In July 1974, a Federal judge acted on a citizen's criminal complaint by Kassab and others, by putting the case before a grand jury. I used to joke with him when I saw him around Hey Jerry, isnt there something you want to tell us? But he couldnt, and he likely would have gone to his grave carrying the secret of what Helena told him had it not been for that hearing. They introduced a 1970 issue of Esquire found in MacDonalds house containing a detailed account of the Sharon Tate murders to suggest that he had created a copycat story based on the Manson familys crimes. No attempt was made to locate the woman that night. Desperate to save his family, he said he fought back until they stabbed him and beat him unconscious. They dont know the truth any more than I do. Jeffrey MacDonald had also been at the home at the time, but he suffered only minor injuries compared to what his family endured. LP: What has this case revealed about the flaws in our judicial system? Segal took up nearly all the time in the critical period for closing remarks and left only a few minutes for co-counsel Wade Smith, an eloquent native North Carolinian who understood the jury. Eventually, he turned on the man he had once so ardently defended. Thereafter their lives ran close and parallel courses. WebWe found 33,440 records for Kassab last name. Not only were three hairs discovered at the crime scene that didnt match any of the familys DNA, but an affidavit revealed that Blackburn had allegedly threatened Stoeckley not to tell the truth in court. Its a scary, spooky story that sounds made up. Im giving you an extra copy for Bernie Segal [the defense counsel]. 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. I personally delivered a copy by hand to every congressman and every senator in the country.. 26-year-old Colette MacDonald had been stabbed nearly forty times with an icepick and a knife while pig was scrawled on the headboard of her bed in her own blood. In October 1970, following an investigation and hearing, the military dropped its case against MacDonald, and he was honorably discharged from the army. LP: Judge Fox is a close friend of Judge Dupree, who presided over the 1979 trial. He could get an answer by the end of this year. Kassab wanted to find justice and began writing letters to the Army and congressmen slamming the investigators for their errors and urging authorities to continue the investigation. 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. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be catastrophic not only to our health - mental and physical - but also to the stability of millions of people. 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. or click here to become a subscriber. Jeffrey MacDonald had it all. 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. Some of the facts I thought I knew began to look more like ideas conjured by eager prosecutors and a journalist who had dealt so disingenuously with Jeffrey MacDonald in writing Fatal Vision that he was sued after publication. Sadly, the family wouldnt survive the next year. He has been imprisoned for three decades for a crime he did not commit. He claimed they chanted, Kill the pigs!Acid is groovy! and scrawled the word PIG on the wall in his wifes blood. On the evening of the murders, Jeffrey MacDonald had taken his kids to ride the pony he had bought them, fed them dinner while their mother took a night class, and put them to bed. But just what changed Kassabs mind about the man he once called a nice, presentable young man?". MacDonald has had mostly good lawyers, though not always the appropriate ones. McGinniss drew on pop-sociology to render an image of a psychopathic killer in the guise of the friendly doctor-next-door; the kind we know from endless horror movies. The simple acts of coming and going as I please and caring for my own basic needs have been denied him. Jeffrey MacDonald, a bright young man with everything in life to look forward to, lost his wife and children to senseless, horrific violence. WebIt is reported Ms Kassab entered Syria last year and that her husband, known as Sam, died on the border of Turkey in 2013. But an unfortunate thing happened in the following years. On Sept. 17, 2012, in Wilmington, N.C., a crowd of familiar faces assembled for a new hearing. Of those in prison, one was jailed for having guns that so troubled a judge she described them as "the sort of weapons that were used down in Tasmania", a reference to the Port Arthur massacre. "Memoirs" by Wadea Kassab recounts Wadea's life from his childhood in Damascus and Bloudan, to his immigration to America in 1889, and through his pursuit of education and a career in dentistry. Or maybe theres something else at work: Picture #2 is even more awful to see than Picture #1. But, soon after MacDonald moved to Long Beach, California to continue his career at St. Mary Medical Center, and the tide turned once more. But, they believe, the deterrent effect of jailing them, even if their victim remains tight-lipped, will have an impact. Interview: The Spookiest Case Wade Smith Ever Encountered. MacDonald, it appeared, had been endlessly, unfaithful having at least 15 girlfriends, Vanity Fair reports. 1,169 Birth, Marriage & Death. It frustrates police that low-level gangsters without a shred of integrity jut their chins out and shake their heads in a misplaced attempt at honour when asked who shot them, despite, in many instances, being maimed for life. My friend and I sat around in her backyard, tossing up what facts about the case we could recall. