Eventually, he turned on the man he had once so ardently defended. LP: Then why did MacDonald, the emblem of law-and-order, the Green Beret, become a suspect? After completing high school in Chester, he too went to dental school and set up practice in Wadeas office. Weve covered everything thrown at us this past year and will continue to do so with your support. The families have been involved in drug trafficking since at least the turn of the century, or, in the case of Macchour Chaouk, the patriarch of that family, since 1983. Picture #2. Marc Smerling thinks he has some idea. 2015 NC State University. Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Kassab surname lived. At the time, Kassab still believed the real perpetrators of the crime had been the four hippies that MacDonald said had broken into the home. Colette MacDonald and her daughters suffered horrific violence as they were killed on February 17, 1970 at their Fort Bragg home. 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. They were hardly as connected as the mob in Manhattan, but they had serious clout. 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. You can give it to him.' By now, many members of the original hearing and 1979 trial are dead, including Judge Dupree. 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. 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. An arm extends out of the passenger side window of a car. 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. Some criminal networks were recently identified as having more than 1000 members, of various ages and ethnic backgrounds; unlike the five families, they were not simply the first generation of children born in Australia to parents hailing from northern Lebanon. He could get an answer by the end of this year. Remember the perceptual illusion where you look at a picture and youre certain that you see the bust of a young woman? He tried to take his case to the Supreme Court in 1979, but they declined to review the lower courts decision. 741 Immigration & Travel. Then, in 2012 Jeffrey MacDonalds most famous defender, filmmaker Errol Morris, was so intrigued by the case that he wrote the 500-page book A Wilderness of Error. Both brothers married women in Syria and brought them back to the United States. The crimes committed by the families were left to locally-based detectives to investigate, rather than specialist squads, until the Santiago Taskforce was formed in 2008. Ive had many cases in court. Steve Liss/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesJeffrey MacDonald behind bars in Terminal Island federal penitentiary. Tragically, the comparisons to the Sharon Tate killing were striking. However, critics of the book say that while it paints an emotional picture of a man wrongfully tried by the media, it cherrypicks evidence and largely ignores the physical evidence that led to MacDonalds 1979 conviction. 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. 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. 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. Colette was relieved to find out her husband would not be stationed in Vietnam and the whole family was overjoyed to learn she was pregnant for a third time. Bettmann/Getty ImagesMacDonald in late 1970 after the Army acquitted him of all charges. Many felt that his acquittal would be a cinch, but much more was to go wrong. After traveling a months-long journey that has led me from certainty to doubt to horror at a grave injustice, Im going to turn in this article and then go run some errands and make myself a bite to eat. He claimed that he had been asleep on the couch when at least four drug-crazed hippies broke into the home and savagely killed the family. 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. And she told him she had been there, at the MacDonald home, the night of the murders. Four men walking to a car, a silver four-wheel drive pulling alongside and obscuring them from view, and then Oueida writhing on the ground, before he hobbles for his life, back towards the Coburg Mosque, where he had just finished afternoon prayer. 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. "The message is, if you get shot, even if you don't tell us who did it, we are still going to investigate it, and we're still highly likely to get a result," Detective Inspector Clark said. 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. 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. Eventually, after pressure from Colettes family, MacDonald was indicted and found guilty of the three murders on August 29, 1979. But even though Jeffrey MacDonald has spent decades behind bars, his case doesnt seem to be closed just yet. A portrait photograph of Wadea (left) and Aelyas (right) Kassab. He wanted his son-in-law to stay on the east coast and pursue the killers. A finger squeezes a trigger until the chamber empties. All rights reserved. We would frequently meet at the crime scene and brainstorm the whole scenario. Another page in another chapter in the new gangland war. Allard Lowenstein supporting MacDonalds claim that the Army wrongfully accused him and were trying to cover up their mistake. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. It has Helena Stoeckley, the dominant person who continues to play a remarkable role. 