Revisiting the 'Amityville Horror' murders, 40 years later

It was 40 years ago, on Nov. 13, 1974, that... — It was 40 years ago, on Nov. 13, 1974, that Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed his parents and four siblings apparently while they slept inside the family's Amityville home. The murders and claims that the house was haunted later inspired a bestselling book,"The Amityville Horror," and two blockbuster films of the same name. Credit: Newsday File

November 12, 2014

It was a story that horrified Long Islanders and later inspired horror films. On Nov. 13, 1974 -- exactly 40 years ago -- six members of the DeFeo family were murdered inside their Amityville home.

Ronald DeFeo Sr., 43, his wife, Louise, 42, their two daughters, Dawn, 18, and Allison, 13, and two of their sons, Mark, 11, and John, 9, were found dead inside their beds, each with a single bullet in their back.

They had apparently been killed in their sleep, and the family's sole survivor, the DeFeo's 23-year-old son, Ronald DeFeo Jr., would eventually confess to the murders. He's currently serving six concurrent sentences of 25-years-to-life in an upstate New York prison.

Click on the link above to view photos and a recap of Newsday's coverage of the case.