Ex-Army doctor appealing conviction in 1970s ‘Fatal Vision’ slaying of wife, 2 daughters

Court hearing ‘Fatal Vision’ appeal after 40 years

RICHMOND, Va. — A former Army doctor convicted in the 1970 slayings of his pregnant wife and two daughters is asking a Virginia-based federal appeals court for a new trial.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond will hear arguments in 66-year-old Jeffrey MacDonald’s case Tuesday.

MacDonald is serving three life terms. He has always maintained that four drug-crazed hippies were responsible for the deaths of his family in their Fort Bragg, N.C., home. The slayings shocked a nation still reeling from the Charles Manson murders and spawned the book and TV miniseries “Fatal Vision.”

MacDonald claims he has new evidence, including DNA tests and sworn statements by two people who are now dead, supporting his claim of innocence.