The Real Amityville Horror Part 2

A recap:  The DeFeo family moved to Amityville from Brooklyn and into a beautiful house on Ocean Avenue.  The family’s problems boiled over when father / husband Ronald Sr was abusive to his wife and children.  Butch, the eldest son grew up using drugs, including heroin, LSD, and speed.  After setting up a fake robbery to steal money from the family’s car dealership, Butch murdered his father, mother, brothers, and sisters in cold blood as they slept. 

Butch’s Trial

Butch’s trial began on October 14th, 1975, just under a year from when he murdered his family.  The Suffolk County assistant DA, Gerard Sullivan, had as much evidence as you could possibly want in a case like this.  He had a confession from Butch.  He had the murder weapon, which was owned by Butch and was positively identified as the murder weapon by forensics.  He had Butch himself taking investigators to the exact spot where the evidence was found. Despite having all of this, Sullivan took zero chances when he approached this case.  He interviewed and spoke with Butch leading up to the trial, questioning him.  He studied Butch and how he talked to people.  Butch had hired a very well known defense attorney, and Sullivan suspected that they were going to try for an insanity defense, given Butch’s erratic behavior the day of the murders.  Sullivan felt that the jury seeing Butch as a sane, methodical killer was not something he could take for granted, and Butch’s mental state would become a focal point of the trial. 

Sullivan called witnesses from Butch’s life.  He wanted to paint a picture of a man who was a cold blooded killer.  He called friends, family, police officers, and detectives who worked the case.  But perhaps the witness that helped him the most, was Butch.  On the stand, Butch was shown pictures of his mother and father’s bodies, lying where they were slain.  When asked if that was his mother, he said no, that he had never seen that person before in his life.  When asked if he had killed his father, he said “Did I kill him? I killed them all.  Yes, Sir.  I killed them all in self defense.” Sullivan continued the questioning, asking butch why he would do such a thing.  Butch said, “As far as I’m concerned, if I didn’t kill my family, they were going to kill me. And as far as I’m concerned, what I did was self-defense and there was nothing wrong with it. When I got a gun in my hand, there’s no doubt in my mind who I am. I am God.”  Butch went on to testify that he heard voices which told him to do what he did.  

The prosecution and defense both had their own experts in mental health, one arguing that Butch was not criminally responsible for the murders due to his mental state, and the other arguing that he knew exactly what he was doing.  While he was in custody leading up to the trial, Butch acted erratically in jail.  He would speak nonsense.  There were basically two schools of thought, he was actually insane or he was doing his best to convince everyone he was. 

The defense called their medical expert, Dr. Daniel Schwartz.  Schwartz was well known and respected in his field, and would go on to get national notoriety in the Son of Sam case as the psychiatrist who found David Berkowitz to be criminally insane.  Butch’s own lawyer asked a few questions to lay out a basic understanding of what the jury should consider when making a ruling on sanity in the case.  Then he asked an open-ended question that allowed Schwartz to go into a detailed, speech of sorts about Butch and different forms of  psychosis, disassociation, and criminal insanity.  Sullivan was surprised, but excited with how Butch’s lawyer questioned Schwartz, because he felt like he barely even touched on the case at all.  So when it was time for cross examination, he didn’t hold back at all.  He started out questioning Schwartz about his credibility as an expert witness in this case. He pointed out that he had spoken with Butch only for a few hours; Sullivan himself had questioned Butch much longer than Schwartz did.  

As they continued, Sullivan picked apart the “lecture” that Schwartz had given, pointing out any and every little thing he could to discredit him, which culminated in why Butch took the shell casings from the crime scene.  Schwartz said that Butch took them because he didn’t like the police and didn’t want to help them by leaving the evidence.  Sullivan basically wanted to point out that Butch took the shell casings because he knew that what he did was wrong and that he just didn’t want to get caught. 

The prosecution’s own expert witness testified, and Sullivan had worked out a series of questions for him to answer that told the story of why Butch wasn’t “insane.” He asked questions that allowed the jury insight as to why he made the conclusions he did regarding Butch.  They dissected Butch and his interactions he had with him, and when it came time for him to be cross examined, he held fast and didn’t get rattled under the scrutiny, unlike Schwartz did for the defense.   

Sullivan felt like he had  presented the best case he could, but there was still that chance when you turn a case over to the jury.  After initial deliberations, the jury came back with a 10-2 vote.  The two were unsure of Butch’s mental state at the time of the murders.  Further deliberations ensued, and on November 21st, 1975, Butch was found guilty of six counts of second degree murder.  Two weeks later, he was given 25 years to life in prison.  

