Forbidden: Dying for Love featured the Jennifer and William Wright 2002 homicide-suicide case on Investigation Discovery. ‘Onward, Christian Soldier’ highlighted the circumstances that lead to the murder of Jennifer Wright and the pain it inflicted on those who were left behind including their three sons. According to the show, William Wright was a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina with his wife and three children. MSgt Wright was routinely deployed after 9/11/2001 and as a result he was never home. Bill’s absence was hard on Jennifer and the marriage. She wanted Bill to leave the Army but the Army was his life; it’s what he was meant to do. While Bill was deployed in Afghanistan, he learned that Jennifer was telling people back home that he divorced her.
Bill was stunned to learn the news and was granted leave to go back stateside and deal with his family crisis. Bill learned Jennifer was having an affair with the pastor at church and she wanted a divorce. Instead of salvaging his marriage, Bill murdered Jennifer in the family home on June 29, 2002 and covered it up. When investigators questioned Bill about Jennifer’s murder, he broke down and told them everything. Bill admitted he hit his wife with a baseball bat and then strangled her to death. He then put her body in a garbage bag and buried her in some woods near Fort Bragg. In 2003, William Wright was in prison awaiting trial when he died by suicide in his jail cell. Jennifer and William’s sons expressed concern that the Army’s anti-malaria drugs negatively impacted their father’s health and was most likely the reason this tragedy occurred.
This domestic violence related homicide was one of five murders that occurred in a six week period at Fort Bragg in 2002. Rigoberto Nieves fatally shot his wife Teresa on June 11, 2002; Cedric Griffin fatally stabbed his wife Marilyn on July 9, 2002; Brandon Floyd fatally shot his wife Andrea on July 19, 2002; and military spouse Joan Shannon manipulated her daughter Elizabeth to shoot her step-father Major David Shannon on July 23, 2002 while he slept.
ID Go: While her husband serves in the army, a lonely married mother of three finds comfort in the arms of her church’s charismatic new minister. But danger looms in the form of a jealous love-rival that will stop at nothing to scare her away. -Onward, Christian Soldier, Forbidden: Dying for Love (S4,E4)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
Two days after returning home from Afghanistan, Fort Bragg Army SFC Rigoberto Nieves shot and killed his wife Teresa Nieves after an argument on June 11, 2002 in their Fayetteville, North Carolina home; SFC Nieves then turned his .40-caliber service revolver on himself. This domestic violence related homicide was one of five murders that occurred in a six week period at Fort Bragg in 2002. William Wright admitted to murdering his wife Jennifer on June 29, 2002; Cedric Griffin murdered his wife Marilyn on July 9, 2002; Brandon Floyd murdered his wife Andrea on July 19, 2002; and military spouse Joan Shannon manipulated her daughter Elizabeth to shoot her step-father Major David Shannon on July 23, 2002 while he slept.
Army Pfc. Gary S. Kalinofski, 21, died of a gunshot wound at Camp Magrath near Pristina, Kosovo on March 4, 2002. The military casualty announcement confirmed the gunshot wound was not a result of engagement with hostile forces. Pfc. Kalinofski’s home of record was listed as Fayetteville, North Carolina. Pfc. Kalinofski served in Kosovo since November 2001 in a peacekeeping mission role on behalf of A Company, Task Force 1-32nd Infantry Regiment at Fort Drum, New York. According to the book Army Wives by Tanya Biank, the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) ruled that Pfc. Gary Kalinofski died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Gary was survived by his parents; his dad also served in the Army and was in Kosovo at the time Gary took his own life. The Army Wives author shared that Gary’s parents were interviewed by Army CID but they didn’t have any insight or knowledge to help Army CID understand why Gary chose to die by suicide.
Editor’s Note: There was no Department of Defense press release for the announcement of the death of Army casualty Pfc. Gary S. Kalinofski in Kosovo.
