"Amityville Horror" killer Ronald DeFeo Jr., who brutally murdered his family in their sleep in 1974, has died at age 69 while in prison.
DeFeo was serving a 25-year-to-life sentence at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg when he passed away, officials confirmed to Newsday. He was moved to Albany Medical Center and was pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m. Friday. The cause of death is pending autopsy.
DeFeo was 23 when he used a 35-caliber Marlin lever-action rifle to shoot his parents, Ronald DeFeo Sr., 43, and Louise DeFeo, 43, as well as siblings Dawn, 18, Allison, 13, Marc, 12, and John, 9, according to the New York Post.
His attorney unsuccessfully pleaded insanity, claiming that DeFeo heard voices telling him to kill his family. In a 2006 interview, he admitted to murdering his father, mother, and eldest sister, Dawn, who he insisted killed his other siblings.
DeFeo, who was convicted in 1975 on six counts of second-degree murder, and received six sentences of 25 years to life, was scheduled for a parole hearing in July.
The murderers have inspired dozens of films and documentaries over the years. Many detailed and embellished the events surrounding the Lutz family, who moved into the house where DeFeo killed his family. The Lutzes claimed the house was haunted and only lived there for 28 days.
In 2017, the house finally sold for $605,000. The home is 5,000 square feet with 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, and a boathouse and slip on a quarter acre. It was last sold in 2012 for $950,000, although it was listed at $1.15 million.