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JAA 29(3):439-456 (2001)

Soul Death: A Brief Study of Some Familial Murderers

Author: Jane Simon MD

Abstract

Case 1. Tall, blonde, debonair, industrious, and Princeton educated, Jeffrey MacDonald revealed no physical or emotional characteristics of a brutal murderer. In June 1979, in Raleigh, North Carolina, 9¹/₂ years after he beat and stabbed to death his pregnant wife and two young daughters, Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald was tried for the third time and convicted of murdering his family. To this day he claims he and his family were attacked by a band of four drug-crazed hippies. From his prison cell in Texas he directs a campaign of steadfast supporters in his fight for freedom.
Case 2. Meek, middle-aged, and mild-mannered, John List was apprehended in Virginia in June 1989, 17 years after he shot his mother, wife, and three teenage children in their nineteen-room mansion in Westfield, New Jersey. John List, living under the alias Robert P. Clark, was identified on television's Most Wanted show by a neighbor from a look-alike bust. In spite of an identifying scar behind his right ear and fingerprints which matched those of John P. List, Robert P. Clark vehemently denied that he was John List. Not until he had to file a motion to suppress evidence taken form the List home after the murders did Robert P. Clark admit he was John List. (One man, Clark, could not move to suppress evidence against another man, List.) Tried and found guilty, to this day he claims he suffered a “mid-life crisis” and is not responsible for the murders.
Case 3. Handsome, talented, rich, and ambitious, the Menendez brothers came from a “close and loving” family. They seemed to have promising futures. Lyle and Erik at first appeared to be unlikely suspects in the grisly murders of their parents, Kitty and Joseph Menendez, shot to death in the den of their five million dollar Beverly Hills mansion as they ate berries and cream. At first the Mafia was implicated in the gang-like murder. In August 1989, a few months later, evidence in the case pointed to the sons. The Beverly Hills psychologist who was treating

JAA 29(3):439-456 (2001)

Soul Death: A Brief Study of Some Familial Murderers

Author: Jane Simon MD

Abstract

Case 1. Tall, blonde, debonair, industrious, and Princeton educated, Jeffrey MacDonald revealed no physical or emotional characteristics of a brutal murderer. In June 1979, in Raleigh, North Carolina, 9¹/₂ years after he beat and stabbed to death his pregnant wife and two young daughters, Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald was tried for the third time and convicted of murdering his family. To this day he claims he and his family were attacked by a band of four drug-crazed hippies. From his prison cell in Texas he directs a campaign of steadfast supporters in his fight for freedom.
Case 2. Meek, middle-aged, and mild-mannered, John List was apprehended in Virginia in June 1989, 17 years after he shot his mother, wife, and three teenage children in their nineteen-room mansion in Westfield, New Jersey. John List, living under the alias Robert P. Clark, was identified on television's Most Wanted show by a neighbor from a look-alike bust. In spite of an identifying scar behind his right ear and fingerprints which matched those of John P. List, Robert P. Clark vehemently denied that he was John List. Not until he had to file a motion to suppress evidence taken form the List home after the murders did Robert P. Clark admit he was John List. (One man, Clark, could not move to suppress evidence against another man, List.) Tried and found guilty, to this day he claims he suffered a “mid-life crisis” and is not responsible for the murders.
Case 3. Handsome, talented, rich, and ambitious, the Menendez brothers came from a “close and loving” family. They seemed to have promising futures. Lyle and Erik at first appeared to be unlikely suspects in the grisly murders of their parents, Kitty and Joseph Menendez, shot to death in the den of their five million dollar Beverly Hills mansion as they ate berries and cream. At first the Mafia was implicated in the gang-like murder. In August 1989, a few months later, evidence in the case pointed to the sons. The Beverly Hills psychologist who was treating