A Utah doctor convicted Sunday of drowning his wife in a bathtub has
ties to South Jersey, where a court record alleges he killed his brother
in a similar way.
A defense attorney for Dr. Martin MacNeill, however, describes the claim as a “fabrication” by one of the doctor’s mistresses.
MacNeill,
a 57-year-old native of Camden, was found guilty of his wife’s April
2007 murder. Authorities claimed the doctor drugged Michele MacNeill,
causing her to drown in the tub, so he could continue an affair.
Defense
attorneys said the former beauty queen, whose body was found by a
6-year-old daughter, died from a heart ailment. Authorities initially
believed the 50-year-old mother of eight died from natural causes. Two
of her adult daughters eventually prevailed on authorities to
investigate the case.
An
allegation of a similar crime in New Jersey came from one of two women
having extramarital affairs with the doctor. The woman, Anna Osborne,
told a psychiatrist in January 2006 that MacNeill had described killing a
brother and attempting to murder his mother, according to Chief Jeff
Robinson of the Utah County Attorney’s Office.
According
to a statement prepared by Robinson, MacNeill told Osborne “he killed
his brother, Rufus Roy MacNeill, who repeatedly attempted suicide for
attention, and had become an embarrassment ...
“Martin
told her he found his brother in the tub with both of his wrists
bleeding, and that he pushed his brother’s head under the water,
drowning him.”
Robinson said his office “confirmed Rufus Roy MacNeill was found dead in a tub while the family lived in New Jersey.”
Robinson’s
57-page statement, prepared in advance of MacNeill’s arrest, does not
say when the brother’s death occurred. But Osborne alleged Rufus Roy
MacNeill was only one of Martin MacNeill’s targets.
“She
told her psychiatrist that Martin told her he attempted to kill his
mother when he was young, but his sister called 911 and revived her,”
the statement said.
'A fabrication'
Susanne Gustin, an attorney for Martin MacNeill, offered a different account.
“This
is a fabrication by Martin’s mistress,” she said Wednesday. “Martin’s
brother died of a drug overdose.
He was found sitting on the toilet with
a needle in his leg.
“Martin was in California at the time.”
The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office had no details on Rufus Roy MacNeill’s death.
“We have not been notified by Utah authorities at this point in time,” said spokesman Jason Laughlin.
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