question about Allison's murder

[OntarioGuy1988]

Something that has boggled my mind for a long time:

Allison was shot in the face-if I read the reports correctly- yet in the crime scene photo there is no damage to her face, just lots of blood

Dawn, on the other hand- her face was partially collapsed yet the bullet entered from behind her ear. So I am just wondering why Allison's face had no Damage either- unless she was hit somewhere else?

[Rokiisun]

I don't like looking at the crime scene photographs containing the victims but I think it was Allison's face that had collapsed - Dawn's head had suffered such a horrendous injury that her headboard was covered in matter. I have seen the autopsy photograph of Dawn once and the one of Allison flipped over at the crime scene where you can see her face - the damage he did to her is horrific, I don't know why he can live with himself after seeing that photograph himself.

[OntarioGuy1988]

Allison's face was not collapsed, everything was in tact- her eyes wide open and mouth open as if she was screaming. Lots of blood covering her face but I seen the close-ups of her from several different angles and her face was not collapsed at all.

The one you saw of Dawn- her face was collapsed as there was a large hole on her left side of head and her left eye was sunken in. The damage there was clear

Disgusting- most definitely. I just don't understand, if ronnie supposedly shot her in the face from a few feet away as they said, shouldn't her entire face/head have been blown clean off? There was nowhere near that damage, as all of her features were still completely intact

[Rokiisun]

Sorry, must have got the two photos mixed up - I only saw them once a few years ago and it's not something I would like to see again. I do remember one of their mouths being open as if in shock and the head being intact and now that my memory is coming back to me I think that was Allison because I vaguely remember the photo being compared to a similar photograph from another crime scene that was mixed up with the Defeo crime scene.

The one of Dawn I saw I think she was laying back on what looked like a table (if I remember) and it didn't appear to have been taken at the house but in some place like a morgue?

That's something I cannot understand either - for there to be gunpowder present on her clothing Ronnie would have had to be a few feet away, yet the damage suggests he wasn't a few feet away, possibly somewhere like the doorway/hallway. Maybe the bullet fired wasn't 'strong' enough and leaked gunpowder when it hit Dawn? I'm no expert on guns or rifles so it's just a theory.

[OntarioGuy1988]

Yes, you are correct about Allison being the one who was flipped over with her mouth open- and it was compared to the "7th body" photo that later turned out to be from a completely different crime scene- I saw that too and know exactly what you are talking about.

The photo of Dawn was lying on a morgue table as you also correctly described.

However- I believe you may be incorrect about Ronnie shooting Dawn from the doorway- he shot Allison from the doorway. Ronnie shot Dawn at close range (hence teh gunpowder on her clothing and severe damage to her face), and she had to have been facing away from him for the bullet to enter behind her left ear, causing her skull to implode.

Allison was awakened by the gunshots and looked up to see Ronnie aiming at her from her doorway- she was clearly awake as her eyes were open and her mouth open in a frozen scream of terror.

It breaks my heart, Allison would have grown up to be such a beautiful woman, I think she would have broken a lot of guy's hearts- all the kids would have had good lives ahead of them I think


Where's all the ballistics and forensic experts usually lurking around on here? My original question still hasn't been answered...

[Baphomet666]

Its been said before,nobody will never know what really happened.Who shot who first?Ron sr. was the primary target that night and things just escalated from thereWhy the girls were killed more violently?Again we will never know at least until Butch stops lying out of his ass.

[Amityville Rock]

Its been said before,nobody will never know what really happened.Who shot who first?Ron sr. was the primary target that night and things just escalated from thereWhy the girls were killed more violently?Again we will never know at least until Butch stops lying out of his ass.

We only have Butch's word his father was the primary target that night, as opposed to the whole family or both parents. Which is a poor source if ever there was one.

[Rokiisun]

Even though Ronnie is a terrible liar the one thing that does match up in all of his accounts is that he shot his father first and likely his mother second. At one stage one of his sisters comes out to ask what's going on then goes back to sleep in a number of his stories, sometimes he says it's Allison (last testament interview) and others Dawn (parole hearing) so I feel as though he might not be making that up either, but I do believe he is lying that one of the sisters (usually Dawn) was in on the idea of murdering the parents and actively took part with Ronnie that night.

I think he's trying to implant false memories into his mind as a way of either hiding from what he has done or he simply cannot remember and feels the need to make up a story or few.

He at least planned to do away with his father which makes it first degree.

[Amityville Rock]

If Butch told me water is wet I'd get a second opinion. The man is a confirmed compulsive liar with a vivid imagination. At any given time he'll tell a person whatever they want to hear. I'm surprised he hasn't blamed the murders on aliens or bigfoot yet.

