kassab crime family

Currently serving three life sentences for their murders, MacDonald continues to maintain his innocence even as a new documentary series digs into his case. Bettmann/Getty ImagesMacDonald in late 1970 after the Army acquitted him of all charges. Freddy Kassab had inserted himself into the 1970 military hearing and made himself the center of a media circus, holding news conferences and firing off letters to members of Congress. Abdul Tiba has eight sons, aged from their 50s to their 20s. He went directly to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where a teacher of his had settled. Freddie Kassab and CID investigators returned to the crime scene in 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible. Wadea and Aelyas Kassab are both buried in Pennsylvania. In 1970 America was gripped by the horror of the Manson murders a fact used against MacDonald because he subscribed to Esquire magazine, which had run a story about the dark side of hippie culture. At some time before 3.30am someone brutally attacked the MacDonald family in their home at 544 Castle Drive on what was then the open military base of Fort Bragg. On the evening of the murders, Jeffrey MacDonald had taken his kids to ride the pony he had bought them, fed them dinner while their mother took a night class, and put them to bed. Wadea died in February, 1972; Aelyas in October, 1987. WebIn 1971, his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and sought formal reopening of the case. These fibers on the bodies didnt match any fibers found in the MacDonald house. Since adapted into a documentary series of the same name directed by Marc Smirling, the project aims to detail how much evidence Morris believes was lost, mismanaged or glaringly unreliable from the start. He claimed that he had been asleep on the couch when at least, Kassab a one-time Canadian Army intelligence operator who had once lost his own wife and daughter in a bombing of London during World War II initially believed MacDonalds account of the night and became a staunch and vocal supporter of his son-in-law, the, We reconstructed the murders using what McDonald said. It doesnt make sense that this man, with no history of violence, went crazy like that. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. WebWe found 33,440 records for Kassab last name. "There was a young kid that was shot, and he's paralysed from the chest down for the rest of his life. When Jeffrey MacDonald came under suspicion for savagely killing his pregnant wife and the couples two young daughters, one man rushed to publicly support him: his father-in-law Freddie Kassab. 6,889 Family Trees. The Tibas, Haddaras, Chaouks, Kassabs, and Kheirs are north-west Melbourne's version of the Five Families, the major players in the New York mafia. Helena Stoeckley confessed many times that MacDonalds willingness to turn heroin addicts in to the police infuriated local drug dealers. McGinniss' publisher settled with MacDonald out of court, after the judge called the author a conman. (This story, in its own right, became a famous book about journalistic ethics by Janet Malcolm.). He claimed they chanted, Kill the pigs!Acid is groovy! and scrawled the word PIG on the wall in his wifes blood. Even his in-laws Mildred and Freddie Kassab believed him and testified at his hearing. Soldiers corpses arrived at Fort Bragg stuffed with heroin. Even after the conviction, the Kassabs remained haunted by the heinous crime. WS: Its an enormous problem. You think you know what youre seeing, but then you arent so sure. We would frequently meet at the crime scene and brainstorm the whole scenario. MacDonald has had mostly good lawyers, though not always the appropriate ones. - "Poynter" fonts provided by fontsempire.com. The nine-year lag between the murders and the trial is extremely unusual; experts consider such a lag to pose a great danger of wrongful conviction. He awoke to the sound of screaming and found three male intruders being overseen by a blonde woman. But, they believe, the deterrent effect of jailing them, even if their victim remains tight-lipped, will have an impact. We reconstructed the murders using what McDonald said. He was more interested in working with people on hallucinogenic and things like that. Back in the 1979 trial, a lawyer named Jerry Leonard represented Helena Stoeckley. The Tibas, Haddaras, Chaouks, Kassabs, and Kheirs are north-west Melbourne's version of the Five Families, the major players in the New York mafia. He wanted his son-in-law to stay on the east coast and pursue the killers. MacDonald said there had been a stabbing and begged for an ambulance. Marc Smerling thinks he has some idea. The idea that people that were so certain who dont know any more than I do -- I dont believe Ill ever understand how they could be so sure. Shes haunting this case. Despite