On Wednesday, November 13, 1974 at around 3:00am, 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot and killed his entire family in their large home in Amityville, New York. DeFeo first started with his parents, shooting his father, Ronald DeFeo Sr., while he slept then shooting his mother, Louise DeFeo, after she awoke from the first gunshot. He then moved on and shot both of his younger brothers, MarcDeFeo and Jon Matthew DeFeo, and both of his younger sisters, Dawn DeFeo and Allison DeFeo. All six members of his family were found laying face-down on their beds. The entire murder spree took about 15 minutes from start to end.

At 6:30pm that day, more than 15 hours after the murders had occurred, Ronald DeFeo walked into a neighborhood bar looking frantic and claimed, "You got to help me! I think my mother and father are shot!" A few patrons followed him to his house and discovered the grisly scene. They then called the police who responded immediately. When questioned, Ronald DeFeo claimed that it was a mob hit. His great uncle, Peter DeFeo was involved in the mob and led a crew for the Genovese crime family. Ultimately, there were too many holes in the mob hit story and Ronald DeFeo confessed to the murders the following day.

Ronald was tried for the murders and found guilty on November 21, 1975 and received to six consecutive sentences of 25 years to life. Motive for the murders remains unclear, although Ronald had a rocky relationship with his father and was likely trying to stage the murders as. a mob hit in order to collect life insurance policies on the family. Ronald DeFeo died in prison in March, 2021.

Over a year after the murders, the Lutz family purchased the home and claimed that they immediately began experiencing paranormal activity in the house. The family only stayed in the house for 28 days, claiming that there were demonic forces in the house. The Lutz family claims became the basis for the 1977 novel, "The Amityville Horror" by Jay Anson. The home has sense been sold several times, most recently in March of 2017 for $605,000.