In the concluding episode on Jeffrey MacDonald, Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly delve into the theory that maybe MacDonald didn’t murder his wife and kids. Maybe he did, but Errol Morris outlines a case where it appears MacDonald was not given a fair shake at his criminal trial.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources:

Anson, Robert Sam. “The Devil and Jeffrey MacDonald.” Vanity Fair, https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1998/07/macdonald199807. Accessed 13 July 2022.

Beyerstein, Lindsay, and James Harkin. “Wilderness of Errol.” Columbia Journalism Review, 8 January 2013, https://archives.cjr.org/critical_eye/wilderness_of_errol.php. Accessed 13 July 2022.

Frankie, C. M. “Did Jeffrey MacDonald Kill His Family or Was He the Victim of Manson Copycats?” A&E, 22 September 2020, https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/jeffrey-macdonald-murder-case. Accessed 20 July 2022.

Malcolm, Janet. The journalist and the murderer. Edited by Victoria Wilson, Knopf, 1990.

McGinniss, Joe. Fatal Vision. Putnam, 1983. 

Morris, Errol. A Wilderness of Error: The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald. Penguin Press, 2012.

Taylor, Paul. “The Return of Jeffrey MacDonald.” The Washington Post, 16 January 1985, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/01/16/the-return-of-jeffrey-macdonald/7fe1287e-2bc1-4f2d-bc5c-f41a84f30a2d/. Accessed 13 July 2022.

Wagner, David, and Michael LaPointe. “Joe McGinniss Is Back to Defending Himself, This Time Against Errol Morris.” The Atlantic, 14 September 2012, https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/09/joe-mcginniss-back-defending-himself-time-against-errol-morris/323631/. Accessed 20 July 2022.

Woolverton, Paul. “Jeffery MacDonald, 'Fatal Vision' killer, drops request to be freed.” The Fayetteville Observer, 17 September 2021, https://www.fayobserver.com/story/news/2021/09/17/nc-fatal-vision-killer-jeffery-macdonald-drops-request-freed/8379040002/. Accessed 20 July 2022.