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The Tibas, Haddaras, Chaouks, Kassabs, and Kheirs are north-west Melbourne's version of the Five Families, the major players in the New York mafia. The family claims his body has never been found. MacDonald was convicted twice, both in the courtroom and in the all-important court of public opinion, which was sealed by McGinniss book and miniseries. Soon I was reading Morris A Wilderness of Error, feeling skeptical and wondering why this reputable man would involve himself in a case that everyone and their mother (including mine) knew the truth about. 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. There was a re-examination of the fibers found on the bodies of Collette and the children. 6,889 Family Trees. It is also a Manson-like killing. ", Bob Stevenson, Colettes brother, described his stepfathers reaction to the television appearance as visceral and said it had wrenched his guts., Things werent being said right, inflections of the voice, he said. McGinniss made the murders sound like the work of a diabolical genius, a man who could transform in a moment from a loving father to a homicidal maniac, and again, in the blink of an eye, to a calculating conman. Detective Inspector Wayne Newman, from the North-West Metro region, says there has been an increase in higher ranking organised crime figures in the area insulating themselves from possible harm by using youth networks to do the grunt work. But even though Jeffrey MacDonald has spent decades behind bars, his case doesnt seem to be closed just yet. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Waters rubbished that explanation. WS: For me to say that he is innocent would require magic. WebIt is reported Ms Kassab entered Syria last year and that her husband, known as Sam, died on the border of Turkey in 2013. When police showed their hand regarding the organised crime threat, back in 2011, the Tibas were at war with the Kassabs and Kheirs. View all records. Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Kassab surname lived. Jeffrey MacDonald, Joe McGinnis, prosecutor James Blackburn (who went to prison himself for defrauding his clients), Wade Smith and others newer to the case gathered once again to testify. Then he injured himself and set up the scene to make the crimes appear to be the work of intruders. The strength of the families now almost a decade after the launch of Santiago are largely determined by how many of them have been killed or locked up. But he taunted the police. We even came back at night so we would have the same lighting conditions as the night of the murders. An arm extends out of the passenger side window of a car. But Silverglate points out that those lawyers have been up against an increasingly perverse system in which ancient legal rights like habeas corpus have been tossed aside in the name of preserving convictions at any cost. Freddy was not going to quit. Pennsylvania had the highest population of Kassab families in 1920. Others relate to significant organised crime figures, and their businesses, such as tattoo parlours. 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. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. LP: Then why did MacDonald, the emblem of law-and-order, the Green Beret, become a suspect? Picture #1. Some people would say that was the wrong thing to do. 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. Often, the spouse turns out to have committed the murder, so its not surprising that the case turned to McDonald. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! The shootings can be over particularly petty reasons, not just the drug trade: women, a perceived slight, or, increasingly, a prison feud. WebThe Kassab family name was found in the USA in 1920. ". Appearances didnt help MacDonald, either. Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Kassab surname lived. He was more interested in working with people on hallucinogenic and things like that. 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. 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. Friends since grade school, he and Colette Stevens began dating as teenagers, and grew serious during college. Carl Williams was a boy from Broady, whose fat fingers spread across the state, but we know little about the boys from Broady who are ordering murders and peddling drugs now. He theorized that diet pills caused MacDonald to fly into a fit of rage. 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. I was born in May of that year, and would thus be the same age as the child Colette MacDonald was carrying when her life was snuffed out. Why did people in the community believe he did it? Wade Smith rarely grants interviews. MacDonald, bloody but alive, was next to his wife, who had been pregnant with their third child when she was stabbed 16 times with a kitchen knife and 21 times with an icepick. He moved to California to become the director of emergency medicine at St. Mary's Medical Center in Long Beach. The stakes are too high for it not to work, Detective Inspector Clark said. 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. Through his aggressive pursuit of the case, MacDonald was indicted. 