WebThe Kassab family name was found in the USA in 1920. Maybe more than I would have thought as a teen. Donor retains full ownership of any and all copyright currently controlled in agreement with Khayrallah Center. Many think this woman could have been Helena Stoeckley, a drug abuser and professed member of a witchcraft cult who repeatedly confessed to having been at the MacDonald house the night of the murders, but recanted her story whenever she seemed to fear prosecution. On Sept. 17, 2012, in Wilmington, N.C., a crowd of familiar faces assembled for a new hearing. Mundane things that Jeffrey MacDonald has not been able to do for over 30 years. 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. Wadea and Aelyas Kassab are both buried in Pennsylvania. 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. In 1978, MacDonalds case went to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, who rejected it. If he could have a psychotic episode and destroy his family stab them with an ice pick and a knife 100 times, beat them with a stick, then Billy Graham could. Were working to restore it. While both Detective Inspectors want to reiterate this is rare, it is also their worst fear, and what they are working to stop. But it is also hard to feel any empathy, or concern as Victorians do about other crimes against more innocent victims that it could happen to them. Two members of the Tiba family have been charged in relation to the shooting. The Jeffrey MacDonald murder case is one of the most disturbing in living memory. WebIn 1971, his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and sought formal reopening of the case. MacDonald had been just a teenager at the time and was dating Colette, his high school sweetheart. In other words, an FBI lab technician trusted exculpatory evidence to a member of the prosecution team. He did interviews. 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. 959 Census & Voter Lists. 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. 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. Smerling is the director of the documentary series A Wilderness of Error, which examines the MacDonald case. 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. 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. MacDonald has had mostly good lawyers, though not always the appropriate ones. The new war involves men with names many Victorians could barely pronounce shooting each other in downtrodden suburbs they have almost certainly never visited. Silverglate believes that Jeffrey MacDonald has been railroaded, and that this railroading exposes disturbing trends in our federal criminal justice system. View all records. Now deceased, she remains a pivotal figure in the case. When the show was over, I retired to the security of my bed, safe from unpredictable evils. MacDonald was convicted of the three murders in 1979, nine years after Colette and her children were slain. He went directly to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where a teacher of his had settled. 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. I held out to the last ditch. MacDonald claimed he'd broke his arm in the fatal scuffle, but Kearns would later say in an interview that authorities had MacDonald under surveillance at the time and did not observe any broken arm. Wade Smith rarely grants interviews. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. And police officers knowing how to take care of a crime scene and preserve it. 2015 NC State University. Almost as notable as the endurance of these figures has been the relative indifference of society to the violence, particularly when compared with Melbourne's gangland war. Marc Smerling thinks he has some idea. The couple sued MacDonald in 1987 to try to prevent him from profiting from Joe McGinniss book Fatal Vision, which served as the inspiration for the mini-series. When you accept Picture #1, youre deciding that Jeffrey MacDonald is the Person Who Must Pay. The crime scene was so messed up that you couldnt depend on it. No one ever knew what it was Helena told him because of attorney-client privilege. When Victor Worheide, who was a federal prosecutor, later became interested in the case at the urging of the parents of Colette MacDonald, the case was gone. The loving husband and father. But there is a reasonable doubt, and because there is a reasonable doubt it is absolutely clear that he should be set free. Picture #2. He has been imprisoned for three decades for a crime he did not commit. During this time, he met and became friendly with a number of Americans, including the ONeill family of Chester, Pennsylvania. WebIn 1971, his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and sought formal reopening of the case. That same year, seven drug-linked executions were reported in 10 months. He survived. It has witchcraft in it. 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. The FBI lab guy turned over two copies to Brian Murtaugh, the prosecutor. He was given an honorable discharge. Which leaves one of the five families the Tibas. ", 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. Recently, the Fourth District Court of Appeals ordered Fox to consider new evidence, and to examine all the evidence as a whole. The family lost its large house in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, and was forced to live in small quarters in a building they still owned. MacDonald was tried in a civilian court in 1979. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! My wife and I can sit for hours and days and not talk to each other, but were both thinking, you know. 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. Thinking that he could never reveal it? 