1970, MacDonald had earned the rank of captain. He was planning to study advanced medical training at Yale University upon completion of his tour of duty as a Green Beret doctor. February 16–17, 1970 On the afternoon of February 16, MacDonald took his daughters to feed and ride the Christmas pony he had bought them. The trio then returned home at about 5:45 p.m. MacDonald then showered, and changed into an old pair of blue pajamas. After the family ate supper, Colette left the household to attend an evening teaching class at Fort Bragg's North Carolina University extension. According to MacDonald, he then played "horsey": allowing his daughters to ride upon his back as if he was their Shetland pony for a short while before he had put Kristen to bed at approximately 7 p.m. as Kimberley played a game on the coffee table. He then slept for an hour before watching Kimberley's favorite television show, Laugh-In, with her before his older daughter also went to bed. Colette herself returned home at 9:40 p.m. The two had sat on the couch watching television together before Colette decided to go to bed midway through The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. MacDonald had himself fallen asleep in the living room in the early hours of the following day. Murders At 3:42 a.m. on February 17, 1970, dispatchers at Fort Bragg received an emergency phone call from MacDonald, who faintly spoke into the receiver: "Help! Five forty-four Castle Drive! Stabbing! ... Five forty-four Castle Drive! Stabbing! Hurry!" The operator then heard the sound of the receiver clatter against a wall or floor. Within ten minutes, responding military police had arrived at the address, initially believing they were responding to a domestic disturbance. They found the front door closed and locked and the house dark inside. When no one answered the door, they circled to the back of the house, where a police sergeant discovered the back screen door closed and unlocked and the back door wide open. Upon entering, the sergeant walked into the master bedroom before running to the front of the house, shouting, "Tell them to get Womack, ASAP!" Colette MacDonald was discovered sprawled on the floor of the master bedroom. She lay on her back, with one eye open and one breast exposed. She had been repeatedly clubbed about her body, with both her forearms later found to be broken.