jeffrey macdonald is heading back to court today, more than four decades after he was initially accusedbrutally killing his pregnant wife and two young daughters. more now from abc's david kerley. >> reporter: it was a gruesome crime that gripped the country. >> one of the nations those of controversial cases. >> reporter: a pregnant mother, her two daughters stabbed repeatedly at ft. bragg. >> i did not murder my wife, i did not murder my children. >> reporter: but green beret and medical doctor jeffrey macdonald was convicted of killing his family which led to a best-selling book "fatal vision" even a tv minute any series. >> captain jeffrey macdonald here on the base. >> reporter: the killings came just months after the manson murders in california. macdonald claimed this case was similar, hippies, three men and a woman, coming into his house. murdering his family. all these years later, oscar-wins documentaran is writing a book. >> i myself see no evidence linking him to the crime. >> reporter: macdonald is asking that witness statements and hairs found in the house that don't match

a former green beret, jeffrey macdonald, convicted in the murders of his pregnant wife and their two daughters. it's been the subject of a best-selling book, a tv mini series. tomorrow, a new chapter. a convicted murderer will get a chance to prove his innocence because of dna. tonight, abc's david kerley. >> reporter: it was a gruesome crime that gripped the country. >> one of the nation's most controversial murder cases. >> reporter: a pregnant mother, her two daughters, stabbed repeatedly and beaten to death at ft. bragg. >> i did not murder my wife. i did not murder my children. >> reporter: but green beret and medical doctor jeffrey macdonald was convicted of killing his family. which led to a best-selling book, "fatal vision." even a tv mini series. >> captain jeffrey macdonald, green beret doctor here on the base. >> reporter: the killings came just months after the manson murders in california. macdonald has always claimed this case was similar. hippies, three men and a woman, coming into his house, murder, his family. all these years later, oscar-winning documentarian erroll

murder my wife, i did not murder my children. >> reporter: but green beret and medical doctor jeffrey macdonald convicted of killing his own family. >> capital jeff macdonald here on the base. >> reporter: the killings came just months after the manson murders in california. macdonald claimed this case was similar, hippies, three men and a woman, coming into his house. now erroll morris book. >> none what has seen a link. >> reporter: macdonald is asking that hair samples found in the house be admitteded as dna evidence. >> at the time, there were so many inconsistency, it's the newly discovered dna evidence that casts another light. >> reporter: but will it change his conviction of 33 years ago? >> i'm sitting in prison. i'm wrongfully convicted. >> these hearings in front of a federal judge could take a couple of weeks. and it will be up to that judge to decide, whether after all this time, macdonald gets a new trial. david kerley, abc news, washington. >>> the outlook for this year's hockey season is not good. on day two of the player lockout, the two sides are miles apart. and no talks are

so three strands of hair were found in jeffrey macdonald's daughter's hand. onald, not any of the daughters, not his wife. that's a crucial piece of evidence. another piece of evidence that's coming in is this evidence that pertains to helena stoakley. she says that she told a marshal -- or rather a marshal overheard her telling the prosecutor that she was in the home on the night of these murders and that she witnessed her boyfriend and two other men commit this crime. well, the u.s. marshal says that the prosecutor threatened to prosecute her for murder. and then she recanted -- sort of retracted that story and did not say that when she was on the witness stand. so this is really blockbuster evidence. what is fascinating, though, brooke, they are dead. helena stoakley, no longer alive. the u.s. marshal, no longer alive. >> 40 years has passed. >> exactly. so this case doesn't necessarily get better for jeffrey macdonald. it kind of get worse. >> how long is a hearing in north carolina supposed to last? >> about two weeks. so we may at the end of two weeks he

