Colette, Kimberley & Kristen MacDonald Murdered in NC Home; Former Army Captain Jeffrey MacDonald Convicted of Homicide, Sentenced to Life (February 17, 1970)

On February 17, 1970August 7, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Scandals2 Comments

Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen MacDonald

Capt. Jeffrey MacDonald, US Army

Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, was convicted on August 29, 1979 of 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.

False Witness:

Trailer: Special Forces Captain and Princeton man Jeffrey MacDonald has been in Federal prison since 1979 for murdering his wife and two young daughters in his quarters at Ft. Bragg eight years earlier, but his conviction might be vacated pursuant to evidence. -False Witness, YouTube Movies (December 4, 2012)

Special Forces Captain and Princeton man Jeffrey MacDonald has been in Federal prison since 1979 for murdering his wife and two young daughters in his quarters at Ft. Bragg eight years earlier, but his conviction might be vacated pursuant to evidence presented for the first time in Federal Court in September, 2012. -False Witness, YouTube Movies (December 4, 2012)

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. -The Accused, People Magazine Investigates (January 9, 2017)

The ID Original Movie, FINAL VISION tells the true story of Jeffrey MacDonald, a handsome, Ivy League-educated U.S. Army Green Beret doctor, who was convicted of brutally murdering his pregnant wife and two young daughters in the middle of the night. -Final Vision, Investigation Discovery (December 3, 2017)

ID Go: A writer is enlisted by a former Green Beret who stands accused of murdering his family to cover his trial and proclaim his innocence, but the tables turn when the writer has doubts. -Final Vision, Investigation Discovery (December 10, 2017)

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.

Andrew Muns Disappeared from USS Cacapon, Listed AWOL; 30 Plus Years Later, NCIS Cold Case Squad Solved Murder; Michael LeBrun Plead Guilty (1968)

On January 17, 1968January 7, 2018 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Navy, Non Combat Death2 Comments

Screen Shot 2016-08-07 at 7.36.01 PM — Andrew Muns, US Navy

After U.S. Navy sailor disappears in 68, the Navy claims he went AWOL. But his sister works for over 30 years to prove that he was really killed. -Cold Case Files

The 1968 disappearance of Ensign Andrew Lee Muns, 24, US Navy, was long a mystery. But his family never gave up. As a result, the case was reopened by the Navy in 1998 at the urging of Muns’s sister, Mary Lou Taylor. Muns’s body was never found and the Navy listed him as a deserter after $8,600 was discovered missing from a ship safe. He was not eligible for burial at Arlington National Cemetery because he didn’t have an honorable discharge. His family wanted to set the record straight in an effort to honor his name. An NCIS Cold Case Squad investigation revealed that cashier and payroll clerk, Andrew Muns, caught Michael LeBrun stealing from the ship’s safe. Muns threatened to report him and LeBrun panicked. He punched him, Muns punched him back, they struggled, and LeBrun overpowered Muns and strangled him in an effort to silence him. Then he needed to get rid of the body. LeBrun wanted to throw him overboard but was afraid others would hear the splash and the body would float. He threw his body in a muck tank instead knowing it would not be inspected for a year and a half. LeBrun eventually pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in September 2005 for killing Andrew Muns. He was sentenced to four years in prison. Andrew Muns was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full honors and the flag was given to his family.

Iva Kroeger Murdered Motel Owners Mildred Arneson and WWI Army Veteran Jay Arneson in California; Sentenced to Life in Prison (August 20, 1962)

On August 20, 1962August 14, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, VeteransLeave a comment

Jay Thomas Arneson — Jay Arneson, U.S. Army Veteran (photo courtesy of Find a Grave)

“Iva Kroeger was a housewife with dreams of owning her own business, and took over her friend Mildred Arneson’s motel in Santa Rosa, California. Iva murdered Mildred and buried the body in her basement, then claimed Mildred moved to Brazil and left her the motel. Shortly afterward, she also murdered Mildred’s husband, Jay. Iva and her husband Ralph, whose role in the murders is unknown, were both convicted of first degree murder. Ralph died in prison, and Iva was released after serving 13 years.”

