THE AMITYVILLE MASSACRE

The USA Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a mass murder as involving the murder of four or more victims at one location, within one event.

Most mass murderers fall into one of the following categories: family annihilators, individuals with mental defects, and disgruntled workers.

Many have watched the Amityville Horror movie but how many know the true story of the Amityville Horror?

At the ripe age of 23, Ronald DeFeo, Jr murdered 6 members of his family in cold blood in Amityville, NY. This event would disturb the quiet city that rarely had any crime at all.

Around 3 o'clock  in the morning in November 1974, DeFeo shot each member of his own family one-by-one as they slept in their beds with a .35 caliber lever action Marlin 336C rifle. His parents were both shot twice and his brothers and sisters were each shot once. The victims were Ronald DeFeo Senior, 43, Louise DeFeo, 42, and four of their children, Dawn, 18, Allison, 13, Marc, 11, and John Matthew, 9. This was a mass murder - a massacre.

His motive is still unclear today. There are many theories and the truth may never be known.

Some believe he wanted to collect life insurance on his parents.

Others believe that his father kept a cash box full of money in the home and as he was searching for it he was interrupted forcing him to shoot his father and mother. Then in panic he shot his two brothers and two sisters, as to not leave any witnesses to his crime.

Others believe is was the heroine he was using and the murders were the result of a drug-addict.

Some even believe the house was built on an ancient indian ground and the indian chief was disturbed from his resting groud and became very angry. He then possessed DeFeo and talked to him [through the form of voices in his head]. The indian told him to shoot his family. There have been questions asked as to why didn't his brothers or sisters try to escape. Why did nobody wake up upon hearing the first shots? Why didn't anyone in the neighborhood hear the shots? It is believed the answer is that the indian chief made the gun shots only audible to DeFeo along with the sounds of barking dogs that police never found upon their search.

Whatever the reason for this horrific crime, from 1975 to this present day, DeFeo is spending the rest of his life behind bars.

He told detectives: "Once I started, I just couldn’t stop. It went so fast."

On November 21, 1975, DeFeo was found guilty on six counts of second-degree murder. On December 4, 1975, Judge Thomas Stark sentenced Ronald DeFeo, Jr. to six consecutive sentences of 25 years to life.

So why do people make killers into superstars? Why are they idolized in our favorite movies?

Jay Anson wrote a novel entitled, The Amityville Horror". It was published in September 1977. The book is based the 28 days in December 1975 and January 1976 when George and Kathy Lutz and their three children lived at 112 Ocean Avenue, the DeFeo home. The Lutz family moved out of the house, claiming that they had been terrorized by the paranormal.

In the original 1979 movie, Amityville Horror, newlyweds and their three children move into their dream house not knowing a spirit is planning to possess them.

In 2005, a remake of the Amityville Horror was released.

In the real life Amityville Horror, an the entire DeFeo family lost their lives, one-by-one, and will never be able to experience what life has to offer. The kids will never grow up and have families of their own. All because of a Mass Murderer.

The house in which the DeFeo family was murdered has been renovated and the address changed in order to discourage tourists from visiting it.