Killer Whose Murder Spree Inspired 'Amityville Horror' Films, Has Died in Prison aged 69
Ronald DeFeo, who was convicted of killing his parents and four siblings in Amityville, New York, in a 1974 spree that spawned a series of books and movies, including the 1979 film “The Amityville Horror,” died on Friday. He was 69. https://t.co/bAyKUfkdnT
- The New York Times (@nytimes) March 15, 2021
- Ronald DeFeo was convicted of killing his parents and four siblings in Amityville, New York, in 1974.
- He was convicted in 1975 on six counts of second-degree murder after he confessed to using a rifle to fatally shoot his father, Ronald DeFeo Sr.; his mother, Louise; his sisters, Dawn and Allison; and his brothers, Mark and John Matthew.
- The victims were found in their beds with gunshot wounds on Nov. 13, 1974. Mr. DeFeo, the oldest of the siblings, was 23 at the time.
- The house and murders inspired books, true crime documentaries and horror films such as "The Amityville Horror".
- On the evening of Nov. 13, 1974, Mr. DeFeo went to a bar near his home and proclaimed that his parents had been shot, witnesses said. He also called the police to report the deaths himself.
- His seven-week trial in 1975 focused not on whether he killed his relatives, but why. His court-appointed defense lawyer mounted an insanity defense.
- In the decades since, he insisted that his lawyer had pursued the insanity defense against his wishes in order to make the story more attractive for possible book and movie contracts.
- DeFeo died on Friday at a hospital in Albany, New York and The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision confirmed the death on Monday.
- The cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
Source
ONTD, which true crime story intrigues/baffles you the most?