During his incarceration over the years, Butch changed his story a few times.  At one time, he claimed that his sister Dawn killed his father, then his mom killed all his siblings in a fit of rage before he was able to kill her himself.  He would also claim later that he, Dawn, and two friends committed the murders “out of desperation,” because his parents were plotting to kill him.  Experts noted that given how often Butch changed his story over the years, anything he said regarding the night of the murders should be approached with severe caution. 

With how often Butch changed his version of the events that night, we may not know exactly what happened or how it all transpired.  The most widely accepted version of events is this.  The Friday before the murders was the day that Ronald Sr. confronted Butch at the dealership, which resulted in Butch speeding away after telling his father he’d kill him.  In the early morning hours on the day the murders took place, Butch went to the hidden storage area in his room where he kept all his guns.  He selected the .35 caliber Marlin rifle.  He fired a shot into his father’s back, which ripped through one of his kidneys and out his chest.  He fired again, which severed Ronald Sr.’s spine before becoming lodged in his neck. 

Louise began to wake up, but Butch quickly fired two shots, which shattered her ribs and caused her right lung to collapse. Butch then moved to his brother’s room and stood between their beds before firing a shot into each, killing them.  Butch moved to his sister’s room and Allison began to stir just as Butch pointed the rifle to her face and pulled the trigger.  He then did the same to Dawn.  In the span of 15 minutes, his mother, father, brothers, and sisters were all murdered in cold blood.  He had taken the family dog, Shaggy, out to the boat house and tied him up.  Butch then showered, trimmed his beard and put on his work clothes.  He gathered up all the evidence and set out to the suburbs of Brooklyn.  He had put everything in a pillowcase, and he threw it into a storm drain.  He then returned to Long Island and showed up to his grandfather’s Buick dealership around six AM. 

Once the scene was swarming with people, a reporter asked a couple of neighborhood kids if they knew anything.  They said that they had heard the dog barking, but no gunshots.  That is one of the biggest mysteries in this tragedy.  The Marlin rifle was not a quiet gun by any stretch of the imagination.  It is just crazy to think that no one heard at least one of the eight shots that pierced the silence of those early morning hours, or why the rest of the family didn’t wake up.  There are two popular theories though.  One is that the night before, when the family ate, Butch drugged their food to make them all essentially pass out and stay asleep once they did.  But, there were no traces of drugs found in their systems, so that’s likely out the window.  When it comes to none of the neighbors hearing gunshots, some theorize that it’s possible that the neighbors actually did hear the gunshots but were afraid to talk or call the police.  Remember how we mentioned that Ronald Sr. and Louise’s dad had mafia connections?  The theory is that since the family was connected to the mafia, people were more than happy to let them do whatever they were doing that night.  If they reported something happening and it turned out to be Ronald Sr. was doing something, they didn’t want the weight of organized crime bearing down on them and their families.  

Again, those are just two of the most popular theories, and there are countless others.  

Butch died at 69 years old in March of 2021 in the Albany Medical Center (That’s where Landon was born!) in Albany, New York.  

Meet The Lutz Family

George and Kathy Lutz met at a diner that Kathy waitressed at.  She was a single mom who had three children, Danny, Christopher, and Melissa.  When Kathy worked, George would always come into the diner and make sure to sit in her section.  He was very fond of her from the moment he laid eyes on her.  One evening, Kathy went to leave for the night and her car wouldn’t start.  She started to walk home, and that’s when George pulled up on his Harley and offered her a ride home.  From that moment on, they were together.  Christopher recalls that his mom was excited, and it was actually a very exciting time for all of the family.  

George’s grandfather had started a surveying company, and at this point, George was running the business.  This afforded him some free time, and he used that freetime often to ride his Harley and hang out with like minded individuals.  Christopher said that the first time he met George, he showed up on his Harley  trike, and it was the coolest thing ever.  He gave the kids each a ride around on it and it was just a blast.  He said that from very early on, it was just fun to be around George and all his buddies that he rode with.  It was like they had been instantly brought in to be a part of this big family.  George had a black belt in jiu jitsu, and he got the children involved in classes as well.  Christopher said that it was just nice to have a father figure there and he was kind to them all.  Basically he says that mom liked him and that was that.   George and Kathy married, and by all accounts, George was a great father to all the children.  They were just an all American family, starting life together. 

In December of 1975, the family moved into a home that they felt lucky to have been able to buy.  It was a three story home on Ocean Ave with a boat house right on the water.  It had been vacant for over a year, and George and Kathy knew its history.  In fact, Butch had been found guilty and sentenced just weeks before the Lutz family got the house.  Before deciding to try to buy the house, George and Kathy sat down with the kids and they talked at length about moving in.  They asked them if they would be okay living in the house and having the same rooms that the DeFeo children were killed in.  The kids were fine with it.  It was being sold for a hundred thousand, but they made an offer of eighty thousand and to their surprise, their offer was accepted.  For an extra four hundred dollars, they were able to get most of the furniture that was left in the house from when the DeFeos lived there.

