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What's the story with the murders?

How old were the family members?

Why did Ronnie murder his family?

What was Ronnie DeFeo's sentence?

Will Ronnie DeFeo ever get out of jail?

Why didn't the family members wake up during the murders? Were they drugged?

Was Dawn (the eldest DeFeo daughter) involved in the murders?

Is it true the neighbors didn't hear the gunshots that night?

Did Mrs. DeFeo have a premonition of the murders?

Did Ronnie almost shoot his dad some time prior to the murders?

Did Ronnie hear voices that told him to kill his family?

Did the DeFeos believe the house was haunted?

 

What's the story with the murders?

The DeFeos were a family of 7 who lived in the upscale Amityville Village of New York's Long Island. One evening, around 6:30pm, the eldest son, Ronnie, ran into a local bar shouting that someone had killed his parents. A goup of bar patrons (many of whom were friends of Ronnie's) jumped into a car and zoomed down the few blocks to Ronnie's house, where they found not only the parents, but every member of Ronnie's family shot dead in their beds. The father was shot in the back and in the neck. The mother was shot twice in the upper body. Ronnie's two younger sisters were each shot once in the head at close range. His two younger brothers were each shot once in the back at close range.

Ronnie was taken to the police station for questioning and protection. While there, he quickly became the number one suspect, and confessed to police detectives that he did, in fact, commit the murders.

Ronnie was tried the following year. Before the trial began, by the end of May, 1975, Ronnie had gone through 3 different lawyers -- the last one claiming that Ronnie had tried to assault him. Eventually, on July 7th, the judge assigned William Weber to act as Ronnie DeFeo's attorney. The trial began in September of 1975 and ended that November. Despite William Weber's strategy of going with an insanity defense, Ronnie was found guilty of all 6 murders. He is currently serving his prison sentence of 25 years to life at the Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville, New York.

source: High Hopes (book), 1981; newspaper accounts


How old were the family members?

The ages here are approximate, as there are discrepancies from source to source:
Ronald DeFeo, 43 1930-1974
Louise DeFeo, 43 1931-1974
Ronnie DeFeo Jr
, 23
Dawn DeFeo, 18 1956-1974
Allison DeFeo, 13 1961-1974
Marc DeFeo, 12 1962-1974
John DeFeo, 9 1965-1974

source: History's Mysteries documentary, 2000; photo of DeFeo tombstone; newspaper accounts

Why did Ronnie murder his family?

Unknown.

Early newspaper speculation was that Ronnie perhaps did it to collect on the family's insurance, but that seems far-fetched.

Prosecutor Gerard Sullivan felt the motive may have been a large amount of hidden cash in the DeFeo home, and in his book High Hopes he notes that a fellow inmate claimed Ronnie told him where he buried a box of cash & jewelry (and remembers a shovel being found in the trunk of the family car). Also, an empty metal box was found in the DeFeo home, hidden in the floorboards of the master bedroom closet – possible evidence of missing valuables.

Ronnie has made various contradictory claims regarding the murders, from his being totally innocent to him killing everyone single-handedly. In that regard, he has claimed that he killed his father because he physically abused him, and then killed his mother because she kept silent (then supposedly his sister Dawn, for some reason, killed the kids while Ronnie left the house, so when Ronnie got home he killed her for that). But its important to keep in mind that this is just one of many stories Ronnie has given with regards to the murders. Others include him hearing the voice of God, hearing his family secretly plotting against him, and him just not remembering anything from that night.

During the trial, William Weber tried to convince the jury that Ronnie was legally insane during the murder spree – pretty much the only defense he could go with after Ronnie confessed to police.

After the claims that the old DeFeo house was haunted, speculation has arisen that Ronnie was possessed by evil forces who commanded that he kill. These claims were not brought up during Ronnie's murder trial (which had ended a month before the Lutzes moved to Amityville), but Ronnie did talk to Hans Holzer about his house being haunted (in Holzer's book Murder in Amityville). Ronnie later has claimed that he was prompted to tell Holzer whatever he wanted to hear (in the hopes of sharing profits on Holzer's book and/or movie project), and later evidence seems to bear that out. So in all fairness, Ronnie denies the house was haunted.

