ALBANY (WCBS 880) — Ronald DeFeo Jr., the man convicted of killing his family inside their Amityville home in 1974, has died in prison at the age of 69, according to a Newsday report.
DeFeo, who was serving a sentence of 25 years to life at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg for the killing of his mother, father and four siblings on Nov. 13, 1974, died Friday after being transferred to Albany Medical Center, according to Newsday.
Officials told the outlet that a cause of death will be determined by the Albany County Medical Examiner’s Office.
All of DeFeo’s appeals and requests to the parole board had been denied. According to Newsday, DeFeo would have been eligible for a parole hearing in July 2021.
DeFeo was convicted on six counts of second-degree murder at the age of 24.
Police say he had used a .35-caliber Marlin lever-action rifle to kill all six members of his family as they slept inside their Ocean Avenue home.
During the trial, defense attorneys claimed DeFeo had killed his family after hearing voices inside the home telling him to do so. Prosecutors had argued that DeFeo was a heroin user that also took LSD, had an antisocial personality disorder and was aware of his actions.
The case gained national notoriety and eventually inspired Jay Anson’s 1977 novel, “The Amityville Horror, A True Story.” The novel then went on to be turned into a film by the same name in 1979.
In 2005, the story was retold again in a remake of “The Amityville Horror,” produced by Michael Bay and starring Ryan Reynolds.
The book and movies were based on the story of the family who moved into the home after the DeFeos. They claimed paranormal activity forced them to move out after just a few weeks.
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