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Jeffrey MacDonald

Jeffrey Robert MacDonald was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York to "Mac" and Dorothy "Perry" MacDonald.  MacDonald maintains that his birthdate is October 12, 1943.  At trial in 1979, his mother would testify that he was born on October 12, 1942.

MacDonald had two siblings: sister Judy and older brother Jay.  Their father died in March, 1966.  Dorothy MacDonald, born in June of 1919, would pass away on February 10, 1991, at the age of 71.

Dorothy MacDonald described her young son's personality:

He was a very fine child.  He had a sunny disposition.  He was agreeable.  He was a very -- he was a kind child and he was the type of boy that when he had a chore to do, did it cheerfully and without even being told to do it.
… He was always interested in athletics.  He was, I would say, a well-rounded child.  In fact, when he got into high school, he said: "Mom, you know, if you expect me to be the valedictorian of the class, I probably will not be.  I will do the best I can, but I really want to engage in all kinds of activities and especially in sports."  He was in music, Student Council; he participated in everything -- you know -- he was just an all around kind of person.

At Patchogue High School, he was voted both "most popular" and "most likely to succeed," and won a scholarship to Princeton University.  While at Princeton, MacDonald resumed a romantic relationship with Colette Stevenson, whom he had dated while in high school.  On September 14, 1963, upon learning Colette was pregnant with his child, the couple married.  Their daughter Kimberley was born on April 18, 1964.

After attending Princeton for three years, he and his family moved to Chicago in 1964, where he was accepted to Northwestern University Medical School.  Their second child, Kristen, was born on May 8, 1967.  The following year, upon his graduation from medical school, MacDonald completed an internship at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City.  He joined the Army on July 1, 1969 and the entire family moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he held the rank of Captain.  MacDonald was assigned to the Green Berets as a Group Surgeon to the 3rd Special Forces Group in September 1969.

On February 17, 1970, Colette was murdered by Jeffrey MacDonald, along with her two young daughters.  On August 29, 1979 MacDonald was convicted of one count of first-degree murder in the death of his daughter Kristen MacDonald, and two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Colette and Kimberley MacDonald.  The jury deliberated for just over six hours.  He was immediately sentenced to life in prison for each of the three murders, to be served consecutively.

On March 27, 1991, MacDonald became eligible for parole, but did not apply, continuing to vehemently maintain his innocence and claim that a band of "hippie" intruders murdered his family.  On May 10, 2005, a hearing was held regarding MacDonald's first application for parole.  During the hearing, he did not admit guilt and argued that he is "factually innocent."  His parole request was immediately denied.  His next scheduled parole hearing will be in May 2020.

Colette MacDonald

Colette MacDonald (née Stevenson) was born on May 10, 1943 in Patchogue, New York, where she was raised.  In high school, she dated Jeffrey MacDonald, and they were married on September 14, 1963.  Colette was pregnant with their first child at the time.

Colette attended two years at Skidmore College.  Jeffrey MacDonald described her as having "an intuitive sense about people, and a wry sense of humor.  She enjoyed the arts, music, movies and reading, and continued taking classes while the family lived in Chicago, and then North Carolina.  She hoped to get a degree in English Literature, and possibly be a teacher someday."  Her stepfather, Freddy Kassab, would say that she disliked confrontation and would try to avoid it whenever she could.

Dorothy MacDonald, Jeffrey MacDonald's mother, knew Colette at a young age:

I first knew Colette, I would guess, sometime in the junior high school years or just perhaps prior to that -- perhaps sixth grade or seventh grade.  She was a very, very, you know, a very lovely girl and Jeff seemed very fond of her.  The best I can tell you is that as a little girl, I felt that she was a very well dressed, a very pretty, a very responsive and sensitive person.

At the 1979 trial, Dorothy MacDonald was asked, "If you had to use one word to describe Colette what would it be?"  Dorothy answered, "Deligntful."

In Joe McGinniss's best-selling book, Fatal Vision, Jeffrey MacDonald describes Colette more fully:

"She never really looked as pretty in a picture as she was … she had a very fine bone structure and a nice nose … to me she was a brown-eyeed beautiful blonde … who didn't have the greatest waistline and her legs were a little skinny, but to me she was incredibly beautiful.

"Colette wasn't a woman that walked into a room and stopped the room by any means … But she was the kind of woman that the more you looked at her the lovelier she became.  Her warmth would come out and her big, brown luminous eyes would take on new meaning, and the little smile that when she was kidding or being cynical or funny, or, you know -- her eyes would sparkle and she'd get this little smile and it was such a beautiful meaningful face.  The only one I could compare her to would be Meryl Streep.  She reminds me a great deal of Colette -- that sort of quiet beauty about her.

"Colette … was to me soft and feminine and beautiful, big brown eyes, very intelligent, quiet sense of humor, not very agressive, but a magnificent woman.  Without any question the neatest woman I ever met.  I still see her as the epitome of womanhood."

On February 17, 1970, while living at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Colette MacDonald was murdered by her husband, Jeffrey MacDonald.  She was 26 years old at the time of her death.  She is buried at Washington Memorial Park, Mount Sinai, in Suffolk County, New York.

Kimberley MacDonald

Kimberley Kathryn MacDonald was born on April 18, 1964 at Princeton Hospital in Mercer County, New Jersey.

