Judge Dupree for the dismissal, or introduction of, testimony from several witnesses to whom Stoeckley had earlier allegedly confessed. On August 20, Dupree refused the introduction of this testimony, citing legal trustworthiness requisites and stating the introduction of these witnesses would add no further value to the proceedings than what they had experienced from Stoeckley's own testimony.
Defendant's testimony
The final witness to testify on behalf of the defense was MacDonald himself, who testified on his own behalf on August 23 and 24.
MacDonald was first questioned by Bernard Segal, who sought to humanize his client in the eyes of the jury. He began his questioning by asking MacDonald about his family. MacDonald described each family member and their individual personalities, stating the family "shared almost everything ... we were all friends. Colette and I shared the children growing up. We shared our life experiences." He also claimed the reason he had never remarried was the fact he was unable to forget his wife and children, whom he thought about daily. Segal then asked MacDonald to recount his family background, his career at Fort Bragg, and his family's general lifestyle in February 1970. He then produced several family photographs and artifacts, asking MacDonald to describe each item or the circumstances surrounding each photograph, and to identify the individual in each image.
The following day, James Blackburn cross-examined MacDonald. He outlined every piece of physical and circumstantial evidence recovered at the crime scene which contradicted MacDonald's own accounts of "the assailants" attacking him and murdering his family and instead indicated his own guilt. Blackburn typically began each question with a statement to the effect of: "Dr. MacDonald. Should the jury find from the evidence..."
The following day, Bernard Segal and Wade Smith delivered their closing arguments on behalf of the defense. Segal focused much of his closing argument upon the "campaign of persecution" his client had been subjected to by the legal system for almost a decade in an attempt to frame him for the murder of his family, describing the prosecution's case as a "house built on sand". Portraying MacDonald as a loving husband and father, Segal then emphasized MacDonald's insistence from the outset that four intruders had been responsible for the murders. Segal spoke for over three hours, using virtually all of the defense's allotted time. Blackburn and Murtagh agreed to forfeit 10 minutes of their allocated rebuttal time to allow Smith to make an argument to the jury.
Following a brief recess, Smith appealed to the jurors to question the lack of an obvious motive for MacDonald to have committed the murders. He referenced the family photographs of MacDonald enjoying the company of his wife and children in the years, and even weeks, before their deaths, stating: "It makes no sense. There is no motive." He then appealed to the jurors to give MacDonald "the peace" he had sought for almost a decade.
In a final address to the jury, Judge Dupree informed the panel they had three choices to choose from: To find MacDonald not guilty; to find him guilty of first-degree murder; or guilty of second-degree murder in each case.
Conviction and incarceration
Shortly after 4:00 p.m. on August 29, 1979, the jury, having deliberated for six-and-a-half hours, Four jurors wept as they announced their verdicts, and MacDonald's mother rushed out of the courtroom wailing. MacDonald himself displayed practically no emotion. Judge Dupree imposed a life sentence for each of the three murders, to be served consecutively. Bail was revoked, and MacDonald was temporarily transferred to a Butner County jail, prior to his permanent transferral to the Federal Correctional Institution in Terminal Island, California.
upright=0.65|right|thumb|Jeffrey MacDonald, pictured on the date of his conviction. August 29, 1979.
Immediately following the verdict, Alfred Kassab telephoned the family lawyer, Richard Cahn. Kassab thanked the lawyer for his exhaustive efforts over the years, stating: "Hi, Dick, I just got what I wanted. Three life sentences. Thanks for everything. We couldn't have done it without your help!" The Kassabs also informed the press: "This was something that had to be done. Now, we can rest in peace."
MacDonald appealed Dupree's bail revocation ruling, requesting that bail be granted pending the outcome of his appeal. This application was rejected on September 7. A further appeal to be freed on bail was rejected by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on November 20.
Post-conviction
Appeals
On July 29, 1980, a panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed MacDonald's conviction, ruling via a 2–1 margin that the nine-year delay in bringing him to trial violated his Sixth Amendment rights to a speedy trial.