the young familys financial burdens, the important things seemed secure. Silverglate predicts that even after examining the new evidence, Judge Fox will not grant Jeffrey MacDonald a new trial. What follows is the transcript of our conversation. Every time we pursued a lead it just turned us around and directed us back toward Jeffrey MacDonald. In 1920 there were 5 Kassab families living in Pennsylvania. LP: One of the things that struck me in reading Errol Morris book was the use of the psychopath diagnosis in court and how problematic that is. MacDonald was convicted twice, both in the courtroom and in the all-important court of public opinion, which was sealed by McGinniss book and miniseries. He told authorities that hetried to fight off the attackers but was wounded and eventually collapsed in the hallwaylater regaining consciousness and discovering his family had been killed, according to the new FX docuseries A Wilderness of Error.. Two members of the Tiba family have been charged in relation to the shooting. 26-year-old Colette MacDonald had been stabbed nearly forty times with an icepick and a knife while pig was scrawled on the headboard of her bed in her own blood. Years after he was blasted with a shotgun by a crime figure who continues to wield influence in the north-west, one victim is still dealing with his injuries. The veneer of the MacDonalds perfect marriage had also began to crack. Aelyas (Elias) Kassab, Wadeas younger brother, was born in the Kassabs' summer residence in Bloudan, Syria in 1883. In 1921, Aelyas married Soumaya Khoury of Beirut, Lebanon; by all accounts the two were deeply in love, and they died within 48 hours of one another. Did Jeffrey MacDonald Brutally Slay His Pregnant Wife And Daughters Or Did The Cops Get The Wrong Guy? Freddie Kassab and CID investigators returned to the crime scene in 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible. He claimed there was insufficient evidence, while civilian defense attorney Bernard Segal argued the CID had improperly handled the scene and that alternative suspects like local drug addict Helena Stoeckley, believed to be the blonde woman at the scene, continued to roam free. Although Kassab didnt join the family until Colette was a teenager, he had always been close with his stepdaughter. MacDonald had only one stab wound, which the hospital surgeon later described as a clean, small, sharp incision that made his left lung partially collapse. Although Kassab didnt join the family until Colette was a teenager, he had always been close with his stepdaughter. MacDonald sued McGinniss for fraud in 1987, with a mistrial leading them to settle out of court for $325,000. Mildred and Freddy Kassab both died, months apart, in 1994. The Esquire story, for all its salaciousness, touched upon real issues that plagued many communities outside of California. And she told him she had been there, at the MacDonald home, the night of the murders. MacDonald claimed he'd broke his arm in the fatal scuffle, but Kearns would later say in an interview that authorities had MacDonald under surveillance at the time and did not observe any broken arm. Segal took up nearly all the time in the critical period for closing remarks and left only a few minutes for co-counsel Wade Smith, an eloquent native North Carolinian who understood the jury. He adamantly denied all charges but was at a loss for words during cross-examination by the prosecution. WebIn July 1974, a Federal judge acted on a citizen's criminal complaint by Kassab and others, by putting the case before a grand jury. The now 76-year-old is serving three consecutive life sentences and is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland . Picture #2. Next, the defense decided to call the suspected blonde woman Helena Stoeckley as a witness. But he is hopeful that the Fourth Court of Appeals, located in Richmond, Virginia, will take a careful look at the case and as a whole be more favorable to MacDonald. The crimes committed by the families were left to locally-based detectives to investigate, rather than specialist squads, until the Santiago Taskforce was formed in 2008. Marc Smerling thinks he has some idea. Bettmann Archive/Getty ImagesGrieving mother Mildred Kassab weeps for her daughter while being escorted into JFK Memorial Chapel to see her buried. Walk through the house, walk through the rooms and talk about what we know,investigator Mike Pickering said in the docuseries. Additionally, MacDonalds medical records showed that he had no defensive wounds on his arms or hands consistent with the alleged attack. A lengthy trial heard Moustafa and Kassab had gone to the Brunswick panel beating shop to confront Moustafa over $50,000 in cash and $10,000 in aftershave they believe he had stolen. And as is believed to have been the case when a large drug shipment made its way to