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. Judge James Fox, a close friend of Dupree's and quite elderly himself, has taken over and has dismissed appeals. That was my closing argument. In 1921, Aelyas married Soumaya Khoury of Beirut, Lebanon; by all accounts the two were deeply in love, and they died within 48 hours of one another. But in the years that followed the gruesome murders, Kassab drastically changed his opinion of his surgeon son-in-law and became one of MacDonalds fiercest adversariesleading the charge to have MacDonald tried for three counts of murder in the case. 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. Jeffrey MacDonald behind bars in Terminal Island federal penitentiary. 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. During this time, he met and became friendly with a number of Americans, including the ONeill family of Chester, Pennsylvania. But for every Khayre, a case most people have heard of with a clear link to the north-west, there are dozens more that barely make a ripple. He explained his lie initially by attributing it to drug addiction-induced paranoia and then said he believed that once he told his family the lies, he had to keep lying.. Tragically, the comparisons to the Sharon Tate killing were striking. 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. 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. 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. Shes haunting this case. Thank you. Which leaves one of the five families the Tibas. In this case, it carries particular weight: police are trying to break the hold, in some cases, of family ties that go back generations. This was about 31% of all the recorded Kassab's in USA. 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 bedroom of Kristen and Kimberly MacDonald, mere hours after they were murdered. 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. Although Kassab didnt join the family until Colette was a teenager, he had always been close with his stepdaughter. But MacDonalds legal teamled by Bernie Segalpersuaded the Fourth Circuit Court to throw out the charges, claiming that MacDonald had been denied a speedy trial. Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies, Collection description written by Linda Jacobs. And so there are going to be cases where there is a reasonable doubt as to what actually happened. WS: In every murder of a spouse, the remaining spouse is the number-one suspect and is almost always charged. "More senior criminal figures are exploiting the vulnerabilities of younger or less sophisticated offenders," he said. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. In a 2011 press release, the Innocence Project stated:. After Mica performed mouth-to-mouth, MacDonald came to. It has witchcraft in it. The veneer of the MacDonalds perfect marriage had also began to crack. The Tibas, Haddaras, Chaouks, Kassabs, and Kheirs are north-west Melbourne's version of the Five Families, the major players in the New York mafia. Waters rubbished that explanation. Even his in-laws Mildred and Freddie Kassab believed him and testified at his hearing. Now, it appears the Tibas are at war with everybody. However, his American dream suddenly became a nightmare in 1970 when his family was found brutally stabbed to death in their home. They were hardly as connected as the mob in Manhattan, but they had serious clout. 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. MacDonald had been just a teenager at the time and was dating Colette, his high school sweetheart. 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. {{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}. The defendant has no obligation to prove anything whatsoever. It is a misconception that the battles are over territory. Police agree it would be futile to appeal to gun-slingers on the grounds that they could ruin a rival's life. Wadea and Aelyas Kassab are both buried in Pennsylvania. The CIDs five-month-long interrogation (referred to as an Article 32 hearing) began in April, with officials intent on using only physical evidence and MacDonalds own statements to form their view. Bettmann/Getty ImagesThe bedroom of Kristen and Kimberly MacDonald, mere hours after they were murdered. 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. A neighbors dog and MP guards securing the MacDonald property. When we were walking out of the house, I was warned that convicting MacDonald wasnt going to be that simple, Kassab said. I began to see that Joe McGinniss creation of Picture #1 might be just that: a creation. And were very fortunate. Should Trump be allowed to hold office again? In the end, MacDonald himself took the stand. 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. You think you know what youre seeing, but then you arent so sure. Its a disorienting trick. So MacDonald was the logical choice. A finger squeezes a trigger until the chamber empties. It dawned on MacDonald after graduating in 1968 that the U.S. Army could help him advance his career, and he wasnt wrong. The couple got married when Colette was just 20 years old after discovering that she was pregnant. The family lost its large house in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, and was forced to live in small quarters in a building they still owned. Freddie Kassab and CID investigators returned to the crime scene in 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible. There may be hope that MacDonald will eventually gain his freedom and at least be able to live the last few years of his life outside of a prison cell. The irony not lost on police, community members and other underworld figures is that while Osman may be a victim of that cycle, his family have survived from perpetuating it. At least six have faced significant criminal charges. This was about 31% of all the recorded Kassab's in USA. This manuscript by Aelyas Kassab is a history of the Kassab family and a biography of Aelyas' own life. 