A Wilderness of Error (2020): Season 1, Episode 4 - When a Narrative Becomes Reality - full transcript

Go right ahead, ted.

Helena, judge franklin dupree

Of raleigh, north carolina,
u.S. District court

Said that you are, quote,

"one of the most tragic figures
he has ever seen,

"simply cannot attach
any credibility to you.

You are in a constant
state of hallucination."

Yes, I'm a fabricator.

Let's see, what else?

Fabricator, liar,

Publicity seeker.



And what have I been doing?
I've been trying to run

To keep away from publicity.

And still they say
that's all I want.

Isn't that what I've been doing?

I've been trying to stay away.

Uh, you've given
mr. Beasley and me

A voluminous amount
of information

About the murders and so forth.

Going back to the trial...
Did you divulge

Any of the information
you've given us here tonight?

No, sir.

- You didn't?
- No. I perjured myself then.

But if you'd come forth
with this information,

He may not have
gone to... To, uh, prison?



And at that point
I could have gone myself.

So, you basically were trying
to keep yourself

From going to prison?

Yes, sir.

Aren't you concerned about
being on television, then?

No, sir, I feel that, uh,
captain jeffrey macdonald

Should be freed
once and for all,

And not to have to go through

All of what
he's been going through

For the last several years.

The wife and two young
daughters of an army doctor

Were found dead in their home
in fort bragg, north carolina.

You may remember the crime
back in 1970.

One of america's most
sensational murder cases.

One of the most bizarre
murder cases.

The most complicated murder case

- In history.
- Macdonald says the murderers

Were three men
and a woman shouting,

"acid is great.
Kill all the pigs."

It's a baffling story the more
you begin to look into it.

Jeffrey macdonald's life became
the subject of a book.

A popular miniseries.

A television movie
called fatal vision.

The best-seller
portrayed macdonald

As a cold-blooded killer.

Today, macdonald was sentenced

To three life terms in prison.

Something really,
really bad happened here.

It was a miscarriage of justice.

I cannot overcome fatal vision.

What happens when a narrative

Takes the place of reality?

It's almost as if nothing
really happened in history

Unless it has been
recorded in a movie

Or in a television series.

A new book by acclaimed
author and filmmaker

Errol morris says that the case

May be more complicated
than previously thought.

I did not hurt my wife
or my children.

That evening I was wearing

A blonde wig and a floppy hat.

An innocent man
is in jail today.
The man is guilty

- As can be.
- I am innocent.

He's lucky I haven't
gone out and killed him.

I am not that monster.

Testing, testing.

Jeff to joe,
side two on tape three.

I'm not trying to be dramatic,

But I can tell you that
there's no feeling as deep

As the feeling
of suddenly being locked up

In a solitary steel cell...

Alone from the world,
and being told

That you're spending the rest
of your natural life there.

The best I can say is...

It's a feeling that must be
very close to death.

I hope you understand the depth
of my despair and anguish.

If you have a distinct need for
more questions at this time,

Fire them off,

And I'll get going on it.

Keep the writing going
on your end.

Jeff.

Ladies and gentlemen, will you
welcome, please, joe mcginniss.

In 1969,

A 26-year-old journalist
named joe mcginniss

Saw his book,
the selling of the president,

Soar to the top
of the best-seller list.

I was working for
simon & schuster,

Which published joe's book.

He was having a party.

I crashed the party,

And, uh...

Our eyes met
across the crowded room,

And it was just
one of those things.

He was a star at that point.

People would actually
recognize him,

Which was amazing for a writer.

Fast-forward nine years to 1979,

And joe was dying to find
the next book.

He was pretty excited.
He thought it was

An amazing story that, uh,

Jeff had to tell
about what he'd been through.

He was very charmed by jeff.

Jeff and bernie were looking
for a writer.

They liked joe,
and joe had a reputation.

Jeff told me joe's gonna be

Part of the defense team.

I didn't like that.

I just instinctively

Didn't want to have non-lawyers

Poking around what we're doing.

In just about three weeks,

Joe flew down to raleigh,
north carolina.

They rented a fraternity house

On the campus of, uh,

North carolina state university,

And he moved in
with the defense team.

Yeah. Yeah.