jeffrey macdonald is heading back to court today 42 years after he was accused of the brutal murders wife and two young daughters. more from abc's david kerley. >> reporter: it was a gruesome crime that gripped the country. >> one of the nation's most controversial murder cases. >> reporter: a pregnant mother, her two daughters, stabbed repeatedly and beaten to death at ft. bragg. >> i did not murder my wife. i did not murder my children. >> reporter: but green beret and medical doctor jeffrey macdonald was convicted of killing his family, which led to a best-selling book "fatal vision, oots even a tv mini series. >> captain jeffrey macdonald, green beret doctor here on the base. >> reporter: the killings came months after the manson murders in california. macdonald always claimed the case was similar -- hippies, three men, woman, coming into his house, murdering his family. all these years later, oscar-winning documentarian earl morris's book about the case has raised new questions. >> no one has really established a strong case against him. i myself see no evidence which links him

murder of his wife and daughters in 1970, but academy award winner errol morris says captain jeffrey macdonald may be innocent. i'll talk to him live. bob... oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always od to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners. >>> in the wake of the attacks in benghazi, libya, that killed the u.s. ambassador to libya and three other americans, mitt romney is highlighting his foreign policy. he said obama has sent the world mixed messages. >> but now critics say romney is the one mixing messages. cnn's national political correspondent jim acosta is following the romney campaign. >> reporter: randi and victor, aides to mitt romney say he watched the bodies of

jeffrey macdonald's story was made famous by the best selling book and tv movie "fatal vision." for 42 years he has maintained his innocence and is now hoping new dna evidence can clear his name. we'll have more on that story. >>> on a much, much lighter note. it was a big weekend for korean pop sensation psy following his live performance on the plaza on friday. i leave for one day and look what happens out there. >> i was going to say. matt, you weren't here because you were worried your invisible horse dance wasn't up to snuff >> i was worriedhat i would have to do that and i watched some video of you guys doing that. meanwhile, he had a very big appearance. >> made a surprise appearance on "snl" and his single has climbed to number one on the itunes chart. this morning, as prompted, he will have a special message for his fans. >> get to that a little later on, take a breath and start with the very serious story of ongoing anti-american violence in the east. richard angel is in kabul. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. these protests are continuing in pakis

jeffrey macdonald was the defendant. former army doctor who has spent the past four decades behind bars, convicted back in 1970 of murdering his pregnant wife and two children. he always maintained his innocence and now he could be getting a new trial. jonathan serrie is live in wilmington, north carolina, covering that. jonathan, i'm curious, is there new evidence or new science that will perhaps get him a new trial? >> reporter: it is previous unheard testimony and also relatively new science the judge will be looking at dna evidence from hairs found at the crime scene. and of course dna evidence was unavailable to investigators back in 1979 when jeffrey davis was convicted of the 1970 murders of his pregnant wife and two young daughters. the judge will where is consider previously unheard statements from a now deceased u.s. marshal who claimed he heard a prosecutor intimidate a habitual drug user who allegedly confessed and later denied she was present during the attacks. listen. >> i think evidence, a deck of cards,

. >> captain jeffrey macdonald, green beret doctor here on the base. >> reporter: the killings came just months after the manson murders in california. macdonald has always claimed this case was similar. hippies -- three men and a woman coming into his house, murdering his family. all these years later, oscar-winning documentarian errol morris' new book about the case has raised new questions. >> no one has really established a strong case against him. i, myself, see no evidence which links him to the crime. >> reporter: tomorrow, macdonald gets another chance in court, asking that witness statements and hairs found in the house that don't match the family be admitted as evidence. dna testing didn't exist when he was on trial. >> at the time, there were so many inconsistencies, it's the newly discovered dna evidence that castles another light. >> reporter: but will it change his conviction 33 years ago? >> i'm sitting in prison. i'm wrongfully convicted. >> reporter: those hearings in front of a federal judge could last a couple of weeks and it will be up to that judge if macdonald gets

