The history of the house on 112 Ocean Boulevard in Amityville, Long Island is a story in itself. A man by the name of Ronald DeFoe purchased the dream home, equipped with a boathouse on the Amityville River and plenty of rooms for his wife and four children. It seemed like the American dream: beautiful house, happy family, money to spare, but there is a much darker side to this fairy tale. His oldest son Ronald DeFoe Jr. wasn’t so happy. His temper was as hot as his father’s was, and when he reached adolescence they often succumbed to fist fighting matches. By the age of 17 Ronald, or “Butch” as he was called, was using serious drugs and dabbling in petty thievery. Even though he was well taken care of by his family -landing a “cush” job at his grandfather’s car dealership where he received a weekly allowance whether he showed up to work or not - Butch was growing more and more angry and resentful with his father’s supposedly stingy ways. He planned a fake robbery with a friend while he was on the way to the bank to deposit $20,000 from the dealership, splitting the “stolen” cash with his friend. When Ronald Sr. exposed his sham, Butch wanted revenge.
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