sitting and thinking" about his family. The following day, James Blackburn cross-examined MacDonald. He outlined every piece of physical and circumstantial evidence recovered at the crime scene which contradicted MacDonald's own accounts of "the assailants" attacking him and murdering his family and instead indicated his own guilt. Blackburn typically began each question with a statement to the effect of: "Dr. MacDonald. Should the jury find from the evidence..." MacDonald was unable to offer any plausible explanations for these discrepancies. For example, he was unable to explain how the piece of lumber used as a weapon came from a mattress slat on Kimberley's bed, but claimed there "may have been" some wood in the utility room, later adding his insistence the club which had struck him across the head was "sort of smooth" and may have been a baseball bat as opposed to a wooden instrument. He also claimed the earlier testimony of Army investigators pertaining to his questioning on April 6, 1970, was unreliable due to the poor conduct of the investigators, and the fact several weeks had elapsed between the murders and his formal questioning. When questioning MacDonald with regards to various discrepancies in his accounts of his movements, the injuries he sustained, and the positioning of his pajama jacket upon his body throughout the night of the murders with regards to the tearing and fiber evidence sourcing from the garment, Blackburn succeeded in highlighting several discrepancies in MacDonald's accounts by comparison to previous interview transcripts and his current claims, and the contradictions of this testimony with the forensic evidence. In response, Segal repeatedly raised objections to this line of questioning, claiming the discrepancies were misleading. His objections were frequently overruled. Following a brief recess, Blackburn resumed his cross-examination. On this occasion, he illustrated instances of MacDonald adjusting his testimony regarding having moved his wife's body after learning fibers from his pajama top were found beneath her body. He then asked direct questions regarding the location of blood, fiber, and other physical evidence within his apartment which directly contradicted his accounts of his movements and those of members of his family. Blackburn frequently accompanied these questions with a hypothetical suggestion that "if the jury should find from the evidence"— forensic or circumstantial evidence which contradicted MacDonald's testimony—would he have any plausible explanation for these discrepancies. MacDonald did frequently attempt to rebuff this line of questioning, but was typically unable