Tag: Military

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

On 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.

Related Links:
MacDonald Family
The Jeffrey MacDonald Information Site
Jeffrey MacDonald on Dick Cavett
Jeffrey MacDonald “Kills” One Of His “Assailants”
In 1979, Observer Editor Rick Thames interviewed MacDonald
On-Scene Detective Identifies Cult Members Responsible for 1970 MacDonald ‘Green Beret’ Murders & Army/Police Complicity in Cover-up
Three Trials for Murder
The Devil and Jeffrey MacDonald
The Fort Bragg murders: is Jeffrey MacDonald innocent?
Since 1979, Brian Murtagh has fought to keep convicted murderer Jeffrey MacDonald in prison
Jeffrey MacDonald DNA: Army Doctor Convicted Of Killing Pregnant Wife, Kids Could Clear Name
Larry King Live – Jeffrey MacDonald: In his own words
Maybe Jeffrey MacDonald was innocent after all
DNA and the Jeffrey MacDonald investigation
After 35 years, ‘Fatal Vision’ author, killer meet again
The Devil’s in the Details: Errol Morris on the Jeffrey MacDonald Case
Richard Herman Attorney on CNN Live: Army Doctor Jeffrey MacDonald Case Reopened
The Jeffrey MacDonald Case – A Round Table discussion with Richard Cahn
How I Changed My Mind About the Jeffrey MacDonald Murder Case
Allen Rogers talks about his friend Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald
The controversial case of Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald
The MacDonald Family Murders
The Fort Bragg murders: Is Jeffrey MacDonald innocent?
Federal judge upholds Jeffrey MacDonald murder conviction; his attorney talks about appeal
The Murders of Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen MacDonald
Former prosecutor Jim Blackburn on the Jeffrey MacDonald case
Did Jeffrey MacDonald Kill His Family? Or Was It A Group of Manson Family-Esque, LSD-Raving Hippies
Lawyers for Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, Fighting in Court Filing to Overturn 1979 Conviction for Murdering Family, Say Prosecutors Hid Evidence
People Magazine Investigates Green Beret Jeffrey MacDonald’s family murder conviction
Ex-Army surgeon pursues appeal, insists he’s innocent in “Fatal Vision” killings
Jeffrey MacDonald gets new court hearing in ‘Fatal Vision’ murder case
MacDonald hearing, likely last chance for exoneration set for Thursday
Green Beret doctor who claims hippies killed his wife and children in 1970 vows to fight on in bid to clear his name despite latest rejection
Captain Jeffrey MacDonald – 40 Years Later
Jeffrey MacDonald gets new evidence hearing after 40 years
Kathryn MacDonald & Dr Jeff MacDonald Ft Bragg Murders
Crimes And Criminals: Jeffrey MacDonald (YouTube)
Jeffrey MacDonald ‘Fatal Vision’ Murder Case to Get TV Remake
‘Fatal Vision’ becomes final: Jeffrey MacDonald murders get movie treatment again
Timeline of events in the Jeffrey MacDonald case
Violent Crime, Non Combat Death & Suicide at Fort Bragg
The Accused | People Magazine Investigates | Investigation Discovery (S1,E11)
Trailer | Final Vision | Investigation Discovery
Final Vision | Investigation Discovery
Trailer | False Witness | YouTube Movies
False Witness | YouTube Movies

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

On 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.

Related Links:
Andrew Lee Muns, Ensign, United States Navy
The Andrew Muns Story
The Charley Project: Andrew Lee Muns
Missouri man incriminated in 33-year-old murder case
Persistence leads to indictment for murder
Bringing Back Honor For Missing Sailor
Navy ensign, once thought to be a deserter, finally honored as hero
Federal Judge Recommends Confession Be Thrown Out
Federal judge recommends confession be thrown out
LeBrun v United States, Opposition (Department of Justice)
USA, Appellant, v. Michael Edward LeBRUN, Appellee (May 14, 2002)
USA, Appellant, v. Michael Edward LEBRUN, Appellee (April 9, 2004)
Case of the long-ago murder
Admissible Evidence
Man Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in 1968 Killing
Ex-sailor pleads guilty in 1968 shipboard killing
Former seaman gets four years for killing Navy shipmate in 1968
Sailor sentenced for murder
Greenwood Man Sentenced in 1968 Murder
Cold Case Files: Exhuming the Truth
U.S. Navy Cold Case: A Sister’s Persistence Restores the Honor of Murdered Ensign Andrew Lee Muns

Green Beret Doctor Capt. Howard Levy Convicted in Court-martial for Willfully Disobeying Orders & Making Disloyal Statements About U.S. Policy in Vietnam (June 2, 1967)

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, In Their Name, Military Policy, ScandalsLeave a comment

History-channel-logo-1

“Capt. Howard Levy, 30, a dermatologist from Brooklyn, is convicted by a general court-martial in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, of willfully disobeying orders and making disloyal statements about U.S. policy in Vietnam. Levy had refused to provide elementary instruction in skin disease to Green Beret medics on the grounds that the Green Berets would use medicine as ‘another tool of political persuasion’ in Vietnam.” Read more from This Day in History here.

