Posted on 12/14/2005 6:51:18 PM PST by Howlin
RICHMOND, Va. - Lawyers for a former Green Beret convicted in the 1970 slayings of his wife and daughters, a crime dramatized in the best seller and miniseries "Fatal Vision," say a new witness has come forward and the court should throw out his murder convictions. A former deputy U.S. marshal now says he heard a defense witness tell a prosecutor she was inside Jeffrey MacDonald's home the night of the killings, according to a motion filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Jimmy B. Britt, who was part of the security detail for MacDonald's 1979 trial, says he heard prosecutor James Blackburn tell the witness he would indict her for murder if she told the same story in court.
The witness, Helena Stoeckley, later testified she couldn't remember where she was the night of the slayings. She had been an early suspect because she fit MacDonald's description of one of the intruders he says attacked his family.
Britt, now 67, said in an affidavit that he kept quiet for more than 25 years out of a sense of duty to people he worked with, but the secret eventually became too much to bear.
Blackburn denies the allegation.
"She never told us she was there," Blackburn told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "I never threatened her with murder prosecution. She testified at the trial that she was not there. I don't know why this man is coming forward 25 years later. I don't know what his motivation is, but he's simply mistaken."
Blackburn entered private practice soon after the MacDonald trial and later spent 3 1/2 months in prison for forgery, fraud embezzlement and obstruction of justice unrelated to the case. He was disbarred and now works as a motivational speaker.
MacDonald, 62, is serving three consecutive life sentences in a federal prison for the murders of Colette MacDonald, 26, and their daughters Kimberley, 5, and Kristen, 2.
He has always claimed that intruders broke into his Fort Bragg, N.C., home and stabbed and clubbed his family to death in an attack that left him seriously injured.
According to MacDonald, one of the attackers was a woman with a long blond wig and floppy hat. He said he heard her say, "Acid is groovy, kill the pigs." Stoeckley, who died in 1983, fit the description, according to court papers.
Britt said Stoeckley's interview with Blackburn was not the first time he heard her say she was in the MacDonald home the night of the murders. She told him the same story as he drove her from Greenville, S.C., to Raleigh for the trial and even described a hobby horse in the home, he said in the affidavit.
Hart Miles, an attorney for MacDonald, said he hopes the appeals court finds Britt's affidavit persuasive enough to grant a hearing. The motion seeks permission to present the new evidence to the U.S. District Court in Raleigh.
"It's a retired government official who's come forward. Nobody sought him out," Miles said.
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RICHMOND, Va. Dec 14, 2005 — Lawyers for former Green Beret doctor Jeffrey MacDonald told a federal appeals court that his convictions in the 1970 murders of his pregnant wife and two daughters should be thrown out after a new witness surfaced.
A former deputy U.S. marshal now says he heard a defense witness tell a prosecutor she was in the MacDonald home in Fort Bragg, N.C., the night of the murders, according to a motion filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The motion seeks the appeals court's permission to present the new evidence to the U.S. District Court in Raleigh.
Jimmy B. Britt of Apex, N.C., part of the security detail for MacDonald's 1979 trial, said he heard prosecutor James Blackburn tell the witness, Helena Stoeckley, he would indict her for murder if she told the same story on the witness stand. Stoeckley later testified she could not remember where she was the night of the slayings.
Britt said in an affidavit that he kept quiet for more than 25 years out of a sense of duty to people he worked with, but the secret eventually became too much to bear.
"I am currently 67 years of age and felt compelled to clear my conscience and come forward with what I witnessed, as I decided I could not shoulder the burden any longer," Britt said in the affidavit.
The MacDonald case was dramatized in the best-selling book and TV miniseries "Fatal Vision."
His lawyers said in their motion that the newly discovered evidence "consists of facts that unquestionably demonstrate egregious government misconduct of the most disturbing sort, actions that amount to a clear constitutional violation."
Blackburn denied the allegation in the appeal. "It's absolutely not true. It blows my mind that he thinks she told us that," Blackburn told The Wall Street Journal. A message left by The Associated Press at a telephone listing for James Blackburn was not immediately returned.
MacDonald, 62, is serving three consecutive life sentences in a federal prison near Cumberland, Md., for the murders of Colette MacDonald, 26, and their daughters Kimberley, 5, and Kristen, 2. He has always claimed that a group of intruders entered their apartment and stabbed and clubbed his family to death in an attack that left him seriously injured.
This was also the front page of the Wall Street Journal today which I didn't have a chance to read. Hopefully it's still on the floor of my office tomorrow morning.
Because, as we all know, the "bushy-headed stranger" whom no one has ever seen before or since, did it.
*rolls eyes*
This is VERY confusing to me.
I was stunned to hear that man say that on national TV, even though I've heard it mentioned before.
But the "new" Mrs. MacDonald was not truthful; Jeffrey MacDonald didn't spend nine days in ICU from wounds he received.
Man, from that show, it sounds like this could get REALLY ugly!
What a bunch of hooey.
But I thought he/she was involved in the Laci Peterson disappearance.
I didn't see it anywhere but as I recall, the woman Helena Stoeckley has since died. That makes this hearsay, and likely inadmissable.
Heard on the news or what?
The brother was on CNN talking to Larry King about it. If you catch the replay, it was towards the end of the show.
I think she died in the 80's, didn't she?
I read the book. Normally, I don't read such books, but somehow I happen to read this one. This guy wasn't convicted on some flimsy house of cards. He did it.
Sorry, yes on Larry King Live tonight.
Oh my goodness --- I'll have to watch the replay. Thnaks.
Did that phone call surprise you as much as it did me? I'm still shaking my head.
And then the other Jim Blackburn (who is admittedly as crazy as a loon) attacked Cyril Wecht!
His fee's just went up and X42i isn't worried about the competition.
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