he wants one more chance to get out of prison. >> reporter: jeffrey macdonald insists a group of drugzed hippies invaded his home in february of 1970 and attacked him and savagely stabbed his wife, collette and two daughters. 5 and 2. he recounted the story to "48 hours" in 2007. >> i heard a female say, acid is groovy, kill the pigs. >> reporter: it was just after charles manson and his followers became a national sensation and even led to a book nbc series "fatal vision." >> guilty. >> reporter: macdonald has been in prison since 1982, serving three life terms for the murders. a new life book by acclaimed author errol morris said macdonald was telling the truth all along. morris, whose movie 1988 "the thin blue line," helped win freedom for a man wrongfully convicted of killing a police officer. says dna evidence not available at the time of macdonald's trial now points to his innocence. >> they did find hair under the fingernails of one of the girls that could not be sourced to anybody in the house. >> reporter: not jeffrey macdonald? >> not jeffrey macdonald. >> reporter: morris a

it was the about the infamous case of jeffrey macdonald.y need a different ending and here's why. macdonald, the green beret doctor was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and two children in 1970. listen to this. 42 years of a the decades macdonald is getting another day in court as a judge considers new evidence that may prove his innocence. jonathan serrie is live for us outside u.s. federal court in wilmington, north carolina. good morning, jonathan. what prompted this hearing after all these years? >> reporter: good morning, heather. for 42 years jeffrey macdonald has maintained his innocence. insisting i and his family were attacked almost charles manson fashion, three men and a blond woman. saying acid is groovy and kill the pigs. a known drug user now deceased reportedly admitted to being the woman in the floppy hat. later denied having any recollection of being at the crime scene. the man who directed the thin blue line writes about the mcdonald case in his new book, a wilnerness of error. >> stokely was a nuisance that would

potential new evidence in the case of jeffrey macdonald.r armory doctor who served time for the deaths of his pregnant wife and two children. now a new book is out questioning his conviction. is he and innocent man? we have him on tape for you today. new reaction on a leaked video where the governor romney says 47% of the electorate are described as feeling like victims. we asked over 3,000 doctors to review 5-hour energy and what they said is amazing. over 73 percent who reviewed 5-hour energy said they would recommend a low calorie energy supplement to their healthy patients who use energy supplements. seventy-three percent. 5-hour energy has four calories and it's used over nine million times a week. is 5-hour energy right for you? ask your doctor. we already asked 3,000. megyn: breaking news out of pennsylvania where the state's highest court ordered a review of the new voter i.d. law. the lower court ruled the law is fine. the supreme court heard arguments and just weighed in kicking it back down to the lower court saying you tell us w

jeffrey macdonald never received a fair trial. uldn't be in prison, and it's my hope that the judge will overturn the 1979 conviction. >> joe mcginniss, author of "fatal vision" testified against macdonald and maintains to this day macdonald is guilty's why do you think he's not credible? >> many, many, many reason s its been shown that a lot of the material in "fatal vision" he made up out of whole cloth. he came up way motivation for macdonald, which makes, to me, little or no sense. he said bed-wetting plus diet pills plus psychopathy led this man to kill his family. no evidence of any kind of mental disorder. he's been interviewed by dozens of psychiatrists. millions of people took these diet bills. there's no evidence he took them to excess. and bed-wetting? this is a green beret emergency room doctor. are we saying that he had never seen bodily fluids before? that the fact that his daughter wet the bed caused him to slaughter his family in cold blood? no. i don't buy it. doesn't make any sense. >> we'll see what the judge dec

the new evidence we head yesterday that could set jeffrey macdonald free. we'll tell you about that. bill: wow also a landmark day in the history of nasa's retired space shuttle fleet. look at this picture. it will be one of the last times we ever see it play out. >> space shuttle endeavour soaring atop nasa's shuttle carrier aircraft, about to begin a 20-minute flyover of the space coast area. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently riding the dog like it's a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment! luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket just so i can get on e-trade. check my investment portfolio, research stocks... wait, why are you taking... oh, i see...solitary. just a man and his thoughts. and a smartphone... with an e-trade app. ♪ nobody knows... [ male announcer ] e-trade. investing unleashed. bill: 24 minutes past. some of our top stories right now. severe thunderstorms tearing up the east coast. maryland seeing some of the worst damage including flooding and power outages. one woman said she barely survived

