'Amityville' director sues ex-wife in NYC over paternity

NEW YORK (AP) — Horror film director Andrew Douglas claims his ex-wife tricked him into believing he had fathered her daughter.

Douglas says in a lawsuit he wants Ameena Meer to pay him nearly $700,000 — the amount he says he paid in child support over 17 years.

Douglas’ movies include the remake of the 1979 horror flim “The Amityville Horror,” which told the story of the Long Island house where Ronald DeFeo Jr. was convicted in the killing of six of his family members. The film is based on a book that described the paranormal experiences of the Lutz family, who moved into the house not long after the killings.

According to court papers filed in Manhattan state Supreme Court, Douglas says he began to suspect he wasn’t the child’s father last summer after the girl asked him about his blood type. He says a paternity test confirmed that.

Meer says Douglas’ claim is not true. She is a writer who heads an organization that supports a proposed mosque near ground zero.

The two married in 1992, and Meer gave birth the following year. The couple later split up.

With Newsday.com staff