D. Corroboration of Stoeckley, Mitchell, and others in Fayetteville in 1970
In late 1969 and early 1970, Keith Bowen (Bowen) and Gary Mitchell associated with a
group of soldiers or ex-soldiers and other young men and women who lived in the Fayetteville area,
including Mitchell, Stoeckley, Harris, Perry, Jackie Don Wolverton, and a black man who wore an
Army jacket with sergeant stripes and was known to Gary Mitchell and Bowen as “Moses.” [1984
Defense Motion for a New Trial, Declaration of Keith Bowen] Everyone in the group used LSD
and speed at that time on a regular basis. Id. at 24. The group had two primary hangouts in the
Fayetteville area, the Village Shoppe Restaurant and Rowan Park, which was also known as Skag
Park. Id.
Harris admitted associating with Stoeckley and Mitchell in Fayetteville in 1970. [1984
Defense Motion for a New Trial at 15] Harris also frequented the Village Shoppe and Dunkin'
Donuts restaurants in Fayetteville and knew a black man nicknamed “Smitty” at that time. Id.
Case 3:75-cr-00026-F Document 336 Filed 04/01/13 Page 63 of 121
64
E. Corroboration of the Stoeckley Group Acitivites Before the Murders
Either on 16 February 1970 or a day or so before, Mable Campbell, a Fayetteville resident,
saw two white males, including one identified as Mitchell, with one black male and a white female
wearing a floppy hat and boots by a dark colored vehicle at a drive-in at Fort Bragg. [1984 Defense
Motion for a New Trial, Declaration of Mable Campbell] The female resembled Stoeckley. Id.
On 16 February 16, 1970, between the hours of 6:00 and 7:00 p.m., John Humphries
(Humphries), a former military policeman and member of the police reserve, saw three men, two
white and one black, enter his shop in Fayetteville. 1984 Def. Mot. For New Trial, John Humphries
Decl. The three men matched the descriptions of Mitchell, Harris, and Smitty and appeared to be
high on drugs. When the three men left the store, they got into a parked van in which a girl wearing
a white floppy hat was sitting. The day after the MacDonald murders, Humphries contacted both
the FBI and CID to report his observations. Id.
On 16 February 1970 at 9:40 p.m., Edith Boushy (Boushy), an English professor at North
Carolina State University Extension (where Colette was a student), saw a group of young people at
the school, including a woman wearing a white floppy brim hat, a light cream colored plastic coat,
dark skirt, and white boots, and another woman wearing a brown floppy brim hat, and a man
resembling Mitchell. [1984 Defense Motion for a New Trial at 25] The man backed Colette
against the wall and said something to the effect of “if you go along, I think it will be all right.” to
which Colette replied, “I dread … “ Id. at 26. Boushy reported her observations to two Army
investigators within a few days of the murders. Id. at 26.
Case 3:75-cr-00026-F Document 336 Filed 04/01/13 Page 64 of 121
65
At about midnight on February 16, Frankie Bushey, a Fayetteville resident, saw a white
female enter Dunkin’ Donuts with three white males. The woman resembled Stoeckley and wore
a light colored floppy hat and white boots which came just below the knee. [1984 Defense Motion
for a New Trial at 26] One of the men was unshaven, husky, rough-looking, and strongly resembled
the police sketch of one of the intruders described by MacDonald. Id. at 26. One had a dark
complexion and slanted eyes, and the third was short, had a fair complexion, squinted eyes, walked
with a slouch, and strongly resembled Mitchell. Id. at 26. The woman and the short white man in
the group appeared to be high on drugs. The black man was wearing a dark sweater, dark trousers,
and an olive drab field or fatigue jacket. Id. at 26.
At approximately 1:30 p.m., Marian Campbell, a Fayetteville resident, saw a woman
resembling Stoeckley wearing a floppy hat and boots, a black man wearing an Army fatigue jacket
resembling the black intruder described by MacDonald, and one white man leave Dunkin’ Donuts.
