The gripping trial that led to the making of "Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It."
The Trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, also known as the "Devil Made Me Do It" case, was the first known court case in United States history in which the defense sought to prove innocence based upon the defendant's claim of demonic possession and denial of personal responsibility for the crime. The trial would later become a motion picture called "Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It."
The Alleged Possession of Arne Johnson
After moving into a new rental property, the Glatzel family allegedly encountered a demon that resided at that property. According to testimony by the Glatzel family, the old man's spirit threatened to hurt the family and demanded they leave the rental property. After they didn't move out, the Glatzels claimed that the demon entered the body of 11-year-old David Glatzel. The Glatzel family recounted David being beaten and choked by invisible hands and that red marks had appeared on his neck. Additionally, David had started to growl, hiss, speak in otherworldly voices, and recite passages from the Bible. The Glatzels talked about how a family member would have to remain awake with David each night since he suffered from spasms and convulsions. After witnessing more of these increasingly ominous occurrences involving David, the family decided to enlist the aid of demonic specialists Ed and Lorraine Warren in a last-ditch effort to "cure" David. The Glatzel family, along with the Warrens, then proceeded to have multiple priests petition the Church to have a formal exorcism performed on David. Lorraine asserts that during the exorcisms, David levitated, ceased breathing for a time, and even demonstrated the supernatural ability of precognition when he expressly referred to the killing that Arne Johnson would later commit. According to eyewitness testimony of the exorcism, Arne Johnson coerced one of the demons in David to possess him while participating in David's exorcisms. Previously to the exorcism of David, Debbie Glatzel (David's sister) and her husband Arne Johnson began renting an apartment from Debbie's employer, Alan Bono. After the incident between Arne and the spirit within David, Arne started to exhibit odd behavior strikingly similar to David's, causing Debbie to fear that he had become possessed as well. According to Debbie, Johnson would fall into a trance-like state, wherein he would growl and hallucinate but later have no memory of any behavior like that.The Killing of Alan Bono
On February 16, 1981, Arne Johnson called in sick to his job so that he could join Debbie at the kennel where she worked. Alan Bono, the couple's landlord and Debbie's employer at the kennel, bought Arne, Debbie, and Mary (Debbie's sister) lunch at a local bar that afternoon. During this gathering, he consumed a large amount of alcohol. After lunch, the group returned to the kennel, and soon, they returned to the apartment. Bono, heavily intoxicated at this point, became agitated and outwardly aggressive. Everyone left the room at Debbie's urging, then Bono grabbed Mary and refused to let go. Immediately, Arne headed back to the apartment and ordered Bono to release Mary. In an interview conducted by law enforcement, Wanda summarized that Mary ran for the car as Debbie attempted to stop the situation from escalating further. Johnson, who began growling like an animal, brandished a 5-inch pocket knife and stabbed Bono repeatedly. Bono was rushed to the hospital and died just a few hours later. After further examination, Bono's cause of death was determined to be four or five large wounds, primarily to his chest and one that stretched from his stomach to the base of his heart. Shortly after the killing, Arne Johnson was discovered walking in a confused state about 2 miles from his apartment, and he was arrested for the murder of Alan Bono. He was charged with one count of first-degree manslaughter with a $125,000 bail.
The Trial of Arne Johnson
The trial of Arne Johnson began on October 28, 1981. It was presided by Judge Robert Callahan of Connecticut's Superior Court. The defense had immense media attention as they sought to convince the judge that their claims of innocence due to demonic possession were valid due to its similarity to a plea of insanity. But it was at the judge's discretion to decide whether that argument would be admissible to the jury. After examining evidence of the existence of demons by experts like Ed and Lorraine Warren, Judge Callahan ruled that no such defense could ever exist in a court of law due to lack of evidence and that it would be "irrelative and unscientific" to allow testimony related to such claims. This ruling by Judge Callahan prompted the defense to reposition their case and argue that Johnson acted against Bono in self-defense. The prosecution wished to prove that Bono's aggressive state was not enough provocation to justify using deadly force. The defense led by attorney Martin Minnella sought to demonstrate that Bono's advancements toward Johnson, Mary, and Debbie warranted Johnson's use of a knife to neutralize the threat presented by Bono. One point that undermined the defense's claims was that Johnson stabbed Bono repeatedly even after the danger seemed to be non-existent any further. This was utilized by the prosecution to show Johnson's excessive use of force in the situation. On November 24, 1981, after 15 hours of deliberation by the jury, Arne Johnson was convicted of first-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 10–20 years in prison.