Jeffrey MacDonald was arraigned Thursday morning in Eastern Hampshire District Court and pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and one count of assault and battery on a police officer after police said he confessed to beating his wife, Emma MacDonald, to death at the UMass Campus Center hotel in Amherst.
Police responded to the hotel at 7:42 p.m. Wednesday, where they said MacDonald threw objects toward officers and struck one UMass police officer in the face. Emma MacDonald was found dead in the room with injuries consistent with a violent assault. MacDonald, 36, was held without bail and is due back in court on May 12.
Investigators said MacDonald told them he intentionally beat his wife with his hands, feet and other blunt objects and that he meant to kill her. The court filing lands amid an investigation that has already shaken a campus known for its food program and for the public profile of the man now accused in the killing.
Last August, UMass said MacDonald was the executive sous chef for UMass Dining and had been named Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation. Emma MacDonald also worked for the university. UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes said there was no ongoing threat to campus and said the lack of complete information could add to the distress people were feeling, but that more details could not be released while the investigation remained active.
The case has also put UMass Dining in an awkward public position because the university runs the largest college dining program in the country and has repeatedly been ranked for best campus food by the Princeton Review. One student, Elsa Lewis, said she was curious to see how the reputation of dining would go forward if MacDonald was involved, while student Emory Smith said he learned of the case through social media before an email from the chancellor provided little more information.
The Medical Examiner will determine Emma MacDonald’s official cause of death. For now, the central fact is not in dispute: a man celebrated by the university less than a year ago as a top chef is now facing a murder charge in the death of his wife, and the case is moving toward its next court date on May 12.