Dear jeff...

There cannot be
a worse nightmare

Than the one
you're living through now.

Total strangers can see
within five minutes

That you did not
receive a fair trial.

Joe was almost always
around jeff,

And they seemed to be
big buddies.

Joe was very invested
in being one of the guys.

Buying three-piece suits.

Going out on beer runs.

It was not
a fly-on-the-wall situation.

Let's put it that way.

Goddamn, jeff,

One of the worst things
about all this

Is how suddenly and totally all
your friends... self included...

Have been deprived of
the pleasure of your company.

He was as big a cheerleader
as bernie was.

Bernie, at some point, knew
things weren't going so well.

But joe was always, you know,
"oh, don't worry,

Everything's gonna be okay."

Spend a summer
making a new friend

And then the bastards come along

And lock him up.

In raleigh,

North carolina, today,

A jury convicted
dr. Jeffrey macdonald

For murdering his wife
and two children nine years ago.

Macdonald, a former
green beret captain,

Was sentenced
to three life terms in prison.

The jury convicted him
of first degree murder

In the bludgeoning
and stabbing slaying

Of his two-year-old daughter

And the second degree murder...

After macdonald was convicted,

Joe came home.

Joe and jeff had to have
a way to communicate.

They decided that
jeff was going to send joe

Tape recordings.

Dear joe,

I made myself a promise not
to question you on the book.

I still have to go with that.

I'm looking for any way out

And was hoping
to be encouraged by you.

We have to trust
our gut feelings

And try as best we can
to ignore the inherent paranoia

In this situation.

Hope you, nancy and the kids
are all okay.

Jeff.

Then the obsession began.

He brought himself up to date
on everything

That had happened previously...

Testimony from the article 32,
newspaper reports, transcripts,

Psychological reports... going
over and over every detail.

Dear joe, you know,

In here everyone thinks...

Dear jeff,

They wince a little when they...

It gave him more distance

From the jeff
that he felt close to.

Side one, tape 11...

One of his...

Biggest discoveries was
he found jeff's notes

From right after
the night of the murders.

He was advised to write down
everything that he remembered,

And he'd written down

That he'd been taking
a drug called eskatrol.

Among the side effects
of this drug are,

When taken to excess
by susceptible individuals,

Temporary psychosis,

Often manifested
as a rage reaction.

That was something that seemed

Really significant to joe,

And...

He started to just get...

More and more...

...Alienated and scared.

I kept in touch
with joe mcginniss

For a year afterwards.

In fact, I went to see him.

I said, you know,
"how's the book coming?"

He said,
"oh, it's getting tough."

Um, and I said,
"what does that mean?"

He said, "well, you know,
what I told you before."

I said,
"the endings are really tough."

Joe thought he was
having a heart attack.

We wind up going
to the emergency room

With mike malley, um, in tow.

And it turned out
he was having a panic attack.

It was the first time
he ever had a panic attack.

To put it simply,

It was a conflict between my...

- W-what my head told me
had to be true
Yeah.

And what my heart told me
couldn't be true.

Dear jeff,

I hear you're gloomy.

No surprise.

Waiting is bad enough,
but here you'll never know

How long you have to wait.

Anyway, when I do get
the new treatment finished...

When and if...
I still can't send it to you

Because I don't ever show
anybody anything I'm working on

Until it's ready
for publication.

The title was finally
one which I chose mainly

On instinct and gut feeling:

Fatal vision.

And now, the movie some people

Don't want you to see...

The most controversial
true crime story of the decade,

Based on today's best seller,
fatal vision.

What's it like to see
this extremely personal story

Made into a teleplay?

That must be strange.

Everything was dead-on.

Everything was right.

Daddy!

Nbc has presented
a dramatization

-Of the macdonald case
and titled it fatal vision,
-daddy!

Based on the best-selling book
of the same name

By joe mcginniss.

Like the book,

The miniseries fatal vision
is joe mcginniss' search

For the truth
of what happened before,

After and on that night in 1970.

You're sitting here telling me

That I killed my wife and kids?

Nbc wanted to make a miniseries

Of fatal vision
pretty much right away.

You think now you can get ahold

Of that article 32
transcript for me?