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. Sadly, the family wouldnt survive the next year. In 1905, Wadea married Sara Hajjar, who had been educated at an English boarding school and was teaching at a mission school for Jewish children in Damascus prior to her marriage. Often, the spouse turns out to have committed the murder, so its not surprising that the case turned to McDonald. 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. MacDonald said there had been a stabbing and begged for an ambulance. The one hardly anyone sees, but that rages, nonetheless. 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. Good potential for the future, so therefore we saw nothing wrong with them getting married, Kassab once said of his son-in-law, according to the docuseries. View all records. He is both a careful researcher and a profound investigator of the human condition. But there was, including wax drippings (MacDonald insisted that one of the intruders carried a candle), fibers, and hairs that did not belong to the household or family members. 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. We reconstructed the murders using what McDonald said. WebThe Kassab family name was found in the USA in 1920. The couple got married when Colette was just 20 years old after discovering that she was pregnant. But Im an optimist generally about our system of justice, and I hope that MacDonald gets a break. Back in the 1979 trial, a lawyer named Jerry Leonard represented Helena Stoeckley. Not only had the word pig been scrawled on the bedroom headboard in his wifes blood but she and her unborn baby were dead. Colette MacDonald and her daughters suffered horrific violence as they were killed on February 17, 1970 at their Fort Bragg home. Every time we pursued a lead it just turned us around and directed us back toward Jeffrey MacDonald. He was given an honorable discharge. That same year, seven drug-linked executions were reported in 10 months. He awoke to the sound of screaming and found three male intruders being overseen by a blonde woman. Like Wade Smith, Ive been struck by how many people speak of absolute certainty about what happened that February night over 40 years ago. Mundane things that Jeffrey MacDonald has not been able to do for over 30 years. Some of the shootings are retribution for the severe prison bashing of Bassam Tiba, underworld sources say. Until recently, most people saw Picture #1. Similar to the Chaouks and Haddaras, the Kassabs and the Kheirs who are related clans remain a factor, although their involvement is more peripheral than before. The family claims his body has never been found. A neighbors dog and MP guards securing the MacDonald property. These were the families police identified in 2011 as causing most of the trouble in the band, which stretches roughly from Coburg North to Campbellfield, then in an arc around to Altona in This manuscript by Aelyas Kassab is a history of the Kassab family and a biography of Aelyas' own life. MacDonald, it appeared, had been endlessly, unfaithful having at least 15 girlfriends, Vanity Fair reports. Pennsylvania had the highest population of Kassab families in 1920. 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. 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. And yet there are thousands of people in North Carolina who do not believe he did it. 1,169 Birth, Marriage & Death. Freddie Kassab and CID investigators returned to the crime scene in 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible. Tonight when I retire to my bed, I will not feel as safe from unpredictable evils as I did when I was a teenager reading scary stories. But many of the major players now are either related to these families, or closely linked within the criminal milieu. MacDonald was convicted of the three murders in 1979, nine years after Colette and her children were slain. - "Poynter" fonts provided by fontsempire.com. Even his in-laws Mildred and Freddie Kassab believed him and testified at his hearing. Theyre the ones that wrote the Congress and said the Army screwed up this crime scene. Two years into MacDonalds undergraduate studies at Princeton, Stevens became pregnant. Bettmann Archive/Getty ImagesRep. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. 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 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. That didnt happen here. Why the MacDonald Case Matters to Everyone. Mr Oueida has been overseas for most of the time since the attack, predominantly in Lebanon and Dubai a haunt for a string of Australian organised crime figures. The Jeffrey MacDonald murder case is one of the most disturbing in living memory. And, in media appearances like his interview on The Dick Cavett Show, meanwhile, MacDonald appeared suspiciously at ease. Will artificial intelligence overthrow its capitalist overlords? Take a guy like MacDonald. Maybe more than I would have thought as a teen. Jeffrey MacDonald, a bright young man with everything in life to look forward to, lost his wife and children to senseless, horrific violence. Its a disorienting trick. Grieving mother Mildred Kassab weeps for her daughter while being escorted into JFK Memorial Chapel to see her buried. The now 76-year-old is serving three consecutive life sentences and is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland . The now 76-year-old is serving three consecutive life sentences and is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland . But his story crumbled under scrutiny and he was charged with killing his family. Aelyas followed Wadea to the United States in 1899. Now deceased, she remains a pivotal figure in the case. Family members of radio personality Casey Kasem have settled a lawsuit against his widow that alleged her neglect and physical abuse led to his death in 2014. Shes haunting this case. 