The documentary ‘The Devil on Trial’, is a true-crime tale which is based on the story where only time demonic possession was used as a defense in a U.S. murder trial.
In that case, however, the judge ruled that it was not an acceptable defense, and that he would not permit any evidence related to possession.
The documentary recently released on Netflix placed two narratives; one that the boy named David was actually possessed back in 1980a and the other one was that he was never possessed, as per the victim’s brother who believed that his younger brother was tricked into believing that he was possessed. Now which part of the documentary film was actually factual? Let’s find out:
The actual trial
The trial, which took place in 1981 in Brookfield, Connecticut, became popularly known as the ‘Devil Made Me Do It’ case and drew national attention when 19-year-old defendant Arne Cheyenne Johnson attempted to deny responsibility for the killing of his landlord, Alan Bono, based on claims of possession.
Netflix’s documentary
‘The Devil on Trial’, which was recently released on Netflix included new audio recordings and photographs of the alleged possession, as well as fictional reenactments and interviews with Johnson and his brothers-in-law: David, Alan, and Carl Glatzel.
As per director Chris Holt, the family members tell lie but when he sat down with David and Arne and Alan and Carl, for hours on end, and their stories never changed. For directed, he thinks that these specific people were telling him the truth.
Arne Johnson’s case
Back in the 1980s, once the judge threw out all evidence related to possession, the defense found it increasingly difficult to argue the case. Johnson’s sisters had been at the scene of the crime when it happened, and they had signed police statements saying that they had seen Johnson stab Bono four times. Still, to this day, Johnson maintains his innocence.
Eventually, Johnson shifted gears and pleaded self-defense, aiming for a manslaughter charge instead of murder in the first degree.
David Glatzel fits in the possession narrative
Much of The Devil on Trial, however, focuses on another character: David Glatzel, the youngest brother-in-law of Arne Johnson. (At the time of the killing, Arne had not yet married David’s sister, Debbie, but was very close with the family).
As per Glatzel, in 1980, when he was 11, he was possessed by the devil, which he first encountered in Arne and Debbie’s new house. This experience would eventually lead to what David, Arne, Alan, and Carl characterized as full-scale demonic possession.
The brothers’ mother, Judy, eventually called Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators who were made famous by the Amityville Horror incident. Together, Judy and the Warrens secured an exorcism from the Catholic Church.
When it appeared that David was struggling during the exorcism, Arne intervened and asked the devil to take him instead of David. So at the time of the stabbing, Arnie and Debbie’s family believe that he was possessed by the devil.
Carl’s shocking revelations
The oldest Glatzel brother, Carl, disagrees. “The murder of Alan Bono, I never even thought it was connected to David,” he says in the film. “There’s nothing demonic in this. Arne was very possessive of Debbie. There were speculations and rumors that Debbie was having an affair with Arne Bono.”
Carl revealed that after his parents’ death, Carl was sorting through their belongings when he found a note from his mother: “Well, the family had their medicine tonight, and everything was good.” He said that he believed that she had been drugging the rest of the family with Sominex, a sleep aid, by putting it in their food which if consumed on a regular basis gives anyone mood swings, weight gain, and hallucinations.
So it was possible that his brother David had ingested enough of this stuff over the years, where he did see things. or at least he thought he saw things, as per Carl.
Loosely based on the story, The story was featured in the 2021 box office hit, “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” which is streaming on Netflix.
