Sad... But True

Part 6: Amityville

Historical Basis

On November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot and killed six members of his family at 112 Ocean Avenue, a large Dutch Colonial house situated in a suburban neighborhood in Amityville, on the south shore of Long Island, New York. He was convicted of second-degree murder in November 1975.

The DeFeo Family 

Suspect: Ronald "Butch" DeFeo Jr 

Victims: 

Ronald DeFeo Sr. (father)

Louise DeFeo (mother)

Dawn (sister)

Allison (sister)

Marc (brother)

John Matthew (brother)

Around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 13, 1974, 23-year-old DeFeo entered Henry's Bar in Amityville, Long Island, New York, and declared: "You got to help me! I think my mother and father are shot!" DeFeo and a small group of people went to 112 Ocean Avenue, which was located near the bar, and found that DeFeo's 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 that six members of the same family were dead in their beds.

All of the victims had been shot with a .35 caliber lever action Marlin 336C rifle around three o'clock in the morning of that day. The DeFeo parents had both been shot twice, while the children had all been killed with single shots. Physical evidence suggests that Louise DeFeo and her daughter Allison were both awake at the time of their deaths. According to Suffolk County Police, the victims were all found lying face down in bed. The DeFeo family had occupied 112 Ocean Avenue since purchasing it in 1965. The six victims were later buried in nearby Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.

Ronald DeFeo Jr., also known as "Butch", was the eldest son of the family and its lone surviving member. 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 hitman, Louis Falini. However, an interview at the station soon exposed serious inconsistencies in his version of events. The following day, he confessed to carrying out the killings himself; and Falini, the alleged hitman, had an alibi proving he was out of state at the time of the killings. DeFeo told detectives: "Once I started, I just couldn't stop. It went so fast". He admitted that he had taken a bath and redressed, and detailed where he had discarded crucial evidence such as blood-stained clothes and the Marlin rifle and cartridges before going to work as usual

Ronald "Butch" DeFeo Jr