Fifty - Five years ago today, February 17, 1970, Colette, Kimberly and Kristen MacDonald lost their lives in their home, brutally beaten and stabbed.

Not until the summer of 1979 did a trial bring someone to justice. Jeffrey MacDonald, Colette's husband and the father of the two young girls, his daughters, was found guilty of killing all three.

It was a long trial, the longest Federal criminal proceeding in North Carolina history. It became, after years and years of motions and appeals that seemingly never ended, one of the longest running criminal cases ever.

In the end, MacDonald lost. He remains today in prison, serving his sentence of three consecutive life sentences.

This is a look back at those times when all was in doubt, and there was no certainty as to what would happen.