Nothing makes me angrier faster than those who insist on saying that Jeff MacDonald "allegedly" murdered his family on that cold rainy winter night in February 1970.
I heard it most recently on an episode of Criminal Minds. Usually, that is a show that gets it mostly right when it comes to crimes and killers. This was not one of those times.
And for those who scream that Fatal Vision was a smear job, let me just say this: it is the third finest true crime book ever written, with In Cold Blood being number one, and Helter Skelter being number two.
The NBC telefilm of Fatal Vision was an absolute triumph. Karl Malden and Eva Marie Saint do star turns as the parents of murdered Colette MacDonald, and the grandparents of young Kimmy and Kristy. However, the movie belongs to a very young Gary Cole, who plays MacDonald, and does so in such a way that you can never really look at the poor guy the same way again after you've seen it. (It's a shame, actually. I like Gary Cole very much and I think he's terrific in other roles.) However, he will always be Jeffrey R. MacDonald, murderer of his pregnant wife and two little girls, to me.
And this is what Jeff MacDonald did.
"It was a blow of tremendous force."
Notice the silence as MacDonald murders his family. I think this was a brilliant decision. Background music would have done a disservice to the horror unfolding onscreen.
Notice the silence as MacDonald murders his family. I think this was a brilliant decision. Background music would have done a disservice to the horror unfolding onscreen.
Cry one for them.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure when someone is convicted of the crime of murder you should drop the alleged bit. I've never read anything that's swayed my mind of McDonald's guilt.
ReplyDeleteHe walked away from an "attack" that left his wife and children so destroyed, they were unrecognizable. He had a small incision in his side and some superficial scratches on his face. You know, like what you might get when a pregnant woman and two children fight back as you club them, beat them, and stab them with the kitchen cutlery.
ReplyDeleteGoogle Images will bear me out...but I would never advise anyone checking out the crime scene. It will change the way you look at the world.
I will dance on that fucker's grave when he goes
Murder Mac didn't just kill his wife and children, he actually destroyed them. The autopsy photos are proof of that. It was only when you washed the blood away that you can really see his handiwork. He bashed Kimberly's skull in. He must have beat Colette with all of his might. He stabbed Kristen Jean so many times, she looked like a Manson victim when he was done with her. Did you know that Kristen had defensive wounds on her hands? She tried to protect herself from her killer. The blood evidence also shows that Kristen tried to escape from him and did succeed in getting under her bed at one point, only to be dragged back out by her father so he could finish murdering her. Always remember that Murder Mac got First Degree for Kristen. Also, always remember how hard you would have to hit someone for their brain serum to be found in the nearby carpet. I never thought the first blow to Kim's head was an accident. I think Murder Mac knew exactly what he was doing.
ReplyDeleteI'll be there right beside you when you dance on his grave.
The entire movie can be found on Youtube:
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/_OIEmxllZFU
criminal minds sucks ass anyway. it hasn't been good since mandy left
ReplyDeleteHmmmm. There does seem to be a different in quality between the earlier seasons and the shows of today, which I pretty much do not watch.
ReplyDeleteI used to question the government's case and MacDonald's guilt but once I read the Article 32 hearing and saw MacDonald's own words, I reevaluated. It's not just one thing that is off with his story of what happened, it's many things. Even throwing out every bit of blood and physical evidence, the fact remains that his pregnant wife and two little daughters were overkilled and yet he was left with one cut and a bump on the head that didn't even break the skin (while his wife's skin was torn down to the skull and his daughter had bone protruding through her face and brain matter seeping from her ear). Case closed in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that Gary Cole is absolutely fantastic as JRM. Hard to believe it was his first role. His intensity is frightening.
I wrote about this case as well and will be featuring posts on each topic/piece of evidence. I also wrote about how I went from probably guilty to probably not guilty to absolutely guilty.
http://www.criminalmisconduct.blogspot.com/2013/03/jeffrey-macdonald-killer-husband-killer.html
http://www.psychoticstate.net/2009/02/fatal-vision-my-journey-from-probably.html