On his website, Jeffrey MacDonald describes Kim as "reserved and less outgoing than her little sister [Kristen],  Kim was a good student who attended school on post at Fort Bragg … a very bright student and loving, gentle child -- a little girl who loved to read and draw."

On April 6, 1970, during questioning by Army Criminal Investigator Robert Shaw, MacDonald would describe Kim in more detail:

"… Kimmie was like a -- you know, she got bucked off the new pony I just got them once and she wasn't -- it took her awhile to get back on … She wasn't a take-charge [child] …

"… Kimmie was -- she was real effeminate and real soft and gentle … But if she had a nightmare, for instance, the only parable I can draw -- if she'd wake up crying from a nightmare, she'd just sit there and yell until Colette came in … If -- if Kimberly heard screaming, I would doubt if she'd -- if she would -- if she would go and investigate that.  She's bright and curious, but she's also a very dependent type child, you know.

"… Kimmie -- Kimmie was always different.  She was always, you know -- you had to take her by the hand, except in -- except in academic things.  I mean she was the one that came home and knew how to read and write way too early and stuff like that.  But like she would -- she'd get pushed around by other kids, whereas Kristy -- Kristy would defend her.  Believe it or not."

On February 17, 1970, while living at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Kimberley MacDonald was murdered by her father, Jeffrey MacDonald.  She was almost six years old at the time of her death.  She is buried at Washington Memorial Park, Mount Sinai, in Suffolk County, New York.

Kristen MacDonald

Kristen Jean MacDonald was born on May 8, 1967, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

On his website, Jeffrey MacDonald describes Kristen as "very much the tomboy, very outgoing and precocious.  She loved animals, sliding boards and birthday parties, and was a joy to all who knew her.  She was a very active child and loved the outdoors."

In Joe McGinniss's best-selling book, Fatal Vision, MacDonald would say Kristen was "a tiger."

On April 6, 1970, during questioning by Army Criminal Investigator Robert Shaw, MacDonald would describe her in more detail:

"… [I]f she had a nightmare … Kristy would come charging into the [master] bedroom and dive into the bed … Kristy would go charging anywhere, partially because she's young enough so she doesn't have any fear … [Kimberley would] get pushed around by other kids, whereas Kristy -- Kristy would defend her … Kimmie would come home crying, and Kristy would run over and crack someone …"

On February 17, 1970, while living at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Kristen MacDonald was murdered by her father, Jeffrey MacDonald.  She was two and a half years old at the time of her death.  She is buried at Washington Memorial Park, Mount Sinai, in Suffolk County, New York.

Freddy and Mildred Kassab

Alfred "Freddy" Kassab (January 19, 1921 - October 24, 1994) and Mildred Kassab (August 11, 1916 - January 19, 1994) were the stepfather and mother of Colette MacDonald.

Freddy Kassab was born in Montreal to wealthy Syrian parents and was educated in private schools in Europe.  At 18, he enlisted in the Canadian Army, assigned to intelligence work, and made six parachute drops behind enemy lines while serving as a liaison with the French resistance.  He was wounded four times during the war, and suffered a tremendous loss when his young Scottish wife and baby daughter were killed by a German bomb dropped on London while he was in Italy on a mission.  After the war, he returned to the United States, living in New York and working as a salesman at a Sears, Robebuck store in Brooklyn.

He met Mildred Stevenson in 1957 on Long Island.  She was the mother to two children, Colette, then 13, and Bobby Stevenson, then 17.  Her husband had committed suicide in 1956.  Kassab, who was in the process of divorce from his second wife, would become her husband within a year.

The Kassabs enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle after being married, but then fell on hard times.  Mildred opened a dress store in her home town of Patchogue, New York, but it had to be sold at a a loss.  They sold their home, moved to an apartment on Washington Square, and then returned to Long Island.  There, Freddy found work selling large quantities of liquid egg yolk to manufacturers of various kinds.

When his son-in-law, Jeffrey MacDonald, came under suspicion as the prime suspect in the murders of Colette, Kimberley and Kristen MacDonald, Kassab was his strongest supporter.  That would change after Kassab scrutinized the evidence and the words of Jeffrey MacDonald, and Kassab then became MacDonald's most ardent adverary.  When the Army declined to pursue a prosecution, Kassab began a crusade for justice which would continue until his death.

In 1987, Mildred Kassab sued Jeffrey MacDonald over proceeds from Joe McGinniss's book Fatal Vision.  In December, 1988, she offered to settle the lawsuit for the $325,000 he received from the author of his life story.  According to one news report, "Under terms of the proposed settlement, Mildred Kassab would turn the money -- now impounded by the Los Angeles Superior Court -- over to United Way of America to honor her slain daughter, Colette, and granddaughters Kimberly and Kristen."  After four days of trial, the judge decided that the settlement would be divided between MacDonald's attorneys ($104,000), MacDonald's mother ($93,000) Mildred Kassab ($80,000K) and the remainder would go to Jeffrey MacDonald.

The deaths of their beloved daughter and grandchildren, and the knowledge that the victims had died at the hands of their own son-in-law, was excruciatingly devastating for Freddy and Mildred, an event from which neither of them would fully recover.  However, their quest for justice was finally fulfilled, and Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted of those crimes in August of 1979.

William Ivory