Ronald DeFeo Jr. was the perpetrator of a notorious mass murder that took place on November 13, 1974, in Amityville, New York. DeFeo, 23 years old at the time, murdered his entire family: his parents, Ronald DeFeo Sr. and Louise DeFeo, and his four siblings, Dawn, Allison, Marc, and John Matthew, as they slept in their home. The victims were shot with a .35 caliber Marlin rifle. DeFeo initially claimed that the killings were carried out by a mob hitman, but his story quickly unraveled. He later confessed to the murders, stating that he had heard voices urging him to kill his family. The case gained widespread attention and eventually inspired the book and subsequent film adaptations of The Amityville Horror, which portrayed the family’s house as haunted. In his trial, DeFeo’s defense attempted to plead insanity, claiming that he heard voices that compelled him to commit the murders. However, he was found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to six concurrent sentences of 25 years to life in prison. Ronald DeFeo Jr. died in custody on March 12, 2021.

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