Ex-officer behind infamous 1970 slayings ends release appeal

By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A former Army doctor convicted for the 1970 slayings of his wife and two young daughters at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg has ended his appeal of a court ruling denying his requested release. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Jeffrey MacDonald’s appeal dismissal on Thursday. MacDonald is serving a life sentence in a Maryland prison. His lawyers had asked Boyle to release him because of deteriorating health, but a judge said he lacked authority to do that. His lawyers said Friday that MacDonald had decided the ruling was “correct as a technical legal matter.” MacDonald says he’s innocent in the “Fatal Vision” case, named for a book about the investigation.