Ronald “Butch” DeFeo Jr.

Background info Born September 26, 1951 in Amityville, New York Raised in a middle class home by Ronald and Louise DeFeo Oldest of his siblings, and often abused by his father (Verbally and physically) Began to act out as a teen, and engaged in violent acts against his father and his friends

DeFeo’s Adolescence Sent to a psychiatrist, but refused to accept help By the age 17, “Butch” was addicted to heroin and LSD Thrown out of school for his violent misbehavior Family bribed him with gifts to “fix” his behavior

A Tragic Night For the Defeos’ On November 14, 1974, Ronald Defeo Jr. brutally murdered all his family members using a shotgun while they were asleep After, he showered for work and cleaned the evidence up He dumped the evidence in a storm drain and went to work (Bloody blankets, pillow cases, and the gun) Later confessed to the murders of his family

Trial and Imprisonment Trial began October 14, 1975 Attempted an insanity plea for “Voices in the house telling him to do it” Psychiatrist proved that DeFeo suffered from Antisocial Personality Disorder On November 21, DeFeo was found guilty on six degrees of second-degree murder Sentenced

Quote by Ronald Defeo Jr. “Once it started, I just couldn’t stop.” This quote was right after Defeo confessed to murdering his entire family This quote shows that Ronald Defeo Jr. used his anger to brutally murder the members of his family

Sociological Theory I feel that Ronald Defeo Jr. falls under the social control theory. I feel this way because Ronald Defeo Jr. exhibits many characteristics from the social control theory. With the social control theory, deviance occurs when the attachments between social bonds isn’t so good. As a child, “Butch” was abused physically and verbally by his father. I believe that the bond between Ronald and his father influenced Ronald’s future actions. Ronald refused help as a teenager, so there was little his parents could do to control his behavior. His parents used gifts to bribe Ronald to behave better. Their actions only made “Butch’s” behavior worse. With the social control theory, when parents only have little control over violent behavior or aggression, their children are more likely to engage in violent behavior. This is proven by Ronald Defeo Jr. He was a very troubled teenager. He beat up his friends, and often violently lashed out at his father. Also, he was into heavy drugs, and was expelled from school at the age 17. Ronald Defeo Jr. fits perfectly into the social control theory.

Punished! I feel that Ronald Defeo Jr. should simply be punished for the crime he has committed. I believe that Ronald suffers deeply from a mental disorder. I feel that Ronald Defeo Jr. would be a threat and a danger to society if not punished for his actions. He took his anger out on innocent members of his own family. Ronald Defeo Jr. is the perfect example of a criminals that deserves to life in prison.