Christopher remembered the family just being excited, it was a huge change for them to be living in this three story massive house.  Some questioned how the young family could have really afforded to buy the house, especially since they were originally looking for something in the thirty to fifty thousand dollar range.  Kathy had sold her house so she had some money, and George sold his father’s house.  So they had a nice down payment.  George had a plan to move the surveying business into the basement, which would save money on renting a place for the business.  The then planned on moving his boats into the boathouse, saving money on marina storage fees.  With these changes, they felt confident that they could swing the mortgage.  

What Happened In The House?

When it comes to what happened after the family moved in, it is widely accepted that what they say happened is in many instances either an outright lie or a fabrication that is based on a less exaggerated fact.  So, we are going to go into what they say, and talk about it.  We aren’t going to get into all the lawsuits, of which there are plenty in this case.  

When George and Kathy had initially gone to look at the house, George noticed that in some areas, there was still small amounts of blood on the floors, or on some of the furniture.  Not like puddles or anything, but just enough that if you were looking for it, you would see it.  

Knowing the history of the house, George and Kathy asked a priest to come in and bless the house before they officially moved in.  The priest came in and went room to room, doing his thing.  Then, he got to the sewing room and noted that it was strikingly colder than anywhere else in the house.  He would later say that it was winter, so it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for a room to be colder if it wasn’t in use, but it was noticeably colder.  Some believe that a change in temperature is a signifier that an otherworldly presence is around.  Then, as he was spreading holy water and asking a blessing, the priest claims to have heard a deep, sinister voice say “Get Out.”  And he felt it was directed directly at him.  

The family claims that that same room had an inexplicable infestation of flies that would come and go.  Now, if you’ve seen the movie, you see that the priest gets “attacked” by flies, even the Lutz say that was just Hollywood being Hollywood.  It wasn’t like the flies would swarm and try to carry you away or anything, but they said that it was just an odd thing, especially during a long island winter for flies to be there.  Back when the DeFeo murders were being investigated though, some police officers noted that there were flies in that room too, also during the winter.  So whatever was going on in that room seemed to be happening long before the Lutz family moved in. 

The family noticed that the rest of the home became cold after they moved in too.  There could be a roaring fire in the fireplace, and it was still cold.  They claimed that they found gelatinous drops of “goo” around places.  In some versions of this tale, the goo was green, in others black or red.  It would appear on the walls, slowly dripping down or on the carpets. 

George claimed that one night, he and Kathy were sleeping in their bed when he looked at her and she suddenly aged right in front of his face.  Her face wrinkled and her hair grayed.  Another time they claim that Kathy just started levitating.  From the moment they moved in, the family says that they heard “bumps in the night.”  There were constantly sounds of cabinets or drawers in the kitchen opening and slamming shut.  There were doors opening and slamming shut constantly.  At one point, the Lutz family claimed that the doors were slammed with such force that the hardware on the doors (handles and hinges) were completely blown off and destroyed, having to be replaced with new pieces.  The Cromarty family, who later purchased the house, refuted these claims saying that from what they could tell all of the hardware on the doors was original and had not been replaced or tampered with.  

On a different occasion, the family claimed that one of their sons was near a window that was open.  He was looking out with his hand in the window sill.  Suddenly, the window slammed shut and they were unable to raise it because of the force being applied to it.  Now, the windows in the house were set up on a weight / counter weight system.  So, you should be able to easily open and close it with minimal effort.  What was discovered about this particular window though was that the counter weights were improperly adjusted.  An investigator discovered that you could make the window move up and down by stepping on a certain spot on the floor near it. 

Now, everything that the Lutz family claims happened in the span of 28 days.  As we mentioned, when George met Kathy and the children, he treated them like they were his own.  He loved them and in fact, shortly after they got married, he insisted on legally adopting them as his own.  The family said that as they stayed longer and longer in the house, his entire demeanor changed.  He himself could feel it.  It was like he had a quiet rage brewing inside himself.  He was short tempered and reacted to things with rage, which was something he never did before they moved into the house.  George also said that from the time they moved in, he couldn’t sleep.  He would wake up around 3:15 AM pretty much every night, which is the time that it is theorized that the DeFeo family died.  