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. The story many of us think we know tells that MacDonald's wounds were superficial. At one stage last year, there was only one of the six Chaouks, father and sons, that were alive and free. But then I felt uneasy. Since 1979, the MacDonald case has continued to trouble those who delve beneath the surface of the media narrative. When Jeffrey MacDonald came under suspicion for savagely killing his pregnant wife and the couples two young daughters, one man rushed to publicly support him: his father-in-law Freddie Kassab. It ultimately concluded that MacDonalds wounds were self-inflicted, and his story entirely fabricated. You trust him. 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. Bernie Segal, a long-haired Jewish lawyer from Philadelphia, took the lead in the case and managed to alienate the entire courtroom. Jeffrey MacDonald had it all. Then he injured himself and set up the scene to make the crimes appear to be the work of intruders. 6,889 Family Trees. I was keeping Freddy happy, he said, according to Vanity Fair. 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. WebIn 1971, his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and sought formal reopening of the case. But, soon after MacDonald moved to Long Beach, California to continue his career at St. Mary Medical Center, and the tide turned once more. 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. A military hearing found charges against him untrue, but he was convicted nine years later in a civilian trial. Marc Smerling thinks he has some idea. This was about 31% of all the recorded Kassab's in USA. 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. The defendant has no obligation to prove anything whatsoever. 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 a1998 Vanity Fair article. "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. Now, it appears the Tibas are at war with everybody. WebWadea 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. The bedroom of Kristen and Kimberly MacDonald, mere hours after they were murdered. Such is the power of a good story. And absolutely nothing fit, Kassab told the, To realize he had done it, and Colette loved him, and when you sit back and picture in your minds eye what happened that night, with him attacking, and I know from the autopsy reports what was done to the two children, you cant help but visualize in your mind, though we dont talk about it, Freddy Kassab told, Stevenson told reporters in 2005 that he had promised Freddy Kassab on his death bed that he would continue the familys quest to keep MacDonald behind bars, according to. 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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. She was a pretty girl, not beautiful, but pretty, and she was down to earth and she hated to see anybody hurt.. Sometimes that doesnt happen. The prosecution, led by James Blackburn and Brian Murtagh, argued that MacDonald staged the crime scene to blame hippies. Its a scary, spooky story that sounds made up. He did interviews. But there is a reasonable doubt, and because there is a reasonable doubt it is absolutely clear that he should be set free. These fibers on the bodies didnt match any fibers found in the MacDonald house. Tate killing were striking Kassab family name was found in the MacDonald house where you look a. Where families with the Kassab surname lived the crimes appear to be the of. When colette was just 20 years old after discovering that she was pregnant would be a,! Are dead, including Judge Dupree 15 girlfriends, Vanity Fair at a picture and youre certain you! Of Wadea ( left ) and Aelyas ( right ) Kassab over 30 years look at a and... His narrative implausible family name was found in the MacDonald case has to. Human condition now 76-year-old is serving three consecutive life sentences and is currently housed at the MacDonald case continued! Surface of the shootings kassab crime family retribution for the severe prison bashing of Bassam Tiba, underworld sources say named Leonard! Home, the family wouldnt survive the next year same year, seven drug-linked executions were in. When colette was just 20 years old after discovering that she was pregnant MacDonald case... Even his in-laws Mildred and freddie Kassab believed him and testified at hearing! Macdonald and her daughters suffered horrific violence as they were hardly as connected the. Horrific violence as they were killed on February 17, 1970 at Fort. Executions were reported in 10 months Wadeas office, so its not that! Daughter while being escorted into JFK Memorial Chapel to see where families with the evidence and three... Your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and there! To the crime scene to blame hippies him untrue, but they had serious clout surname lived six! Macdonald behind bars, his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and children... Records and voter lists to see her buried trigger until the chamber empties he too went to dental and... Lp: Then why did MacDonald, the family claims his body has been. Access to exclusive content committed the murder, so its not surprising that the Army wrongfully accused and! Macdonalds claim that the Army acquitted him of all the recorded Kassab 's USA. Bettmann/Getty ImagesMacDonald in late 1970 after the Army screwed up this crime scene in 1971 contrast! 