Army SSG John Diamond, 28, was accused of fatally shooting Air Force Capt. Frank ‘Marty’ Theer in Fayetteville, North Carolina on December 17, 2000. Capt. Theer and his wife Michelle were on their way to a Christmas party when Michelle claimed she needed to stop at her place of employment. After waiting for awhile, Capt. Theer exited his vehicle to check on Michelle. As he ascended the stairs at the office building, he was shot multiple times and died at the scene. The Fayetteville Police Department launched a homicide investigation and would learn that Michelle Theer was having an affair a married Fort Bragg Army Ranger named John Diamond. It was later theorized that psychologist and Air Force Reservist Michelle Theer was the mastermind behind the murder of her husband. She was accused of setting Capt. Theer up when she lured him to her office; she was also accused of manipulating SSG Diamond to commit the murder. The prosecutor’s theorized the motive for the homicide of Capt. Theer was the Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance money.
During the investigation, the police got a tip that a gun matching the murder weapon was in the custody of SSG Diamond which connected him to the crime. Conveniently, SSG Diamond admitted to having a gun that fit the description of the one used in the murder but he claimed his vehicle had been broken into and the gun was stolen. SSG Diamond was arrested by the US Army for having an unregistered weapon on a federal installation while they investigated his role in the murder. They would learn that despite his marriage status, he was in love with Michelle Theer and would do anything for her. The military courts charged SSG Diamond with first degree murder and on August 28, 2001, a six-member military panel at Fort Bragg found him guilty; Staff Sgt. John Diamond was sentenced to life in federal prison. Michelle Theer disappeared by the time the civilian authorities caught up with her but she was eventually located in Florida living under an assumed identity. Michelle Theer was convicted of conspiracy to commit first degree murder on December 3, 2004 and sentenced to life in prison, no parole.
Investigation Discovery:
In 2000, Michelle Theer was an Air Force wife in the military town of Fayetteville until a fatal shooting made her a widow. The investigation into her husband’s death led police to the door of an Army Ranger – taking orders from very unlikely accomplices. -Fayetteville, Sins and Secrets (S2,E3)
Sexy psychologist and doting Air Force wife Michelle begins a swinging affair with Army Sgt. Diamond while her husband, Captain Marty Theer, is away. But all’s fair in love and war, and Marty’s return will remind them that love is a battlefield. -Sergeant Swinger, Scorned: Love Kills (S4,E1)
Oxygen:
A frantic, distraught woman runs into a video rental store screaming that her husband has been shot. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
Killer Couples: S8 E5 Preview – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Killer Couples: S8 E5 After the Verdict – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Psychologist Debbie Layton-Tholl talks about her experience meeting with Michelle Theer. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
A lonely military wife and psychologist go searching for sex on the Internet with deadly results. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples (S8,E5)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
Captain Frank ‘Marty’ Theer, US Air Force, was murdered on December 17, 2000 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Military and civilian prosecutors believe Marty was murdered by his wife Michelle Theer and her lover SSG John Diamond, a sniper in the US Army stationed at Fort Bragg. Michelle tried to claim that John was obsessed with her and killed Marty so he could be with her. John Diamond’s defense team claimed that Michelle killed Marty for his large life insurance policy and set John up to take the fall. Prosecutors theorized that Michelle Theer manipulated John Diamond into committing the murder by claiming that Marty abused her. John’s family believe that the Army railroaded John because he was an enlisted man accused of killing an officer. In the end they would both be convicted of the murder of Marty Theer and spend the rest of their life in prison.