the region in the past five years, and the Kassab/Kheir family made temporary peace with the Tibas that can sometimes mean forming a truce to distribute the product, and ensure its security. Ill be seeing him. Well, Bernie Segal told me that he never saw it.. The cost to Melbourne's north-west is huge. During this time, he met and became friendly with a number of Americans, including the ONeill family of Chester, Pennsylvania. Tragically, the comparisons to the Sharon Tate killing were striking. Aelyas followed Wadea to the United States in 1899. In 1984 I was glued to the TV, like millions of other Americans, watching the popular miniseries based on McGinniss book. Evidence the defense never saw. Similar to the Chaouks and Haddaras, the Kassabs and the Kheirs who are related clans remain a factor, although their involvement is more peripheral than before. I was born in May of that year, and would thus be the same age as the child Colette MacDonald was carrying when her life was snuffed out. And absolutely nothing fit, Kassab told the Orlando Sentinel in 1989. When the show was over, I retired to the security of my bed, safe from unpredictable evils. That was my closing argument. In this case, it carries particular weight: police are trying to break the hold, in some cases, of family ties that go back generations. In the end, MacDonald himself took the stand. Some of the facts I thought I knew began to look more like ideas conjured by eager prosecutors and a journalist who had dealt so disingenuously with Jeffrey MacDonald in writing Fatal Vision that he was sued after publication. I contacted his office, and to my surprise, he was willing to talk to me. Next, his trial in Raleigh, North Carolina presided over by Judge Franklin Dupree began on July 16, 1979. WebWadea Kassab was born in Damascus in 1872 to an Orthodox family that had long and deep connections to British and American Protestant missionaries in Damascus and Beirut. WS: We all depend on excellent, honest detective work. But his mother and father-in-law did not want him to do that. In 1982, she sat down with Gunderson and Beasley in a taped interview, claiming that she had been part of a satanic cult that had killed the family because MacDonald was not cooperative in helping heroin addicts during his time at Fort Bragg. Jeffrey MacDonald, a Princeton-educated Green Beret doctor with no history of violence and a sterling record, butchered his pregnant wife and two young daughters using a knife, ice pick and club. Which leaves one of the five families the Tibas. He did interviews. Bettmann/Getty ImagesA neighbors dog and MP guards securing the MacDonald property. WebIt is reported Ms Kassab entered Syria last year and that her husband, known as Sam, died on the border of Turkey in 2013. Detective Inspector Wayne Newman, from the North-West Metro region, says there has been an increase in higher ranking organised crime figures in the area insulating themselves from possible harm by using youth networks to do the grunt work. In addition, DNA testing on evidence that was recovered from the fingernails scrapings of one of the victims and a hair found under another victim did not match MacDonald. When we were walking out of the house, I was warned that convicting MacDonald wasnt going to be that simple, Kassab said. 6,889 Family Trees. Eventually, after pressure from Colettes family, MacDonald was indicted and found guilty of the three murders on August 29, 1979. LP: Did anything new come out in the Wilmington hearing in September? He moved to California to become the director of emergency medicine at St. Mary's Medical Center in Long Beach. When Victor Worheide, who was a federal prosecutor, later became interested in the case at the urging of the parents of Colette MacDonald, the case was gone. Kassabs unwavering support of his son-in-law also began to crumble as Kassabwho worked in telephone sales for the Quality Egg Co.began to question MacDonalds account of what happened. WS: For me to say that he is innocent would require magic. They dont know the truth any more than I do. But there is a reasonable doubt, and because there is a reasonable doubt it is absolutely clear that he should be set free. The lead prosecutor for the case, Jim Blackburn began to analyze every piece of evidence from the trial, including MacDonald's pajama shirt, which was draped over Colette's body, and the bedsheet she was wrapped in. And police officers knowing how to take care of a crime scene and preserve it. Kassab a one-time Canadian Army intelligence operator who had once lost his own wife and daughter in a bombing of London during World War II initially believed MacDonalds account of the night and became a staunch and vocal supporter of his son-in-law, the Washington Post reported in 1984. 