National/World

MacDonald returns to court in 'Fatal Vision' case

Monday, September 17, 2012

FILE - This 2007 file photo provided by Kathryn MacDonald, shows Jeffrey MacDonald at FCI Cumberland. MacDonald's pregnant wife and two young daughters were murdered in their Fort Bragg, N.C., home in 1970. MacDonald was convicted of the crimes. On Monday, Sept. 17, 2012, MacDonald is scheduled to appear in federal court for a hearing about new evidence in the case. (AP Photo/Kathryn MacDonald, File)

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trial, homicide, national/world

Associated Press

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - September 17, 2012 (WPVI) -- A hearing that could determine whether a former Green Beret gets a new trial more than 40 years after he was convicted of killing his family is beginning in federal court.

The hearing is scheduled to begin Monday in Wilmington before U.S. District Court Judge James Fox. Fox will consider two new types of evidence in the case of Jeffrey MacDonald - a case that terrified the nation and was the basis for the book "Fatal Vision."

The case hinges on testing the DNA of hair found in the home and a deputy U.S. marshal's claim that a prosecutor intimidated a witness during the 1979 trial.