[1984 Defense Motion for a New Trial at 26] The white male and the woman appeared to be high
on drugs. Id. at 26. A few minutes after they left, a dark colored van stopped parallel to the window
at Dunkin' Donuts. Id. at 26. The black man was driving the van, and a motorcycle driven by a
white man pulled alongside the van next to the driver’s window. Id. at 26-27. The black man
leaned out and said loudly to the motorcycle driver, “we’ll see you there.” Id. at 27.
Archie Mallow, who worked as a baker at Dunkin’ Donuts in 1970, knew a black man known
as “Smitty” who hung out at Dunkin’ Donuts, usually wore an Army fatigue jacket, did not own a
car, and sometimes borrowed a friend’s motorcycle. [1984 Defense Motion for a New Trial at 27]
Smitty left the Fayetteville area at about the time of the MacDonald murders. Id. at 27.
Case 3:75-cr-00026-F Document 336 Filed 04/01/13 Page 65 of 121
66
At approximately 2:00 a.m. on the night of February 16, Jimmy Friar, a patient at the
Womack Hospital at Fort Bragg, was in Fayetteville and inadvertently called Dr. Jeffrey
MacDonald’s telephone number. [1984 Defense Motion for a New Trial at 27] The phone was
answered by a woman who was laughing, and he heard someone in the background say “hang up
the God damn phone.” Id. at 27. At that point the phone was disconnected. Id. at 27.
Shortly after 2:00 a.m. on February 17, 1979, Military Policeman Carlos Torres saw a dark
blue van parked on Bragg Boulevard about 60 to 75 yards from the intersection of Honeycutt and
Bragg. [1984 Defense Motion for a New Trial at 27] The side doors to the van were open, and the
inside lights were on. Id. at 27. Three white males walked quickly from the trees on the side of the
road towards the van and got into the van with the overhead light on. Id. at 27. One man had an
afro hairstyle, one man had stringy “brownish or blondish” hair, and the third man had a short
military-type haircut. Id. at 27. The third man wore a brown jacket and has been identified as
resembling Harris. Id. at 28. The wooded area which the three men left abuts the MacDonald
neighborhood. Id. at 28. The distance from the MacDonald residence on Castle Drive to the woods
is approximately 40 yards. Id. at 28. There is a path through the woods which leads to the place
where the van was parked and that distance is approximately 30 yards. Id. at 28.
On or about February 17, Averitt drove to a grocery store at 4625 Murchison Road in
Fayetteville. [1984 Defense Motion for a New Trial at 28] When she pulled in, she saw two men
sitting in the back seat of the dark car parked outside the store. Id. at 28. One man was slumped
over, the other looked alert. Id. at 28. Averitt entered the store where she saw a woman she
identified as Stoeckley, who was wearing a blond wig that was falling off and exposing her dark
Case 3:75-cr-00026-F Document 336 Filed 04/01/13 Page 66 of 121
67
hair, a wide-brimmed weather hat, a light cream colored plastic coat, a dark skirt, and ¾ length
white boots which were covered with a dark brown substance. Id. at 28. Stoeckley smelled like a
“hog killing” and seemed to be in a fog. Id. at 28. When Averitt attempted to speak with Stoeckley,
a black male wearing an Army field jacket and black boots put his grocery items back in the cooler,
walked to where Averitt and Stoeckley were standing, and directed Stoeckley to leave with him.
Id. at 28. Averitt did not come forward until shortly before the hearing on the new trial motion
because she was afraid. Id. at 28-29.
On February 17 around 9:00 or 10:00 a.m., Joan Green Sonderson (Sonderson), a waitress
at a Fort Bragg drive-in restaurant, saw three people sleeping in a dark colored sedan. [DE-126-2
at 28–29] One was a white woman with blond hair and a floppy hat and beige boots which appeared
to be muddy. Another was a black man who was wearing an Army fatigue jacket and dark civilian
pants, and Sonderson identified him as the black male depicted in the artist's sketch. The woman
resembled the woman depicted in the 1979 police artist sketch. Sonderson engaged in a
conversation with the young woman, who asked Sonderson whether she knew that members of the
MacDonald family had been murdered the previous night. Sonderson had not heard of the murders
at the time.