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Don 'Mac' McDonald
Wrongly accused, convicted, and imprisoned
Donald "Mac” McDonald has been wrongly imprisoned in Alaska for 22 years for a murder he did not commit.
The national television program Inside Edition sent a film crew to the alleged crime scene on Kodiak Island and attempted to duplicate the prosecution's theory of the alleged crime.
On national television Inside Edition conclusively showed the theory used to convict Mac of kidnapping and murder was physically impossible!
The events leading to Mac's imprisonment:
Donald "Mac" McDonald was born in October, 1949. He is the youngest of Bill and Marion McDonald's three children. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Mac attended Our Lady of the Lake grade school for eight years. By the time Mac graduated from Blanchet High School in 1967, his ability as a running back won him a scholarship to Spokane Community College. The college team went undefeated his sophomore year and placed third in the nation.
Mac enlisted with the Marines in 1969, as American troops were being sent to fight in the Vietnam War. After completing a two-year stint, Mac returned to the Pacific Northwest and attended Puget Sound College on a second football scholarship.
Just shy of obtaining two college degrees and recently married, Mac left the University of Puget Sound and found employment as a study hall proctor and coach for the football and wrestling teams at Kennedy High School. After his marriage to his high school sweetheart ended in 1975, he worked as a manager for two South End restaurants.
However, Mac found it hard to put down roots. He traveled the country for a year, returned to the Seattle area to open an auto body repair shop with his father. While there he helped rebuild a tug boat and worked as Chief Engineer when it took on a contract in San Diego, CA. After his father's death, Mac returned to open a repair shop in Wedgwood.
In mid-September, 1984, Mac moved to Kodiak, Alaska, to work as an auto body repairman. Within weeks of his arrival, he was introduced to Laura Ibach. On Good Friday, 1986, a now divorced Laura Henderson (Ibach) disappeared without a trace. According to testimony, she was last seen "laughing and smiling" in Mac's van. Mac was arrested and charged with her kidnapping and murder the very next morning.
Meanwhile, in Washington, his widowed mother had just died and funeral arrangements were being made. When Mac called home, he told his sister not to bury Mom because he was coming home. He was certain he'd be released because he was innocent. He assured his sister that he was not involved in Laura's disappearance in any way.
It is now 2008.
As of March 28, twenty-two years have passed. Laura Lee Henderson's body has never been recovered. No DNA evidence, no definitive crime scene suggesting where Laura was kidnapped or murdered has ever been found. The existing physical evidence is inconclusive. The case itself is based on circumstantial events and theory.
Donald "Mac" McDonald has exhausted all possible Appeals. Attorney and Private Investigation fees have drained his family's bank accounts.
Still Mac holds onto the hope of freedom. A new attorney and PI have been contacted. The Innocence Project of Hawaii is looking into the case. Everyone's fees will get paid. The family does not know where the money will come from, but it always seems to arrive when it's needed.
Mac's sister recently made the comment: "I cannot help but feel this collective energy will help get Mac out. What a day that will be!"
It is this positive attitude that has carried Mac through the past 22 years of Grand Juries, Trials, Appeals and Denial of Appeals, for crimes he did not commit. It is this positive attitude that keeps hope alive. It is this positive attitude that fuels the passion that keeps Mac and his sister fighting. Their single-minded focus: To see Mac walk through those prison gates a free man.
What a day that will be!
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