Source: Iva Kroeger | Deadlywomen Wiki | FANDOM

Dates: December 15, 1961, January 1962, August 20, 1962
Location: Santa Rosa, California and San Franciso, California
Offenders: Iva Kroeger & Ralph Kroeger
Victims: Mildred Arneson (motel owner), Jay Arneson (68 y.o. disabled Army veteran)
Motive: Greed, money
Pathology: Murder by strangulation, dug a hole in the basement of her San Franciso home, and buried two victims
Disposition: Iva Kroeger sentenced to death for 2 counts of first degree murder, later changed to life imprisonment with parole, served 13 years; Ralph Kroeger convicted of 2 counts of first degree murder on March 26, 1963, sentenced to life in prison
Status: Iva Kroeger paroled in 1974, deceased in 2000; Ralph Kroeger died in prison
Red Flags: Claims she fled an abusive marriage, dutiful wife to new husband Ralph Kroeger, kept everything neat & clean, engaging personality, sweet, kind, and caring but it was a front, obsession with nursing, worked in nursing homes with the vulnerable, first arrest was for impersonating a nurse, pulled a gun on a repairman because she didn’t want to pay her bill, stole $1,400 from a nursing home in San Jose in 1954, used aliases in various scams, master of the sob story, faked a limp, told people she had cancer, claimed she was crippled in a streetcar accident, said she was going blind, kidnapped her own son’s two children & then abandoned them on the streets of Oakland, California, stole $8,000 from a joint account with husband Ralph Kroeger, quoted as saying “If you act crazy, you can get away with anything because people will think you are eccentric,” during murder trial, claimed to be the mother of God, sang, threw things and constantly interrupted the witnesses and judge, psychiatrists testified that she was sane, but deceitful and manipulative, arrested in 1985 for threatening a man with a gun in Florida, two stolen nurses IDs found in her possession, wanted the life Mildred had, strangled her victims, abuser, user, strong desire not to pay for anything, psychopath but not always cool, calm and collected, lied constantly with complete conviction, won’t admit to any wrongdoing, and police record going back to 1945

Naughty by Monte Schulz (Book):

This crime noir novel, set in the 1950s, was inspired by the real life story of Iva Kroeger and her husband, indicted for the murders of Mildred and Jay Arneson in 1962. -Monte Schulz, Mr. Media Interviews By Bob Andelman

Investigation Discovery:

Selfish women will sometimes sell their souls to the devil to get what they want. A scorned lover weaves a web of lies, a teenage Goth orders a reign of terror, and a gold-digger buries secrets in her basement. -Souls of Stone, Deadly Women (S7, E18)

WWII Army Veteran Ben Lyles Jr. Died & Nobody Could Figure Out What Was Wrong; Poisoned by Wife, Anjette Lyles Sentenced to Death (January 25, 1952)

On January 25, 1952October 10, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Suspicious Deaths, VeteransLeave a comment

In 1947, Anjette Lyles and WWII Army veteran Ben Lyles ran a successful restaurant in Macon, Georgia. Anjette’s shining personality and beautiful face kept the customers coming back. One judge remembered his experience at the restaurant and claimed she was just a nice person. One day, Ben decides he’s had enough and sells the family restaurant. He said he was sick of it and Anjette was angry because she wanted to keep the restaurant; they also had just gave birth to another child. Ben wouldn’t relent and he would come to regret that decision. At first, Anjette practiced black magic and wished for harm to come to Ben. Then she stepped it up and started using a form of ant poisoning she conveniently put in Ben’s food. Ben Lyles was sick with rheumatic fever since his time in the service but once he sold the restaurant, he rapidly deteriorated. Ben was experiencing bleeding from the nose and mouth, swelling of the eyes, weeping skin lesions, and acute liver failure. Nobody could figure out what was wrong. Ben’s death was painful and the baffled doctors decided it was encephalitis. Ben Lyles died on January 25, 1952.

