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‘Amityville Horror’ killer Ronald DeFeo Jr. dies in prison

By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

The man at the center of the murder case that inspired “The Amityville Horror” has died.

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Ronald DeFeo Jr. was 69.

DeFeo killed his father, mother, two brothers and two sisters inside their home in Suffolk County, New York, back in 1974, WABC News reported.

According to The New York Times report from November 1974, DeFeo was a 23-year-old auto mechanic. He told police that he gave his family heavy doses of barbiturates before killing them, slipping the drugs into their dinner. After the murders, he called the police to report that he had found their bodies.

Police said Ronald DeFeo Sr., 43; Louise DeFeo, 42; Dawn Defeo, 18; Allison Defeo, 13; Mark DeFeo, 11; and John Matthew, 7, were all found shot to death in their beds, with their hands above their heads and face down. Each parent was shot twice in the back. The girls were shot once each in the head and the boys were shot once each in the back. Police later found a rifle in a creek behind the family’s home, the Times reported at the time.

Police and members of the Suffolk County Coroner's Office investigate the murder of six people found shot in Amityville, N.Y., Nov. 14, 1974. The six bodies were from the Ronald DeFeo family and were discovered by another member of the family at early Wednesday evening. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

DeFeo murders Police and members of the Suffolk County Coroner's Office investigate the murder of six people found shot in Amityville, N.Y., Nov. 14, 1974. The six bodies were from the Ronald DeFeo family and were discovered by another member of the family at early Wednesday evening. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) (Richard Drew/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

He originally said a mob hitman killed his family but then confessed to the murders, WABC reported.

The home where the murders happened became famous because of the film “The Amityville Horror,” WNBC reported. The film, released in 1979 starred James Brolin and Margot Kidder and was based on the book with the same name.

DeFeo was being held at Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York, after being sentenced to six terms of 25 years to life, WABC reported.

His cause of death Friday was not released. It will be determined by the county medical examiner’s office, WNBC reported.

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