Amityville The Investigations

AMITYVILLE THE INVESTIGATIONS

In 1977, Dr. Hans Holzer investigated the house at 112 Ocean Avenue. Then in 1979, he wrote the spellbinding book "Murder In Amityville." This book is perhaps the best ever written on the subject of the events that took place in the house on Ocean Avenue, and in the mind of Ronnie "Butch" DeFeo Jr. Hans Holzer had access to court records, spoke with the psychologist of Ronnie's, worked closely with his lawyer at the time, and even interviewed the perpetrator of the crimes.

Dr. Holzer investigated and documented everything even closely related to the case, including close friends and an ex-girlfriend of Ronnie's. There wasn't one stone unturned by the time he was finished investigating this case.

The book "Murder In Amityville" would open the prying eyes of the public to give a closer look into the mind of a killer, and the story behind the murders. This is the real story that most of the world was not aware of. The untold story before the Amityville horror. Dr. Hans Holzer was a well known author of many books on the subject of the paranormal, parapsychology and various other genres. He was also one of the first pioneers of ghost hunting, and one of the foremost experts in the field of the paranormal.

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On the night of November 12, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. said he had a stomach ache and went into his room without dinner. Later he claimed to hear his family conspiring against him. He went into the TV room and watched a movie then fell asleep around two in the morning and woke up around four a.m. What happened after that is Ronnie's account of the events, or several accounts of the events. He would change his story often. What we do know is that his entire family was murdered in the early hours of November 13, 1974.

DeFeo bodies being taken away

While being questioned by police, Ronnie said he went to work early that morning because he couldn't sleep. Later in the day he could not reach his family and became concerned, so he drove to the house and broke in because he didn't have a key. He found his parents murdered in their beds. He then drove to a local bar and gathered some friends with him, they followed him back to the house, confirmed the murders, and then called the police.

Under intense questioning, Ronnie said he never heard the shots, then changed his story. He heard the shots but stayed in the TV room. Then he went on to say the killer never saw him because he was in the TV room, then again changed his story again saying the killers framed him. A mysterious Mr. M. along with an accomplice forced him to shoot his family. When detectives asked him if he checked on the welfare of his family, he first said no, then change his mind yet again, admitting that he went from room to room checking on his family members and found them all dead.

The detectives asked him if he shot his family and if the rifle was his. He said no, then admitted that it was his rifle but he found it in Dawn's room. He got rid of it along with another rifle too. Finally, after extreme questioning, he admitted to shooting his entire family to death. He said that once he started shooting, he couldn't stop, it just happened so fast.

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Ronnie DeFeo Jr.

And still, Butch would tell one last version of his story. He said he saw Dawn enter his room with a rifle. Her hands were black. He took the rifle from her and went to his parents room and killed them. He laid the rifle down and returned to the TV room. Moments later he heard several shots.

He saw Dawn run upstairs with the rifle and followed her. She was reloading the rifle as he entered her room. He wrestled it away from her and shot her. There are variations of this story that include Dawn as an accomplice, and end with Ronnie killing his sister. In the end, he was booked for murder, went to trial, and ended up serving a life sentence for each murder he committed. Eleven months later two psychiatrists would examine Ronnie and each had an opinion of him.

One psychiatrist felt that Ronald had paranoid thoughts and felt he had to kill or be killed by his family. He lacked true understanding of his acts during the murders. He felt he disassociated himself during the killings. He also felt that there was a possibility that other influences could have been a factor.

The other psychiatrist said Ronald knew what he was doing was wrong, but did was not able to understand like a normal person would because he was in a psychotic state of mind.

DeFeo's attorney, William Webber, felt that Ronald didn't act alone in the crime. He also wanted to know if there was a possible paranormal explanation behind the murders.

Hans Holzer Investigates

In the fall of 1976, Dr. Hans Holzer was contacted by Ronnie's attorney's. They wanted to find out if there was a supernatural angle to the story. An agreement was made and Dr. Holzer would take the talented trance medium Ethel Johnson Myers with him to investigate the house on 112 Ocean Avenue. Dr. Holzer had worked with Ethel Myers before and felt confident of her skills as a medium. By this time, the Lutz's had moved out and were living in San Diego, California. The book by Jay Anson "The Amityville Horror" was not yet a reality.

On January 13, 1977, Dr. Holzer, Ethel Johnson Myers, a Channel 5 researcher, Gerri Warner, along with the attorneys went to the house on Ocean Avenue. As Ethel Myers went from room to room she received impression from each room.
Hans began filming Ethel as she went into a trance. His camera died soon after, which was nothing new to Dr. Holzer. This phenomenon was known to happen in places where great electromagnetic energies are present.