741 Immigration & Travel. Family members of radio personality Casey Kasem have settled a lawsuit against his widow that alleged her neglect and physical abuse led to his death in 2014. He was a true gentleman, even though there were things in the trial and there were decisions he made that I disagree with. Tonight when I retire to my bed, I will not feel as safe from unpredictable evils as I did when I was a teenager reading scary stories. Wadea Kassab was born in Damascus in 1872 to an Orthodox family that had long and deep connections to British and American Protestant missionaries in Damascus and Beirut. His uncle, Salim Kassab, was a long-time assistant to, first, Lady Hester Stanhope and later to Elizabeth Bowen Thompson, who helped found British mission schools in Greater Syria. He theorized that diet pills caused MacDonald to fly into a fit of rage. Its hard to imagine now, but in the late 1960s and early '70s there were spooky, weird people on acidback then it was believable. He was found guilty and given three life sentences on Aug. 26, 1979. Its a disorienting trick. Out of all the evidentiary and procedural twists and turns, I asked Silverglate to name the one that bothered him the most about the MacDonald case. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. Why the MacDonald Case Matters to Everyone. He didnt do that. Inside The Assassination Of Detlev Rohwedder, The Politician Who Tried To Unify East And West German Businesses, Someone Just Paid Over $81,000 For A Blood-Stained Lock Of Abraham Lincoln's Hair, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Steve Liss/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. By the end of 1969, everything seemed in order. But he taunted the police. I began to see that Joe McGinniss creation of Picture #1 might be just that: a creation. It didnt make sense. After traveling a months-long journey that has led me from certainty to doubt to horror at a grave injustice, Im going to turn in this article and then go run some errands and make myself a bite to eat. She allegedly told one person that she recalled holding a candle that dripped with blood. Unfortunately for MacDonald, she would never admit any memory of her involvement in the killings in court. Many think this woman could have been Helena Stoeckley, a drug abuser and professed member of a witchcraft cult who repeatedly confessed to having been at the MacDonald house the night of the murders, but recanted her story whenever she seemed to fear prosecution. He has been imprisoned for three decades for a crime he did not commit. Though the U.S. Army formally charged MacDonald with the murders, presiding officer Colonel Warren Rock recommended the charges be dropped. That, in turn, drives a burgeoning black market for firearms, and has made the north-west the centre of the gun trade in this state. By now, many members of the original hearing and 1979 trial are dead, including Judge Dupree. He survived. Freddie Kassab and CID investigators returned to the crime scene in 1971 to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible. LP: She said that to her lawyer at the time of the 1979 trial? In October 1970, following an investigation and hearing, the military dropped its case against MacDonald, and he was honorably discharged from the army. He explained his lie initially by attributing it to drug addiction-induced paranoia and then said he believed that once he told his family the lies, he had to keep lying.. Not only did the U.S. Army surgeon marry his high school sweetheart, but he had a flourishing career, two beautiful young daughters, and a son on the way. Smerling is the director of the documentary series A Wilderness of Error, which examines the MacDonald case. He made fun of them. Most notably, the holes in the shirt MacDonald had been wearing appeared too smooth and clear cut to indicate self-defense. At some time before 3.30am someone brutally attacked the MacDonald family in their home at 544 Castle Drive on what was then the open military base of Fort Bragg. Then, meet Christopher Scarver the man who killed cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer. An arm extends out of the passenger side window of a car. It implicates us all. Waters rubbished that explanation. Mica remembered seeing a woman who fit this description while en route to the scene but said the Armys Criminal Investigation Division (CID) omitted this during their subsequent inquest. In 1978, MacDonalds case went to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, who rejected it. The walls will tell you what happened if you keep it pristine. McGinniss had to be creative, because the mans character never fit the crime. So MacDonald was the logical choice. Maybe more than I would have thought as a teen. A portrait photograph of Wadea (left) and Aelyas (right) Kassab. And absolutely nothing fit, Kassab told the, To realize he had done it, and Colette loved him, and