With The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It set to terrify audiences, STARBURST takes a haunting look at the true story of the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson and the involvement of Ed and Lorraine Warren that inspired the next instalment of the top-rated horror franchise.
Court cases involving potential manslaughter and murders have been a thing for hundreds and hundreds of years. Motives cited include alcohol-fuelled, revenge, jealousy, and countless others. Until one fateful case in 1981, demonic possession had never been used as the reason behind a soul committing such a crime. That is what makes this particular trial surrounding the manslaughter of Alan Bono by Arne Cheyenne Johnson such a famous case, not just because of possession, but because the world-renowned Warren’s were involved too.
In 1980, Debbie Glatzel and her boyfriend, Arne Johnson, relocated into a property acquired and renovated by her mother Judy and her 11-year-old brother David. Soon after moving into the house, David began to claim that an older man regularly appeared, pushing him and would utter a phrase claiming that he would cause harm to him and his family if they didn’t leave the land.
Within the next few days, David had night terrors and began growling like an animal, laughing uncontrollably, and exhibited other strange behaviours that appeared otherworldly. His mother, Judy, went on record saying that David would regularly wake up screaming about a man with deep black eyes, jagged teeth, and hoofs like that of a deer, telling him to “beware”.
After his night terrors transferred to the day where David would begin to see an older man in a plaid shirt and blue jeans, mysterious scratches and bruises started to appear over the young boy’s body from an unknown source. With these events putting a strain on the family, Judy called in the assistance of the Catholic Church to bless the home. Twelve days after David began to exhibit this strange behaviour, she also invited Ed and Lorraine Warren, the self-proclaimed paranormal investigators, into the house to assist with the exorcism of the 11-year-old.
The Real Ed and Lorraine Warren
The late Lorraine Warren was quoted in her interview with People Magazine and said that “While Ed interviewed the boy, I saw a black, misty form next to him, which told me we were dealing with something of a negative nature. Soon the child was complaining that invisible hands were choking him, and there were red marks on him. He said that he had the feeling of being hit. David would be doodling, and he’d be concentrating, then he’d look up, and it was no longer a little 11-year-old boy.”
During the exorcism of David, the boy began to growl and hiss aggressively, articulate in tongues and chant passages from the Bible and the 1667 poem, Paradise Lost by John Milton. Throughout these events, the Warrens would witness David levitating. At one point, he ceased breathing before demonstrating precognition relating to the murder that his sister’s boyfriend would commit just a few short months later.
After the exorcisms concluded, Ed Warren announced that after asking David for the demon’s name inside him, the young boy declared that forty-three demons were residing within. The Warrens took this information to the Brookfield Police in October 1980, warning them that this situation had quickly become incredibly dangerous. During this time, at least one family member would remain awake at night to comfort and protect David whilst he would endure spasms and convulsions. One night, Arne Johnson mocked the demon and demanded that it possess him instead and, according to Ed Warren, was quoted as saying, “Take me on, leave my little buddy alone”.
The following events, which eyewitnesses did not document, deem that after a few days of Johnson declaring that the demon took control of him, he was attacked. The demon would commandeer his car, forcing him to collide with a tree, leaving Johnson unharmed. This account came directly from Arne himself. He stated that this was his last encounter with the entity in a lucid state before making eye contact with it at the well and becoming possessed fully – all of this going against the Warrens’ warning of not returning to the cursed house.
The real Arne Johnson (centre, in cuffs)
Debbie’s younger brother’s condition continued to worsen, so she, along with Arne, decided to move out of her mother’s house and find a new home. She met landlord Alan Bono, who also gave her a kennel job as a dog groomer. Soon after, Arne began to exhibit the same behaviour as David and Debbie feared the worse: Arne was also possessed. Johnson would fall into a trance, begin to growl, and then have no memory of it afterwards.
Fast forward to the fateful day of February 16th, 1981. That morning, Johnson called in sick to his job at the Wright Tree Service and then, later that day, met with Debbie, her sister Wanda and her nine-year-old cousin Mary at the Kennels. The four of them, along with Bono, ventured to a local bar where the landlord bought everyone lunch and began to drink heavily. After returning to the kennels whilst intoxicated, Bono grabbed hold of Mary and would not let her go. Johnson demanded that Bono release the young girl and then, as detailed in official police reports, began to growl and wielded a five-inch pocket knife and proceeded to stab Bono repeatedly.
Alan Bono died several hours later.
Johnson was found by police approximately two miles away from the crime scene. He was then held at the Bridgeport Correctional Center on bail of over $125,000. It was the first murder to have been committed in the history of Brookfield.
The media soon caught wind of this event, partly because Lorraine Warren had contacted the Brookfield police the day after the murder, insisting that Arne was possessed and that their agents had announced that various forms of media were in the works about the case, including a movie. Martin Minella served as Johnson’s lawyer during the case, dubbed the ‘Demon Murder Trial’ and received calls from all over the world to assist with the trial; Minella had planned to fly in specialists from Europe to help prove his defence. However, none of this mattered. Although Minella used possession as a reason for the crime, the presiding judge Robert Callahan rejected this notion due to lack of evidence and unscientific to allow this testimony.
Arne Cheyenne Johnson was convicted on November 24th, 1981, of first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 10-20 years in jail. However, he only served five as he was let out early on good behaviour.
Since the tragic and spooky events of 1981 in Brookfield, Connecticut, various books and television shows have been dedicated to the case. David Glatzel and his relatives have tried to distance themselves from everything that happened and even sued the authors of various books for violating their privacy. The murder of Alan Bono has now been given the Hollywood treatment with The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Needless to say, this whole story is fascinating and, whether you believe in spirits or the devil or you think it’s all a lie, the next instalment of The Conjuring franchise is shaping up to be terrifying.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It hits UK cinemas on May 28th.
