Demon Murder Trial

Demon Murder Trial
Court	Connecticut Superior Court
Date decided	November 24, 1981

The Demon Murder Trial is the first known court case in the United States of a lawyer claiming his client was innocent due to demonic possession.^[1][2] It involved the conviction, on November 24, 1981, of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, a resident of Brookfield, Connecticut, for first-degree manslaughter of his landlord Alan Bono.^[3] In the year leading up to the attack on Bono, Johnson had been staying with his fiancee, whose younger brother supposedly had been possessed by demons and whose family called in the self-described demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. Johnson supposedly taunted and was possessed by demons from the boy, and several months later killed his landlord during a heated conversation. His defense lawyer tried to argue in court that he was possessed, but the judge ruled that no such defense existed, and Johnson served 5 years of a 10 to 20 year sentence. The trial attracted media attention from around the world.

Events preceding the attack

On July 3, 1980, Arne Johnson's fiancee, Debbie Glatzel, claimed to have discovered that her youngest brother David woke sobbing, saying that he had a vision of an "awful beast", describing it as "a man with big black eyes, a thin face with animal features and jagged teeth, pointed ears, horns and hoofs", and saying it had warned him to "Beware".^[1]

In another version from "A Haunting" on Discovery Channel, both Arnie Johnson and Debbie Glatzel were interviewed for the storyline and claimed to be eyewitnesses to the demonic possession. Debbie said David was like a little brother to Arnie. During the interview and reenactment Debbie cried she was still so distraught. This is important because Lorraine Warren was subsequently sued by the Glatzels allegedly because it supposedly wasn't demonic possession but David's mental illness which caused him to have these problems. They claimed David started having problems after they went to clean up a rental property they had just acquired, which unbeknownst to them had an old well in the back of the house. He was asked to sweep the master bedroom for them. It was there that an old man in a plaid shirt and jeans pushed him and frightened him so badly he ran outside refusing to go back inside the home. They thought he just got bored and didn't want to help them. Later that same night when Arnie and Debbie went back to her mother's home to live before moving into the rental home David told them that the old man had said he would harm them if they moved into the rental home. He said the old man was angry with him for telling them and that he was going to harm him because of it. He told them a wild animal had scratched the front door because it was angry at the old man. They didn't take him seriously until they went back to the rental home and saw the scratch marks. It was then they decided not to take the rental property because it was evil.

In yet another version from Lorraine and Ed Warren's book "Ghost Hunters" the claim was David became possessed after his parents took him to a house to visit and he took a nap. He awoke when an old man who was charred with hooves ("charred" and "hooves" being common signs for a demon) wearing a plaid shirt and jeans said "Beware". It happened again at home. His mother thought he had a nightmare but reconsidered after it reoccurred. As his visions persisted, Debbie requested that Johnson come and stay at her family's home.^[1]

Once again in the different version from "A Haunting" Arnie Johnson was already living with Debbie at her mother's home before moving into the rental home. In this version later that same night after his first encounter with the old man David claimed the old man turned into a beast at night had flown over the trees and was inside the mother's home. David claimed the old man muttered Latin and was coming for his soul. But nobody ever saw the old man except David. At this time the demon was invisible except to David. David kept screaming "He's coming for me, he's coming for me" and couldn't be comforted. They heard noises but attributed it to the wind or animals in the attic. But later on the same night David started being beaten by the invisible entity. This started happening on a regular basis. It was then they went to a Catholic priest for help. Later on a Catholic priest came to their house and blessed it, but to seemingly no effect on David.

Visions began to occur in the daytime soon afterwards, in the form of an old man with a white beard, wearing a flannel shirt and jeans.^[1] Twelve days after the first incident, the family called upon demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren of Monroe, Connecticut to assist after being referred by their priest. Their own Parish priest felt it was demonic, but didn't want to attempt an exorcism because of his poor health.^[4] This was one reason it was referred to other priests. Lorraine, who claims to be clairvoyant, stated that she saw a black, misty form next to David, indicating a malevolent presence, and that David complained of invisible hands choking him, and the feeling of being hit. Again in the version from "A Haunting" Arnie, Debbie and their mother had witnessed David being hit and choked by the invisible hands. They claimed that afterwards, there were red marks on his neck.^[1] Supposedly he was possessed by more than one demon. He also began to growl, hiss, speak in strange voices, and suddenly recite passages from the Bible or Paradise Lost. He saw spirits and demons. Each night, the family says that a family member would remain awake with David through sometime 30 minute long rapid spasms and convulsions.^[1] The Warrens claim that three "lesser exorcisms" took place, the first with four priests in attendance, and that when asked how many demons where inside him, David listed 43 names.^[1] She also claims David had marks all over his body, levitated, and demonstrated the supernatural ability of precognition relating to the murder Johnson would later commit. At one point he stopped breathing, they thought he had died and they had to briefly stop the exorcism to revive him^[5] In October 1980, the Warrens contacted Brookfield police to warn them that the situation was becoming dangerous.^[4]