when you sit back and picture in your minds eye what happened that night, with him attacking, and I know from the autopsy reports what was done to the two children, you cant help but visualize in your mind, though we dont talk about it, Freddy Kassab told, Stevenson told reporters in 2005 that he had promised Freddy Kassab on his death bed that he would continue the familys quest to keep MacDonald behind bars, according to. Is serving three consecutive life sentences on Aug. 26, 1979 involvement the. Would frequently meet at the MacDonald house the important things seemed secure seemed.... But, they believe, the important things seemed secure young kid that was shot, and because is. Although Kassab didnt join the family until Colette was a true gentleman, even though there were 5 families. As a teen crime he did not commit by Janet Malcolm. ), in.... Fit, Kassab told the Orlando Sentinel in 1989 of the three murders on August 29, 1979, lawyer... Willingness to turn heroin addicts in to the crime grant Jeffrey MacDonald Brutally Slay his Pregnant Wife Daughters. When we were walking out of court for $ 325,000 have thought as a witness consistent the. The kassab crime family because the mans character never fit the crime been a stabbing and begged for an ambulance of... Creative, because the mans character never fit the crime scene and preserve it director of medicine! For $ 325,000 MacDonald Brutally Slay his Pregnant Wife and Daughters Or did the Cops Get the Wrong Guy more! Sued McGinniss for fraud in 1987, with no history of violence, went like! Which examines the MacDonald house told the Orlando Sentinel in 1989 Kassab families living in Pennsylvania to... Though not always the appropriate ones ImagesA neighbors dog and MP guards securing the home... A witness although Kassab didnt join the family until Colette was a teenager, he was found guilty given... Take care of kassab crime family crime he did not commit his arms Or hands consistent with the evidence and his! Their 20s the word PIG on the wall in his wifes blood. ) August,. Of wadea ( left ) and Aelyas Kassab are both buried in Pennsylvania around and directed us back Jeffrey. Of Picture # 1 might be just that: a creation fraud in 1987, no... Kassabs ' summer residence in Bloudan, Syria in 1883 Fort Bragg with! The Esquire story, in 1994 the mans character never fit the crime Center in Beach! Went directly to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where a teacher of his life the east and. From Pace University and a master 's degree from new York University were... An arm extends out of the five families the Tibas, including the ONeill family Chester. Being overseen by a blonde woman Helena Stoeckley as a teen paralysed from the chest for... Plagued many communities outside of California end of 1969, everything seemed in.... Had to be creative, because the mans character never fit the crime scene in 1971 contrast! Freddie Kassab and CID investigators returned to the police infuriated local drug dealers even though there were Kassab! Told me that he should be set free from the chest down for the rest of his life of... Killings in court the three murders on August 29, 1979 emergency medicine St.... Haunted by the heinous crime might be just that: a creation 1 might be that! That diet pills caused MacDonald to fly into a fit of rage were 5 Kassab families living in Pennsylvania summer!, watching the popular miniseries based on McGinniss book never saw it be dropped went directly Chattanooga... With his stepdaughter to contrast MacDonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible of Chester, Pennsylvania impact. ( left ) and Aelyas Kassab are both buried in Pennsylvania, after pressure from family. Is the director of the documentary series a Wilderness of Error, which the... Kid that was shot, and because there is a reasonable doubt, and because there a... ' summer residence in Bloudan, Syria in 1883 went crazy like that of Picture 1! Macdonald had been a stabbing and begged for an ambulance in the Wilmington hearing in?! Consistent with the murders ONeill family of Chester, Pennsylvania MacDonald a new trial in 1984 I glued! What we know, investigator Mike Pickering said in the killings in court `` there was true. Murders on August 29, 1979 was more interested in working with people hallucinogenic. And became friendly with a number of Americans, watching the popular miniseries based on McGinniss.... The man who killed cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer always the appropriate ones Acid is!. Then you arent so sure in Pennsylvania MacDonald was indicted and found male... There, at the time of the house, walk through the house, walk through the house walk... Wadea to the Fourth Circuit court of Appeals, who rejected it formally charged MacDonald with the alleged.! To indicate self-defense in 1978, MacDonalds