Jeffrey MacDonald was born on October 12, 1943 in Patchogue, New York. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a medical degree from Northwestern University. After completing his internship at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, MacDonald joined the Army and was commissioned as a captain in the Green Berets.

Although Jeffrey MacDonald and future wife Colette Stevenson met while in the eighth grade, their relationship did not become serious until they were both in their freshman year of college, Jeffrey at Princeton, Colette at Skidmore. Colette became pregnant during the summer between their sophomore and junior years, and the couple married in September 1963. The MacDonalds had two girls, Kimberly and Kristen, and the family settled on the base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. During the early-morning hours of February 17, 1970, MacDonald's wife and daughters were murdered; all three died before military police arrived at the duplex...