Ronald DeFeo Jr., the killer of Amityville Horror, died in prison at the age of 69.

Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr. was an American mass murderer who was tried and convicted for the 1974 killings of his father, mother, two brothers, and two sisters in Amityville, Long Island, New York.Condemned to six sentences of 25 years to life, DeFeo died in custody.The book and film versions of The Amityville Horror were inspired by the case.[2]

On November 13, 1974, DeFeo entered Henry's Bar in Amityville, Long Island, New York, and declared: "You got to help me!"I think my parents are dead.DeFeo and a small group of people went to 112 Ocean Avenue, which was located near the bar, and found that his parents were dead inside the house.One of the group, DeFeo's friend Joe Yeswit, made an emergency call to the Suffolk County Police Department, who searched the house and found six people dead in their beds.[4]

The victims were Ronald Jr.'s parents and four siblings.The victims were shot around three o'clock in the morning of that day with a.35 caliber lever action rifle.The DeFeo parents were both shot and the children were all killed with single shots.Louise DeFeo and her daughter Allison were both awake at the time of their deaths.The victims were all found lying in bed.The DeFeo family owned 112 Ocean Avenue.The six victims were buried in a cemetery.[6]

Ronald DeFeo Jr., also known as "Butch", was the oldest son of the family.He was taken to the local police station for his own protection after suggesting to police officers at the scene of the crime that the killings had been carried out by a mob hit man.His version of events was exposed by an interview at the station.Falini, the alleged hitman, had an alibi that he was out of state at the time of the killings.DeFeo said he couldn't stop once he started.It went so fast.He admitted that he had taken a bath and had thrown away blood-stained clothes and a rifle before going to work.[8]

On October 14, 1975, DeFeo's trial began.DeFeo claimed that he killed his family in self-defense because he heard their voices scheming against him.The psychiatrist for the defense, Daniel Schwartz, supported the insanity plea.DeFeo was aware of his actions at the time of the crime, according to the psychiatrists for the prosecution.

On November 21, 1975, DeFeo was found guilty of six counts of murder.Judge Thomas Stark sentenced DeFeo to 25 years to life on December 4, 1975.[9]

All of DeFeo's requests to the parole board were denied until his death.

Six people were found face down in their beds with no signs of a fight.Evidence of sedatives had been administered and the rifle had not been fitted with a sound Suppressor.DeFeo admitted that he had drugged his family.According to the doctor, the autopsy report indicated that there wasn't anything in the body.The people who were awake at the time of the murders heard the family's sheep dog barking.10

The motive for the killings of DeFeo's father is not clear.The prosecution suggested at trial that he wanted to collect on his parents' life insurance because he asked police what he had to do.[11][12]

DeFeo gave different accounts of how the killings were carried out.In a 1986 interview for Newsday, DeFeo claimed his sister killed their father and then their distraught mother killed all of his siblings.He said that he took the blame because he was afraid of being killed by his father's family.Peter DeFeo was a member of the Genovese crime family.DeFeo claimed in the interview that he was married at the time of the murders to a woman named Geraldine Gates, and that his mother phoned to ask him to return to Amityville to break up a fight between Dawn and their father.He traveled to Amityville with Richard Romondoe, who was with him at the time of the murders, to verify his story completely.It was [13].

In 1990 DeFeo filed a motion to have his conviction thrown out.In support of his motion, DeFeo claimed that Dawn killed their parents and siblings when she fled the house before he could get a good look at her.He said that he accidentally killed Dawn as they struggled over the rifle.He claimed that he was married to Geraldine and that her brother was with him at the time of the murders.According to an affidavit submitted to the court, Richard Romondoe could not be located to testify in person.According to evidence submitted to the court by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, Richard Romondoe did not exist and that Geraldine Gates was married to someone else at the time of the murders.The authorities confronted Gates about the false claims and she admitted in 1992 that she did not marry DeFeo until 1989.There are no comments at this time.

Judge Stark found the testimony of the defendants to be false and fabricated.He testified that he married and lived with his wife and child at Long Branch, New Jersey in the fall of 1974.He produced no corroborating evidence in this regard, and he signed a lengthy written statement detailing his activities.Stark said, "Defendant's testimony that he did not shoot and kill the members of his family is incredible and not worthy of belief".[15]

The Night the DeFeos died was published in 2002.They spoke for six hours.In a letter to the host of the radio show, DeFeo denied giving any information that could be used in his book.[16]