Ronald DeFeo Jr. – The Amityville Murders

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DeFeo’s Story Begins To Change

Each of the victims bore powder marks on their bodies indicating that the gun had been in close proximity when fired.

Big Ronnie and Louise were each shot twice in the back and side. Dawn and Allison where each shot once in the head. The bullets penetrated their brains. Marc and John Matthew were each shot once in their backs.

When Butch was confronted by detectives with these new findings he began to change his story. This time he claimed that Falini had broken into the family home and had threatened him by placing a gun to his head. He went on to say, that Falini and an accomplice had taken Butch room-to-room and had him watch while they murdered his family.

However, Falini had a strong alibi in that he was not in New York state at the time of the murders. After some additional questioning, Butch finally broke down and confessed to murdering his entire family.

He claimed that once he started he couldn’t stop, “it went so fast.” Butch would tell investigators where they could find the murder weapon, a .35-caliber Marlin rifle. He threw it off the back of the property into the Amityville canal.

Butch also lead investigators to the drainage pipe where he had hidden his bloody clothes and towels on his way to work that morning.

Portrait of a Killer

Ronald “Butch” DeFeo Jr. was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 26, 1951. Although raised in an upper-middle-class lifestyle wanting for nothing, Butch had a troubled childhood.

Being the oldest of the five DeFeo children Butch took on not only the expectations of his overbearing father but also his wrath at times. Big Ronnie was known to have an explosive temper and would often take his anger out on Butch. This abuse started when Butch was 18 months old. His wife and other children had experienced abuse as well.

When Butch was younger he had been overweight and had a “brooding” disposition that often leads to him being picked on and bullied by his classmates. As Butch grew older he would emulate his father’s physical outburst, at times having physical altercations with his father and friends. This lead to his parents taking Butch to see a psychiatrist, but Butch wasn’t interested in therapy as he didn’t think he needed it

In place of counseling Butch’s parents lavished him with gifts, such as a $14,000 speedboat.

Hooked On Drugs

By the age of 17, Butch would be hooked on LSD and heroin and he would end up being expelled from school due to his violent outbursts. During the time of his family’s murders, he had been drinking a 5th of scotch a day and shooting heroin daily.

Butch’s parents did not choose to engage in the tough love approach with Butch and instead secured him a job at his grandfather’s Buick dealership at the age of 18. Big Ronnie would pay a stipend to Butch on a weekly basis regardless if he showed up for work on time or at all and it didn’t appear his on-the-job performance affected his salary.

Access to money and his parents still providing incentives for him allowed him to not only use more drugs but also buy guns as well.

Butch’s behavior appeared to become more volatile as he grew older. There were incidents where he would threaten his father with a 12-gauge shotgun. He pointed it directly at his face and pulled the trigger.

The gun malfunctioned.

Life of Crime

In September 1974 Butch along with a friend stole an outboard motor from the Babylon Town Dock using his family’s speedboat in the theft. He was convicted and received a year of probation for petty larceny on December 14th.

Butch not happy with his stipend and arranged to steal $19,000 from his grandfather’s dealership on November 1, 1974. He set up a mock robbery when he was to be depositing the money in the bank. One of his co-workers, Arthur Belin, agreed to help him if they split the money in half. Butch might have gotten away with it had he been able to remain calm when questioned by police. Instead, he exploded on the officer and would not cooperate with the investigation.

When questioned by his father as to why he did it Butch threatened to kill him!

Standing Trial

On October 14, 1975, Ronald DeFeo stands trial on six counts of second-degree murder. Justice Thomas Stark presided over the trial after Judge Earnest Signorelli recused himself. DeFeo’s attorney, William Weber, mounted an insanity defense claiming that Butch heard voices that told him to kill his family.

Defense psychiatrist, Dr. Daniel Schwartz diagnosed Butch as a neurotic who suffered from a dissociative disorder. Assistant District Attorney Gerard Sullivan didn’t buy the insanity plea. He had a state psychiatrist, Dr. Harold Zolan, testify that Butch did not have a dissociative disorder as the defense expert testified to, but he had an anti-social personality disorder.

Characterized by a lack of empathy, emotional problems, self-centeredness that is abnormal, and a tendency to rely on deception, lying, and cheating. They also have a hard time following rules. Meaning Ronald DeFeo knew what he was doing was wrong, but he didn’t care.

Keep in mind that Butch picked up all the shell casings and threw evidence away from the crime scene.

On November 21, 1975, the jury agreed with the prosecution and found Butch guilty on all six counts of second-degree murder. Butch DeFeo was sentenced to six concurrent sentences of twenty-five years to life. He was eligible for parole two times since being sentenced. The last time was in 2015, both have been denied.

Changing Stories

After his conviction, Butch began to change his story about who actually conducted the killings. His first story had Dawn killing their father and their mother and was so distraught she killed his brothers and sisters.

In 2005 in an interview with a psychiatrist working with Biography, Butch claimed that it was his sister Dawn’s idea to kill their family. He says that they went into their parent’s bedroom and Butch fired the gun at his father who was coming at him when he fired. He claims that he only went into his parent’s bedroom to scare his father.

However, keep in mind that Big Ronnie was found lying on his stomach to a gunshot in the middle of his back.

He then fired the shots that killed his mother who he claimed had been reaching for her own gun. He claims that he left the house then and went for a drive leaving Dawn and his siblings alive. When he returned home he found Allison, Marc, and John Matthew all dead.

When he confronted Dawn she tried to shoot him. They started fighting and in the struggle, Butch got the gun and shot Dawn in her head. Butch claimed that Dawn hated their father and she despised Allison. Dawn was jealous of Allison.

It was during this interview Butch claimed that on November 3, 1974, around 11 pm Big Ronnie broke a pool stick over Butch’s head while his mother cheered Big Ronnie on.

It was at that moment he decided he was going to kill his father

Death

Ronald Defeo, Jr died in prison on March 12, 2021.

Amityville Horror

CDP Life Tip #8

In December 1975 112 Ocean Avenue had new owners, George and Kathy Lutz and Kathy’s three children from her first marriage. The family would only be in their new home 28 days before fleeing claiming they had experienced paranormal events that started right after they moved in.

Prior to moving in the Lutz’s had a priest bless the house.

They sold their story to a publisher hired Jay Anson published in September 1977.

In 1979 The Amityville Horror movie was released starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder, and Ron Steiger. It grossed over $80 million domestically. The house depicted in the movie was actually in Toms River, NJ. There have been approximately 22 movies that have spawned off of the original work.

112 Ocean Avenue has had various owners although none have reported any paranormal activity outside of George and Kathy Lutz.

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