“Michelle Theer was named as a conspirator by Army prosecutors, but they had no jurisdiction over her because she is a civilian. She has not been charged in civilian courts.” -FayObserver (5/19/2002)
Investigation Discovery:
In 2000, Michelle Theer was an Air Force wife in the military town of Fayetteville until a fatal shooting made her a widow. The investigation into her husband’s death led police to the door of an Army Ranger – taking orders from very unlikely accomplices. -Fayetteville, Sins and Secrets (S2,E3)
Sexy psychologist and doting Air Force wife Michelle begins a swinging affair with Army Sgt. Diamond while her husband, Captain Marty Theer, is away. But all’s fair in love and war, and Marty’s return will remind them that love is a battlefield. -Sergeant Swinger, Scorned: Love Kills (S4,E1)
Oxygen:
A frantic, distraught woman runs into a video rental store screaming that her husband has been shot. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
Killer Couples: S8 E5 Preview – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Killer Couples: S8 E5 After the Verdict – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Psychologist Debbie Layton-Tholl talks about her experience meeting with Michelle Theer. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
A lonely military wife and psychologist go searching for sex on the Internet with deadly results. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples (S8,E5)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, had seen it all before – when Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted of savagely slaying his wife and children. Now another officer’s wife had been raped and murdered, another pari of children viciously butchered. And another member of the military was brought to trial. This time the state had no trouble winning a conviction. Tim Hennis was found guilty and sentenced to death. Only Hennis’ parents, wife, and dedicated defense team refused to give up. Piece by piece they ripped the state’s case to shreds, revealing a stunning story of perversion of justice, false witnesses, hidden evidence, and, incredibly, a baby-sitter who had a fascination with Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald. With the brutal truth and chilling suspense of Fatal Vision, this riveting account recreates a vicious crime, the behind-the-scenes story of its investigation, the compelling drama of one of the very few men ever released from Death Row, and an unsolved mystery that still casts a spell of terror. (Innocent Victims by Scott Whisnant)
Book Review:
I read the Innocent Victims book while I was camping and honestly I could not put it down. I was reminded of it while listening to the Military Murder Podcast and inspired to read it because of the level of detail available in the book. It was a great read because there were so many twists and turns in the case. If I didn’t know about the fact that a DNA match to Timothy Hennis helped prove his guilt in a 2010 military trial, I would have been convinced Timothy Hennis was wrongfully convicted. Timothy Hennis was luckier than most because he had the staunch support of his adopted family and wife Angela, who all believed wholeheartedly in his innocence. This case is one for the history books because it’s not every day someone is found guilty in a civilian trial, then found not guilty in a civilian trial on appeal, and then tried again by the military in a third trial and found guilty. Timothy Hennis was sentenced to death and is one of four service members languishing on military death row. The military hasn’t executed anyone since they hanged Army Pvt. John Bennett on April 13, 1961.
Journalists and scholars have questioned the military’s ability to try someone found not guilty in a civilian court because of the double jeopardy concerns. Due to the fact that Timothy Hennis was found not guilty in a second civilian trial, he was allowed to resume his career in the U.S. Army and retired as a MSG in 2004. As far as we know, Timothy Hennis committed no other crimes and was well respected by those he served with. It would be because of his retirement from the military, the Army was able to bring him back on active duty status and try him in a third trial for the murders of the Eastburn family. This practice is also controversial. On appeal Timothy Hennis challenged the military’s jurisdiction to recall him to active duty status to prosecute him and questioned the double jeopardy concerns. In January 2020, an Appeals Court decided military retirees can be recalled to active duty status and court-martialed. In February 2020, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals rejected Hennis’ constitutional rights challenges to the military court’s jurisdiction to try him.
On January 6, 1987, Army soldier Ronald Gray raped, sodomized, robbed, and murdered civilian Kimberly Ann Ruggles, 23, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Kimberly, who was a taxi driver, was dispatched to pick up Ronald Gray at his residence. In the early morning hours of January 7th, Fort Bragg military police officers discovered Ruggles’ empty cab parked at the edge of the woods on post. They discovered Kimberly’s nude body a short distance away. She had been raped, sodomized, beaten, and stabbed seven times. Kimberly’s mouth was gagged with a cloth belt that matched pants found in Gray’s possession only hours earlier. Ronald Gray’s fingerprints were also on the interior door handle of Ruggles’ taxi and Ruggles’ fingerprints were found on money in Gray’s possession. In addition, Gray’s footprints were found at the scene of the crime. In 1988, Ronald Gray was found guilty by the military courts of the premeditated murders of Kimberly and Private Laura Lee Vickery-Clay, and the attempted premeditated murder of Private Mary Ann Lang Nameth. On April 12, 1988, Ronald Gray was sentenced to death, given a dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, and a reduction to Private E-1. In 2008, President George Bush gave the final approval for the military execution of Ronald Gray. In December 2016, media reports indicated that the military is moving forward with the lethal injection execution of Ronald Gray.
