Movies usually lie to us. They take a sliver of truth, wrap it in CGI ghosts, and call it a day. But The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is different because the legal precedent it explores actually exists. In 1981, a small town in Connecticut was rocked by a stabbing that shouldn't have happened. Arne Cheyenne Johnson killed his landlord, Alan Bono. That's a fact. But what happened next—the claim that a demon forced his hand—turned the American legal system on its head.
Honestly, it sounds like a bad horror script. You’ve got Ed and Lorraine Warren, the most famous (and controversial) paranormal investigators in history, claiming that a 19-year-old boy was essentially a puppet for a malicious entity. It’s wild. But if you dig into the court transcripts and the eyewitness accounts from the Glatzel family, the story gets way more uncomfortable than the movie lets on.
The Possession of David Glatzel
Before Arne Johnson ever picked up a pocketknife, there was David. David Glatzel was only 11 years old when things started going sideways. According to the family, David began seeing a "Beastly Figure" while helping his sister Debbie and her boyfriend, Arne, clean up a rental property. The kid was terrified. He described an old man with a ragged beard who threatened to steal his soul.
Most people today would look at that and suggest a psychological evaluation or maybe a carbon monoxide check in the house. But the Glatzels were devout. They reached out to the Church. When the Church couldn't provide immediate answers, they called the Warrens. This is where the narrative of The Conjuring Devil Made Me Do It truly begins. Ed and Lorraine claimed that David wasn't just hallucinating; he was under siege by multiple demonic entities.
During one of the "lesser exorcisms" performed on David, Arne Johnson allegedly did something incredibly brave—or incredibly stupid. He taunted the demon. He told it to leave the boy alone and take him instead. Witnesses, including the Warrens, claimed they saw the entity migrate. Arne started acting differently almost immediately. He would fall into deep trances. He would growl. Then, on February 16, 1981, the tension snapped.
The Stabbing of Alan Bono
It was a Tuesday. It started with a lunch. Arne, Debbie, and their landlord Alan Bono were hanging out at a kennel where Debbie worked. There was drinking involved. A lot of it. Eventually, an argument broke out. According to witnesses, Arne started growling like an animal. He pulled out a five-inch pocketknife and stabbed Bono repeatedly in the chest and stomach.
Bono died later that day.
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Arne was found miles away, wandering in a daze. When the police caught up with him, the Warrens were already prepping their defense. They told the police—and eventually the world—that Arne was not responsible. They claimed the devil made him do it.
Why the "Demonic Possession" Defense Failed
When the case went to trial, the media went into a frenzy. It was the first time in U.S. history that a defense attorney attempted to enter a plea of "Not Guilty by Reason of Demonic Possession." Attorney Martin Minnella was confident. He even flew to England to consult on similar cases, though he found very little legal standing.
Judge Robert Callahan wasn't having it.
He was a man of the law, not a man of the cloth. Callahan famously ruled that such a defense was simply not provable in a court of law. He argued that allowing "possession" as a defense would be an "irrelevant and immaterial" circus. You can't cross-examine a demon. You can't put a ghost on the stand. Basically, the judge told the defense team that they could argue anything they wanted, but they couldn't bring up the devil.
This forced Minnella to pivot. He had to argue self-defense, even though the evidence didn't really support it. The jury ultimately found Arne Johnson guilty of first-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 10 to 20 years, though he only served about five.
The Controversy Surrounding the Warrens
You can't talk about The Conjuring Devil Made Me Do It without talking about Ed and Lorraine Warren. To some, they were heroes of the faith. To others, they were opportunistic hucksters. The "Devil Made Me Do It" case is often cited by skeptics as one of their most egregious exploitations.
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Years later, Carl Glatzel Jr., David’s older brother, sued the Warrens and the authors of the book The Devil in Connecticut. He claimed the whole thing was a hoax. He argued that his brother David had been suffering from undiagnosed mental health issues—likely schizophrenia—and that the Warrens exploited the family's trauma for fame and money. Carl claimed the Warrens told the family they would be "millionaires" if they played along with the possession story.
It's a heavy accusation. It paints a much darker picture than the romanticized version we see in the films starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. In the movies, the Warrens are a shield against the dark. In reality, the lines between faith, mental illness, and profit were incredibly blurry.
Comparing the Movie to the Real Case
Hollywood needs a villain you can punch. In the film The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, they invented an "Occultist" character. This witch-like figure was responsible for the curse and the totems found under the houses. In the real 1981 case, there was no occultist. There were no underground tunnels or spooky altars.
There was just a grieving family, a dead landlord, and a young man who claimed he couldn't remember killing his friend.
The movie also suggests that Ed and Lorraine were deeply involved in the legal investigation, running around finding evidence to save Arne. While they certainly supported the defense and did media rounds, their "evidence" was never allowed near the jury. The film is a supernatural thriller; the reality was a tragic legal battle.
Why This Case Still Haunts Us
So, why are we still obsessed with this? Why did a movie released decades after the event become a massive hit?
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I think it's because the "Devil Made Me Do It" defense touches on a primal fear. If we can't be held responsible for our darkest impulses, then what is justice? If Arne Johnson was truly possessed, then he’s a victim. If he wasn't, he’s a killer who got off easy.
The case sits at the intersection of theology and law. It challenges our modern, secular understanding of the world. Even today, people debate whether David Glatzel was truly "cured" by the exorcisms or if the pressure of the spotlight just made the family retreat into silence.
Arne and Debbie actually got married while he was in prison. They stayed together until her death in 2021. They never wavered in their story. They both insisted until the end that the possession was real. That kind of commitment to a narrative is rare, and it’s part of why the legend of The Conjuring Devil Made Me Do It persists. It’s hard to just dismiss it as a lie when the people involved lived their lives based on that "truth" for forty years.
Actionable Insights for Horror Fans and True Crime Buffs
If you're looking to separate fact from fiction regarding this case, there are specific steps you can take to see the full picture. Don't just rely on the movie; it's designed to scare you, not inform you.
- Read the Trial Transcripts: Look into the State of Connecticut v. Arne Cheyenne Johnson. The legal arguments regarding the admissibility of "spectral evidence" are fascinating and provide a clear view of how the law views the supernatural.
- Watch 'Shock Doc: The Devil Made Me Do It': This documentary features interviews with the actual people involved, including Arne Johnson himself. It provides a much more grounded (and frankly, more depressing) view of the events.
- Investigate the Skeptic's Side: Read Gerald Brittle’s The Devil in Connecticut but follow it up with Carl Glatzel’s public rebuttals. Understanding the internal family rift is crucial to understanding the case.
- Visit the Site (Respectfully): Brookfield, Connecticut, is a real place. If you're a dark tourism fan, you can see the locations, but remember that a real man lost his life here. It’s not a theme park.
The story of Arne Johnson is a reminder that reality is often messier than fiction. Whether you believe in demons or just believe in the power of suggestion, the "Devil Made Me Do It" case remains a landmark moment in American culture where the paranormal tried to stand up in a court of law—and lost.