The McDonald Family Murders

Did Jeffrey McDonald Kill His Family?

From The Jeffrey McDonald Case:

The case brings out much passion and emotions in people and continues to do so even after all these many years. Some people believe he is guilty, some believe him innocent, and then there are some "on the fence," so to speak, who are not sure one way or the other.

Colette was a beautiful, blond, twenty-six-year-old woman, who wanted only to be the wife of Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald and the mother of his children and live happily forever. Their two children, Kimberley and Kristen, were both full of life. Colette was pregnant with their first son at the time of her murder.

This case starts on February 17, 1970, when the Military Police responded to a call for help in what was thought to be a domestic dispute. What they were to find would be a bloody murder scene that left them in shock and disbelief. Jeffrey MacDonald, the husband and father, was found alive and transported to the hospital for treatment. Colette, Kimberley and Kristen were transferred to the morgue.

The fact that MacDonald was left alive and with no serious injuries only adds more mystery to an already complicated case.

And so the mystery begins and has been going for years. Did a group of hippies break in and commit this vicious crime and leave him alive, or did he "lose it" for just a fraction of second and commit this crime only to invent the theory of having been attacked?

Freddy Kassab, Jeffrey MacDonald's father-in-law, was the biggest supporter of his innocence in the beginning, but over time he too became convinced that no one but his son-in-law was responsible for the murders. He was a patient man and was not going to just sit back and let MacDonald get away with it. He fought long and hard, and finally his fight came to fruition when he and his attorney, Mr. Cohen, and Peter Kearns went to Clinton, North Carolina for a meeting with Judge Algernon Butler. It was this meeting that was to lead to the grand jury investigation that brought the indictment against him, followed by the 1979 trial and his conviction of the murders of his family.

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I had several readers email me about this case, interested to see if the charts showed that he really did do it or that he was not guilty after all. It seemed to be a new angle to me, to look at forensic charts in this way, so I thought I'd try it. It also inspired me to start analyzing birth charts for convicted criminals and see if there was anything new to be discovered there. You may be seeing those on the blog soon enough. But today I decided to take another look at this murder and see what the stars had to say. I mean, what if he truly was innocent and there was a vicious group of murderers running around out there, free? I just couldn't resist the idea.

The time lines are tricky and the data is old; a lot of the news sites have long since dropped their articles on the case since it was solved and all over with. But one of my readers, Jennifer, did a lot of homework in advance and emailed me time lines I could work with. But it actually came down to a short window of time after all because the murders took place in a short window of time and so I hoped this might be easy to pin. But I decided to start with the chart for the time when Collette was last seen, leaving her class. This is for 9 pm on 2/16/70.




Notice right away that Aries is on the seventh house cusp with Mars in Aries also in the seventh, giving Mars tremendous power and dignity. Venus rules the first house and is placed in the fifth house, so this shows Collette having fun at her class, doing something perhaps crafty or related to a hobby she had? But please also make note that Venus is under the Sun's beams, which spells danger ahead. Venus is in Pisces disposed of by Neptune in the second and is also square to Neptune from the fifth, so perhaps her classes were costing more money than she admitted? Or was she making money from her "craft" on the side and keeping it from her husband? Moon is in the tenth house in Cancer, in dignity, showing that she was out in public among other women, perhaps also mothers.

Uranus is at the first house cusp, telling us that Collette was doing something unplanned, or on the spur of the moment. Uranus is inconjunct Venus, the first house ruler, so we can assume this was an error in judgment, something she would regret. The Moon is square Uranus from the tenth, showing again that this was an unplanned impulse that she did not share with her family and would cause problems at home later on. Mars is notably square the Moon, hinting that her husband was not happy with her and this would cause a confrontation in time. Notable other omens in this chart are Saturn in the eighth, Pluto in the twelfth and Saturn angular as the ruler of the nadir. Interestingly enough, Saturn is disposed of by Venus, the first house ruler. This is an energy loop of influence that leads me to think that the murders were aimed at the wife and the children were "collateral damage". But we'll see if this is true as the time charts are analyzed.




Looking at the charts for the next hour, one every 10 minutes, I finally see that Collette gets home around 10:45 pm. Perhaps she stopped for food or for a pack of cigarettes or something. But she walks through the door around this time. Notice that Mercury is right at the nadir, at the fourth house cusp and what does this show us? That she was met at the door by the children. Jupiter in Scorpio is sitting in the first house so she is in a good mood, still jolly after spending some down time with friends doing something she likes. Please also notice that Mars has moved into the sixth house with Saturn right at the seventh house cusp. Her husband is not happy; in fact, he is stern and joyless, as if he has spent the night in a prison. Perhaps caring for the children made him feel this way? The Moon is still approaching a square with Mars so he is angry at this wife and there is a bit of a tussle when she gets home. Just the sight of her appears to make him tense and argumentative. But this does not produce violence at this time.

In fact, the chart for 11:45, an hour later, has Scorpio rising with the Moon in the ninth and Mars in the fifth. I think Collette has settled in and is reading a book. Venus, the seventh house ruler, is in the fourth house near the Sun; this is now Jeffrey's marker and it reads danger. Neptune rules the fifth and is placed in the first, so the kids are with their mother. Venus is in Pisces, also disposed of by Neptune, showing that Jeffrey is also in their company. So the family is altogether with Collette reading a book or doing embroidery, perhaps, and Jeffrey playing with the kids. The aspects show that he is in danger now, as well, perhaps as much as Collette or even more. Saturn and Pluto have moved into the background so everything is quiet.




