The DeFeo family were murdered inside their Amityville home in 1974. What happened to them formed a 'cottage industry' horror franchise
ABCWhen the DeFeo family went to bed for a final time on November 12, 1974, their deaths would form a new chapter of American folklore. Ronald "Butch" DeFeo Jr, the family's oldest son, ran into a bar about 800 metres from the house, telling friends inside he had found his parents dead. Loading YouTube content Police testified in court that when first arrested Butch DeFeo claimed "the mob killed his family", alleging links to organised crime. Jack Altshul, reporting on the case for Newsday's Nassau edition in the days following the arrest, described Butch DeFeo as "a drug user" who showed little remorse. Butch DeFeo's lawyer, William Weber, wrote in People magazine in 1979 that he, George Lutz and Kathy Lutz had orchestrated the horror story "over many bottles of wine".