Holzer attests that Ronnie was possessed by the spirit of an angry Indian Chief, based on the seance conducted in the house in January of 1977 (when Holzer brought psychic Ethyl Johnson Meyers to the house).

The Lutzes felt Ronnie could have been influenced by the forces they dealt with in the house, just as they, themselves, were.

source: History's Mysteries documentary, 2000; High Hopes (book), 1981; Murder in Amityville (book), 1979; The Night the DeFeos Died (book), 2002; Lou Gentile Show (radio), 2003

What was Ronnie DeFeo's sentence?

Ronnie was found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder, sentenced to 6 life terms (25 years to life) and is now incarcerated at the Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville, New York.

The death penalty existed at the time, but only for first-degree murder cases, of which this case didn't apply.

Since the murders were judged to have been one continuous act, Ronnie was able to serve his 6 terms concurrently instead of consecutively, which made him eligable for parole starting in 1999. Click here to view transcripts of Ronnie's parole hearings to date.

source: History's Mysteries documentary, 2000; High Hopes (book), 1981

Will Ronnie DeFeo ever get out of jail?
This seems doubtful. He technically is eligible for parole, but many think he will stay in jail, mainly because he doesn't seem to have shown remorse for his crimes, continually coming up with different stories of how the murders took place that night, and blaming others, including his sister Dawn.

Why didn't the family members wake up during the murders? Were they drugged?

This is one of the myths of the DeFeo murders. First off, there were no drugs found in the victims' bodies during the autopsies, but that doesn't really factor into anything. Of the 6 victims, evidence shows 2 were definitely awake (Louise and Allison), and 2 others were probably awake (John and Marc).

By all accounts (including the confession by Ronald DeFeo Jr), the first victim was the father, Ronald DeFeo Sr. It was likely that he was asleep when shot in the back. However, bullet trajectories show that the mother, Louise, was awake and in the act of rising from her bed when shot in the upper body.

The next victim was likely Ronnie's kid sister Allison. Evidence shows she had her head raised towards her bedroom door when shot.

The next two killed were Ronnie's kid brothers, Marc and John. They shared a room next to Allison. It is likely they were awake, as Marc had an injured hip which made it difficult to move around in bed. This is said to have caused Marc to sleep on his back, but when found by police, both he and his brother (like the rest) were found laying on their stomachs.

It seems possible that Ronnie may have ordered the boys to turn over in bed to avoid looking at their faces when shooting them. I seem to remember hearing one or both of the boys were found clutching their bedsheets, but I can't remember the source.

So to recap, after the initial shooting of the father, Louise was shot as she started to rise from bed. Allison likely didn't have a lot of time to know what was happening before she was shot, so its not unusual that she was still in bed. With the boys, Marc was confined to a wheelchair due to his hip injury, so he couldn't run away if he wanted to. His younger brother may have gotten out of bed and simply ordered back by Ronnie.

The only question here is Dawn. Her bedroom was on the 3rd floor. When confessing to the murders, Ronnie said that Dawn opened her door as Ronnie was climbing the steps, asking, "Is that you, Ronnie." He claims he assured her it was and that everything was okay, whereas she then closed the door and returned to bed, only to be shot by Ronnie shortly thereafter. There are obvious holes in that explanation, but its unlikely we'll ever find out what really happened with Dawn – why she was found in bed, in what looked like a natural sleeping position, seemingly unaffected by the 6 or 7 rifle blasts shaking the house. Medical examiners claim no drugs were found in any of the bodies.

Could it be that perhaps Dawn wasn't home at the time of the murders, and arrived (and was killed) later?

Or could it be that Dawn was affected by drugs? A fact possibly kept secret by detectives not wishing to tarnish the reputation of an innocent murder victim?

Ronnie has recently claimed that Dawn was involved in shooting the family, and that the night ended with him wrestling the rifle away from her, throwing her onto the bed and shooting her; but that seems unlikely since Dawn was found in a natural sleeping position, under the covers, with no signs of a stuggle in the room (or things like skin under her fingernails).

source: History's Mysteries documentary, 2000; High Hopes (book), 1981

Was Dawn involved in the murders?