jeffrey macdonald's story was made famous by the best selling book and tv movie "fatal vision." for 42 years he has maintained his innocence and is now hoping new dna evidence can clear his name. we'll have more on that story. >>> on a much, much lighter note. it was a big weekend for korean pop sensation psy following his live performance on the plaza on friday. i leave for one day and look what happens out there. >> i was going to say. matt, you weren't here because you were worried your invisible horse dance wasn't up to snuff >> i was worried that i would have to do that and i watched some video of you guys doing that. meanwhile, he had a very big appearance. >> made a surprise appearance on "snl" and his single has climbed to number one on the itunes chart. this morning, as prompted, he will have a special message for his fans. >> get to that a little later on, take a breath and start with the very serious story of ongoing anti-american violence in the east. richard angel is in kabul. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. these protests are continuing in pak

jeffrey macdonald's story was made famous by the best selling book and tv movie "fatal vision." for 42 years he has maintained his innocence and is now hoping new dna evidence can clear his name. we'll have more on that story. >>> on a much, much lighter note. it was a big weekend for korean pop sensation psy following his live performance on the plaza on friday. i leave for one day and look what happens out there. >> i was going to say. matt, you weren't here because you were worried your invisible horse dance wasn't up to snuff >> i was worried that i would have to do that and i watched some video of you guys doing that. meanwhile, he had a very big appearance. >> made a surprise appearance on "snl" and his single has climbed to number one on the itunes chart. this morning, as prompted, he will have a special message for his fans. >> get to that a little later on, take a breath and start with the very serious story of ongoing anti-american violence in the east. richard angel is in kabul. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. these protests are continuing in pak

but jeffrey macdonald hopes that's not the case, as he continues to fight as he has for 42 years. >> they can't take away the rest of my life, and brand me as a murderer. i'm not. >> that was tom trong reporting. >>> a nasty commuteomorrow as severe weather moves in. >>> right now, a woman escaped a gunman who went on a rampage, trying to take out members of his own family. >>> nasty weather headed our way. >>> a loss for the skins on sunday and the hits just keep on coming. >>> we begin with the breaking news involving an awful family tragedy in spotsylvania county. two people are dead, another has been injured tonight. it happened in chancellorsville. a 43-year-old man shot and killed his mother before turning the gun on himself. investigators say he also shot his sister, but she was able to escape.

.] >>> an army doctor named jeffrey macdonald was convicted of killing his pregnant wife and two daughters9. he is serving three consecutive life sentences although he still claims that he is innocent. now a new book raises doubts about whether macdonald got a fair trial. earlier i asked paul callan about the kasms. >> -- the case. >> it was a very clear cut case of guilt, and particularly after joe mcginnis wrote a very famous book about the case in which he concluded that macdonald was guilty beyond all doubt. a lot of people think macdonald is innocent. he was a princeton educated doctor who was a captain in the military and very highly regarded at the time and it seemed bizarre that he would kill his wife and children without really a clear motive. so it's very controversial. but the federal court is looking at it. there's some new evidence that he has presented saying prosecutors were aware that there was this witness that would be helpful to him. a woman in a floppy hat. supposedly was one of murderers. and he wasn't told about this and there's a decision called the brady decision th

there is nothing in the evidence that tells me that jeffrey macdonald is guilty, and there is overwhelmingt he did not receive a fair trial in 1979. this is a man who's been in prison for over 30 years for a crime i believe he did not commit. >> in just a couple of days, attorneys will ask for a new evaluation of dna evidence, and you talk a lot about flawed forensics. what do you think went wrong? >> something went very, very wrong within hours of the police arriving at the crime scene. this may be my second excursion into a miscarriage of justice story. 25 years ago, i made a movie "the thin blue line" which got a man who had been sentenced to death for the murder of a police officer, got his conviction overturned and he was released from prison. a mindset -- i don't know how better to describe it -- sets in. and the police stop looking for certain kinds of evidence. they look only for the evidence that would support their theories and fail to collect the evidence that would contradict them. that happened very early on here. >> i want to play you a clip from a larry king interview and i