I'd like to read everything
that was said at that hearing.

Well, look, freddy,
I'm really busy right now.

- I got the television...
- Sure. I understand.

Seeing it, it had
a different kind of impact

Than reading about it.

It certainly boosted
sales of the book.

Millions of viewers
watched the two-part series

Of fatal vision here on nbc,
60 million on Sunday alone.

Look, the guy
was on a 24-hour shift

The night before the murders.

Then he put in a full day
at the office.

So maybe he was taking pills
to keep himself going.

I was

Glued to the tv.
I couldn't believe it.

And back then,
we had the old vhs,

And I recorded it.

So th... I can't tell you
how many times

I've watched that movie.

There are at least four people
running around out there

Who have, uh...

...Murdered three people.

Karl malden had you down

- To a t, didn't he?
- Absolutely.

Is the defendant
jeffrey r. Macdonald

Guilty or not guilty

Of murder in the first degree?

Guilty.

Guilty. Guilty.

When you learned of this,
t-to you, betrayal,

What was your first reaction?

I was devastated, larry.

It was one of the five or six...

M-most destructive days
to my psyche ever,

Following the murders
and then the false accusation.

- This was-this was
an awful thing.
- He was your friend.

H-he acted as my best friend,
not just my friend.

My best friend. My confidante.

We talked for four years.
He lived in my condominium.

My girlfriend at the time
was cooking him dinner.

You, um,

Never let on to him
that you had-had found him,

In your own heart
of hearts, guilty.

Did that pose
an ethical problem for you?

Should you have told him
and pulled out of the project?

Well, no, because, uh,
when I got into the project,

Uh, my only ambition

Was to learn as much
of the truth as I could

And then to tell it
as well as I could.

My gripe with joe mcginniss

Is not that he...

Lied to jeffrey macdonald.

My gripe is that

He took something that was

Horribly complex

And he turned it into something

Incredibly simple.

You have
the crusading in-laws...

...And a villain.

A self-centered,

Narcissistic... Liar.

Fatal vision was perhaps
even more damning

Than the trial itself.

People saw

Jeffrey macdonald
killing his family.

What more proof do you need?

What happens when a narrative

Takes the place of reality?

Tonight, nbc concludes
its rebroadcast

-Of the movie fatal vision.
-...Television movie
called fatal vision.

Dr. Jeffrey macdonald's life
became the subject

-Of a book and tv miniseries...
-If you think he's guilty,
call 1-900...

You might remember the story

From the book and tv movie
fatal vision.

Macdonald's conviction for
killing his wife and children

- More than a decade ago...
- ...Fatal vision.

Jeffrey macdonald disappeared

Into the f-fun house

Of television.

I can never overcome
fatal vision.

I cannot prove
to the millions of people

Who have watched the reruns
over and over and over

That I am not that monster.

Nbc's presentation
of fatal vision has been

Roundly praised by the critics
and roundly criticized

By macdonald's attorneys,
one of whom joins us

This morning
from our studios in burbank.

He is brian o'neill, and good
morning to you, mr. O'neill.

- Good morning, bryant.
- This drama, uh, this docudrama,

Wasn't titillating,
it wasn't sensationalized.

- What was your problem
with the airing of it?
- Uh, two problems.

Number one, the timing of it
was highly inappropriate.

Uh, as, uh, we had advised nbc

Some months before they ran it,

Uh, there are pending in the
federal court in north carolina

Several motions, uh,
seeking a new trial.

Uh, those motions address
the subject of the crime,

And, uh, in great detail
prove who did it.

And it wasn't dr. Macdonald.

It's our concern that
when we get a new trial,

We're not gonna have
a fair audience,

Uh, before whom to present it.

That is to say, we're not gonna
have a... Be able

To pick a fair jury because
everyone will have seen

That movie in that neighborhood,
and will have, uh,

Formed a belief which is gonna
be very nigh unshakeable.

I forget how I learned about

The tv show coming out,
but I remember

We were concerned about it,

So I contacted nbc.

I said, "you know, uh, there may
be other interests involved.

"you might think
about, like, f-fairness

In the criminal justice system."

That was the only argument
I could make,

And it was unavailing.

