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Dawn DeFeo - Amityville Murders
Dawn DeFeo
Continuity: Amityville Horror
Notability: Minor character
Type: Murder victim
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Location: 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York
Relatives: Ronald DeFeo, Sr.
Louise DeFeo
Allison DeFeo
John DeFeo
Marc DeFeo
Ronald DeFeo, Jr.
Status: Deceased
Born: July 29th, 1956
Died: November 13th, 1974
First: The Amityville Horror
Actor: Sarah Cortez
Chelsea Ricketts

Dawn DeFeo was an actual person and a murder victim. The details surrounding Dawn DeFeo's death, in conjunction with claims later made by the Lutz family, became the basis for the novel and 1979 feature film known as The Amityville Horror. This individual made their film introduction in a behind-the-scenes appearance in the beginning of the The Amityville Horror. She was represented in the 2016 movie The Conjuring 2 where she was played by actress Sarah Cortez in an uncredited appearance. She was also presented in the 2018 film The Amityville Murders where she was played by actress Chelsea Ricketts.

Biography[]

Dawn DeFeo

The real Dawn DeFeo.

Dawn Theresa DeFeo DeFeo was the second child of Ronald DeFeo, Sr. and Louise DeFeo and their first daughter. Born on July 29th, 1956, she was the younger sibling of Ronald "Butch" DeFeo, Jr., who was 5-years-old at the time. The family lived in an old Dutch Colonial home at 112 Ocean Avenue in Long Island, New York.

According to Butch DeFeo, all of the siblings were very close to one another, possibly due to trauma bonding as a result of father Ronnie Sr.'s abusive nature. Butch seemed to share a closer bond with Dawn than he did with his much younger siblings, causing some to speculate that their relationship may have even grown secretive in some aspects, and maybe even inappropriate.

On November 13th, 1974, between the hours of 3:00 and 3:15 am, Ronald DeFeo, Jr., for reasons that remain unclear, used a Marlin 336C rifle and shot and killed every member of the household including his parents and all four siblings. She was 18-years-old at the time of her death. Dawn was possibly the last of the shooting victims, and her death appears to have been one of the more brutal with her head being nearly obliterated by the shotgun blast.

Theories have arose suggesting that Dawn may have played a larger role in the incidents of that evening beyond that of being a mere victim. According to Ronald DeFeo, Jr. from an interview in 2005, Dawn and Ronnie conspired to "scare" their parents as some sort of retribution for the abuse they visited upon them. While it is widely accepted that Ronald killed his mother and father, it has been theorized that Dawn may have been a co-killer and was responsible for shooting younger siblings Allison, John, and Marc. As Ronnie Jr. told the tale, he and Dawn struggled with one another after shooting their parents. Through the conflict, the rifle fell to the floor, went off, and killed Dawn. Another account posits that Ronnie was so horrified that Dawn killed the children, they he wrested the gun from her and deliberately shot her. As these assertions came directly from Ronald DeFeo Jr., who has been proven to be an unreliable narrator, any notion of Dawn being a co-conspirator in the murders is purely speculative.

Notes & Trivia[]

  • The 1982 film Amityville II: The Possession provided a fictionalized account of the events that took place in 1974 involving the DeFeo family. However, the DeFeo name was not allowed to be used, so the filmmakers changed the family name to Montelli. Actress Diane Franklin played the character of Patricia Montelli in the film, who was an analog for Dawn DeFeo.
  • It has been speculated that the DeFeos had ties to organized crime, and as such were often under surveillance by the DEA. One operative tasked with observing the house reported seeing Dawn DeFeo leave the house at 112 Ocean Avenue on the evening of November 13th, carrying with her a Marlin rifle.
  • One of the trace pieces of evidence, implicating Dawn as being something more than a victim is unburnt gun powder residue found on her nightgown, suggesting that she may have fired a weapon while wearing her nightgown.
  • Earlier in the evening on November 13th, 1974, Ronald DeFeo claimed to have seen a hooded figure with black hands (gloved) approach him and hand him the 35 Marlin. If this claim is to be believed, then this figure could very possibly have been Dawn.

See also[]

External Links[]

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