The story today sounds like it's straight out of a Hollywood thriller.

And even though it did inspire some filmmakers, the real story is far more disturbing.

Jeffrey McDonald was a true crime star of his time.

He cemented his celebrity status in the 80s after a best-selling book, Fatal Vision, was

published, followed by a movie of the same title,

a TV miniseries and documentaries. He told a horrifying story of how Charles Manson-style hippies

raided his house and brutally murdered his wife and daughters. But Jeffrey is believed to have been

the real killer and staged the crime scene to implicate a bloody Manson-like slaughter.

The question that is still up for debate by some is whether he's a cold-blooded murderer

or a victim of bloodthirsty hippies on acid.

But the fact is, this savage slaying of his wife and daughters left the nation horrified.

Welcome to 10-minute murder, brief and bingeable true crime. My name is Joe. I'm the host of this podcast, and I really appreciate you being here today. If this is your first time listening,

I'm excited that you're here, and you picked a really good episode to start on. And now that

spooky season is over, we're entering a new season, my least favorite season. It's when you wake up and go to work and it's dark outside and you come home from work and it's dark outside. That in-between time is the only sunshine and we don't get any part of it. The exception is you third shift workers. And you third shift workers, I love you, but you're weird. You're like vampires. You're

sleeping during the day and you're working at night and you're taking a lunch break at like 2.30 a.m. It's weird. You know it's weird and I know it's weird. I think my body would rebel against me and I'd have to find a quiet closet to take a nap in. And speaking of, I do need to say hello to this one group of third shift nurses.

They listen all the time to this podcast. And I don't want to say your names or where you work because I don't want to get you in trouble. But thank you for listening. Go check that call bell. You can even pause it right here. I'll wait for you when you come back. Okay, good. You're back. Now we can get started. But before we do, make sure you subscribe wherever you like to listen to podcasts.

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Now to the story.

Jeffrey McDonald was born October 12, 1943 in Jamaica, Queens, New York. He grew up in a poor neighborhood on Long Island and was raised by a pretty strict father

who wasn't shy about discipline. His father demanded obedience and achievements from his family, but remained nonviolent

toward his wife and kids, just a really strict dad. And according to the neighbors,

...