Gerri Warner also took photographs. One very strange phenomenon that occurred while taking the photos with a Polaroid Instant Camera, was after the photos developed, strange auras appeared in them. The auras appeared where the bullets had entered the bodies of the victims. There was no rational explanation for this, the only answer seemed to point to a paranormal conclusion.

While Ethel Johnson Myers was in a trance, she said the house was built over a sacred Indian burial site. Over a chiefs tomb. The spirit of the Indian Chief was angry. She felt that the angry spirit was using Ronald DeFeo to do his bidding. He was possessing him. Ronald was already sensitive and didn't realize it, so he was subject to being impressed, depressed, and oppressed by this malicious spirit. Ronald would be subject to doing things unconsciously and going into trance-like states without realizing it, which would explain his behavior on several occasions in the past.

Dr. Holzer questioned Ethel Myers extensively while she was in a trance and found out that the family still came around sometimes and cried. She said they were not completely on the other side. Ethel said that Ron killed the family while possessed by the angry Indian spirit. She also claimed that only those that are sensitive would be subject to the hauntings in the house, not anyone else. Dr. Holzer then asked Ethel to ask "Albert," her spirit guide, to cleanse the house and to free the victims.

The Investigation Continues

Dr. Holzer investigated further by going into court records to find a connection to possession. He found out that Ronald DeFeo had indeed acted irrationally on many occasions for unexplained reasons, and become very violent. He was sent to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist told him that he should put himself in an institution before he killed someone.

Dr. Holzer investigated further. He talked to the curator of the Amityville Museum run by the local historical society. He learned that there was once a skeleton of an Indian Chief discovered, buried south of the house, but the curator did not know what ever happened to the skeleton after that. He also had no knowledge of any Indians that lived there before.

A Visit with Ronald DeFeo

June 27, 1979, Dr. Holzer and Ronald's attorney went to Dannemora Penitentiary in New York to see Ronald. No news crews were allowed. Dr. Holzer tried to hypnotize Ron but was unable to. Ronnie claimed "they" would not allow it. Dr. Holzer asked a series of questions pertaining to the paranormal. He discovered that after the family moved into the house at 112 Ocean Avenue, they started hearing noises in the house. Sounds such as someone walking around, banging, knocking. The family believed there was someone in the house.

Ronald stated that he would sometimes hear someone screaming when nobody was there. Other strange things happened like items that mysteriously moved around on their own in the house. Once while Ronald was gone, he returned to hear his family talking about ghosts in the house. His mother saw something evil and thought the devil was in the house, that's why they placed religious statues everywhere around the house.

Ronald told Dr. Holzer that he lied about hearing voices, it was his way of pleading insanity. But he did admit that on the night of the murders, he felt someone inside of him. He couldn't stop himself. He often felt like this while he lived in that house. He claimed he never wanted to kill the family prior to moving in 112 Ocean Avenue. He also told Dr. Holzer that he may have been possessed by the devil even though he didn't believe in the devil or God.

Was Ronald DeFeo possessed when he killed his entire family? There is no doubt there is that possibility. Ronnie himself said he felt someone inside of him the night of the murders, urging him to kill. Is it possible that something so dark and sinister could have used his mind and body as a vehicle to do its bidding? No one can say for sure. But there are those who believe he was possessed during the murders. Some think he was a psychotic individual who murdered his family without remorse and call him a compulsive liar. So even if Ronnie DeFeo told the truth, which variation of the truth should we believe?

In the end, there is only one thing that is certain. A family is forever gone, murdered and lying cold in their graves. Maybe their spirits are unrested and they seek release from their earthbound reality, or possibly, they are finally at peace. And the last victim of this tragedy sits in a lonely cell with all the time in the world to reflect on his life and crimes.

Theories

Ronald and Dawn planned and murdered the family together out of desperation. Ronald employed two friends to help. He supposedly wrote a letter confessing to this newest version of the story in 2000. He also claimed he only shot his mother, father, and Dawn. His sister killed their siblings in order to eliminate witnesses. Butch was not present while she murdered them, but was chasing down one of his accomplices that had run off during the murders.

.Ronald was possessed at the time of the murders or he was psychotic and not responsible for his crimes.
.His parents were originally supposed to die, but plans backfired and the whole family died.
.Ronald drugged the family at dinner and shot them while they slept.
. Ronald killed for profit to inherit his family fortune and the money his father had hidden in his room.
.Ronald killed in self-defense. It was kill or be killed.
And finally, Ronald changed his story yet again.
. Dawn killed the family and when Ronald came home, he was enraged and fought with Dawn after seeing that she murdered the whole family, so he killed her.

Part II

The Warren's Investigate

After the Lutzes hasty exit from the house on Ocean Avenue, word spread fast about what had taken place behind the doors of the massive colonial style house. The talk of demons terrorizing a family right out of their own home made big news. And with the past murders still fresh in their minds, it only added to the rumors and speculation. By now the newspaper had gotten a hold of the story and the town of Amityville was once more turned into a circus side show with the main attraction for all to see - 112 Ocean Avenue.