Fatal vision shows jeffrey...

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

A new trial, basically,
had to be new evidence

Either unavailable
or reasonably unavailable.

I forget the standard, but
that-that's what you had to do.

I got the case files
from bernie segal.

Looking through them,
helena stoeckley's story

Seemed to be
a good place to start.

So I had to get an investigator.

Ray shedlick was from queens,

Spoke like from he was queens,
looked like he was from queens.

Cigarette smoke

Like a halo.

He really did this great job
on the ground

Chasing down
all these other leads.

I ran an ad in
a fayetteville paper

And I began to receive
telephone calls.

Some of them, of course,
were crazy calls.

I had to screen out people

Who were obviously deranged
from those who

Might have had
decent information.

Some of these witnesses
did come forward pretrial.

They were... They came forward
1970 to the cid.

And some to the fbi,

Who never followed up
on those leads.

- Reload, please.
- God, it's hot in here.

This will be helena stoeckley

And ted gunderson

And prince beasley.

Ted had been
the head of the fbi office

Here in los angeles.

You'll be
looking at me, right, ted?

He was the one
who did have a connection

To prince beasley,
and prince brought

Helena stoeckley to the party,
and that was critical, yeah.

Rolling. Go right ahead, ted.

Helena, the night
of the murders,

How were you dressed?

That evening, I was wearing

A blonde wig
that belonged to my roommate.

And a floppy hat.

I had on boots.

What time did you enter
the macdonald residence?

- Approximately 2:00
in the morning, yeah.
- About 2:00.

We went in, there were three
members in there already,

Talking to dr. Macdonald.

I thought they were
simply asking for drugs

Or something like that.

Things got out of hand.

Someone knocked him unconscious.

The phone rang.

I picked it up and someone
asked for dr. Macdonald.

Jimmy friar was a soldier,

And on February the 17th, 1970,

He had become sick.

His doctor of treatment
was dr. Mcdonald.

That's m-c-d-o-n-a-l-d,
not dr. Macdonald.

He called the base hospital

Asking for dr. Mcdonald.

They ultimately gave him

The home phone of dr. Macdonald.

Uh, I called, I said,
"may I speak to dr. Mcdonald?"

And a lady or some girl,
whoever it was,

Just laughed into the telephone,

Was just laughing and giggling,
just carrying on.

Well, by that time,

I was pretty high on mescaline.

And I just giggled
and said he wasn't there

Or something like that.

In the background, I could hear
someone breaking something,

Or the table
being turned over, or

There was some kind of...

You know, like, there was,

A scrimmage
or something going on.

Someone said,
"hang up the goddamn phone,"

And about that time,
the phone either went dead

Or was hung up.

That's basically what happened.

After I hung up the phone,

I went into the back bedroom.

That's when I saw
two other members in there.

Colette was struggling
with them.

I said...

"let's leave her alone,"

That this was unnecessary,

And I suggested we leave.

And that was it.

And I responded,
"he deserved to die."

Tonight... is one of america's
most notorious killers,

Dr. Jeffrey macdonald,
really an innocent man?

If so, his journey to freedom
may have begun.

This afternoon,
in a u.S. District court,

Macdonald's attorney
filed a motion for a new trial.

Macdonald insists there were
intruders that night,

Helena stoeckley.

People who had every reason
in the world to be afraid

Of being caught, nonetheless
confessed to their involvement.

And it happened
that their detailed statements,

Uh, are consistent
with what dr. Macdonald said.

The woman was seen in the boots

That I saw in my house
that night.

They were on barbiturates,
they were on lsd,

They were on heroin.

We have definitely found out
who murdered my family.

Eventually,
the truth has to out.

It has some sort of power
on its own.

And the government is gonna
have to give the case up.

Dr. Jeffrey macdonald
was discussed as early

As October of 1969.

At that time,
they were requiring

People on the base

To roll up their sleeves,

And if they had needle marks
on their arms,

They would be arrested

Or put into the hospital
or something like that.

And macdonald, it seems,
was, uh...

Named as one of the instigators
of that.

It was suggested that
someone approach him

And try to...

Make him realize, you know,

That he had to help us.

They said if
he didn't cooperate,

Something would be done.

Meaning?

