Local News in Brief : MacDonald Cash on Hold

A $325,000 settlement for Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, the former Green Beret physician convicted of killing his wife and two children, was at least temporarily delayed Friday by a Superior Court judge so that a hearing could be held on whether his slain wife’s parents have a claim on the cash. MacDonald won the settlement last November in a breach-of-contract lawsuit against writer Joe McGinniss, who portrayed MacDonald as a killer in the book “Fatal Vision.”

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Miriam A. Vogel ruled that a hearing on whether MacDonald should receive the settlement would be held on Feb. 8.

Last month, the slain woman’s parents, Mildred and Alfred G. Kassab, who live in Florida, filed suit in Superior Court, seeking to impound the money. They argued that MacDonald should “not profit financially from murdering” his wife, Colette, 26, and daughters Kimberly, 5, and Kristen, 2, in 1970.

In delaying the settlement, Vogel told lawyers she had a “concern as to whether Dr. MacDonald has a right to keep this money under California law” since he was convicted in 1979 and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders.

Earlier Friday, federal Judge William J. Rea ordered that the settlement be paid out by Jan. 22. Judge Vogel then issued a temporary restraining order that, in effect, will place the $325,000 in a “blocked” bank account until the Feb. 8 hearing.