Unknown, but highly unlikely. In recent years, Ronnie has claimed that Dawn was involved in shooting the family, and that the night ended with him wrestling the rifle away from her, throwing her onto the bed and shooting her; but that seems unlikely since Dawn was found in a natural sleeping position, under the covers, with no signs of a stuggle in the room (and no evidence such as Ronnie's skin being found under her fingernails or anything).

It is said that Dawn's nightgown had unburned gunpowder particles on it. Some believe this is evidence that Dawn fired a gun that evening. But according to the experts, gunshot residue can appear not only on the shooter's hands, but on the victim (when close enough) and on nearby objects. So the mere presence of unburned gunpowder particles on Dawn's nightgown does not necessarily mean that she fired a weapon.

Ever since day one, Ronnie has given multiple accounts of what happened the night his family was murdered, ranging from it being a mob hit to him not even being in the house that evening. While it is true that Ronnie has, on occasion, claimed Dawn played a part in the murders, its important to put this claim into perspective, along with his many other stories:

1974: Ronnie tells the police that a man named Tony Mazzeo was most likely responsible for the murders.

1974: Ronnie confesses to police that he killed all six members of his family and draws them a map to where he dumped the evidence.

1975: Ronnie tells a jailer named James DeVito that he was in the house with Bobby Kelske, Mindy Weiss, and another man and woman. In this version, Ronnie claims that the other four people were responsible for murdering the family.

1975: Ronnie confesses to a fellow inmate that he killed his entire family alone.

1975: Ronnie tells Phyllis Procita (his aunt) that he was awakened by gunshots, hid in a crawl space off his bedroom, and later found his family dead, killed by an unknown assailant.

1975: Ronnie tells Phyllis Procita that a friend of his came to the house, got high, fell asleep, and that he was unable to wake this friend up. Ronnie claimed he asked Dawn to wake this friend up in the morning, and that he then left. Upon his return home, Ronnie found his family murdered.

1975: Ronnie tells Phyllis Procita that Tony Mazzeo committed the murders.

1975: Ronnie tells Phyllis Procita that Bobby Kelske killed the family.

1975: Ronnie tells Phyllis Procita that a Mr. DeGennaro killed the family.

1975: Ronnie tells Phyllis Procita that Dawn killed the family.

1975: Ronnie confesses in court that he acted alone in killing his family – a judicial admission.

1979: Ronnie gives an audio interview to Hans Holzer in which he again admits to acting alone.

1986: Ronnie tells Bob Keeler of Newsday that Dawn shot & killed her father and was then killed by her mother. Then, feeling distraught, the mother shot & killed her children Allison, Marc and John before shooting herself. Ronnie said he then came home, saw the carnage, flew into a rage and shot his wounded mother. This new version is inconsistent with the physical evidence found that night. Ronnie's current wife and ex-wife have claimed he never told Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Keeler this information.

1992: At his 440 hearing, Ronnie claims that Dawn had killed everyone, and that he only shot Dawn.

1993: Ronnie gives an audio interview where he claims that he was in the basement with a fictional brother-in-law, and how he and his "brother-in-law" raced upstairs after hearing the shots. In this version, after Ronnie kills Dawn, he and his "brother-in-law" are passed in the hallway by an unknown person who "zoomed down the stairs and out the front door."

1999: Ronnie tells the parole board that unnamed "other people" committed the murders, and that he only killed Dawn.

2002: Ronnie tells the New York Post that he and Dawn were responsible for the murders.

2005: Ronnie tells the parole board that he killed his parents, left the house, returned to find that Dawn had killed Allison, Marc, and John, and then admits to killing Dawn.

2007: Ronnie tells the parole board that he simply can't remember the events of that night.

As of this writing (2009) Ronnie's official (latest) stance is that he can't remember what happened that night. In the past decade, Ronnie has pretty much stuck with the "Dawn killed the kids" story (more or less), and this might be the prevalent rumor due to it being the "current" story at the time of the Internet becoming popular.
source: AT Forum Post, 2006 (with its information confirmed by High Hopes (book), 1981; Murder in Amityville (book), 1979; parole board transcripts; Long Island Newsday; The Serial Killers (2005); New York Post); The Internet Pathology Laboratory
for Medical Education
; The Law Offices of Kevin J. Mahoney website; Firearms ID

Is it true the neighbors didn't hear the gunshots that night?