While staying with Debbie's family, Arnie Johnson supposedly taunted the demons said to be within David to possess his own body while participating in David's exorcisms.^[1][2] "Take me on, take me on instead of him" Johnson is purported to have said.^[4] In the other version from "A Haunting" Arnie threatened the demon(s) after the family was exhausted by their constant vigil and they witnessed yet another brutal beating on David by the demon(s). In the version from "A Haunting" a few days later when Arnie went out to run some errands by himself he was then attacked by the demon(s). As soon as he got in the car it went out of control. He actually saw a demon "whom he described as looking exactly like the Devil" point to a tree. He tried to get out of the car but the doors wouldn't open or unlock. The car was damaged but fortunately he wasn't. Later on after David told him the Beast came out of the old well in back of the rental property he went out to check and had another encounter with the Beast. Arnie claims it was after looking deep into its black eyes he became truly demonically possessed. In this version an exorcist told him this was the wrong thing to do. The Warrens claimed to have warned him not to do this, but Johnson refused to listen (this wasn't mentioned nor was the subsequent murder and incarceration in Arnie and Debbie's version in "A Haunting" ).^[4] As David's condition worsened, Debbie and Johnson moved out; Debbie was hired by Alan Bono, a new resident of the town, as a dog groomer at the Brookfield Pet Motel, and given an nearby apartment to stay at. It was then that Johnson's behavior supposedly began to change, and made Debbie fear that he had become possessed as well. According to Debbie, Johnson would go into a kind of trance, where he would growl, and say he saw a beast, but later have no memory of it.^[1]

The attack

On February 16, 1981, Johnson called in sick to his job at Wright Tree Service, claiming he had a sore throat.^[4] He joined his girlfriend Debbie at the animal clinic where she worked along with her sister and cousin. Alan Bono, the couple's 40 year old landlord and Debbie's employer at the kennel, bought the whole group lunch at a local bar, with Bono, Johnson, and Debbie all drinking wine, Bono more than the rest of the group.^[4] After lunch, the group returned to the dog kennels, where Johnson fixed Bono's stereo, which blared noisily.^[4] Debbie then took the girls to get pizza, but insisted they return quickly, saying "There's going to be trouble."^[4] When they returned, Bono invited everyone up to his apartment above the kennel, and when the television was turned on, it too was very loud, and Bono became agitated, punching his fist into his palm.^[4] Everyone left the room at Debbie's urging, except Bono, who seized Debbie's nine year old cousin Mary and would not let go.^[4] Johnson, who had walked to the car, headed back to the apartment and told Bono to release Mary.^[4] Wanda Johnson, who recounted her story to the police, stated that "it just broke".^[4] Mary ran for the car, as Debbie stood between the two men.^[4] Wanda, who was holding on to Johnson, remembers he was "like stone", and couldn't be moved. Wanda heard Johnson growling like an animal, saw a flash through the air, and stated that "it just stopped".^[4] Johnson walked towards the woods, staring straight ahead, and Bono continued to punch his fist into his palm, before falling on his face.^[4] Bono had suffered "four or five tremendous wounds" according to Johnson's lawyer from a 5-inch (130 mm) pocket knife, mostly on his chest, and one that stretched from his stomach to the base of his heart.^[4] Bono died several hours later from his wounds.^[6] Johnson was discovered two miles (3 km) from the site of the murder and was held at the Bridgeport Correctional Center on bail of 125,000 USD.^[1] It was the first murder in the history of Brookfield, Connecticut.^[1]

Media reaction and legal proceedings

Lorraine Warren called Brookfield police the day after the murder to tell them that Johnson was possessed.^[4] A "media blitz" began to surround the story, and the Warrens began to spread the story throughout the press, promising to lecture about it, write a book, and make a movie about it through their agents at William Morris.^[4] Martin Minnella, Johnson's lawyer, said he received calls from all over the world about the case, and news spread to the point that Minnella was recognized on the streets of London by passersby.^[4] Minnella traveled to England to meet with lawyers who had been involved in two similar cases (though neither ever went to trial), planned to fly in exorcism specialists from Europe, and threatened to subpoena the priests involved if they would not cooperate.^[1][4]

