1. That Dr. MacDonald's father was "perpetually angry, especially towards women." Dr. MacDonald's father died when he was in college, but during the years he was alive, he was a positive influence in the MacDonald children's lives.
   
   
2. The statement about Dr. MacDonald 'marrying his high school and university girl friend when she became pregnant.....' Colette was not Dr. MacDonald's girlfriend in high school, and they did not go to the same university. Aside from these minor inaccuracies, the sentence implies that Dr. MacDonald "had to get married" just by the tone. That is inaccurate. He and Colette wanted to marry anyway, and with their parents agreement, decided to go ahead sooner because the baby was on the way.
   
   
3. Stating that the MacDonalds had a difficult life is subjective. Some people might find going to medical school and working odd jobs difficult, but the MacDonalds were excited about their future and plans to live in the country. Jeffrey MacDonald is the type of person who can perform multiple tasks with little stress. After the tragedy, he worked as Director of Emergency Services at St. Mary's Hospital in Long Beach, CA, while simultaneously acting as medical director for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, teaching, and talking at conferences.
   
   
4. Stating that Dr. MacDonald was the "all-American hero" wherever he went is hyperbole. I cannot find any reference to anyone ever calling him that. Again, it's part of the case mystique. He did have a high school teacher who stated that "Jeff MacDonald was the brightest pupil (he) ever taught, and that he'd yet to see his equal." But no one ever said he was the all-American hero.
   
   
5. It is untrue that Dr. MacDonald joined the service without telling his wife. Mrs. MacDonald was very supportive of Dr. MacDonald's career path.
   
   
6. Dr. MacDonald did not moonlight 7 nights a week. He did moonlight at Cape Fear Hospital, but not every night.
   
   
7. Dr. MacDonald never went on any trips with the boxing team, as he never became the team physician. He did make some trips related to army training.
   
   
8. Your statement that traveling "gave him the chance for numerous extramarital affairs" is quite inflammatory in its tone. The inference is that he wanted to be away from home so he could see other women. The fact is, Dr. MacDonald was not completely faithful, like many other people in the world, but his indiscretions were not "numerous" (this is subjective) or ongoing as is implied by the word "affairs". He admitted to meeting a woman (who corroborated the story) at Ft. Sam Houston in 1969, and other brief encounters. He nor Colette ever contemplated divorce.
   
   
9. Your statement that Colette MacDonald was unhappy about being pregnant again is false. In fact, she wrote her parents just weeks before the marriage, stating how happy she was.
   
   
10. Dr. MacDonald was not "almost totally absent" from his home. He was very busy, as most military people are, but he still had time to take his children to ride their pony, take his wife to dinner, go to the ocean, and take photos at his children's at-home birthday parties. He often babysat, especially when Mrs. MacDonald took her classes (as on the murder night).
    
    
11. Your statement that Mrs. MacDonald was becoming "more independent" implies that she was dependent prior to going to night school. The implication is also there that independence on her part was perceived as a problem in the marriage. That is not true. She was a very bright woman and was a devoted mother and wife, but not "dependent". Saying she gained more insight into her husband and their marriage is pure conjecture and improbable given that she was studying Child Psychology.
    
    
12. Your statement that Dr. MacDonald loved publicity is based on the picture painted of him in FATAL VISION. His mother kept clippings of the news coverage at the advice of his lawyer.
    
    
13. Your statements about Dr. MacDonald going to California: He was offered a job in Long Beach and decided this was a good way to rebuild his life. Stating that he lived the "California lifestyle" and had "many girl friends" is all subjective. He lived the life of any successful doctor, and had an average number of long-term girlfriends over a 10 year period, but was not ready to make a marriage commitment, which some might see as understandable given his situation.
    
    
14. It may have seemed "impossible" to Fred Kassab that the crime happened as MacDonald described, after being persuaded by the CID and having turned on MacDonald, but this is conjecture, not supported by fact.
    
    

Considering that author Joe McGinniss was successfully sued by Dr. MacDonald for fraud and breach of contract, and that McGinniss admitted in open court that he had manipulated facts for dramatic effect, and "didn't believe it happened as (he) said it did", it seems reasonable that the subjective statements above should be discounted.