Now I have already peeked at the charts so I must tell you now that this is interesting. Things are definitely interesting. I do a chart for 1 am, assuming that the family must be winding down and the kids would be in bed. I see that Aries now rules the fifth and that Mars is in the fifth house, telling me that the kids are "in their place" or that part of the house belonging to "the kids"; this sort of contradicts Jeffrey's statement that they were "in his bed". I am not sure that is true. They may have been there earlier, where the charts showed them altogether, which would mean that Collette was there when the kids were "in the bed" and the child urinated. Look at how the seventh house ruler is right now at the nadir on the third house side. Is this Jeffrey leaving the house.. or is it someone else standing outside the door? Notice Neptune at the first house cusp while it rules the fourth. This seems to be saying that there is an "unknown" person at the front door of the house. Someone just outside. Neptune is also disposed of by Jupiter in the twelfth, another indication of a somebody hiding. It's interesting that Venus plays a constant role in the charts and that it remains under the Sun's beams the entire time. This is a sure sign of serious danger. To top this off, the Moon has now entered the eighth house. The Moon and Mars are the two strongest, most powerful planets in this chart and the sinister square forming between them is a catalyst for events. And finally: Pluto in Virgo is just entering the tenth house.




Another thing I must take note of in the chart for 1 am. Venus, the seventh house ruler, is at the nadir conjoined the node. This is a sign of a planned situation, a karmic event, something "destined". Often, it marks a carefully planned or staged event done for a specific reason. It often also involves more than one person. I am thinking that the arrival of this person or persons at the front door was a part of a staged or planned event. But Venus is under the Suns' beams and tells them that this new person, if it is a new person, is in danger themselves. Almost as if the threat extends to them as well, which is curious. Pluto, co ruler of the subject (victims), is rising towards the midheaven so it must be watched, as well.

I start pulling charts for every 20 minutes as I go along, watching for the aspects to form. And they do, right away. The Moon in the eighth house is a big fat omen I can't ignore. Pluto on the angle and Saturn backing through the fifth towards the fourth. But everything starts to crystallize for me in the chart for 1:30 am. Here, Sagittarius is now rising with Gemini on the seventh cusp. Jupiter in Scorpio is square to Mercury in Aquarius, showing me an argument or face off is occurring and this appears to be an argument between McDonald and his wife. The co-ruling Moon in the eighth is still squaring Mars in the fifth, showing me that the argument involves the children. There may be noise that gets their attention. Jupiter, the first house ruler, is nearly exactly opposed to Saturn, which is just now backing into the fifth. She is unable to protect the kids. She is too emotional and out of control. Also note that Neptune, the family home ruler, is now moving into the twelfth.




Here is the dose of poison for me. Notice the T Square involving Saturn opposite Jupiter squaring Mercury. What is the short leg of that T? Mercury. And Mercury rules the seventh house. The argument created enormous tension and frustration (the square) which had to find an outlet somewhere. So the outlet became the attacker; the rage was just forced out! The charts show the violence was aimed at Collette first. The attack on her began around 2 am. I say this because the first death pattern emerges at that time, with the Moon in the eighth house combined with Mars just entering the fourth. Saturn in the fifth in this chart tells me the children were locked out; maybe they were even locked in their rooms. The Moon-Mars pattern is telling us that violence occurred that ended in death. Jupiter square Mercury shows direct confrontation between the victim and her attacker. Interestingly enough, this aspect involves the eleventh and second houses, telling me that money was an issue in this murder. It really looks like someone had hopes and dreams that were being squashed by financial burdens. This harkens back to the earlier chart, where we could see that someone was angry about the money that was being spent on hobbies and classes.

Neptune in the twelfth says there is more to the story. Such as, I must ask, who was the person who either went out of the home or came to the home secretly at 1 am? Was this an act done by more than one person? Did someone have help from the outside? Or did Mr McDonald leave the home for a reason, secretly? Such as to retrieve a weapon or some other item he needed? These are questions that perhaps will never be answered. And then, moving on with the times, I want to see when the children come into danger and it is presented in the chart for 3 am. Why someone waited so long between killing mommy and killing the kids is a real quandary but it is a strong case for finding McDonald guilty. Who else could feel secure enough to spend this much time in that house? And who would have reservations about killing the children... only to decide after much consideration that he had no choice? Does this not sound like daddy? But the 3 am window works with what the coroner found, that the kids had died around 3:42 am. So look at the chart for 3 and take note of these pointers. Just after 3 am, Venus takes over the fifth house cusp. Venus is, as she has been all night, under the Sun's beams and near the node. Mars is still lingering in the fourth house squaring the Moon, now in the seventh. Saturn has also entered the fourth, showing that there might be dead people in that house. Also, the death of their mother might have forced the decision to kill them. Saturn, if you recall, was a part of bottleneck of the T square that rules the chart. It looks like the kids were a problem he could not find another way to resolve.




By 3:42 am, Saturn opposes Jupiter on the fourth - tenth house axis. This is a sure sign that everyone in the house is dead. Especially since Saturn now rules the first house. Notice that Mars is just moving out of the fourth house into the third while still ruling the nadir and squaring the Moon in the seventh. The attacker has stepped outside to gather his composure and to consider his options. He thought about taking the family out of the house but decided against it. Mars moving through the third is interesting; they do not know when the 911 call was made but I'd be willing to bet on 5 am or thereabouts because at that time the Moon would reach it's full square with Mars, which would then be still in the third house. He thought a long time about who to call and when and then did it when the Moon nudged him. And so all things considered it looks a lot like McDonald did this. There was someone coming and going from the house earlier in the evening but there are no aspects in the later charts to show that there was more than one person in the house. And who else would be there, arguing with his wife? To top it all off, who would wait over an hour after killing Collette to then decide to go about killing the kids? I think in this case the cops and the courts got it right. Mr. McDonald is where he should be.

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