Near the end of a weeklong national salute to Americans who
served in the Vietnam War, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 
was dedicated in Washington, D.C. after a march to its site
by thousands of veterans of the conflict.

On the tragic evening of November 13, 1974, a young man
shot and kills his entire family with a 35-caliber Marlin rifle
as his parents, two brothers and two sisters apparently
sleep.

The gruesome murder of the DeFeo family shook up the
sleepy Long Island town of Amityville—and lead to decades
of horror storytelling.

The trial of Ronald DeFoe Jr. started on October 14, 1975.The
psychiatrist for the prosecution, Dr. Harold Zolan, maintained
that although DeFeo was an abuser of LSD and heroin, who
also had an antisocial personality disorder, he was aware of
his actions at the time of the crime.

On November 21, 1975, DeFoe was found guilty of six counts
of second-degree murder. The judge sentenced DeFoe to six
concurrent life sentences of 25 years to life.

DeFeo Jr.(right) with his four younger siblings.

Ronald DeFeo Jr. was just 23 years old when he killed
his family.

The grave of the DeFeo family at Saint Charles Cemetery.

The first edition of the book in 1977.

The ‘eye windows’ on the top floor have long been removed
and replaced with square ones.