. >> now, jeffrey macdonald is now 68 years old. he's not eligible for parole until 2020. judge in the case could decide, though, within two weeks whether to order a new trial or to exonerate macdonald altogether, but imagine this, guys. he could go free 42 years after the original murder. >> and a decision coming pretty soon. rob, thank you. >> thanks, rob. >>> now, to an apparently growing problem with those trust enforcing our laws. out-of-control cops behind the wheel and now the latest, dash cam video catching a state trooper busting a miami police officer weaving in and out of traffic at -- get this -- 120 miles an hour on a busy highway. that officer has now lost his job. abc's john schriffen is here with the latest. >> it's pretty alarming, bianna. that officer reportedly made $52,000 a year to protect and serve the people of miami. but instead, he used his police car so he could repeatedly speed to another job. now, he would have gotten away with it if it had not been for an aggressive highway patrol officer and her dash cam. this is not your typical speeding offen

former green beret and doctor jeffrey macdonald is trying to clear his name in the 1970 murders of hiswo young daughters. new dna evidence was introduced monday. there was a statement from a deputy u.s. marshal who said, a woman had told him she was in the family's apartment the night of the attack. >>> a texas mom is demanding answers from her son's middle school, saying administrators paddled him so hard he was covered with welts and bruises. christina downy's 13-year-old son was punished for get ing three consecutive zeros. while she acknowledges she signed a document okaying corporal punishment, she says the school went too far. >> when you paddle a child, you pat their backhand. you don't abuse them. this was abuse. this was so bad that they left bruises. >> reporter: the police department investigated the paddling and concluded that all procedures were properly followed. >> it's -- you might not know this, but 19 states still have this practice allowed by law. 19 states. >> i have got to tell you. you're a parent. i'm a parent. i don't believe in hitting children. i mean it's som

former army doctor jeffrey macdonald was convicted of killing his wife and two children. >>> and a health milligrams per day. that's 1,000 more than recommended. it's the equivalent to an extra big mac. now, as a result, 15% have slightly elevated or high blood pressure. >>> and it was a record weekend at the box office, "resident evil: retribution." that's the fifth in the series taking the top spot, $21 million. but the big headline was the cult drama "the master" with phil seymour hoffman and joaquin phoenix. and it's on five screens. >> i've been wanting to see that. since i heard the review and the buzz. >> good reviews. >>> good morning, everybody. good morning, sam. so excited to see your gorgeous face. while suri cruise may be the world's most famous 6-year-old at the center of the high-stakes super stressful split between tom cruise and katie holmes this summer. brand-new pictures with mom it now shows that life looks like it's getting back to normal. mother and daughter going for an evening walk this weekend. we're guessing suri might have been filling mom in on important kid st

. >>> both side wrapping up their arguments in the jeffrey macdonald hearing we're following in north carolina. the former army doctor and green beret convicted in 179 convicted of killing his pregnant wife and two daughters. he said testimony was never heard at the trial that will prove he did not kill his family. we'll keep you posted. >>> kennedy cousin michael skakel gets a chance at freedom. he is serving 20 years to life for the murder of teenager martha moxley. that happened in 1979. skakel the nephew of ethel kennedy, goes before the parole board next month. jon: new information on the deadly west nile outbreak impacting states across the country. government reports show the number of new cases rising despite efforts to contain mosquitos spreading the virus. more than a third of cases are being reported in texas. casey stiegel is live for us in dallas. casey, the numbers don't look good. >> reporter: jon, they don't. the number of infections continue to climb and a new death is reported here in dallas county just in the last week. the death toll continues to go up on this. rea