The following parts of the biography are not based in fact:

1. Regarding Dr. MacDonald's wounds: The medical records from Womack Hospital indicate "multiple ice pick wounds to the chest and stomach, a knife wound reaching the stomach muscle, cuts on the left hand and arm, a stab wound in and out at the edge of the left bicep, and multiple contusions of the head." Two surgical procedures were needed to correct a collapsed lung caused by a knife wound to the right chest. Dr. MacDonald was in the ICU for almost a week.
   (Grand Jury Testimony, 1974, Dr. S. Jacobson and Dr. F. Gemma)
   
   
2. Dr. MacDonald's interview did not conflict with the physical evidence. The crime scene was badly contaminated and uncontained. At trial, the evidence that supported his story was not made available to the defense or jury.
   (4th Circuit Court of Appeals brief, P. Cormier Esq. 1997)
   
   
3. Dr. MacDonald agreed to a polygraph examination and was examined on March 18, 1986, under the direction of Dr. David C. Raskin, a psychology professor at the University of Utah. He concluded that Dr. MacDonald's responses indicated no deception.
   (Written opinion by Dr. Raskin, May 17, 1986)
   
   
4. You have the wrong time period stated as to when Dr. MacDonald was asked to take a sodium amytal test. It was at the time of the grand jury hearings, not trial. He agreed to take the test at a juror's request, but Mr. Woerheide kept this from transpiring, visiting the attending psychiatrist (Dr. Sadoff) and intentionally keeping the test from occurring. The test was blocked by the government's attorneys after Dr. MacDonald had returned to California with the court's permission. Worheide called for an immediate vote on indictment, stating that Dr. Sadoff did not think the test would yield a benefit to the grand jury, which was never said by Dr. Sadoff.
   (Grand jury transcript, January 21-24, 1975)
   
   
5. Attorney Bernard Segal never counseled Dr. MacDonald to keep his "caustic nature" in check at trial- he was not known to have a caustic side. However, the judge did instruct the prosecutors to question Dr. MacDonald "in the hypothetical". Throughout the trial, questions were phrased "If the jury were to find...do you have an explanation...." so he was being asked to answer issues that had not been proven. This would be extremely frustrating to anyone, trying to tell what happened.
   (Trial transcript, 1979)
   
   
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6. In his conclusion of the written Article 32 hearing verdict, Colonel Rock found the charges against (Capt.) MacDonald to be "not true" which is quite different from citing "insufficient evidence."
   (Article 32 report, October, 1970)
   
   
7. The appearance on the Dick Cavett show was Fred Kassab's idea, not Dr. MacDonald's. Dr. MacDonald's error was to agree, then take the Army to task, and to demonstrate his inexperience/discomfort on camera by displaying a nervous smile throughout.
   (Fatal Justice, pg 116-17, by Potter and Bost, 1997)
   
   
8. Dr. MacDonald admitted lying to his father in law regarding having found one of the assailants. He did this in an ill-fated attempt to assuage his parent-in-laws grief. The Kassabs refused to go out, had the curtains drawn and dressed life size dolls in the children's clothing.
   (Written Transcript by F. Kassab, December 4, 1978)
   
   
9. The reference to Fred Kassab wanting the trial transcript (1979) is incorrect. He attended the trial It was the Article 32 hearing transcript (1970) that Kassab wanted, and Dr. MacDonald supplied it. The two month delay was based on not wanting the Kassab's to continue reliving the horror of the tragedy by reading the facts of what transpired.
   (December, 1970- report released in October of 1970)
   
   
10. Fred Kassab turned on MacDonald much later-after MacDonald moved to California. He was still very much his supporter even after the "lie" about the assailants, even after reading the Article 32 transcript. It was when Dr. MacDonald decided to get on with his life by taking the job in California (now the type of decision considered very healthy by experts dealing with the 9/11 tragedy) that his parents-in-law told him "If you move you'll live to regret it."
    (March, 1974)
    
    
11. Prosecutor Brian Murtagh contacted the head of the grand jury, Victor Worheide and pleaded for special duty as a prosecution adviser. A transfer was arranged through Henry E. Peterson, Dept of Justice.
    (June 3, 1974)