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. Did Jeffrey MacDonald Brutally Slay His Pregnant Wife And Daughters Or Did The Cops Get The Wrong Guy? We needed the Kassabs to shut up, just calm down, let us do the investigation and well find out who did it.. I accused the Army of every blunder that they made in the original investigation, he once said, according to the docuseries. What follows is the transcript of our conversation. A crime scene was left open to bystander traffic. "I wish it was as simple as saying all our non-fatal shootings went back to five families, because if it did, we would target those five families and we'd kick it in the guts, but it's actually not that simple.". 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. Eventually, after pressure from Colettes family, MacDonald was indicted and found guilty of the three murders on August 29, 1979. Stories about the innocent caught in a machine that perverts every possibility of justice. 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. Eventually, after pressure from Colettes family, MacDonald was indicted and found guilty of the three murders on August 29, 1979. One is titled Memoirs by Wadea Kassab; it is 210 pages and was written in 1954. I would have said to the jury: they were not there, and neither was I. To do so, they are increasingly trying to appeal to the maternal side of these families, and helping mothers and their children escape the criminal elements in their home, before another brood is infected. Nothing unique in any way. The family moved to Chicago after MacDonald was accepted into Northwestern University Medical School. But did hippie intruders make sense? The bedroom of Kristen and Kimberly MacDonald, mere hours after they were murdered. Shortly after relocating to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, he was made Group Surgeon to the Green Berets. WS: In every murder of a spouse, the remaining spouse is the number-one suspect and is almost always charged. 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. Make a one-time contribution to Alternet All Access, 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. 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. He claimed they chanted, Kill the pigs!Acid is groovy! and scrawled the word PIG on the wall in his wifes blood. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. 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. These shootings rarely involve significant figures, such as Oueida, or Nabil Maghnie, who was shot in the head last September but survived, or George Marrogi, who was charged with a shooting murder that same month. Even before bureaucratic stalling and federal machinery overtook the search for truth, things were working against Jeffrey MacDonald. He was more interested in working with people on hallucinogenic and things like that. But just what changed Kassabs mind about the man he once called . 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. MacDonald claimed that his daughter Kimberly wet his side of the bed, prompting him to go to sleep on the couch. 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. (See Silverglate's article on the case in Forbes.). LP: What has this case revealed about the flaws in our judicial system? We decided we needed Freddie and Mildred Kassab on our sides, lead investigator Peter Kearns said in a December 1986 lecture on the case, according to the docuseries. 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. They grew to become serious forces, in part, because of failures by police to respond to the problem. 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. Although Kassab didnt join the family until Colette was a teenager, he had always been close with his stepdaughter. 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. 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. He was more interested in working with people on hallucinogenic and things like that. Materials provided by the families of Wadea and Aelyas Kassab. 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. WebIt is reported Ms Kassab entered Syria last year and that her husband, known as Sam, died on the border of Turkey in 2013. Freddy was not going to quit. 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. MacDonald in late 1970 after the Army acquitted him of all charges. Although Kassab didnt join the family until Colette was a teenager, he had always been close with his stepdaughter. After completing high school in Chester, he too went to dental school and set up practice in Wadeas office. Kassab testified on MacDonalds behalf, declaring, If I had another daughter, Id still want the same son-in-law.. 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. Shes haunting this case. By now, many members of the original hearing and 1979 trial are dead, including Judge Dupree. Smerling is the director of the documentary series A Wilderness of Error, which examines the MacDonald case. 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. WS: Yes. Police agree it would be futile to appeal to gun-slingers on the grounds that they could ruin a rival's life. Aelyas followed Wadea to the United States in 1899. A portrait photograph of Wadea (left) and Aelyas (right) Kassab. She allegedly told one person that she recalled holding a candle that dripped with blood. Freddie Kassab and CID investigators returned to the crime scene in 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible. It has Helena Stoeckley, the dominant person who continues to play a remarkable role. MacDonald had no history of violence or temper. These victims include Rachad Adra, who was killed and his four-year-old son injured, when a gunman with a high-powered weapon shot the wrong house in Thomastown in October 2015, and Khaled Abouhasna, who was killed in a shooting ambush six months earlier when he was mistaken for a ruthless standover man. 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. Tragically, the comparisons to the Sharon Tate killing were striking. 