The trial took place in Danbury, Connecticut Superior Court beginning on October 28, 1981.^[1][7] Minnella entered the unprecedented plea of not guilty by virtue of possession by the devil, but the presiding judge, Robert Callahan, rejected Johnson's lawyer's attempt to show that Johnson was under the influence of a demon at the time of the murder. Callahan stated that there was no such defense, and it would be "irrelative and unscientific" to allow such testimony, forcing the defense attorney to argue instead that Johnson acted in self-defense.^[1][3][8] The jury thus never heard Minnella's theory.^[9] The jury deliberated for 15 hours over three days before convicting Johnson on November 24, 1981, of first-degree manslaughter, and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison, of which he served 5.^[3][8][9]

Aftermath

After he served his sentence, Johnson went on to marry his fiancee.^[2] The alleged incident led to the creation of a made for TV movie called The Demon Murder Case on NBC and a major motion picture which has stalled due to internal conflicts.^[2][5] In 1983, Gerald Brittle, with the assistance of Lorraine Warren, published a book about the incident entitled The Devil in Connecticut, which Lorraine Warren says the profits of which were shared with the family.^[5][10] Two-thousand dollars was paid by the book publisher to the family.^[5] Upon the books republication in 2006 by iUniverse Inc., Carl Glatzel Jr. and David Glatzel sued the authors and book publishers for violating their right to privacy, libel, and "intentional affliction of emotional distress"; further, he claims the book alleges he committed criminal and abusive acts against his family and others.^[8][9] Carl Glatzel Jr. has stated that the possession story was a hoax concocted by Ed and Lorraine Warren to exploit the family and his brother's mental illness, and that the book presents him as the villain because he disbelieved in the supernatural claims.^[2] He also asserts that the Warrens said that the story would make the family "millionaires", and would help get Johnson out of jail.^[8] He is currently writing a book titled Alone Through The Valley about his version of the events surrounding his brother.^[8] Further, the publicity generated by the alleged incident forced Carl to drop out of school, and lost friends and business opportunities.^[2] Lorraine Warren defends her work with the family, claiming that the six priests who were involved in the incident agreed at the time that the boy was possessed, and that the supernatural events she described were real.^[2] Gerald Brittle, the book's author, says he wrote the book because "the family wanted the story told", that he possesses video of over 100 hours of his interviews with the family, and that they signed off on the book as accurate before it went to print.^[2] Glatzel's father, Carl Glatzel Senior, denies telling the author that his son was possessed.^[5] Johnson and his wife Debbie believe the account of demonic possession to be true, and that Glatzel is suing to make money.^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Lynne Baranski (1981-10-26). "In a Connecticut Murder Trial, Will (demonic) Possession Prove Nine-Tenths of the Law?". People Magazine. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20080531,00.html. Retrieved August 17, 2008. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} John Piro (2007-10-10). "Brookfield man sues over ‘demon’ book". The News-Times. http://www.religionnewsblog.com/19687/devil-in-connecticut. Retrieved August 17, 2008. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "THE REGION; Man Is Convicted In Friend's Death". New York Times. 1981-11-25. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E2D91638F936A15752C1A967948260. Retrieved August 17, 2008. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t} Lynn Darling (1981-09-13). By Demons Possessed. Washington Post. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f} John Christoffersen (2007-10-10). Suit vs. psychic says demon murder was hoax. Record-Journal. 
6. ^ Bean, Phillip (2003). Crime. Taylor & Francis. pp. 17. ISBN 9780415252683. http://books.google.com/?id=HFeOTY8hMpoC. 
7. ^ Scott Benjamin (2007-10-12). "'Devil' book reissuance leads to suit". Brookfield Journal. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18911235&BRD=1656&PAG=461&dept_id=13278&rfi=6. Retrieved August 17, 2008. 
8. ^ ^{a b c d e} Alex Murphy (2007-10-08). "Brothers sue world famous psychic Lorraine Warren for false accusations in Devil book". Mass Media Distribution Newswire. http://www.mmdnewswire.com/brors-sue-world-fmous-psychic-lorrine-wrren-for-flse-ccustis-in-devil-book-2347-2.html. Retrieved August 17, 2008. 
9. ^ ^{a b c} Melissa Pionzio (2007-10-14). "Factual Exorcism Book Evokes Past Pain". The Hartford Courant. http://www.religionnewsblog.com/19688/the-devil-in-connecticut. Retrieved August 17, 2008. 
10. ^ Brittle, Gerald (1983). The Devil in Connecticut. Bantam Books. ISBN 9780553237146. http://books.google.com/?id=VsmvAAAACAAJ.