Amityville: An Origin Story docuseries to haunt MGM+ in April

MGM+ will premiere Amityville: An Origin Story in April, and horror fans will be glad to know it airs immediately after the season two premiere of FROM.

The story of the house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, NY has captivated horror fans for years. It’s pretty unique story due the mix of horror and true crime. Amityville: An Origin Story chooses to focus on the true crime aspect, which is quite honestly, a horror story on its own.

It begins not with the Lutz family (who were the focus of The Amityville Horror), but with another family entirely: Ronald DeFeo, Sr., his wife Louise, and their five children, Ronald Jr. (known as “Butch”), Dawn, Allison, Marc and John. The kids ranged in age from 9 to 23, with Ronald Jr. being the oldest.

On the evening of November 13, 1974, Butch walked into a bar and declared that his parents had been shot. A handful of patrons went with him back to the house, saw the bodies of the parents, still in their bed, and called the police.

Once the police responded, it was discovered that the four remaining children were also dead in their beds, and that everyone had been shot with a rifle. Each of the kids had been killed by a single shot, and the parents each received two shots. It was a horrible, bloody crime scene.

Although Butch initially suggested that a mob hit man may have killed his family, he could not keep his story straight, and ended up confessing. He told the police, “Once I started, I just couldn’t stop. It went so fast.”

Butch went to trial, was found guilty and sentenced to serve six 25 years to life sentences. Still, there have always been questions about the crime scene. For example, the rifle was not equipped with a silencer, meaning the shots would have been very loud, and would have been heard by the other family members. Yet, there were no signs of a struggle from any of the victims, they all appeared to have been sleeping when they were shot.

DeFeo also changed his story many times, and the many mysteries surrounding the murder have intrigued law enforcement and true crime followers alike. Even though the supposed haunting at the house have received more attention, the DeFeo family murders are horrific enough on their own.

Amityville: An Origin Story will premiere on Sunday, April 23 at 10:00 p.m.

Amityville: An Origin Story consists of four episodes, and will include interviews with family members, witnesses and former investigators of the murders, many of these people appearing for the first time in front of a camera. It’s also chock full of photos and archival footage, sure to satisfy followers of true crime.

How much do you know about the Defeo family murders? Are you interested to see Amityville: An Origin Story? Let us know what you think in the comments section.