A book and movie would soon turn the town upside down with the curious and the crazy alike.
But before the book ever hit the store shelves, and before the movie ever hit the big screen, the Lutzes hired a paranormal team to investigate the house. The Following investigation takes us behind the scenes after the infamous murders and the haunting at 112 Ocean Avenue. Here we are joined with two of the world's most renowned demonologist psychic researchers, Ed and Lorraine Warren. These two researchers and authors of various books on the subject of the supernatural give us a glimpse into the dark world of the demonic.

After their escape from the house on Ocean Avenue, the Lutzes stayed at the home of Kathy's mother in New York. George and Kathy met with a priest and Ed and Lorraine Warren. Lorraine, who is a gifted clairvoyant and light trance medium, and Ed, who was a demonologist, both agreed to help the Lutzes by going in to investigate the house. Both he and his wife were practicing Catholics and called upon their faith for each investigation they embarked upon. They had covered hundreds of cases involving everything from haunted houses to demonic possession. The Warren's teamed together with members from Channel 5 News and other reputable investigators who were up for the challenge of investigating the "house of horrors."

February 24, 1976, Upon arriving at the house on Ocean Avenue, Lorraine was frightened before entering the house. When she did enter, she immediately began receiving psychic images of the past. She picked up many frightening details of what had taken place there. It was truly terrifying. Her husband Ed, who normally didn't experience any visual phenomenon like his wife, witnessed shadows and pinpoints of lights in the basement. The shadows attacked Ed. He was nearly pushed to the ground.

Ed used religious commands to dispel the evil surrounding him and was attacked again. This time the entity used more force and Ed felt the entity attempting to lift him off of the ground. It was a horrible experience for the big man. He had never experienced anything like this before. It was then that he and Lorraine realized how serious the case was.

The news anchorman followed Lorraine up to the second floor and entered the sewing room, then moved on to Missy's room. He expressed his unease by telling Lorraine he felt as though this was as close to hell as he ever hoped to get. Lorraine immediately picked up on the fact that the beds were the original deathbeds of the DeFeo family. She then entered the master bedroom and picked up on the horrifying details of the murders that took place there. Each room spoke to her, and each provided her with a terrible vision.

March 6, 1976, Ed and Lorraine Warren returned with a team of psychics and a reporter named Laura Didio. The team spent the night in the house going from room to room picking up on psychic impressions and documenting.

Anomaly Caught on Film

They also set up an automatic infra-red camera which took a series of time-lapse photos of the upstairs area. One such area was in front of Missy's bedroom. Later when the team went over the photos, they discovered what appeared to be the ghostly face of a little boy looking directly into the camera. What made the photo even more disturbing was that the eyes of the boy were glowing.

Anomalous photo taken by time-lapse camera in front of Missy's room

Take a closer look. Does this look like one of the Defeo Boys?
Marc ( left) or. John (Right) I'd have to say John. What do you think?

During the investigation the only people present were the investigators, there was no little boy or anyone else there during that time. The house had been vacant since the Lutzes had moved out months prior to the investigation. The photo was shown to George Lutz and his daughter. Missy thought it was the little boy she used to play with. This famous ghost photo is one of the most unusual and exciting spirit captures on film.

When asked later, the Warren's said they felt the house was inhabited by an evil presence. Lorraine said there was an overwhelming sense of sadness and depression in that house. The other people involved with the investigation had complained of heart palpitations and feeling ill during the investigation.

In Conclusion

Since the Lutzes moved out of the house, there have been no further stories of hauntings from any of the owners since. The only spooky things that lurk around Ocean Avenue are the constant barrage of the intrusive, curious, and the ghost seeking alike, with a ready camera in hand trying to capture the famous house before being chased away by exasperated neighbors of Ocean Avenue. Then there are those brazen enough to actually walk up to the house and film it, in order to pop it up on the Internet for all the world to see.

So in closing, there are still many questions and many different opposing views about what took place at the house in Amityville. There are the skeptics who feel that the investigations were useless and disingenuous in their attempts to shed light on all the stories surrounding 112 Ocean Avenue. But the investigators of each case would stand firm in their own convictions and experiences. Each was confident with the evidence they collected and felt they were validated for their work. Later, more books would be written to try and debunk the story and the investigations. But in the end, it only left us asking more questions rather than closing the book on this never ending story.

Copyright © Sylvia Zimmer 2008

Related Videos

Amityville: The Real Story Parts 1-6

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

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Sources:

Murder in Amityville
Amityvillefiles.com
The Amityville Murders
Various Sources

The New England for Psychic Research
The Demonoloist
Movieweb
Various Sources

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