It was understood
what would be done.

I met helena on the street.

She was only 16. But I thought

"oh, this is a smart chick.
You have to watch her

Because she's sly
and she's tricky."

She talked the good talk.

She'd brag about all the

Stuff she did... taking acid

And doing pills

And whatever, you know, and...

Hey, this isn't a race.

But she had pretty much already

Established herself around,
by then.

She had contacts
I knew nothing about.

She knew a lot of people
on base.

Army officials estimate more
than half of the 40,000 men

Stationed at fort bragg
are users of narcotics.

These guys were into heavy-duty
stuff, you know?

Crystal methamphetamine, heroin.

They needed help.

And they can't get the help
they need.

No. No.

- No!
Could these guys
have done it?

If you can m-murder

And napalm villages and women

And children and men,

Do you just forget that
when you come back here?

Does it all just go away?

No.

In one of her interviews,

Helena told us that the guy

Who'd inflicted the wounds
on colette

Was named greg mitchell.

I figured... That's pretty good.

Greg mitchell did
three or four terms

In vietnam.

He had a wild look in his eye.

You know, somebody that had been

To hell and back.

One day, we were at his house,

And he brought out
his favorite pictures.

"you want to see what
went on there?" you know?

I don't if it was that
he was so disgusted

In the things that happened

Or if he was just crazy.

Uh, pictures of ears cut off.

You know?

And fingers.

A necklace of fingers.

I was scared.

That actually scared me
and I had to go.

Did he ever seem violent

Or that he could
be capable of murder?

You know, yeah.

I'm not gonna lie about that.
Yeah.

Greg mitchell went to
some church-related

Rehab center.
They had taken over an old house

Out in the outskirts,
kind of in the country,

Outside fayetteville.

I interviewed
ann cannady sutton.

She was involved in what
she called the manor house.

She told me that greg mitchell

Said he was a drug addict
but he had no place to go.

So the manor took him in.

That Saturday night,
they had their prayer meet,

Where people were confessing
to various crimes.

This young man became so excited

He had to be restrained.

He confessed to being
a drug addict.

And, among other things,

He confessed to killing people.

The following day,
as she came up the driveway,

Ann cannady sutton saw a man
run from the back of the house.

When they went into the house,
painted on the wall,

Still r... Dripping,
in red paint

Were the words:

"I killed dr. Macdonald's
wife and children."

We have sworn affidavits
that a subject

Who came into that house in 1971

Was, in fact, gregory mitchell.

And the fellow who ran from
the back of the manor house

Out in the country
was gregory mitchell.

And the writings on the wall
in the manor house

Obviously were written
by gregory mitchell.

- Mm-hmm.
- Um...

Mm-hmm... Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

They... Somebody-somebody
went out there,

- But not immediately, - right.

And the wall had been
painted over.

Yeah, yeah.

- ...Um...
- Phone call. Mm-hmm.

I don't. I have no idea, no.

This is August 22, 1979.

"macdonald defense
offers a new witness.

"defense attorneys
face two problems

"in trying to have
the man appear

"at the former green beret
doctor's trial.

"the prisoner, jimmy friar,

"is serving a ten-year sentence

"for using a false name
and address on a check

"he used to buy men's
clothing in 1976.

"the judge who sentenced friar

"recommended that he be treated

For any mental condition
he might have."

So that didn't really do
a lot for friar's credibility.

A north carolina judge
today ruled out a new trial

For dr. Jeffrey macdonald.

...Green beret
dr. Jeffrey macdonald

A new trial in the so-called
fatal vision case.

He was denied for the third time

A request for a new trial

In the fourth circuit court
of appeals.

Let me back up just a moment.

Did helena stoeckley believe

That she was in the house
that night?

Was helena stoeckley
in the house that night?

And if she wasn't
in the house that night...

...What's going on here?

Was she an attention-seeker?

Did she just want to believe

That she was the femme fatale?

She had a story to tell in 1979.

She never really told it
in the courtroom.

Who is helena stoeckley?

What's the difference in age
between you and helena?

I was, uh, I was trying
to think that out.

I think it's two years.

I've heard rumors
you were twins.

I've heard that rumor, too.

I know better.