The pair argued bitterly over [Ben selling the restaurant], and the arguments only got worse when the Veteran’s Administration decided to cut Ben’s pension to a tenth of what it was as they’d decided he was now fit to work. As if to prove the VA wrong, in December of 1951 Ben Lyles fell ill. The doctors were confused. It wasn’t a recurrence of his rheumatic fever, and in fact they weren’t quite sure what it was that was wrong with him. He had nosebleeds and convulsions, and had to be hospitalised. When he went into a coma in January the doctors decided it was encephalitis, but by then it was too late for effective treatment. He never regained consciousness and died on the 25th of January. –HeadStuff

With the life insurance payout and the proceeds from the sale of the restaurant, Anjette bought back the restaurant and it became even more popular. She met Joe ‘Buddy’ Gabbert in the restaurant; he was a pilot from Texas. As soon as Joe met Anjette, he was captivated by her and courted her very energetically. They were married in just a few months. But Joe would quickly learn his new wife is not as she seems. Within three months of walking down the aisle, Joe Gabbert was dead on December 2, 1955. At this point, it is clear that Anjette was a sociopath with no feelings of empathy or love for anyone. Before she was 30, Anjette was widowed twice because the secret to her misfortune was arsenic poisoning. Her first husband Ben died shortly after selling the family restaurant; her second husband Joe died of a mysterious illness shortly after they were married. But instead of mourning, Anjette was happy and thriving in her restaurant. With another life insurance payout, this time Anjette bought herself a new home. But then a complication arose when her mother-in-law, Julia Lyles, announced she wanted to move in with her.

Julia indeed moved in with her but Anjette found a way to eliminate her problem and make even more money. Anjette learned that Julia had lots of money in savings. She attempted to change Julia’s will but one judge would not touch it because he needed to witness Julia sign the document and he knew it wasn’t Julia’s signature. Anjette forged her mother-in-law’s will and began to speed up her demise. When Julia fell ill and was hospitalized, Anjette brought her favorite foods for her and all the nurses thought she was so nice. Instead, Anjette was feeding Julia arsenic poisoning while she was laying in the hospital bed. Julia Lyles died on September 29, 1957. Anjette learned the best way to handle family problems was to simply get rid of them, by murdering. After Anjette’s mother-in-law was dead, she started turning on her daughter Marcia because she was an accessory Anjette didn’t want anymore. Marcia died of another unexplained illness on April 5, 1958 and it was reported that Anjette stood in the corner of the hospital room laughing while she was in pain. The doctors at the time could find reasons for the deaths of her two husbands but not this healthy little girl.

This time the police wanted an autopsy of Marcia Lyles and the autopsy results revealed that Marcia died of arsenic poisoning. After learning this information, the police exhumed both Ben Lyle’s and Joe Gabbert’s bodies and again they found traces of arsenic. Anjette’s secrets were finally revealed; she was a serial killer with no mercy. People were stunned to learned Anjette poisoned both her husbands and her daughter Marcia. It was described as a complete shock as the community always knew the kind, happy, helpful Anjette in the restaurant. Anjette Lyles was convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to death in 1958. But she appealed on the grounds of insanity and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Anjette was spared execution and lived out her life in an asylum. She died in 1977 of a heart attack at age 55. And in the end, a lot of people didn’t believe she was evil; they just figured she had some kind of mental quirk. Former FBI Profiler Candice DeLong shared her assessment of the case: “Anjette was a very high functioning, dedicated, driven, successful business women. That is not the definition of a paranoid schizophrenic.”

Source: ‘Secrets and Lies’ Deadly Women, Investigation Discovery

City Confidential:

Anjette Lyles | Macon, Georgia | City Confidential [Full Episode]

Investigation Discovery:

Preview: Anjette Lyles felt the best way to deal with her problematic home life was to poison the people around her. -Secrets and Lies, Deadly Women (S4, 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.

Joseph Kahahawai Murdered by Naval Officer Tommy Massie and Grace Fortescue in Hawaii After Hung Jury for the Alleged Gang Rape of Thalia Massie (1931)

On September 12, 1931June 1, 2017 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Navy, ScandalsLeave a comment

On the evening of September 12, 1931, Thalia Massie was walking home from a party she attended in Honolulu when she says she was pulled into some bushes and gang raped by some natives of Hawaii. She told her husband Tommie Massie, a Naval Officer who worked on a submarine, that she was raped. He immediately wanted justice for his young wife and insisted on calling the police. Thalia came from a very prominent family and led a privileged life that honored privacy; she did not want this information to go public. Once the Navy found out, they contacted the police department in an effort to exert pressure to get a conviction so their image was not impacted and the spouses felt safe again. As a result, the allegations were taken very seriously by the police and the case was investigated. Another woman reported that same night that she had been harassed by a group of Hawaiian natives and the police couldn’t help but suspect the two cases were related. After interviewing this woman, they were able to determine who one of the men were because she was able to provide a license plate number. The police brought the first suspect into the station for questioning and were able to find out who the other individuals were.