There was also a claim that the Lutz’s daughter had an imaginary friend named Jodie that she spoke with.  In some accounts, Jodie was a pig with glowing red eyes.  Jodie the pig would look into her bedroom at night through the window.  Well, it turns out that there was a neighbor who had a big ole fat cat that Ronald DeFeo affectionately called “The Pig” because of how fat it was.  So, the thought is that when the Lutz’s were possibly fabricating some of the story they had heard variations of this cat story and rolled it into their own.  On another occasion, the Lutz family claimed that they saw hoof prints in the snow leading from their house down to the water.  But, records show that there was no snow that day.  

After all of these crazy happenings, the family finally got fed up and fled the house, leaving everything they owned.  

Wrap Up

So, what the hell actually happened?  Well, we will never really know.  Both George and Kathy have since passed away.  Christopher has an interesting theory regarding their brief time in the Amityville house though.  His room was the one that belonged to Butch.  He said that when they first moved in, he noticed that inside his closet, there was a hook on the wall.  He had a bag with a drawstring on it, and when he hung it up on the hook, the paneling pulled away from the wall, revealing the hiding place that Butch used to hide his things.  Christopher says that he went into that hidden part one day after they had moved in and found two bags of pills.   He said that at the time, he didn’t know what they were, but later in life he asked George about them.  George said they were quaaludes.  Christopher says that he has never taken quaaludes, and wasn’t sure what type of effect they had when taken, but he does know that George had a very evident change in his demeanor when they moved in.  He stopped going into work and grooming himself and really just not taking care of himself.  He became obsessed with sitting by the fire or going to work on his boats in the boathouse.  Now as an adult, Christopher thinks that George was taking the pills and the time they were in the house, he was in the midst of a drug binge. 

Christopher says that after they fled, George became obsessed with their story, and well.. Actually, the money they could make from their story.  And he didn’t see anything wrong with adding in a little fiction to the story.  

At some point, the Lutzs got hooked up with William Weber.  That name isn’t familiar, but you know who he is.  Weber was actually Butch DeFeo’s defense attorney.  After Butch was sent to prison, Weber was working on writing a book about everything.  He had hired a writer to help and had other people on board when he was contacted by George and Kathy.  They wanted Weber to put them in touch with Butch.  They wanted to talk with Butch to see if he was affected by anything similar to what they experienced.  Weber was like “Oh yea, we should definitely get you in touch with Butch, but ya know, I’m writing a book and your experience would be a great epilogue of sorts, if you would be interested in joining me.”  He basically told them that they could put together a great story between the mass murder that took place then their claims of paranormal activity.  Weber was pushy and he sent a contract to them, but they didn’t like the terms and were like thanks, but no thanks.  

But the idea of doing a book stuck with them.  They ended up speaking with Jay Anson, and well… the rest is history.  The book became a massive success which spun off feature films.  To date, there have been 35+ different movies somehow associated with Amityville.  George said that the events as told in the book are “mostly true,” and he and Kathy both took polygraph tests to prove it, for what that’s worth. 

The Ocean Ave house was investigated by Steven Kaplan, a vampirologist and ghost hunter.  He and George had a falling out though when Kaplan said that he would expose any fraud he found.  He later wrote a book called The Amityville Horror Conspiracy in which.. You guessed it, he claims it’s a fraud.  

There are claims that the house was built on a Native American burial ground, but the Amityville historical society has debunked this time and time again.  

Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in to investigate the house as well.  Now, the Warrens themselves are considered royalty in the ghost hunting / supernatural circles.  You can draw your own conclusions about the validity of what they do, but they do have a following.  They have been featured in several films as characters from the Amityville movies to the Conjuring universe movies (The Conjuring 1 & 2, Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, The Nun, Anabelle Comes Home, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and the yet to be released The Conjuring: Last Rites.)  In 1952, the Warrens founded the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), the oldest ghost hunting group in New England.  They investigated the house with others and took a series of time lapse infrared photos.  They were joined by Hans Holzer, another famed investigator in these circles.  Of all the photos taken, there was one that stood out.  It pictured a young man with glowing eyes.  People immediately said it was a ghost.  But, one of the people there was Paul Bartz, another paranormal investigator.  Now, there are other photos that show Bartz, and if you look at the “ghost” and the photo of Bartz… they just so happen to be wearing the same shirt. And they look a lot alike.  That night at the house, Bartz actually brought his nephew along to see what all they were doing.  So, most people have drawn the conclusion that the photo is either of Bartz or his nephew.    

This story is just one twist and turn after another… then each one of those twists and turns spins off 5 more twists and turns.  That’s how we get from a family that is brutally slain in their sleep, to a demonic pig is watching us.  There is a never ending supply of articles and information out there about Amityville.  If you want to learn more about this all, jump down the rabbit hole because it is endlessly fascinating to see how it evolved into the multi million dollar franchise it has become.