Your dad was a colonel,
right? Or a lieutenant colonel.

Ltc, s... Yes, sir.

He was assistant camp commander

At two different army posts
in France.

We went to french schools.

After a year, basically,
all of us spoke fluent french.

After he retired,
we were his troops.

He kept a standard.

And you had to adhere to it.

Helena always doted
on me as her baby brother.

Always felt special
when she'd take me places

'cause she made me
feel special, like I was,

You know, her little brother
and she was proud of it.

She was smart and engaged,
she loved school.

We just knew that she was
destined to do good things.

In high school, she was involved
with all kinds of clubs.

French club, drama club,

The senior high singers.

She did have this desire

To be in the spotlight.

She had a nice voice.

Until she got this idea
she was gonna emulate

Janis joplin,
with that gravely voice.

She fell away
from her high school friends

And she started
hanging out on the street.

And it all just changed.

Uh...

It didn't seem like there was
anything could stop it.

She'd be high and...

Parents would tell her,
"no, you're not-not coming here.

"you're not bringing these...

"friends that, you know,
devil worshipers

Or cult, whatever, around."

You know, for your own security,

You had to-had to say,
"okay," you know,

"you either clean up
or sh-ship out."

Her father

Wanted her to be a proper lady,

Not a...

Dirtbag hippie on the streets,

Hanging around with a bunch
of dope addicts.

She needed people to love her.

She craved attention.

That's what she wanted.

Prince beasley.

I never knew
that was his first name.

He acted like he thought

He was a prince.

Helena would talk
about him all the time,

That he was always
harassing her for information.

But I know that, you know,
when she was in trouble,

He would help her out.

Maybe she had
a father fixation for him.

I guess you want to know
about the night

Of the macdonald case.

I-I imagine that's why I'm here.

Helena had borrowed
my floppy hat

And my roommate's boots.

She came back
around 4:30 in the morning.

But she didn't have

My floppy hat.

She didn't have the boots.

And she had
no doughnuts, either.

It rained that night.

She looked kind of like

A drenched rat, you know?

Like she'd been out in the rain,

Like she was walking around
out in the rain.

She came in and she said,

"did you know there was
a murder downtown last night?"

I said, "what?"
she said, "yeah, at fort bragg,

There was a murder last night."

I said, "what are you talking
about, helena?"

You know, the morning news
wasn't even out yet. You know?

She said,
"well, beasley told me.

"he came to get me right away

Because he thinks I did it."

And then she said, "I did
mescaline. I don't remember."

And I said,
"well, you would remember

If you killed somebody, helena."

You definitely would remember.
It's... You know...

Something you don't forget.

During the time
she was waiting to appear

At the 1979 trial,

Helena stoeckley
wrote this poem.

"I'm a bad actor

"in a hard-to-act-in play

"written by a lot
of callous people...

"...Who sit in the audience
and laugh

"because I forget my lines.

"when, in the end,
I finally fall off the stage,

"they all cheer

And go out to buy more popcorn."

What do you think
she's trying to say there?

She's been in court.
She's been on the stand.

She's being asked to...

...Essentially perform a play

That is being scripted
by all kinds

Of different people.

I said, "acid is groovy,
kill the pigs, hit him again."

Nevertheless,
the claim is repeated

Again and again and again.

What is the claim?

"I was there!
I was in the macdonald house

The night of the murders."

And if stoeckley

Is telling the truth,

Well, then,

Macdonald is innocent.

New book by acclaimed author
and filmmaker errol morris

Says that the case
may be more complicated

- Than previously thought.
- What makes you believe

That jeffrey macdonald
might be innocent?

Evidence.

Macdonald's lawyers say
they have new testimony.

A statement from
a federal marshal who said

Helena stoeckley told
prosecutors she was involved

And was threatened
to be charged with murder."

It's wrong to convict a man

Under these circumstances,

And if I can help correct that,

I will be a happy camper.

This morning,
jeffrey macdonald's lawyers

Are going back to court

In the so-called
fatal vision murders.

40 years later,
he's getting another chance

To tell a court
once again he's innocent.

I believe that when
all of the evidence

Of this case is presented,
this man will be set free.

This guy may be
getting out of jail, folks.