According to CNN, the US military could soon execute someone for the first time since 1961. Ronald Gray, a former Army soldier, has been on military death row at Fort Leavenworth since 1988 when he was convicted of killing five women and raping several others in 1986 and 1987 while stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. A civilian court gave him eight life sentences, but a military court sentenced him to death. Last week, a judge ruled Gray’s stay in prison was no longer in effect and denied any further stays. Following the ruling, an execution date for Gray could be announced as soon as next month. –Wochit News
The murder of a military wife and two of her young daughters in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1985 was still making headlines twenty-five years later. The loss of his children and his wife Kathryn would forever haunt former Air Force Captain Gary Eastburn. Katie captivated him from the moment they met and the two got married shortly before Gary joined the United States Air Force. Eleven years later, Captain Eastburn was stationed at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina as an Air Traffic Control supervisor. By then, the couple had three daughters: five year old Cara, three year old Erin, and Jana who was just under the age of two. They lived on Summerhill Road near the Fort Bragg Army post.
In the spring of 1985, Gary Eastburn was nearing the end of a training program at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. Every Thursday night, Gary called Kathryn from the barrack’s payphone. One week, he couldn’t reached Kathryn and after frantically calling her for a couple days unable to reach her, Gary asked a neighbor to check in on his wife. The neighbors had grown concerned as well when they noticed that the newspaper had not been picked up for a couple days and they heard a child crying. They called the police who went into the Eastburn’s home and discovered Kathryn, Cara, and Erin had been murdered and the youngest toddler, Jana, was crying and severely dehydrated. They would learn that the baby was only hours from death.
The Fayetteville Police Department investigators discovered that Kathryn Eastburn had been raped and murdered. Her underwear had been cut off her, her blouse and bra were ripped opened, her throat was slit, and she had multiple stab wounds. Erin was found in her mother’s room stabbed to death and her throat slashed. And Cara was found in her own bed as if she was hiding underneath a blanket. She too had been stabbed multiple times and her throat was cut. Police believe the surviving toddler was in her crib for nearly three days before neighbors found her. Gary Eastburn received the dreadful call that there had been a death in the family while he was still at Maxwell. Investigators asked him to return home immediately because detectives wanted to give him the news in person.
Desperate police turned to the only living witness, Jana, to see if she remembered anything. The police took Jana to a child psychologist to determine what, if anything, she might know. The police deduced that the child heard the killer but could not identify him; she was just too young. An older Jana admits that she doesn’t remember anything now either. Police theorized that the baby was young and couldn’t identify the intruder which is probably why she was spared. In the meantime, a neighbor came forward claiming he saw a man leaving the Eastburn residence around 3 a.m. and was able to give a description of a suspect who drove a white Chevrolet Chevette. Kathryn also told Gary about a man who came and looked at the family dog they were trying to find a home for. His name was Timothy Hennis and the composite drawing inspired by the neighbor looked just like him.
Timothy Hennis was questioned and asked to give hair, blood, and fingerprint samples. When the detectives escorted Hennis back to his car, they discovered he drove a white Chevrolet Chevette. Later that night, Timothy Hennis was arrested. Hennis was an Army Sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg. Someone had used Kathryn’s stolen ATM card and a witness identified Hennis as the person who used the ATM right before she did at the time of the transaction. At every turn, the evidence overwhelmingly brought them back to Hennis. The prosecutors were puzzled why Hennis would commit such a heinous crime given he had no history of violence. They learned that he had approached a woman for sex that same night and theorized that when he was rejected, he decided to target Kathryn Eastburn.
A trial began roughly a year after the murders in 1986. Hennis’ attorney was quick to point out that the prosecution didn’t have any physical evidence linking Hennis to the murders to include fingerprints, hair, and foot prints. This was at a time before there was any routine DNA testing, therefore even semen found in Kathryn’s body led police nowhere. There was a significant amount of physical evidence showing that a male suspect was in the Summerhill Road house and it wasn’t Gary Eastburn or Timothy Hennis. Hennis’ attorney also pointed out that there was no possible way someone could leave that house without transferring evidence to their personal belongings. On July 4, 1986, the jury returned it’s verdict and Timothy Hennis was found guilty on all counts. Four days later, Hennis was sentenced to death.
