Decades after killings, Jeffrey MacDonald back in court

Thursday, January 26, 2017
RALEIGH -- A former Fort Bragg doctor convicted of killing his pregnant wife and their two daughters nearly five decades ago is getting another chance to argue that he's innocent.

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A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals will hear arguments Thursday in the case of Jeffrey MacDonald, who inspired the book and television miniseries "Fatal Vision." The 73-year-old has long maintained that the killings were committed by drug-crazed hippies who broke into his North Carolina apartment.

Jeffrey MacDonald



MacDonald's attorneys are challenging a 2014 district court judge's decision denying his bid to have his convictions thrown out. They say evidence uncovered since his 1979 trial proves he's innocent.
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MacDonald, who was convicted in the murders of his pregnant wife and two daughters in 1970, has tried numerous times to get a new trial, each time being denied.

Prosecutors are urging the court to reject MacDonald's appeal, saying in court filings that they're confident he was the killer.

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