In the quiet suburban town of Amityville, New York, a horrific event unfolded in the early morning hours of November 13, 1974, forever marking a large Dutch Colonial house on Ocean Avenue. Inside, the lives of the DeFeo family were brutally cut short. Among the victims was thirteen-year-old Allison Louise DeFeo, a young female who, along with her parents and three siblings, was tragically murdered in her own home.
Allison, her parents Ronald DeFeo Sr.
and Louise DeFeo, her older sister Dawn and her two younger brothers, Mark and John Matthew were all found shot to death in their beds. Allison's body was discovered lying face down, having been shot from behind. The weapon used in these shocking killings was a. 35-caliber Marlin rifle. The discovery of the crime was made later that evening when the eldest son, twenty-three-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr., burst into a local bar claiming his parents had been shot.
Initially, Ronald DeFeo Jr., also known as 'Butch,' attempted to deflect blame, suggesting the murders were a mob hit. However, inconsistencies in his story and evidence found at the scene, including an empty rifle box in his room, quickly led investigators to suspect him. Within a day, he confessed to the murders of his entire family. His chilling statement, 'Once I started, I just couldn't stop,' offered a glimpse into the horror that transpired. He later claimed that 'voices from the house' had driven him to kill.
Ronald DeFeo Jr. was arrested and charged with six counts of second-degree murder. During his trial, which began in October 1975, his defense attorney argued for an insanity defense, citing his client's claims of hearing demonic voices. However, the prosecution contended that while DeFeo Jr. was a known user of LSD and heroin, he was aware of his actions. The jury ultimately rejected the insanity plea, and in November 1975, Ronald DeFeo Jr. was convicted on all six counts of second-degree murder. He received six consecutive sentences of 25 years to life in prison.
Over the years, Ronald DeFeo Jr. provided varying and often contradictory accounts of the events of that night. In some versions, he implicated his sister Dawn in the killings, claiming she murdered their father and that their mother then killed his other siblings before he killed his mother. In another account, he alleged that Dawn killed the children to eliminate them as witnesses after he and Dawn had planned to kill their parents. He also made claims of accomplices being present. Despite these shifting narratives and multiple appeals, his conviction was upheld, and he remained in prison until his death in March 2021.
