On the evening of February 16, 1981, nineteen-year-old Arne Johnson stabbed his friend and landlord Alan Bono to death during an argument, after which Johnson fled the scene and was arrested several miles away later that night. Under normal circumstances, the murder of one man by another in a small town would hardly register on the scale of national, or even regional news, but if Arne Johnson was to be believed, these weren’t ordinary circumstances. According to Arne, the devil made him do it.
Thank you to Dave White for research assistance.
References:
Associated Press. 1986. "Man released early in 'demon murder case'." Hartford Courant, January 23: 47.
Brozek, Diane. 1981. "Teen-ager charged in 'possession' case." Hartford Courant, March 20: 11.
Carl Glatzel Jr. et al v. Gerald Brittle et al. 2010. DBCV-08-4008461-S (Connecticut Superior Court Judicial District of Danbury, October 25).
Christoffersen, John. 2007. "Suit vs. psychic says demon murder was a hoax." Record-Journal, October 10: M3.
Clendinen, Dudley. 1981. "Defendant in murder puts the devil on trial." New York Times, March 23: B1.
Galup. n.d. Religion. Accessed May 10, 2023. https://news.gallup.com/poll/1690/religion.aspx.
Harris, John. 1981. "Bizarre happenings surround killing in Brookfield." Hartford Courant, February 27: 2.
—. 1981. "Critics bedevil demonolgist, attorney in slaying case ." Hartford Courant, June 22: B1.
—. 1981. "'Demon' murder case sent to Danbury jury." Hartford Courant, November 21: 8.
—. 1981. "Exorcism, demons' role argued." Hartford Courant, March 15: 1.
—. 1981. "Johnson guilty in demons case." Hartford Courant, November 25: 1.
—. 1981. "Judge bars demonic possession defense." Hartford Courant, October 29: 1.
Healion, James. 1981. "A barmaid testified Thursday that murder suspect Arne Cheyenne..." United Press International, November 5.
—. 1981. "A judge Wednesday threw out the 'demon defense'." United Press International, October 28.
—. 1981. "Judge Robert J. Callahan Thursday refused to reconsider his decision." United Press International, October 29.
—. 1981. "The murder trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson in Danbury." United Press International, November 13.
Pionzio, Melissa. 2007. "'Factual' exorcism book evokes past pain." Hartford Courant, October 14: B1.
Putcamp, Luise. 1981. "Supernatural episodes form prelude to killing." Buffalo Evening News, July 30: 1.
—. 1981. "Suspect's alibi: He was possessed." Buffalo Evening News, August 5: 2.
Stagis, Julie. 2014. "Killer's defense: He was possessed." Hartford Courant, April 22: B1.
2006. A Haunting. Directed by Stuart Taylor. Produced by Tom Naughton.
United Press International. 1981. "'Demon slayer' gets 10-to-20 year sentence." United Press International, December 18.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. n.d. Exorcism. Accessed May 8, 2023. https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/sacramentals-blessings/exorcism.
Walzer, E.B. 1982. "Appeal dropped in 'demon' case." The Reporter Dispatch, March 19: 2.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!