Related Links:
1967 Press Photo Howard Levy
Captain Howard Levy
My Visit With Capt. Howard Levy
ACLU History: The Military
GI opposition to the Vietnam War, 1965-1973
Timeline of the G.I. Antiwar Movement
Parker v. Levy (1974)
Vietnam War | National Archives
Green Berets End Testimony in Levy Case
The Press of Peace
The Trial of Captain Levy: II
Court Rejects Cases Challenging Legality of the War
A system of law, tried and found guilty
Vietnam: Where Are They Now?
Following Up | The New York Times
The Real Story of Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Sir! No Sir! | Seattle Weekly
How GI Resistance Altered The Course Of History: “Sir, No Sir,” A Timely Film
Watada, the War and the Law | The Nation
Super Troopers | Village Voice
Back to ‘nam: Cinema looks at the USA’s other hated war
Fonda’s antiwar years are being lived anew
New life for anti-war film Pentagon suppressed
Civil rights-era lawyer for Bond, Ali dies in Fla.
Charles Morgan Jr., 78; was famed civil rights era lawyer
A Memorial Day Remembrance of Peace Activist Soldiers
Please Don’t Thank Me For My Service
The GI Revolt That Ended the Vietnam War
Attica hostages died of gunshots, not cut throats as originally reported in 1971
NY Times Belated obituary for ex-Green Beret, antiwar activist Donald Duncan
Vietnam and the Soldiers’ Revolt
Opinion: Honoring GIs and veterans who fought for peace in Vietnam
I’m Pretty Sure Sergeant Greenwald Tried To Kill Me.
The Look Magazine article from 1968
Vietnam Vets Return to My Lai, Where US Slaughtered 500 Civilians
The Vietnam War and the US Soldiers’ Revolt
Reflections on the Anti-War Documentary, Sir! No Sir!
Dr. Howard Levy Refuses Orders Over Vietnam War; Charges U.S. War Crimes
War Crimes and Vietnam: The “Nuremberg Defense” and the Military Service Resister
Vietnam War on Trial: The Court-Martial of Dr. Howard B. Levy
May 10, 1967: Army Captain Howard Levy Refuses to Train Green Berets During Vietnam War
The Court-Martial of Captain Levy: Medical Ethics vs. Military Law
Book: Sir! No Sir! – The Suppressed Story of the GI Movement to End the War in Vietnam
Movie of the Month: Sir! No Sir! | Portland Public Library
Movie: Sir! No Sir! | The New Yorker

Army Pvt. John Bennett Executed by Hanging at U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth for Raping White Girl in Austria (April 13, 1961)

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Child Abuse, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Scandals, Sexual Assault, Stateside DeathLeave a comment
Photo by Shane Aldendorff on Pexels.com

“John Bennett, a black man, was hanged for raping a white girl in Austria. During the six years between his trial and death, eight other soldiers were executed, all of them black. Six white prisoners were on death row during those years. Some had killed little girls or had killed more than once. None were executed. President Dwight Eisenhower commuted the sentences of four. Two were spared by the courts. Today, six soldiers are on military death row–four black, one Asian, one white.” (update: 4 soldiers are on death row now)

“Evidence in Bennett’s case revealed mental defects in the young man and his family, defects that today would probably spare his life. He also almost certainly suffered from epilepsy, which his defenders cited as further evidence of mental illness. Even Dr. Karl Menninger, the country’s preeminent psychiatrist, twice sought to save the life of this ‘undistinguished epileptic Negro soldier.‘ The court-martial was held in Austria. The trial lasted five days, with little defense. The jury deliberated just 25 minutes.“

Read more from Richard A. Serrano (LA Times) here or here and check out Serrano’s book ‘Summoned at Midnight: A Story of Race and the Last Military Executions at Fort Leavenworth’ here.

Related Links:
Pvt John Arthur Bennett (April 13, 1961)
Pvt. John Bennett is the Only U.S. Soldier Executed for Rape in Peacetime
Pvt. John Bennett Is the Only U.S. Soldier Executed for Rape in Peacetime
Bush OKs Execution for Army Private on Death Row 
1961: John A. Bennett, the last American military execution (so far)
The Rare Case Of The Military Execution 
A look at the last U.S. soldier executed by the military 
Soldiers Sentenced to Die, but No Executions on Military Death Row Since 1961 
A look at the 6 inmates on US military death row
Servicemen on Death Row; 6 killers await as mil­i­tary jus­tice crawls
Judge lifts execution stay for ex-soldier in military prison
U.S. Military Could Execute Ex-Soldier for First Time Since 1961 
Army moves closer to first execution in 50 years; Ronald Gray on death row since 1988 
These are the 4 inmates on the military’s death row 
Haunted by the Story of John Bennett and Other Black Soldiers’ Lives on Death Row
Resuming federal executions unlikely to affect military death row
Summoned at Midnight: A Story of Race and the Last Military Executions at Fort Leavenworth 
Crimelines True Crime Podcast w/ Death’s Door Podcast Featured the Last Military Execution of Army Private John Bennett in 1961 (April 22, 2018)
Four U.S. Service Members on Military Death Row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Army Private John Bennett was Last Military Execution by Hanging in 1961
Seven Intriguing True Crime Podcasts Spotlighting Active Duty Military Suicide, Missing, and Murder Cases