Other, less paranormal explanations include it being an accidentally captured image of a member of the investigation team, or just someone speedy enough to play a good trick. There was no window of that size or position in the basement, not Thirteen months later, the Lutz family purchased the home at a drastically reduced price of $80,000 (due to the murders) but only lasted 28 days before leaving it. It went so fast.. Katzenbach has long questioned the idea that a single person could have committed the crime. Ron Defeo's sister, Allison, 13. Padover said that the gun was turned over to a crime lab immediately for a forensic ID. The bodies of Ron Defeo's parents, Ron, Sr. (rt) and Louise (lft) in their bedroom. He admitted that he had taken a bath and changed his clothing, also detailing where he had discarded crucial evidence such as blood-stained clothes and the Marlin rifle and cartridges he had used to carry out the killings. All of whom had been shot dead with a .35 caliber rifle around 3 AM that very same day. Katzenbach said. While the DeFeo parents were both shot twice, the children were only shot once, yet all were fatal. Ronald DeFeo Jr. (1974) AP Photo/Richard Drew. Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr. (September 26, 1951 - March 12, 2021) was an American mass murderer who was tried and convicted for the 1974 killings of his father, mother, two brothers, and two sisters in Amityville, Long Island, New York.Condemned to six sentences of 25 years to life, DeFeo died in prison on March 12, 2021.The case inspired the book and film versions of The Amityville Horror. He also shared the hiding places of crucial evidence like his blood-stain clothes and the rifle he used, pictured here. The bedroom of Ronald DeFeo, you can see the distinctive eye window(s) which were later removed from the house. The house would later become entangled in the Amityville horror imbroglio which was featured in the Hollywood movie, The Amityville Horror. During his trial in November of 1975, DeFeo claimed that voices told him to commit the murders; additionally, a psychiatrist testifying for the defense said that DeFeo had a dissociative disorder, which meant that he would have experienced the murders as if he was outside his body or "watching" it happen, rather than experiencing them as he committed them himself. Watch all you want. The "Amityville Horror" murders occurred exactly 40 years ago today. It all unfolded on Nov. 13, 1974, when 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. used a high-powered rifle to shoot and kill his parents, two younger sisters, and two younger brothers, while his victims lay sleeping in their beds. On Jan. 14, 1976, George, Kathleen (often called "Kathy"), their three kids (Kathys from a previous marriage), and the family dog, Harry, left the house, never to return. Amityville II: The Possession was based on a book that detailed the DeFeo murders, and Amityville 3-D was based on an investigation into the house by paranormal researcher Stephen Kaplan. Because Im the one that got convicted of killing my family. Further changes were made to the house, including a sunroom at the back of the house. but no such luck. (Here are selected photos on this topic, but full relevance is not guaranteed.) No part(s) of this site may be duplicated or used without permission. Here are some of the weirder aspects of both of these cases. are three pictures of the west third of the basement, while On November 13, 1974, the property at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York, was the scene of a gruesome mass-murder. Six family members were wiped out in a gruesome mass murder that inspired one of the scariest movies ever made: The Amityville Horror. The murders were popularized in several novels and films, including The Amityville Horror: A True Story. On his way to work, he threw the evidence including the gun into a storm drain. the number one shows how the foundation is But there also might not have been; the jurys still out on this one. the "Bloody Shoe Photo," the "Seventh Body Photo" creepy facts about the Amityville Horror case. In support of his motion, DeFeo asserted that Dawn and an unknown assailant, who fled the house before he could get a good look at him, killed their parents and Dawn subsequently killed their siblings. Here, police remove one of the bodies from the home the following night. In the meantime, DeFeo made multiple attempts to free himself, growing increasingly resentful of the attention he received in prison. The Amityville Murders. Then, 23-year-old Butch went into the bedrooms where his siblings were sleeping and murdered 18-year-old Dawn, 13-year-old Allison, 12-year-old Marc, and 9-year-old John Matthew with the same weapon. (The couple divorced in 1988; Kathleen died of emphysema in 2004 and George of heart disease in 2006.). He has tried to file motions to go back to court, but they have all been denied. Katzenbach is working on his third documentary about the murders. DeFeo actually reported the murders himself, initially telling police that when he arrived home from work the evening of Nov. 13., he discovered that someone had broken into the house and killed every member of his family. Front row: Dawn and Ronald Jr. The victim was lying on her back, her face somewhat bloodied. Juror on the Ronnie DeFeo murder trial; excused halfway through. Previously, Amityville II: The Possession had tackled the same events. Using a .35 Marlin rifle, 23-year-old Ronald J. DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family while they were asleep, which included his parents and four siblings. You dont need Photoshop to convincingly fake a ghost photo. Posted in Off-Season Reviews with tags amityville murders, Defeo murders, Hans Holzer, the Amityville Horror on February 3, 2013 by shenanitim Readers of my blog must realize I watch a lot of DVDs. CAST: John Robinson, Chelsea Ricketts, Paul Ben-Victor. Lived with his family in the Amityville house in the late 1970s, during the Cromarty's ownership period. The trial of Ronald DeFoe Jr. started on October 14, 1975. The gun is still being examined, but with decay and a lack of a legible serial number it may be impossible to ever identify. You are interested in: Amityville house crime scene photos. One local girl told the Times that Ronald DeFeo Sr. had frequently given her rides to her familys restaurant in Brooklyn. The bedroom of Ronald DeFeo as it looks today. to mention that the wood paneling is not the same color or pattern. Authorities had no idea how all six victims had died in their sleep without a struggle. this is truly the bed she was originally found in, then my guess is that this is things in the following picture of the northwest corner of the 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York. He