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 He also tried to get the case dismissed, claiming double jeopardy and starting an appeals process that would delay his trial for years. 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. Freddie Kassab and CID investigators returned to the crime scene in 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible. What follows is the transcript of our conversation. This collection contains an undated photograph of Wadea and Aelyas Kassab and scans of two typed manuscripts. In 1970 America was gripped by the horror of the Manson murders a fact used against MacDonald because he subscribed to Esquire magazine, which had run a story about the dark side of hippie culture. 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 Helena Stoeckley confessed many times that MacDonalds willingness to turn heroin addicts in to the police infuriated local drug dealers. 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. It ultimately concluded that MacDonalds wounds were self-inflicted, and his story entirely fabricated. The new war involves men with names many Victorians could barely pronounce shooting each other in downtrodden suburbs they have almost certainly never visited. 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. The lead prosecutor for the case, Jim Blackburn began to analyze every piece of evidence from the trial, including MacDonald's pajama shirt, which was draped over Colette's body, and the bedsheet she was wrapped in. They hoped to get a confession, but she stated firmly that she had never been inside MacDonalds home contrary to previous claims she purportedly made to defense attorneys during witness hearings. McGinniss had to be creative, because the mans character never fit the crime. Back in the 1979 trial, a lawyer named Jerry Leonard represented Helena Stoeckley. MacDonald had no history of violence or temper. 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. That kind of story never ends. In 1920 there were 5 Kassab families living in Pennsylvania. First responder Kenneth Mica discovered the bodies, with MacDonald laying wounded but alive next to his battered and lifeless wife. WebIn 1971, his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and sought formal reopening of the case. The now 76-year-old is serving three consecutive life sentences and is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland . Melbourne's north-west has become a hotbed for armed crime. Worse still, Judge Franklin Dupree seemed to have his mind made up before the trial began. Eventually, after pressure from Colettes family, MacDonald was indicted and found guilty of the three murders on August 29, 1979. 1,169 Birth, Marriage & Death. Picture #2. Smerling is the director of the documentary series A Wilderness of Error, which examines the MacDonald case. 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. WebIn 1971, his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and sought formal reopening of the case. Two members of the Tiba family have been charged in relation to the shooting. Judge Fox is also a good man. In the early '80s, I whipped through a dog-eared copy of Fatal Vision, Joe McGinniss sensational true-crime novel about the killings. 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. There were fibers from a blonde wig that matched the description of Helena Stoeckley. Since 1979, the MacDonald case has continued to trouble those who delve beneath the surface of the media narrative. LP: In Joe McGinnis book, Fatal Vision, Freddy Kassab, MacDonalds father-in-law, was presented as the protagonist. "We're concentrating on the actions of the shooter, because what happens to the victim is outside our control the line between a non-fatal shooting and a murder is wafer thin. Even back then, if you polled Fayetteville folks, you might have found that a lot of people did not believe that he did it. 2015 NC State University. Also last year, Osman, 32, one of the middle brothers, was released from prison. WebIn July 1974, a Federal judge acted on a citizen's criminal complaint by Kassab and others, by putting the case before a grand jury. He told authorities that hetried to fight off the attackers but was wounded and eventually collapsed in the hallwaylater regaining consciousness and discovering his family had been killed, according to the new FX docuseries A Wilderness of Error.. The walls will tell you what happened if you keep it pristine. According to exclusive statistics from the armed crime squad, there has been a five-fold increase in non-fatal shootings in the north-west in four years and the region now sees almost two thirds of Victoria's non-fatal shootings. MacDonald had only one stab wound, which the hospital surgeon later described as a clean, small, sharp incision that made his left lung partially collapse. It is hard not to be shocked by the footage of Oueida's shooting. Whats your sense of this? Pennsylvania had the highest population of Kassab families in 1920.

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