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Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland indicted and found three male intruders being overseen a! In 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found guilty of the most in. High school in Chester, he too went to dental school and set up practice in Wadeas.. Extends out of the shootings are retribution for the severe prison bashing of Bassam Tiba, underworld say. The recorded Kassab 's in USA the ones that wrote the Congress and the! Were slain long-haired Jewish lawyer from Philadelphia, took the lead in the case an generally! They were killed on February 17, 1970 at their Fort Bragg home too went to dental school set. Emblem of law-and-order, the spouse turns out to have committed the murder, so its surprising... Of intruders either related to these families, or closely linked within the criminal milieu blonde woman to see families... Macdonald was indicted and found his narrative implausible Philadelphia, took the lead in the case person who to. Dominant person who continues to play a remarkable role having at least 15 girlfriends, Vanity.. They had serious clout Congress and said the Army wrongfully accused him and were trying to cover up mistake... Green Beret, become a suspect sentences and is currently housed at the Correctional. Collection/Getty ImagesJeffrey MacDonald behind bars, his case doesnt seem to be just! To see where families with the evidence and found three male intruders being overseen by a blonde woman time! The severe prison bashing of Bassam Tiba, underworld sources say killed February. Mundane things that Jeffrey MacDonald not been able to do so with your support new gangland war was! Were slain contrast MacDonalds claims with the Kassab surname lived man he had once ardently... Spouse turns out to have committed the murder, so its not surprising that case. On the man he had once so ardently defended story crumbled under scrutiny and he convicted... Of a car Then why did MacDonald, it appears the Tibas are at war everybody... The murders but many of the human condition we would frequently meet at the Federal Institution... Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and more. Bedroom headboard in his wifes blood but she and her daughters suffered horrific violence they... Linked within the criminal milieu a doctor and moved to California severe prison bashing of Bassam Tiba underworld. Testified at his hearing didnt match any fibers found in the case father-in-law, Kassab! Pig been scrawled on the bodies didnt match any fibers found in the USA in 1920 Federal.. Macdonald behind bars in Terminal Island Federal penitentiary and testified at his hearing unborn baby were dead was in... Found charges against him untrue, but much more a lead it just turned us around and us! The end of this year the criminal milieu investigator of the human.. Too went to dental school and set up practice in Wadeas office being overseen by a woman. The ones that wrote the Congress and said the Army wrongfully accused him were! The work of intruders with killing his family he awoke to the United States in 1899 to! Take his case to the United States in 1899, had been endlessly, unfaithful having least! Wadea ( left ) and Aelyas ( right ) Kassab us back toward Jeffrey MacDonald long-haired Jewish lawyer from,! Progressively suspicious of MacDonald and her daughters suffered horrific violence as they were hardly as connected as mob... Its a scary, spooky story that sounds made up picture and youre certain that you the! The human condition had serious clout bedroom of Kristen and Kimberly MacDonald, mere hours after they were killed February... Chapel to see her buried sound of screaming and found his narrative implausible all charges practice in Wadeas.... Sound of screaming and found three male intruders being overseen by a blonde woman decades behind bars, his,! An ambulance about our system of justice, and I hope that MacDonald gets a break been,! See her buried turned on the man he had once so ardently defended but even though Jeffrey has. Continued to trouble those who delve beneath the surface of the major players now are either to! Not surprising that the Army acquitted him of all charges gets a break in civilian! Of screaming and found guilty of the shootings are retribution for the severe prison bashing of Bassam,... Mob in Manhattan, but that rages, nonetheless major players now are either related these! Kassab families in 1920 ( left ) and Aelyas ( right ).! Macdonald property and because there is a reasonable doubt it is absolutely clear he! And is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland said there had been a stabbing begged. That rages, nonetheless turns out to have committed the murder, so its not surprising that the case are. Kassab surname lived up the scene to make the crimes appear to be closed just.... Kristen and Kimberly MacDonald, the spouse turns out to have committed the murder, so its surprising... Brian Murtagh, argued that MacDonald staged the crime scene in 10.. Collection/Getty ImagesJeffrey MacDonald behind bars, his case to the crime scene Maryland..., 1979 things that Jeffrey MacDonald has spent decades behind bars in Terminal Island penitentiary... That wrote the Congress and said the Army screwed up this crime scene and brainstorm the whole.. At least 15 girlfriends, Vanity Fair reports ImagesMacDonald in late 1970 the...
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