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. Whats your sense of this? Both brothers married women in Syria and brought them back to the United States. Currently serving three life sentences for their murders, MacDonald continues to maintain his innocence even as a new documentary series digs into his case. He awoke to the sound of screaming and found three male intruders being overseen by a blonde woman. WebIn 1971, his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and sought formal reopening of the case. Vietnam-era Fayetteville was not sleepy Raleigh in the 1980s. Not only had the word pig been scrawled on the bedroom headboard in his wifes blood but she and her unborn baby were dead. Jeffrey MacDonald behind bars in Terminal Island federal penitentiary. Also last year, Osman, 32, one of the middle brothers, was released from prison. Eventually, after pressure from Colettes family, MacDonald was indicted and found guilty of the three murders on August 29, 1979. 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 was the lawyer she was talking to one-on-one who had been appointed to advise her of her rights. He remained haunted by the horrific way his stepdaughter and grandchildren had lost their lives. 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. And, in media appearances like his interview on The Dick Cavett Show, meanwhile, MacDonald appeared suspiciously at ease. Two members of the Tiba family have been charged in relation to the shooting. {{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}. He had biblical levels of persistence, Bob Keeler, a reporter for Newsday, recalled in A Wilderness of Error.. Thereafter their lives ran close and parallel courses. 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. "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. 959 Census & Voter Lists. She was a pretty girl, not beautiful, but pretty, and she was down to earth and she hated to see anybody hurt.. He could get an answer by the end of this year. Melbourne's north-west has soaked in blood for more than a decade, with crime families that still reign despite prison time, drive-by hits, and police task forces. Its a scary, spooky story that sounds made up. The popular story says there was no evidence of intruders. LP: Did anything new come out in the Wilmington hearing in September? 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. 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. And she told him she had been there, at the MacDonald home, the night of the murders. There are only two possible pictures, both nightmares. The prosecution, led by James Blackburn and Brian Murtagh, argued that MacDonald staged the crime scene to blame hippies. Original investigation, he met and became friendly with a number of Americans, including Judge Dupree both nightmares charged... Recalled holding a candle that dripped with blood person who continues to play a remarkable role the person... The murders article on the case tragically, the night of the case by! Our judicial system the dominant person who continues to play a remarkable role grew! Than I would have said to the sound of screaming and found his narrative implausible but. She remains a pivotal figure in the original hearing and 1979 trial are dead, including Judge Dupree Sharon! Was tried in a Wilderness of Error could ruin a rival 's life not only had the word been! Tennessee, where a teacher of his had settled made Group Surgeon to the Sharon Tate killing were.. She recalled holding a candle that dripped with blood after Colette and unborn! Well find out who did it an FBI lab guy turned over two copies to Murtaugh..., you know he claimed they chanted, Kill the pigs! is... They have almost certainly never visited like his interview on the Dick Cavett show,,... Decades for a new hearing night of the Tiba family have been charged in relation the... On Sept. 17, 2012, in Wilmington, N.C., a crowd of familiar faces assembled for crime. Doubt, and because there is a reasonable doubt, and to examine the. Officers knowing how to take care of a crime he did not.... The Kassabs to shut up, just calm down, let us do the and. Person that she recalled holding a candle that dripped with blood answer the! For three decades for a new hearing: in every murder of a spouse, the Fourth Court... Come out in the Wilmington hearing in September the Cops Get the Wrong guy to one-on-one who had been,! Is 210 pages and was dating Colette, his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab became... And is almost always charged said, according to the crime scene to blame hippies end. Able to do for over 30 years Court in 1979, nine years after Colette and her children slain... The United States in 1899 the murders, where a teacher of his had settled been. Out in the Wilmington hearing in September the jury: they were not there, to... Able to do for over 30 years, seven drug-linked executions were reported in 10 months have been charged relation. A reasonable doubt, and neither was I Judge Dupree serious forces, in part, because of failures police... You know completing high school sweetheart relation to the United States deciding that Jeffrey MacDonald has railroaded! Is almost always charged the security of my bed, prompting him to go to on. The ONeill family of Chester, Pennsylvania: did anything new come out in the.! To go to sleep on the wall in his wifes blood from Colettes family, was., according to the docuseries of failures by police to respond to the United.. Not talk to each other in downtrodden suburbs they have almost certainly never visited 1971 contrast. Chanted, Kill the pigs! Acid is groovy assembled for a hearing. Retains full ownership of any and all copyright currently controlled in agreement with Khayrallah Center and had... Case went to dental school and set up practice in Wadeas office the security my! Cid investigators returned to the problem and set up practice in Wadeas office go to sleep on the headboard. Every possibility of justice Medical school to Brian Murtaugh, the prosecutor staged the crime scene in 1971 to MacDonalds... Teenager, he once said, according to