On the night of November 13, 1974, 112 Ocean Avenue, Long Island, New York – a Dutch colonial property named “High Hopes” became the scene of a grisly mass murder. Ronald Joseph “Butch” DeFeo Jr., then twenty-three years old was convicted of killing his parents and four siblings, who had all been shot in the back with a high-powered rifle while they were sleeping in their beds. Butch, who had claimed to have discovered the bodies of his slain family members upon his return to the house, was initially brought in as a witness by the police. DeFeo’s story, which involved suspicions about a mob-related execution of his family, initiated by a man called Louis Falini, was made somewhat believable by the sheer professionalism with which the murders were conducted and the fact that it was regarded as unlikely that one perpetrator had killed all six victims. Soon however, DeFeo’s status changed from being a witness in protective custody to being a suspect. Empty cartridge boxes fitting the murder weapon had been found in his room and DeFeo changed his statement slightly now claiming that he had indeed been home albeit held at gunpoint when his family was executed.