[Brendan72]

Its been said before,nobody will never know what really happened.Who shot who first?Ron sr. was the primary target that night and things just escalated from thereWhy the girls were killed more violently?Again we will never know at least until Butch stops lying out of his ass.

We only have Butch's word his father was the primary target that night, as opposed to the whole family or both parents. Which is a poor source if ever there was one.

It is easy to speculate that Ronald DeFeo Sr being the first to be shot was the primary target of Butch's anger and resentment, however everyone else in the family were shot following. It is interesting however that the parents were shot twice and the siblings once each, with the boys shot in the back and the girls in the head.

[High Hopes112]

Allison's face was not collapsed, everything was in tact- her eyes wide open and mouth open as if she was screaming. Lots of blood covering her face but I seen the close-ups of her from several different angles and her face was not collapsed at all.

The one you saw of Dawn- her face was collapsed as there was a large hole on her left side of head and her left eye was sunken in. The damage there was clear

Disgusting- most definitely. I just don't understand, if ronnie supposedly shot her in the face from a few feet away as they said, shouldn't her entire face/head have been blown clean off? There was nowhere near that damage, as all of her features were still completely intact

Hello, I too have noticed that Allison's face is not collapsed at all. The bullet entered from her left cheek, so I recommend that you further examine that area to determine if you spot a bullet hole or not. Also, I am also conducting a little research on my own so it would really help if you could tell me how you managed to view close up pictures of her face. Do you think you can tell me where I can get those close up pictures? If you can, that would really help me conduct my research with my book club.

[Gina1974]

If you look closely, of Allison, laying of the bed after they turned her over you can see a hole in her left check. Zoom in you will probably see it too. There is do much blood it is almost impossible to see. I had to zoom in. All the photos are horrible.

[OntarioGuy1988]

Agreed- they were all horrible

Dawn had it the worst- huge hole on side of her head, face partially collapsed

I saw a photo of Louise too- her eyes and mouth were open and her face was frozen in terror

I haven't seen the faces of Mr deFeo or the boys but I was told all their eyes were closed

[quotestheraven]

Entrance wounds don't usually leave a big hole - it's the exit wound that causes the most damage. I don't know if the bullet exited Allison's head, but if it did she probably had an impressive hole in the back of her head somewhere.

I used to have a theory that Dawn was actually the first one shot, but the last one to die. But, Scipio loses his stuff anytime someone posits a theory that doesn't match what he believes. Dawn was for sure the last to die as she was not yet in rigor mortis when they finally took the bodies to the morgue, but I read somewhere that her autopsy report says she lived long enough to drown in her own blood. And interestingly, Abraham Lincoln, was shot in the back of his ear like Dawn was and he lived for what almost a day?

[Dan the Damned]

It would make sense that Dawn was killed first. That would explain her laying in a natural sleeping position (and still being in bed despite all the gunshots from the floor below).

But then it also makes sense that the father was the first one killed. Sure, Ronnie could have forced him to get back into bed since he had the gun (if he got out of bed when Dawn was shot), but the positioning of his mother (rising from a horizontal position) is more consistent with her just having woken-up rather than witnessing her husband being marched back in to the bedroom.

I have also thought that perhaps Dawn was out on a date that night and didn't return home until after the murders. I can see her not noticing all the dead bodies (closed bedroom doors), but wouldn't the gunpowder smell be overpowering?

Yes, Dawn's death is a strange one.

Another question that jumps out is why would Dawn be a target? In my mind, the father was the target, and therefore would be most likely to be the first one shot. Ronnie had his appointment with his probation officer that next day. I'm thinking there was evidence of him doing the payroll heist and either his father wasn't going to help him get out of it, or maybe was actually going to present the evidence to the probation officer. Either way, I'm thinking this is what caused the murders in the first place. And the target would be the father (with the others being killed in a blind panic -- to silence any witnesses).

[Buick - 1975]

Entrance wounds don't usually leave a big hole - it's the exit wound that causes the most damage. I don't know if the bullet exited Allison's head, but if it did she probably had an impressive hole in the back of her head somewhere.

I used to have a theory that Dawn was actually the first one shot, but the last one to die. But, Scipio loses his stuff anytime someone posits a theory that doesn't match what he believes. Dawn was for sure the last to die as she was not yet in rigor mortis when they finally took the bodies to the morgue, but I read somewhere that her autopsy report says she lived long enough to drown in her own blood. And interestingly, Abraham Lincoln, was shot in the back of his ear like Dawn was and he lived for what almost a day?

Allison's entrance wound was through her left cheek and the exit wound was out of her right ear. The bullet went through her pillow and mattress and bounced off the wall and landed under her bed.

Dawn was shot just under her left ear and the bullet exited near her left eye and was found in her pillow. Dr. Adelman said that both of their deaths would have been very rapid, if not instant.