has since changed his story multiple times. With John Robinson, Chelsea Ricketts, Paul Ben-Victor, Diane Franklin. "Only a dysfunctional family that found themselves on the path to cold-blooded murder. From RATING: Not Rated. Here Katzenbach said that the missing gun is the one that his team pulled out of the canal. . A newspaper article from the time of the murders. It was the middle of the night on Nov. 13, 1974, when 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed six of his relatives with a .35 caliber rifle while they were asleep: parents Louise and Ronald DeFeo Sr., siblings 18-year-old Dawn, 13-year-old Allison, 12-year-old Marc, and nine-year-old John Matthew. Ronald DeFeo Jr., the Long Island man serving a life sentence for slaughtering his parents and four siblings . Aqua Survey's Mark Padover told CBS 2 that "Once we cleaned it off, you could see that there was a trigger and a handle." When comprised of concrete block walls that appear to include interior The answer may never be known. She lived there until October 17, 1960, when John and Mary Riley bought the house. Watch all you want. Im the one they say who did it, Im the one thats supposed to be possessed by the devil.. Photo," Maxwell examines the picture to determine if it The Amityville Horror House as it looked in 1974, the year of the murders. tables and chairs. In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz and their three . But it didnt take long for cracks to form in his story, and by the next day, he had already confessed to killing his family himself. On December 18, 1975, more than a year after the terrible murders, a family of five moved in. spare bedroom, I wanted to be sure. On June 10, 1997, Brian Wilson purchased the house for approximately $310,000. Burns, Marie. On August 30, 1976, the Lutz family returned the house to Columbia Savings and Loan. (adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({}); Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, 10050 Cielo Drive The Manson Murder House, The Home Alone House In Winnetka, Illinois: Then And Now. The book is based on the 28-day period during December 1975 and January 1976 when George and Kathy Lutz and their three children lived at 112 Ocean Avenue. In the early evening, Butch ran to a nearby bar, screaming for help, according to the New York Daily News. When we talk about the Amityville Horror case, were really talking about two cases: The mass murders committed by Ronald DeFeo, Jr. in November of 1974, and the experiences Kathleen and George Lutz claimed to have had after they moved into the house where those murders took place in December of 1975. Also, Ric claims that the gunshot wound she sustained would have splattered Husband and wife Ronald DeFeo, Sr. and Louise DeFeo had both been shot twice with a .35 caliber Marlin 336C rifle; the four children, meanwhile Dawn, Allison, Marc, and John Matthew were each shot once. Although plagued by hordes of tourists searching for supernatural phenomena, the Cromartys managed to live there for a decade. This is him pictured with his nephew Frank Aquilino, he would go on to be an actor who had a part in Goodfellas. He was taken into the local police station for protection, where he told them he believed it was a mob hit. Starring: John Robinson, Chelsea Ricketts, Paul Ben-Victor. Thirty-seven years later a claim that new evidence has been unearthed is raising new questions. At around 6.30 PM, on the evening of November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. walked into Henrys Bar in Amityville, Long Island, New York, and declared You got to help me! Ronald, often known by the nickname Butch, was later arrested and tried for the murders; he was found guilty on Nov. 21, 1975. wasn't selling too well. A murder in which six members of the same family were all shot dead while they lay sleeping. December 19, 1975. The real Amityville house was the site of 6 murders on the night of November 13, 1974. In picture After committing the crime, DeFeo ran to a nearby bar where he screamed for help, claiming that he didn't know who shot his parents. It all unfolded on Nov. 13, 1974, when 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. used a high-powered rifle to shoot and kill his parents, two . DeFeo initially claimed to the authorities that he believed his family had been targeted by the mob. Like "It's a very tragic story," said Amityville resident Peter Stein. DeFeo admitted during his interrogation that he had drugged his family. The following year, Amityville builder Jesse Perdy constructed the five-bedroom, three-bathroom Dutch Colonial house that still stands there today. Ronald DeFeo Jr., the convicted killer whose 1974 murders spawned the "Amityville Horror" franchise, died last week while serving a 25 years-to-life prison term, officials said Monday . According to History, police arrived at the scene and found an in-shock Ronald DeFeo Jr. waiting for them. layoutespecially since I thought that the concrete block The stairwell now looks a lot brighter than it did in 1974. Well where is it in the photo? But they soon noticed details that didnt line up. Twenty-eight days later the family fled the house, claiming it was haunted. We didnt know that what we were leaving behind, we would never see again. Instead, they ended up packing their bags from Kathys mothers house, leaving the rest of their belongings in the house (to be auctioned later, wrote the Washington Post at the time) and boarding a plane for San Diego. He would later be sentenced to six consecutive sentences of 25 years to life in prison. The Amityville franchise is a series of films and books that are about a certain Haunted House (and later other objects associated with it) that resides in 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville. "This crime did not happen the way it is commonly accepted," he said. DeFeo began trial on Oct. 14, 1975 where his lawyer mounted a case claiming that he was insane and killed his family in self-defense from the voices in his head. A scary movie about a haunted house that forced a family to flee after just a month, this film has inspired many people to seek out the real Long Island home behind the eerie tale. After an interview with Ronald exposed some inconsistencies in his story, he eventually confessed to the murders. . It seemed as if the family were kind, loving people. A team of underwater archeologists, hired by Katzenbach, have found a gun in the canal behind the house. In 1979, the film-adaptation of The Amityville Horror was released, it became the highest-grossing independent film of all time, holding the record until 1990. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. For one thing, there were still mysteries surrounding the case. 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