This is what was reported, but recent interviews have suggested that some neighbors did, in fact, hear gunshots, but simply did not want to get involved, either thinking it was Ronnie playing with his guns again, or perhaps being fearful of the family's rumored mob connections.

Some people, such as Hans Holzer, think the gunshot sounds were muffled by a strong psychic energy in the house. George Lutz has stated that he found the house odd when it came to sounds. For instance, he stated that when in the sunroom, he could see a car driving past the house but not hear it.

Apparently the DeFeo's dog heard something, as it was reported to have been barking wildly around 3am that morning.

source: History's Mysteries documentary, 2000; Murder in Amityville (book), 1979; Our Haunted Lives (book), 2005

Did Mrs. DeFeo have a premonition of the murders?
According to William Weber (Ronnie's lawyer for the murder trial), the DeFeo's housekeeper mentioned on many occasions that Mrs. DeFeo told her there was going to be a terrible tragedy occurring to the family. Whether this was a premonition or just an observation of the growing level of hostility in the house is unknown.
source: History's Mysteries documentary, 2000

Did Ronnie almost shoot his dad some time prior to the murders?

I believe the only living witness to this event is Ronnie, himself. Apparently there was a violent argument one day between Dawn DeFeo and her father. For whatever reason, Ronnie was fed-up and decided to end the argument by pulling a gun on his father. It was loaded, Ronnie pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired and Ronald Sr.'s life was spared.

This story came out during a psychiatric evaluation that took place during Ronnie's murder trial. Unknown whether or not this actually took place, as Ronnie DeFeo frankly lies quite a bit.

source: History's Mysteries documentary, 2000; High Hopes (book), 1981

Did Ronnie hear voices that told him to kill his family?

According to one version of the events that night, Ronnie stated he was watching the film "Castle Keep" on television, and during the movie he heard his family whispering. He felt they were plotting to kill him. Around the end of the film, Ronnie said he was handed a rifle by a person with black hands. He then went and killed his family members, starting with his parents. William Weber has stated that after killing his parents, Ronnie shot his two younger brothers, his youngest sister, and then went upstairs to kill Dawn, his older sister.

Concerning the murders that night, Ronnie stated in court, "I couldn't stop if I wanted to" and "I felt somebody was inside moving me."

Again, this is but one of the many version Ronnie has come up with – so take it with a grain of salt.

source: History's Mysteries documentary, 2000; High Hopes (book), 1981

Did the DeFeos believe the house was haunted?

Unknown. In a 1979 interview with Hans Holzer, Ronnie DeFeo mentioned his family heard noises at night, such as banging pipes, footsteps and the sounds of people screaming. However, Ronnie has since claimed he was lying, telling Holzer "whatever he wanted to hear" in the hopes of sharing in possible book and/or movie profits. Since then it has been discovered that Ronnie's lawyer, William Weber, was involved with Holzer's book project and the subsequent "Amityville II" film – so that seems to back up Ronnie's claim of lying to Holzer.

However, it is reported that after the incident with the misfiring gun (see above) Ronald Sr. felt very spiritual and lucky to be alive. He surrounded the house with religious statues. Some say these were specially-blessed statues coming from St. Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal, Canada. When asked why he surrounded the house with the religious icons, Ronald Sr. reportedly answered that he had "a devil on his back."

It is unknown if that comment was referring to his son or possible evil spirits in the house.

There are also unconfirmed reports that the DeFeos had a special mass held in their home. According to Ed Warren, Mr. DeFeo brought in a priest from St. Joseph's Oratory to perform this mass, which was hoped to rid the house of any evil or demonic forces. According to Mr. Warren, during the mass there was much supernatural phenomena occurring, such as candles mysteriously toppling over and doors opening/closing on their own.

St. Joseph's Oratory has officially denied knowledge that any of their priests may have been involved in this incident.

source: History's Mysteries documentary, 2000; Murder in Amityville (book), 1982


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