New Trial Sought for MacDonald

RICHMOND, Va. —  Lawyers for Jeffrey MacDonald asked a federal appeals court today to order a new trial for the former Green Beret doctor serving a life term for the 1970 murders of his pregnant wife and two young daughters.

Defense lawyer Bryan O’Neill told a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that new evidence--including statements by 35 witnesses--supports the former Long Beach doctor’s claim of innocence.