The Amityville Horror: Part One, The Defeo Murders

Originally published by Melissa Dawn April 2017. Revised August 2023.

Whenever I think of an American poltergeist or paranormal phenomenon, one case always stands in my mind, and that is The Amityville Horror, or at least that is the concocted title authors Jay Anson and his publishing house came up with to appeal to the masses, and that's precisely what the book did. With The Amityville Horror and its tagline "A True Story," the case of the Lutz family became an international media frenzy before the movie.

People flocked to the house with the "evil eyes" for windows on Ocean Avenue in the previously quiet town of Amityville. They flocked to see the home that had terrorized George & Kathy Lutz to the point of vacating after only 28 days of occupation. But the truth and reality of this paranormal event are sometimes complicated to find. It has been almost 42 years since the Lutz family's experience. Many people have created different claims, accusations, movies, documentaries, narratives, books, new evidence, and online forums during that time.

You could say that Amityville has become its niche market in which people can sell their latest theory on the event. It reminds me of all the "Who's Dunnit's" on Jack The Ripper. Ol' Jack has also become a money-making topic from which authors and filmmakers profit. While researching the Ripper murders long ago, I found a great book called The Complete History Of Jack The Ripper. In the book, author Philip Sugden returns to the prime proof of The Jack The Ripper Case instead of making outrageous claims and relying on third and fourth-party evidence.

(Usually, that evidence is gossip-based or other books that got the facts wrong). Sugden went through Scotland Yards archives and dealt with actual testimonies, inquests, and police reports at the time. So let's take his cue and at least start there, shall we?

The real tragedy of the house on Ocean Avenue occurred a year before the Lutzes moved in. On November 13, 1974, 6 members of the Defeo family were shot and murdered with no signs of struggle while sleeping in their beds. The only surviving member was the eldest son, Ronnie Defeo Junior. The actual evidence in police records has all family members lying on their stomachs, receiving gunshot wounds to the body and or head areas. The rifle used was a .35 caliber lever action Marlin 336C rifle, and evidence points to the mother and one of the daughters being awake at the time of death.

Immediately, many theories ensued about who could be responsible for the deaths, and the surrounding community thought perhaps it had been a hit by the mob, as was suggested by Defeo Jr. However, Ronald Junior didn't take long to become the main suspect. Upon being interviewed, his story started to have many inconsistencies, plus the alleged hitman had a solid alibi. Police also found empty rifle boxes for the same rifle used in the killings inside Defeo Jr.'s room, and it didn't take long for Defeo to admit to the crime, stating, "Once I started, I just couldn't stop. It went so fast." Defeo was an avid drug user and was likely high during the killings.

The trial against Ronald Defeo Junior ensued, and it became clear that Defeo's stories would switch according to what he thought would serve him best. He never took full responsibility for his actions and tried to escape conviction by declaring insanity at the time of the killings. However, the prosecution's psychiatrist, Dr. Harold Zolan, claimed that despite Defeo being a heroin and LSD user, he had an antisocial personality disorder and was aware of his actions. There was also a strong indication in Defeo's interview with police that he stood to receive a sizeable financial gain with the death of his family. Defeo received six consecutive life sentences on November 21, 1975.

There were very odd aspects about the actual Defeo crime scene, such as why Jr. was able to murder all six family members on different levels of the house without waking any of them. This fact has caused many "alternative theories" to be created. Defeo Jr. has made so many different versions of the murder since incarceration, including one where his eldest sister Dawn, along with another assailant, had committed the murders, and out of anguish, he knocked her out and shot and killed her.

Author Ric Osana covers this theory in his book "The Night The Defeos Died," declaring to have interviewed Jr.'s ex-wife Geraldine Defeo. She's such an inconsistent character, and the dates of their meeting and marriage also change according to whom she is talking with. Osana also declares that unburned gunpowder on Dawn at the crime scene indicates her having shot the rifle. Unfortunately for Osana and his theory, ballistics expert Alfred Della Penna testified during the murder trial that the unburned gunpowder would discharge from a rifle, so Dawn having some traces on her only indicates how close the gun was to her when shot. It does not suggest that she was the shooter.

Defeo has even appeared in an A&E documentary, where a medium called Jackie Barrett, who Defeo contacts, keeps contact with him and uses her psychic powers to prove that he was not responsible for the murders. The entire "mockumentary" gets exceptionally bizarre as Barrett develops a disturbing relationship with Defeo. Defeo seems to be using this opportunity to manipulate her, using strange voices on the phone to sound possessed by the same demon that he declares was active and caused him to murder his family.

Barrett makes outrageous psychic claims, saying she feels the demonic entity trying to come "into" her. I'm unsure if she's just in this for the money or if she believes she is legitimately helping Defeo and that he is genuinely possessed. At the documentary's end, Barrett claims that she has put the demon to rest and released the spirit (how convenient for her) and that the Defeo family can now relax. One can't help but believe this is a sad attempt by both parties to use a tragic and evil circumstance for their own profit. It displays to me that Defeo Jr. is still in denial of his guilt in the murders, and if you go back to the prime evidence from the case, it logically says Ronnie Defeo murdered his six family members.

A year after the Defeo murders, the Lutz family would move into the house on Ocean Avenue and begin a phenomenon of an entirely different stratosphere. Part 2 will go into the cultural phenomenon known as The Amityville Horror.