Jeffrey MacDonald case

Case Study: Jeffrey MacDonald
1. Describe the crime scene:
The back door was still wide open. The murder weapons were found outside the back door (which included an ice pick, a club, and a kitchen knife). The living room, where MacDonald had supposedly fought for his life against three armed assailants, showed little signs of a struggle apart from an overturned coffee table and knocked over flower plant. An issue of Esquire was found in the living room which contained articles on the Manson Family murders. Kimberly’s brain serum was found in the doorway of the master bedroom. Colette's blood was used to write "pig" on the headboard. The tips of surgical gloves were found beneath the headboard where "pig" was written in blood. Colette was lying on the floor of her bedroom. She had been repeatedly clubbed (both her arms were broken) and stabbed 37 times (21 times with an ice pick and 16 times with a knife). Her husband's torn pajama top was draped upon her chest. Five-year-old Kimberley was found in her bed, having been clubbed in the head and stabbed in the neck with a knife between eight and ten times. Two-year-old Kristen was found in her own bed; she had been stabbed with a knife 33 times and stabbed with an ice pick 15 times.
2. What scenario did Captain MacDonald present concerning the crime?
MacDonald told investigators that on the evening of February 16, he had fallen asleep on the living room couch. He told investigators that he was sleeping on the couch because his youngest daughter, Kristen, had been in bed with his wife and had wet his side of the bed. He was later awakened by the sounds of Colette and Kimberley's screams. As he rose from the living room couch to go to their aid then he was attacked by three male intruders. A fourth intruder, described as a white female with long blonde hair and wearing a white floppy hat partially covering her face, stood nearby with a lighted candle and chanted: "Acid is groovy, kill the pigs." The three males attacked him with a club and ice pick. During the struggle, MacDonald claimed that his pajama top was pulled over his head to his wrists and he then used it to ward off thrusts from the ice pick. Eventually, MacDonald stated that he was overcome by his assailants and was knocked unconscious in the living room end of the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

3. Was there evidence that supported his claims?

The Criminal Investigation Division did not believe MacDonald's version of events. As they studied the physical evidence, they found it did not seem to support the story told by MacDonald. Investigators speculated that Colette probably hit her husband on the forehead with a hairbrush, which resulted in his head wound.

4. Captain MacDonald claimed he covered his wife with his blue pajama top. What did the evidence suggest? Investigators believed that MacDonald laid his torn pajama top over the dead Colette and repeatedly stabbed her in the chest with an ice pick. In my opinion, he was ashamed and he didn’t want to look at her. He also was angry like the cleshae “Look at what you made me do” bit and stabbed her again.

5. Where were the blue fibers found at the crime scene?

Fibers from MacDonald’s torn pajama top were not found in the living room, where he claimed it was torn. Instead, fibers from the pajama top were found under Colette’s body and in Kimberley and Kristen’s bedrooms. One fiber was found under Kristen’s fingernail.

6. Discuss MacDonald’s answer to his accusation of infidelity.

Photos from the scene: