The Amityville murders trial begins - October 14th, 1975

On this day in 1975, Ronald DeFeo Jr. stood trial for the brutal killing of his six family members — a crime known today as the Amityville murders.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class. It's a production of I
Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that shines a light on the ups and
downs of everyday history. I'm Gabelusier, and today we're talking

(00:24):
about a grisly act that captured the public's imagination and
proved that sometimes truth is much scarier than fiction. The
day was October nineteen. Ronald DeFeo Jr. Stood trial for

(00:51):
the brutal killing of his six family members, a crime
known today as the Amityville murders. The family Lee's house
was later said to be haunted, and these rumors served
as the basis for the Amityville Horror book and movie series.
The killings took place less than a year earlier. On

(01:12):
November four. That evening, twenty three year old Defio Jr.
Entered a bar in Amityville, New York, screaming that his
parents and four siblings had been shot inside their home.
A few patrons from the bar accompanied him back to
his family's house to confirm the story. Once there, a

(01:35):
man named Joe yes Wit called the police to report
the crime. Each member of the Defio family had been
shot to death in their beds, with a thirty five
caliber rifle. Because of the execution style killings, de Fio
first tried to claim the murders were carried out by
the New York mob, but by the next day he

(01:58):
dropped the act and confessed to the crimes himself. He
told detectives quote, once I started, I just couldn't stop.
It went so fast. While the actual murders may have
gone quickly, DeFeo Jr. Took his time afterward. He later
admitted that he took a bath and put on fresh

(02:18):
clothes before heading to the bar to report what had happened.
He showed the police where he had hidden his bloodstained clothes,
as well as the murder weapon. Even with these crucial
pieces of evidence, investigators were confused by several aspects of
the case. For one thing, all six victims appeared to
have died in their sleep, There were no signs of struggle,

(02:42):
and neighbors didn't recall hearing any gunshots. It's unclear how
the family members could have slept through the other's murder,
but given the circumstances, it could be considered a small blessing.
When Defo Junior's trial began on October four, the next year,
his lawyer tried to plead insanity, but the jury didn't

(03:04):
buy it. A month later, Defio was found guilty on
all six counts of second degree murder. He was sentenced
to six consecutive terms of twenty five years to life.
About a year after the murders, the Defio house was
sold to George and Cathy Lutz, who moved in with

(03:25):
their three children in December nine. Twenty eight days later,
the family fled in terror, claiming the house was haunted
by the restless spirits of Deafio Junior's victims. George Lutz
took his story to the press and recounted the supernatural
events that had supposedly driven his family from their home.

(03:47):
He said they heard strange voices in the night, that
the house was infested with flies, and that the walls
oozed green slime, among many other strange occurrences. Critics were
skeptical of the Lutz family's claims, but the public couldn't
get enough of the reports. Eventually, the story was picked

(04:07):
up by author j Anson, who wrote a best selling
book about the house in nineteen seventy seven, The Amityville Horror.
Two years later, the best selling book was turned into
a movie of the same name, which later spawned two
dozen sequels, spinoffs, and remakes, none of which are very good.

(04:28):
As for DeFeo Jr. He continued to change his story,
later claiming his sister and two other accomplices were the
ones truly responsible for the murders. He eventually admitted that
his defense and court had been a sham, saying quote,
there was no insanity, only people talking to my lawyer

(04:49):
about books, movies, and me being possessed. He apparently viewed
the supernatural claims to be a bridge too far, saying
at one point, quote, there was no demon. You know
who the demon is. I am the demon. After all
these years, there's still no concrete motive for De Fio

(05:11):
Junior's crimes. He once told his lawyer he felt his
family was plotting against him, but he didn't go into
further detail. Some of theorized that he killed his family
as a way to claim his father's two hundred thousand
dollar insurance policy, but if that was the case, the
plan fell apart almost immediately. Since his conviction in nineteen

(05:33):
seventy five, Ronald de Fio Junior was held at the
Sullivan Correctional facility in Fallsburg, New York. Over the years,
he filed several motions to have his case reopened, but
all were denied. In March of twenty twenty one, Defio
Junior died at the age of sixty nine. The full

(05:56):
truth of what happened that night in nineteen seventy four.
I'd with him, but reports of supernatural activity and Amityville
will likely continue long after his death, no matter what
you believe about spirits or the occult. For the sake
of his family's memory, I think we should take to
THEO Jr. At his word. There was no possession, no demon.

(06:21):
The crimes and the punishment for them were his alone.
I'm Gabe Lousier and hopefully you now know a little
more about history today than you did yesterday. If you
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(06:42):
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can drop us a line at this day at I
heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing
the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see you
back here again tomorrow for another day in history class.

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