Amityville Horror - The DeFeo Family Background
In June of 1965, Ronald DeFeo Sr. purchased a 3 story Dutch Colonial home at 112 Ocean Avenue, equipped with a boathouse on the Amityville River and plenty of rooms for his wife and four children. It was the American dream: beautiful house, happy family, and money to spare. The DeFeo's even placed a sign in the front yard that read "High Hopes" as a symbol of the family's good fortune and dreams for the future.
Behind the success and happiness, Ronald Sr. was an angry man, prone to outbreaks of rage and violence. He and Louise often fought and he was a threatening figure to his children.
As the oldest child, Butch often bore the brunt of his father's expectations and bad temper. He was an overweight, sullen boy who was often picked on in school. His father harassed him to stand up for himself - but never at home. Ronald Sr. had no patience for disobedience or backchat.
As Butch got older, he grew stronger and larger and was no longer as tolerant of his father's abuse. By the age of 17 Ronald Jnr. or "Butch" as he was called by his friends, was using serious drugs and dabbling in petty thievery. He was expelled from school because of his drug use. His behaviour had also become more erratic and his violent outbursts more psychotic.
His temper had grown as hot as his father's, and when he reached adolescence they often succumbed to fist fighting matches. Even Ronald Sr., with his own anger issues, began to realize that his son's temper and violent behaviour were not normal.
Even though he was well looked after by his family, landing an easy job at his grandfather's car dealership where he received a weekly allowance whether he turned up to work or not, Butch was growing more angry and resentful of his father's supposedly stingy ways.
Ronald Sr. and Louise arranged for Butch to visit a psychiatrist but it did not help. The Butch insisted there was nothing wrong with him and refused to work with the psychiatrist. In the absence of any other solution, the DeFeo's began simply buying Butch whatever he wanted in order to placate him. At the age of 14, his father gave him a $14,000 speedboat to cruise the Amityville River. Whenever Butch needed money, he only had to ask and it was given to him.
The altercations with his father grew more frequent and more dangerous. One night a fight started between Mr. and Mrs. DeFeo and to settle the matter, Butch took a 12-gauge shotgun from his room, placed a shell into the chamber and went downstairs. He walked into the room, pointed the gun at his father and pulled the trigger. Strangely though, it did not go off. Ronald Sr. sat frozen in his chair and watched as his son lowered the gun and walked out of the room. Butch seemed completely unconcerned that he had nearly killed his father in cold blood. The fight was over but Butch's reaction was an indication of events to come.
In the weeks before the murders, the relationship between Butch and his father reached a breaking point. He was unhappy with the money that he "earned" from his father and planned a fake robbery with a friend while he was on the way to the bank to deposit $20,000 from the dealership, splitting the "stolen" cash with his friend. Ronald Sr. exploded into a rage when he heard Butch's story, berating the staff member who had entrusted him with the money in the first place. When Ronald Sr. exposed his sham, Butch wanted revenge.
The police were called who interviewed Butch. Instead of devising a fictional story about the robbery, he became tense and irritable with them. He soon became violent when they began to suspect that he was lying. Butch started cursing them and banging on the hood of a car to emphasize his rage. The police backed off for the moment, but Ronald, Sr. had already come to his own conclusions about his son's behaviour. He knew that he had stolen the money.
On the Friday before the murders, the police had asked Butch to look at some mug shots on the chance that he might be able to identify the thief who had allegedly robbed him. He agreed to do this but then backed out at the last minute. When he father heard this, he confronted Butch and demanded to know why didn't want to help the authorities. The two began shouting at one another and then Butch ran to his car and drove away. This fight had not turned violent, but that was coming.
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Amityville HorrorAmityville Horror-The DeFeo Family
Amityville Horror-The DeFeo Family Background
Amityville Horror-The DeFeo Murders
Amityville Horror-Butch DeFeo's Trial
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Amityville Horror-The Lutzes first few days
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Amityville Horror-The Secret Room and the Ghostly Pig
Amityville Horror-The Lutzes Last Few Days in the House
The Amityville Horror - The Movie, 1979 and 2005 MGM Entertainment
