How did Ronald DeFeo Jr die? Serial killer inspired the story of 'The Amityville Haunting'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA : More than 45 years have passed since George and Kathy Lutz left their Amityville, Long Island, home, believing it was possessed by demonic spirits. Netflix's upcoming series 'Amityville: An origin story', along with the 1977 novel 'The Amityville Horror', the popular 1979 film of the same name, and multiple sequels, including a 2005 remake, are all influenced by the couple's horrifying story of demonic possession.
A terrible massacre took place at the three-story colonial, whose original address was 112 Ocean Avenue but was changed to 108 to discourage tourists. On November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr, then 23 years old, shot and killed his parents and four siblings there. On March 12, at the age of 69, the renowned killer passed away in custody. The Lutz family and their three young children moved into the home in December 1975, one month after DeFeo Jr was found guilty of the killings. So how did this notorious killer die?
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How did Ronald DeFeo Jr. die?
According to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, DeFeo Jr, 69, died at Albany Medical Centre at 6.35 pm on March 12, 2021. DeFeo Jr, also known by his alias Butch, was imprisoned at the Sullivan Correctional Facility after being found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder in the 1974 deaths of his mother Louise DeFeo, 43, father Ronald DeFeo Sr, 43, and four of his siblings: Dawn, 18, Allison, 13, Marc, 12, and John, 9. Acccording to reports, he was admitted to Albany Medical Centre on February 2 for an unknown cause. According to officials, the Albany County Medical Examiner's Office will determine the cause of his death.
Why did DeFeo Jr kill his family?
During the trial, his attorney said that DeFeo Jr was insane and had heard voices accusing his family of trying to harm him. He was given six 25-year sentences after being found guilty in 1975 on six counts of second-degree murder. According to DOC data available online, DeFeo Jr had a parole hearing scheduled for July. In a 2006 jailhouse interview, DeFeo Jr asserted that he had only killed his mother, father, and Dawn, his oldest sister. He said that Dawn murdered the other siblings before DeFeo killed her.