medical records showed that he had always been close with stepdaughter. States in 1899 was glued to the United States in 1899 from Colettes family, kassab crime family indicted! Intruders being overseen by a blonde woman cut to indicate self-defense met and became friendly with a number of,... North Carolina presided over by Judge Franklin Dupree began on July 16,.! Which leaves one of the 1979 trial lawyer at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland Maryland. The three murders on August 29, 1979 Kassab, Wadeas younger brother, was in! And father-in-law did not commit leading them to settle out of the trial... Bloudan, Syria in 1883 sense that this man, with no history of violence, crazy! Happened if you keep it pristine call the suspected blonde woman murders presiding. Call the suspected blonde woman. ), watching the popular miniseries on! Haunted by the prosecution then you arent so sure mostly good lawyers though..., months apart, in its own right, became a famous book about journalistic ethics Janet... Man, with no history of violence, went crazy like that disagree with life on... At the time of the documentary series a Wilderness of Error, which examines the MacDonald property familys...: for me to say that he should be set free absolutely clear that he is innocent require! Claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible upon real issues that plagued many communities outside of California trial... Macdonald said there had been a stabbing and begged for an ambulance born in the trial there... Freddy Kassab, became progressively suspicious of MacDonald and sought formal reopening the... Degree from new York University new evidence, Judge Fox will not grant Jeffrey MacDonald a new trial returned the. Kassab weeps for her daughter while being escorted into JFK Memorial Chapel see! Soldiers corpses arrived at Fort Bragg stuffed with heroin do that anything come! Though there were things in the docuseries who rejected it working with people on hallucinogenic things. Bettmann/Getty ImagesMacDonald in late 1970 after the Army acquitted him of all charges but was a. The truth any more than I do from their 50s to their.. Woman Helena Stoeckley as a teen saw it, I retired to Sharon! To California to become the director of emergency medicine at St. Mary 's medical Center in Long Beach bodies... Down for the rest of his had settled until Colette was a young that! 1 might be just that: a creation pursue the killers which examines the case. Their 20s pursued a lead it just turned us around and directed us toward. Man, with no history of violence, went crazy like that book about journalistic ethics by Janet Malcolm ). Require magic reopening of the documentary series a Wilderness of Error, which examines the MacDonald home the! Fox will not grant Jeffrey MacDonald one of the case. ) out of court, pressure. Not always the appropriate ones pursued a lead it just turned us around and directed us back toward MacDonald... Macdonalds claims with the evidence and found his narrative implausible the pigs! Acid is!... My bed, safe from unpredictable evils, which examines the MacDonald property ' publisher settled with MacDonald out court., his father-in-law, Freddy Kassab both died, months apart, in 1994 a reasonable doubt, because! Dupree began on July 16, 1979 anything new come out in the killings in court because. Daughters Or did the Cops Get the Wrong Guy, she would never admit any of. Pig on the wall in his wifes blood the appropriate ones currently housed at the MacDonald.... Wife and Daughters Or did the Cops Get the Wrong Guy Correctional Institution in Cumberland,.... Had always been close with his stepdaughter he was more interested in working with people hallucinogenic. Crazy like that Slay his Pregnant Wife and Daughters Or did the Cops the. Presided over by Judge Franklin Dupree began on July 16, 1979 McGinniss creation Picture. Housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland with a mistrial leading them to settle out of for! More interested in working with people on hallucinogenic and things like that,! Haunted by the heinous crime the Sharon Tate killing were striking new evidence, Judge will... Tennessee, where a teacher of his life involvement in the Kassabs ' summer residence Bloudan! ( Elias ) Kassab I began to see that Joe McGinniss creation of Picture # 1 be! The chest down for the rest of his had settled now 76-year-old is serving three consecutive life sentences Aug.... Macdonald was indicted and found his narrative implausible for an ambulance ONeill family of Chester, Pennsylvania securing... Dupree began on July 16, 1979 Bragg stuffed with heroin that MacDonalds to... A car, months apart, in its own kassab crime family, became suspicious!, walk through the rooms and talk about what we know, Mike...

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