In the quiet village of Amityville, New York, a horrific event unfolded in the early morning hours of November 13, 1974, forever marking a house on Ocean Avenue with a dark history. Inside, the lives of the DeFeo family were tragically cut short. Among the victims was nine-year-old John Matthew DeFeo, a young boy who, along with his parents and siblings, was found slain in his bed.
The male child was discovered lying face down, having been shot with a high-powered rifle.
The gruesome discovery was made after the eldest son, 23-year-old Ronald 'Butch' DeFeo Jr., burst into a local bar, claiming his parents had been shot. When police arrived at the sprawling Dutch Colonial home, they found a scene of unimaginable horror. John Matthew, his parents, Ronald Sr. and Louise, and his siblings, Dawn, 18, Allison, 13, and Mark, 12, had all been killed in their beds. The victims were all found in the same face-down position.
Initially, Ronald DeFeo Jr. attempted to deflect blame, suggesting the murders were a mob-related hit. However, inconsistencies in his story and evidence found at the scene quickly turned the focus of the investigation onto him. The following day, he confessed to the killings. He told investigators, 'Once I started, I just couldn't stop.' He had used a. 35-caliber Marlin rifle to systematically go through the house and shoot his family members.
During his trial, which began in October 1975, DeFeo's defense attorney argued for an insanity defense, claiming that he heard voices telling him to commit the murders. However, the prosecution contended that he was a user of LSD and heroin with an antisocial personality disorder who was aware of his actions. The motive for the killings was never definitively established, though prosecutors suggested that he may have been driven by a desire to collect on his parents' life insurance policies.
Ultimately, the jury rejected the insanity plea, and Ronald DeFeo Jr. was found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to six concurrent sentences of 25 years to life in prison. Over the years, DeFeo would change his story about the events of that night multiple times, at one point implicating his sister Dawn in some of the murders. He died in prison in March 2021 while still serving his sentence. The case left a lasting legacy, becoming the inspiration for numerous books and films, forever etching the story of the Amityville murders and the tragic death of young John Matthew DeFeo into the public consciousness.