While Timothy Hennis was sitting on death row, he received a letter from someone claiming to have committed the crimes. This person appeared to show remorse because Hennis was serving time for his crimes. In spite of the verdict, Hennis’ attorney and wife Angela continued to claim that Hennis was not the killer. As a result, Hennis’ attorney fought to have the murder conviction overturned and filed an appeal. The attorney felt he did not provide adequate representation in the first case and admitted that it was a heavy burden to carry. In a precedent setting decision, the Supreme Court overturned the guilty verdict. It found the prosecutors used information to inflame the jury, a graphic parade of disturbing images taken at the crime scene. After two years on death row, Hennis was awarded a new trial.
The second trial began in 1989, four years after the murders. The prosecution’s case was still strong and the star witness was back to swear that he saw Hennis leaving the Eastburn home on the night in question. In this new trial, the defense delivered compelling theories of their own. They produced a witness who claimed to have seen another man (not matching the description of Timothy Hennis) near the Eastburn home. The defense also reminded the jury there was no physical evidence connecting Hennis to the murders. Additionally, they opined there were others who could have committed the crimes including the person who wrote to Hennis while he was in prison. And in this case, Hennis took the witness stand and denied having anything to do with the murders. On April 19, 1989, a jury found Timothy Hennis not guilty on the triple murder charges and set him free.
Gary Eastburn wasn’t convinced of Hennis’ innocence because he never once apologized to the family for their loss. The verdict just didn’t sit right with Gary and he strongly believed that Hennis was guilty despite the jury’s decision. Gary admits he was angry after the verdict but he knew he had to let it go for his health. A month after Hennis was released from prison, ‘A Current Affair’ paid Hennis and his wife to appear on the program. Hennis suggested the prosecution wanted to pin the murder on anyone so they could get it out of the news; he also denied committing the murders. Timothy Hennis was free and for over twenty years no new suspects emerged. Whoever committed the murders in Fayetteville had gotten away with murder until one day a cold case detective took another look at the case.
After the murders, Gary Eastburn was transferred to a military base north of London, England where he met an English nurse and married her in 1991. Jana was 8 years old and now had a step-mother. Timothy Hennis returned to his family and resumed a career in the Army which often took him away from home. He served in the first Desert Storm war, he served in the war in Somalia, he got promoted multiple times, and had nothing but good marks from military leadership. Journalist Scott Whisnant wrote a book called ‘Innocent Victims’ which was later featured as a television movie. The point of view of the book was that Timothy Hennis was not guilty of these crimes. Investigators never read the book or saw the show. They claimed they were not interested in fiction; instead they were annoyed and pissed.
Twenty years later, new detectives were working on cold cases and decided to take a second look at the Eastburn murders. A cold case investigator found the one clue that could lead them to the killer, a vaginal swab from Kathryn Eastburn. In the 1980s, DNA testing was not available but now it was and they sent it to the lab. The lab testing revealed that the vaginal swab from Kathryn was a match to Timothy Hennis’ DNA. Still, Hennis’ attorney wasn’t convinced because he didn’t understand how someone could commit such a heinous crime then go twenty five years without committing another one and also lead an exemplary life. Billy Richardson believed the sample may have been contaminated and he pointed out that the lab that conducted the testing had been called into question on numerous occasions.
Author Scott Whisnant also believed that something was wrong and Hennis couldn’t have committed these crimes. He asked: “How could he be guilty of this? How could he fool everyone all these years?” Meanwhile, investigators contacted Gary Eastburn to inform him they got a match to Timothy Hennis. Eastburn admitted he had given up hope and the new information was overwhelming. But one thing stood in the way of justice: the Constitution. Hennis had been found not guilty by the State of North Carolina and they were prohibited from trying him a second time because of the double jeopardy clause. But the State found a loophole and because Timothy Hennis was a retired Army soldier, the Army could try him. They ordered Hennis out of retirement and back into uniform to stand trial in the military justice system.
