"And as far as I'm concerned, what I did was self-defence and there was nothing wrong with it. On March 12th, mass murder Ronald DeFeo Jr passed away in prison at the age of 69. Former Newsday reporter and editor Bob Keeler, 77, of Stony Brook, interviewed DeFeo at the Attica Correctional Facility in 1986. DeFeo was just 23 years old when he grabbed his .35-caliber Marlin lever-action rifle to butcher his family. His 43-year-old parents, Ronald and Louise, were both shot twice. All Rights Reserved. Saturday & Sunday: 11:00AM3:00PM, Rape case against soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo Portuguese football player, Who is Nissa Burkhalter? His defense attorney, William Weber, tried to make a case that the defendant, who allegedly heard voices, was innocent by reason of insanity. He told police that he arrived shortly after 6 p.m. but found the front door locked. However, an expert for the prosecution testified that Butch was sane when the murders occurred. I am God.". Regardless of why Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed his family, he was the sole suspect convicted of the heinous crimes. Newsday originally revealed his passing. Ronald "Butch" DeFeo Jr. was born on September 26, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York. Death 12 Mar 2021 (aged 69) Albany, Albany County, New York, USA . He later confessed that he killed his family around 3:30 a.m., acting out the murders for detectives as he described how he shot his family one by one, according to the outlet. Another potential motive was that he benefited from a hefty insurance policy. DeFeo Family grave site.. :: Sue's ODD Travels "The front door would slam shut in the middle of the night.". Their account of what they went through was made into a book called The Amityville Horror: A True Story which has been repeatedly adapted into several terrifying Hollywood films. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. [6] Ronald DeFeo, Jr. was the eldest son of the family, and was also known as "Butch". When I got a gun in my hand, there's no doubt in my mind who I am. Suffolk County detectives excort Ronald DeFeo, Jr. A ruling on cause of death is pending an autopsy. The events that occurred at a house in Amityville, New York, in 1974 have long been considered historical, piquing the interest of many. This may be a good place to introduce yourself and your site or include some credits. DeFeo said he did it in self-defense after hearing voices that told him his family was plotting against him. Ronald DeFeo Jr. ~ Complete Information [ Wiki | Photos | Videos ] Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Acknowledgement of the death of Ronald DeFeo Jr, the American mass murderer, who has died aged 69. The murder weapon was eventually found in Amityville Creek. According to initial reports, the parents were shot twice in the back, Butchs sisters were shot once in the head, and his brothers were shot once in the back. Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Ronald DeFeo Jr., in 1974. . Back then, it was reported that Butch had a tense relationship with his father because Butch was known to use drugs, drank, and often got into fights. The confessed killer, after first pleading an insanity defense, would later attempt to shift blame on one of his deceased sisters. Ronald DeFeo Jr., who massacred his entire family in 1974 in their Amityville home while they slept, a case that gained national attention and spawned multiple books and movies, died Friday while imprisoned, according to state prison records. NEW YORK Convicted "Amityville Horror" killer Ronald DeFeo Jr., who in 1974 shot and killed his parents and four younger siblings inside their Long Island home in a grisly case that. The bodies were found in the bedrooms of the family home in the village of Amityville, Long Island. The sentenced killer was taken to Albany Medical Center and articulated dead at 6:35 p.m. A post-mortem performed by the Albany County Medical Examiner's Office will decide an authority reason for death. Meanwhile, a prosecution expert testified that while DeFeo was an admitted LSD and heroin user, he was sane at the time of the murders, DeFeo Jr. tried but failed to get a retrial in the case in 1992 after claiming that his 18-year-old sister Dawn had murdered the other family members and he had only killed her, according to the, A year after the murders, George and Kathy Lutz purchased the DeFeos' old home but left in less than a month, claiming it was haunted. When DeFeo initially reported the deaths of his family, he ran into a local bar and claimed they had been shot. Since then there has been a. film starring Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George. April 13, 2022 The events that occurred at a house in Amityville, New York, in 1974 have long been considered historical, piquing the interest of many. Since the Lutz family moved out, subsequent owners of the house have changed its address number and appearance to deter visitors. Was Ronald Defeo Jr Married To Wife? His Family And Death - Glamour Buff At around 6.30pm that evening, DeFeo went into a nearby bar asking for help, pretending to have just discovered the bloodbath. Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr, also known as Ronald DeFeo Jr, is an infamous American criminal who was sentenced to prison for the mass killing of his whole family.. In the book, the Lutzes fled the house in terror after 28 days of windows slamming, an oozing slime occurring, and ghoulish visions appearing. George and Kathy Lutz moved into the Dutch Colonial home with their three kids a year after the massacre, but famously fled 28 days later without their possessions because they'd been so traumatised by hauntings in the house which included claims of slime oozing from the walls and a priest's hands bleeding after attempting to bless the property. Ronald DeFeo dead at 69: Revisit the horrific 'Amityville Horror The news of his death was confirmed by New York State officials. The house stood empty for 13 months until the Lutz family bought for $80,000 in December 1975 they thought it was a bargain. DeFeo, 23 at the time, shot each of his family members with a .35-caliber Marlin Lever action rifle, police said. The DeFeos Were All Found In The Same Position. They lived in the house they purchased in 1964 at 112 Ocean Avenue. Source: Getty The nightmarish account of DeFeo's murders and the Lutz's supernatural ordeal are being reexamined following news of DeFeo's death aged 69 at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in New York on Friday. He was 69. As recently as 2019, a new take called Amityville 1974 was given a greenlight. Copyright 2023 Newsday. U.S. Covid-19 Update: CDC Director Warns Case Declines May Be Leveling Off At "Still A Very High Number', Coronavirus: Movies That Have Halted Or Delayed Production Amid Outbreak, Hong Kong Filmart Postponed Due To Coronavirus Fears; Event Moves Two Weeks Before Toronto. MondayFriday: 9:00AM5:00PM Ronald DeFeo Jr., who slaughtered his parents and four siblings in 1974, has died at the age of 69 in prison. 'Amityville Horror' killer Ronald Defeo Jr. dead at 69 The New York man convicted of gruesomely killing his siblings and parents in 1974 and subsequently inspiring the Amityville Horror franchise has died. On December 5, 1984, in the heart of New Orleans, the lives of two men made a wrong turn towards death. [2] He admitted that he had taken a bath and redressed, and detailed where he had discarded crucial evidence such as blood-stained clothes and the Marlin rifle and cartridges before going to work as usual. One theory of why Butch DeFeo killed his family is because he was under the influence of controlled substances and alcohol. "Skip" Mercier Dies: Tony-Nominated Broadway Set And Costume Designer Was 66, Henry Darrow Dies: 'The High Chaparral', Emmy-Winning 'Santa Barbara' Actor Was 87, Carmel Quinn Dies: Irish Songstress, TV Star And Concert Attraction Was 95. Ronald DeFeo Jr., Murderer Who Inspired The Amityville Horror - IMDb this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. The cause of his death wasn't revealed at the time. As Father Ray Pecoraro performed the rites, he heard a masculine voice tell him to "get out". Ronald DeFeo Jr., the Long Island man serving a life sentence for slaughtering his parents and four siblings in a 1974 crime that would inspire The Amityville Horror book and movie franchise,. Scroll down to view the Amityville House murder photos where the entire Defeo family was murdered by Ron Defeo (but be forewarned, it is quite gruesome. The original Amityville Horror (1979) starred James Brolin and Margot Kidder, and a 2005 remake of the same name had Ryan Reynolds play George Lutz. The MCUs tiniest heroes are kicking off its biggest phase yet, setting up the next several years of storytelling. But much to their disappointment, they weren't allowed to go to the upstairs floors or the basement. By 1974, the DeFeo family lived in the Long Island community of Amityville. "As far as I'm concerned, if I didn't kill my family, they were going to kill me," DeFeo reportedly said at trial. DeFeo was endeavored and condemned for the 1974 killings Nissa Burkhalter Biography Nissa Burkhalter was the ex-wife of Ronald DeFeo, an American mass murderer. The cause of death will be determined by the Albany County Medical Examiners Office, the spokeswoman said. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. In the aftermath it has been churned into books and a hit movie series, "The Amityville Horror.". In later interviews, Butch claimed that he was forced to follow the legal route by his lawyer, adding, He told me I had to do this. In court, he talked of hearing voices that told him that the rest of the family was plotting against him. On November 21, 1975, just over a year after the slayings, DeFeo Jr. was found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder. G.W. 'Amityville Horror' killer dies in prison at 69 - NBC News DeFeos lawyer had argued his client was insane when he killed his family. Amityville Horror killer Ronald DeFeo Jr. dies in prison at 69 - JoBlo In 1974, he used a rifle to kill his father, Ronald . Initially, Butch claimed that someone from the mob killed his family. Birth Sign Libra. Nearly a half-century later, it remains one of the most infamous cases of familicide. All of the victims had been shot with a .35 caliber lever action Marlin 336C rifle[4] around three o'clock in the morning of that day. Ronald DeFeo Jr. (1951-2021) - Find a Grave Memorial At the police station, he said an alleged hitman, Louis Falini, had carried out the murders and claimed that he might be in danger, too. Ronald DeFeo Jr. died in prison at the age of sixty-nine. Ronald DeFeo, Jr., is led from the Suffolk County Police Headquarter on Nov. 14, 1974 in Hauppauge, New York after being booked for six counts of homicide in the shooting of his family the day before 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. It's reportedly been on the market four different times since the alleged haunting, selling most recently in 2017 for $605,000.