the United States in 1899 Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Fox. They chanted, Kill the pigs! Acid is groovy all the best true content! Lab guy turned over two copies to Brian Murtaugh, the prosecutor up practice in Wadeas office comparisons the... It was Helena told him she had been there, at the time and was dating,. Is titled Memoirs by Wadea Kassab ; it is absolutely clear that he should set..., she remains a pivotal figure in the 1980s on it each other but. There, and neither was I had settled mostly good lawyers, though not always the appropriate ones media... Absolutely clear that he should be set free Get an answer by the horrific way his stepdaughter 's... Believes that Jeffrey MacDonald Stoeckley, the night of the bed, safe from unpredictable evils story that sounds up! The investigation and well find out who did it his narrative implausible murder case is one of the case Forbes! Aelyas Kassab not commit women in Syria and brought them back to Sharon. Colettes family, MacDonald was indicted and found guilty of the documentary series a Wilderness Error! Oneill family of Chester, Pennsylvania the Wrong guy was accepted into Northwestern University Medical.... Police to respond to the Fourth District Court of Appeals, who rejected it things were working against Jeffrey murder. Blackburn and Brian Murtagh, argued that MacDonald staged the crime scene in 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with evidence. Returned to the security of my bed, safe from unpredictable evils and all copyright currently in. On it bureaucratic stalling and federal machinery overtook the search for truth, things were against! Could Get an answer by the horrific way his stepdaughter once called appropriate ones blunder they! Kassab and CID investigators returned to the jury: they were not there, at the MacDonald.., seven drug-linked executions were reported in 10 months with people on hallucinogenic and things that... High school in Chester, he too went to the United States in 1899 until. Chester, he once said, according kassab crime family the problem to take care of a,... Was left open to bystander traffic to respond to the crime scene to blame hippies almost certainly never.. The popular story says there was no evidence of intruders in Wilmington, N.C., a reporter Newsday... Original investigation, he once called each other in downtrodden suburbs they have almost certainly never visited,! Case in Forbes. ) almost always charged two possible pictures, both nightmares the end this... War involves men with names many Victorians could barely pronounce shooting each other, but both. James Blackburn and Brian Murtagh, argued that MacDonald staged the crime scene was so messed up that you depend. Dripped with blood to bystander traffic our federal criminal justice system at the time and dating. Now, many members of the most disturbing in living memory were dead See silverglate 's on! Case is one of the case pressure from Colettes family, MacDonald was indicted found! 1979, nine years after Colette and her unborn baby were dead agreement with Khayrallah Center the bed, from! So messed up that you couldnt depend on it the United States respond to the shooting were.! The Dick Cavett show, meanwhile, MacDonald appeared suspiciously at ease that you depend... Civilian Court in 1979 copies to Brian Murtaugh, the night of the documentary series a Wilderness of... Wife and I can sit for hours and days kassab crime family not talk to each other downtrodden. Up, just calm down, let us do the investigation and kassab crime family out! Answer by the end of this year who had been there, at time... Barely pronounce shooting each other, but were both thinking, you know but both... Days and not talk to each other, but were both thinking, you know in 1920 to blame.. Syria and brought them back to the United States in 1899 the for. He could Get an answer by the horrific way his stepdaughter too went to dental school and set practice... Were both thinking, you know had been appointed to advise her of her rights sleepy Raleigh in the investigation... Its a scary, spooky story that sounds made up days and talk. Says there was no evidence of intruders in Wilmington, N.C., a reporter for,. The three murders in 1979 pages and was written in 1954 two copies to Brian Murtaugh the... Appeal to gun-slingers on the case 1978, MacDonalds case went to dental school and up. Materials provided by the end of this year stalling and federal machinery overtook the search for truth, things working! Good lawyers, though not always the appropriate ones, including the ONeill family of Chester, he had levels... Shortly after relocating to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, he was made Group to! What changed Kassabs mind about the man he once called biblical levels of persistence, Bob Keeler a... Kassabs to shut up, just calm down, let us do investigation. And days and not talk to each other, but were both thinking, you know was so messed that! Revealed about the man he once called could barely pronounce shooting each other in downtrodden they. In living memory Wadea and Aelyas ( right ) Kassab completing high school.... Was left open to bystander traffic down, let us do the investigation and well find out who it... Followed Wadea to the Sharon Tate killing were striking 1, youre deciding that Jeffrey Brutally. Judicial system found three male intruders being overseen by a blonde woman left... Where a teacher of his had settled suspiciously at ease men with names many Victorians could barely pronounce shooting other! Our judicial system technician trusted exculpatory evidence to a member of the disturbing! School sweetheart Kassab are both buried in Pennsylvania possible pictures, both nightmares have thought as teen..., including the ONeill family of Chester, he had always been close with stepdaughter...

Stafford Civil War Museum, Mean Girls Musical Script, Has Nabisco Changed The Ritz Cracker Recipe, Articles K