In addition to The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It releasing in theaters and on HBO Max on June 4, discovery+ is also releasing a new Shock Docs special about the case of Arne Cheyenne Johnson. (On June 11, a week after the movie.) There’s been a lot of hype about both, but especially surrounding the movie.
Maybe because, thanks to the pandemic delaying its release, the studio hopes the buzz will help ticket sales? (Asks the cynic in me.) It probably doesn’t hurt that it’s another story involving Ed and Lorraine Warren. Or does the history-making case of Arne Cheyenne Johnson’s “the Devil made me do it” defense play a part in driving up interest too?
I don’t know. Maybe it’s a combo of all of that? But it’s interesting, as well as surprising, that it took until the 1980s before someone in the U.S. tried to legally use the Devil as a scapegoat for their misdeeds.
But I’m both jumping ahead and answering why Arne Cheyenne Johnson’s case is historic. Let’s look at how Johnson found himself with a legal team claiming such a defense.
The Murder
On Feb. 16, 1981, 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson was arrested shortly after he stabbed 40-year-old Alan Bono several times in Brookfield, Connecticut.
Bono managed a kennel, where Johnson’s girlfriend, Debbie Glatzel, worked. He was also the manager of the apartments where Debbie and Johnson lived. However, it was while visiting his girlfriend at the kennel, and then partying with Bono, that Johnson ended up fatally stabbing his landlord.
News of the murder made the papers. However, at first, it started out as a rather routine, mundane report. In fact, it wasn’t even front-page news. It did appear in the first section of the paper, though. (Remember how they used to be printed in A, B, C, and sometimes D sections, depending on how big the city was and/or the day of the week? If you’re old enough to remember such things, that is.)
Here are two clippings, the first from one day after the murder and the second from two days after the murder. The first one appeared on page A7 of that day’s paper, while the second was published on page A12.
Wikipedia reported that Lorraine Warren “informed the Brookfield Police that Johnson was possessed when the crime was committed” the day after he killed Bono.
But how long was it before the papers published the news about the supernatural claims that had led to Johnson allegedly being possessed by murderous demons? And when did the “Devil made me do it” defense first arise? Was it pretty early on, or closer to the time of the trail?
Turns out, it wasn’t long in either case. Let’s examine that next.
Arne Cheyenne Johnson’s Defense
On Feb. 27, 1981, just 10 days after Alan Bono’s murder was first reported, the story took a sensational turn. The first paragraph of “Bizarre Happenings Surround Killing in Brookfield,” an article from The Hartford Courant by John B. Harris, set the stage for what was to come:
“Sgt. John Lucas and the detectives who work for him admit they’re a little uncomfortable probing the death of Alan Bono. Most slaying cases don’t force policemen to decide whether they believe in demons, exorcists or spirits strong enough to make a teen-ager kill a close friend.”
This was also the first mention of the Warrens’ connection to the case too: “…within days, however, a bizarre story began to emerge, told mostly by Ed and Lorraine Warren of Monroe, known internationally for their psychic research.”
They were involved because they had been trying to help David Glatzel, the little brother of Johnson’s girlfriend, Debbie. The Warrens believed, as did David’s family, that he was possessed. At one point, during one of the attempts to free the boy, Johnson had challenged whatever was inside David, daring it to take him on instead.
Had it? That’s what the Warrens contended. It was also actually them, not Johnson’s lawyer, who first posed the possibility of the historic defense.
“The couple…contend that his (Johnson’s) case will be the first in American legal history in which an accused murderer will argue that he was possessed.”
When new developments arose in this case afterward, the story was covered in papers nationally for the rest of the year and through the trial.
Arne Cheyenne Johnson’s Trial
The trial started on Oct. 28, 1981. For months, Martin Minnella, Johnson’s lawyer, had garnered interest and attention in the case saying he planned to use the “demon defense.” (He was really drumming up publicity for himself though, hoping to land other high-profile and lucrative cases.)
However, from the very first day, minutes after jury selection started, the judge in the case, Superior Court Judge Robert J. Callahan, refused to allow it.
It happened when Minnella questioned the first potential juror during voir dire. He had asked if the juror was Catholic and believed in demonic forces. That’s when Judge Callahan made it clear he would never allow such an outrageous defense.
The Hartford Courant reported that “Callahan responded that evidence of possession is ‘simply not relevant,’ that demonology and related fields are not accepted sciences and that it seems impossible to prove possession as ‘an objective fact.'”
So Minnella had to rely on a different strategy to defend his client during trial. As far as anyone could tell, however, it marked the first time such a defense had ever been attempted in the United States.
In the end, the jury deliberated for three days and convicted Johnson of first-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 10-20 years but only served five.
Check-In
Are you surprised that no one else had thought to try a “Devil made me do it” defense before 1981 too?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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Good question, Courtney! I’m very surprised no one else had tried the devil-made-me-do-it defense before 1981. Think of all those who fled Europe because of religious persecution like the Mormons and the French Catholics and the Puritans and the Mennonites. Historical documents us tell us they believed in demonic possessions, so why didn’t this defense come up earlier in the history of our country?
I love The Conjuring movies. Ed and Lorraine Warren were so good at there jobs. I wish they were still alive to do more. This last movie sounds great. Can’t wait to watch on the 4th.
YES!!!! I’m really shocked it hadn’t come up before this. That we know of. Wouldn’t you know when I used to have easier access to a law library I never thought to check and see if this was true. Of course I think of it now. lol
While I sadly don’t share your enthusiasm for the Warrens, I have to admit the Conjuring movies have been well done and enjoyable. However, the Warrens to this day still give everyone plenty to talk about and think on! lol