All of them were placed in a line-up together and Thalia Massie was asked to choose the men she thought were the ones who raped her. She picked two of the five men. Regardless the police charged all five men with rape and took them to trial. In the meantime, Thalia’s mother, Grace Fortescue, came to support her daughter through the trial. In the end, all five of the men were set free due to a hung jury; the jurors were deadlocked six to six. Tommy Massie and Grace Fortescue were especially upset with the outcome of the case and believed these men were guilty and only free because of a technicality. But what they didn’t consider is that Thalia’s identification of the accused was not credible because she could not see well without her glasses, it was dark that night, and she was only able to identify two of five individuals in a flawed police line-up. The other mitigating factors were no semen was found inside Thalia when the doctor’s performed an examination and she had bathed after the alleged rape so that evidence was lost.

Before Honolulu civilian investigators even initiated a second trial, Tommy and Grace decided they would get confessions from the accused so this time it would ensure a guilty verdict. They decided they would pretend to be the police and abduct Joseph Kahahawai with the help of one of Tommy’s Navy co-workers. They took Joseph back to the Massie home, held him at gunpoint, and asked him to admit to the crime. Joseph refused to admit guilt and would not sign the statement admitting guilt. He also let them know they cannot hold him captive because they are not the police. Joseph attempted to leave and it was at this point that he was shot and killed in a foiled abduction to elicit a confession gone wrong. In the meantime, Joseph’s cousin contacted the police to report that Tommy Massie abducted Joseph. Tommy Massie and Grace Fortescue were caught red-handed with Joseph’s dead body in the car after the Massie vehicle was spotted and police pulled them over. The two were on their way to a location where they could have dumped Joseph’s body and he would never be found again.

Tommy Massie and Grace Fortescue were both arrested for the homicide of Joseph Kahahawai. The Navy personnel, spouses, and other white people treated them as if they were celebrities. The duo never thought the jury would convict but they did. They convicted them of manslaughter and sentenced them to 10 years. Unfortunately, the Governor of Hawaii pardoned them and reduced the sentence to 1 hour in jail. They were freed after abducting and murdering a man they were not even really sure was a perpetrator. Despite evidence that a rape may have never happened, it didn’t matter to Tommy and Grace. They wanted someone to pay for the crimes against Thalia and believed it was the truth. Supporters celebrated the victory with them. It appeared that Joseph Kahahawai’s life didn’t even matter to them, but his life did matter to those native to Hawaii. Hawaiian natives knew that the island was safe prior to Hawaii becoming a territory of the United States. This was the case that changed the image of Hawaii, now a paradise lost to the natives.

Honolulu, HA, 1931: When the young aristocratic wife of a Naval Lieutenant is discovered bruised and beaten by the side of a dark road, a hackneyed scheme and a trigger-happy hand will lead to the most sensational murder trial in Hawaii’s history. -Investigation Discovery

MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL

Tag: Investigation Discovery

Colette, Kimberley & Kristen MacDonald Murdered in NC Home; Former Army Captain Jeffrey MacDonald Convicted of Homicide, Sentenced to Life (February 17, 1970)

Andrew Muns Disappeared from USS Cacapon, Listed AWOL; 30 Plus Years Later, NCIS Cold Case Squad Solved Murder; Michael LeBrun Plead Guilty (1968)

Iva Kroeger Murdered Motel Owners Mildred Arneson and WWI Army Veteran Jay Arneson in California; Sentenced to Life in Prison (August 20, 1962)

WWII Army Veteran Ben Lyles Jr. Died & Nobody Could Figure Out What Was Wrong; Poisoned by Wife, Anjette Lyles Sentenced to Death (January 25, 1952)

Joseph Kahahawai Murdered by Naval Officer Tommy Massie and Grace Fortescue in Hawaii After Hung Jury for the Alleged Gang Rape of Thalia Massie (1931)

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