Hennis retired in Washington state in a community near Seattle which was a shock to Gary Eastburn because that’s where he and his wife had settled and Jana and her boyfriend had settled. They learned that Hennis lived 30 minutes away from them. Jana was shocked he lived so closely to them because he was walking free in a community near her. But the Army would soon move Hennis; he was ordered back to Fort Bragg to face triple murder charges. After two decades of freedom, Hennis was being tried for the murders of Kathryn, Cara and Erin Eastburn, a third time for the same crime, except this time in a military court martial. If convicted, Hennis could again face the death penalty again. Hennis’ attorney was stunned that in America, Hennis could be charged for a third time for the same crime.
Billy Richardson referred to the double jeopardy clause in the US Constitution and reminded the public it doesn’t say anything about jurisdiction. He tried to get a federal court to intervene on the issue but failed. And in this third Hennis trial, there would be a new witness, Jana, the only survivor that night. She wanted the jury to know how this crime impacted her life. The trial began in the spring of 2010 and Timothy Hennis’ wife and grown daughter continued to stand by his side. They believed he was innocent. Hennis’ new attorney, Frank Spinner, argued at trial that the facts of Hennis’ life do not paint the portrait of a man who could commit such a heinous crime. He questioned how a man who led such an exemplary life could be the same person who would commit three murders in one night.
Timothy Hennis served his country with distinction, raised his family, and never committed another crime in the twenty five years after the Eastburn murders. And yet on one single night, Hennis slaughtered a family? The prosecutors said the motive didn’t matter because there was DNA linking Hennis to the murders. Spinner reminded jurors that DNA does not mean a case is open and shut. He argued that the DNA does not mean Hennis raped and murdered Kathryn Eastburn because Hennis admitted to consensual sex with her. Hennis suggested Kathryn was lonely while her husband was away at training. Gary Eastburn was angry the defense would have the audacity to suggest that Kathryn was a ‘whore’. Hennis’ old attorney Billy Richardson shared that Hennis denied having sex with Kathryn twenty years ago.
Kathryn and Gary Eastburn
The military panel didn’t believe Timothy Hennis and they found him guilty of the murders of Kathryn, Cara and Erin Eastburn. Hennis was lead away in handcuffs and for the second time in his life, he was sentenced to death. Timothy Hennis maintains his innocence, filed an appeal, and is fighting for a reversal of his conviction. Gary and his daughter Jana spoke to the press minutes after the verdict and expressed empathy for Timothy’s family despite their belief that justice was finally served. Jana Eastburn admitted she feels more at peace knowing that Hennis is behind bars. As of 2011, Timothy Hennis appealed his conviction and challenged the federal ruling regarding the double jeopardy clause. Timothy Hennis remains on military death row at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
Source: 20/20 on ID ‘Witness’
In 1985, a young military wife and two of her three little girls are viciously murdered in their home. In a twisted case filled with unusual suspects, the man who gets convicted goes free. But nothing is what it seems. -20/20 on ID
Capt. Jeffrey MacDonald, U.S. Army (photo: The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.)
Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, was convicted on August 29, 1979 for the murders of his wife, Colette, and his two daughters, Kimberley and Kristen, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The murders occurred on February 17, 1970 while Captain MacDonald was serving as a doctor for Green Berets in the Army. Captain MacDonald was court martialed but a military judge did not find sufficient evidence to proceed with a trial. Captain MacDonald was honorably discharged from the Army. After persistence from Colette’s family, prosecutors in Fayetteville, North Carolina began to pay attention to the homicide case and eventually charged Jeffrey MacDonald with the murders of his family. MacDonald was found guilty by a jury of his peers and received three life sentences. Jeffrey MacDonald maintains his innocence to this day and continues to appeal his convictions.
Investigation Discovery:
An army surgeon, Jeffrey MacDonald, is the lone survivor of a brutal 1970 home invasion that claims the lives of his wife and daughters. But authorities doubt his story of murderous hippies and believe MacDonald is the culprit. -Jeffrey MacDonald: The Accused, People Magazine Investigates (S1,E11)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 