Happy Halloween month! November 13, 1974, Butch DeFeo using a .35-caliber Marlin rifle murdered his family one by one while they slept. Did Butch act alone on that cold November morning?Was there something even more sinister than murder going on at the DeFeo home?Help us decide if what happened at the Amityville house was a horror or a hoax.Ronald DeFeo Jr aka ButchThe DeFeo FamilyThe house as it looked when the Lutz family moved in.The Lutz FamilyGeorge & Kathy Lutz911 TransciptOperator: “Suffolk County Police. May I help you?”Man: “Hah?” Operator: This is Suffolk County Police. May I help you?”Man: “We have a shooting here. Uh, DeFeo.”Operator: “Sir, what is your name?” Man: “Joey Yeswit.”Operator: “Can you spell that?”Man: “Yeah. Y-E-S W I T.” Operator: “Y-E-S-W. .Man: “Hah?”Operator: “Y-E-S . .Man: “Y-E-S-W-I-T.”Operator: “. . . W-I-T. Your phone number?”Man: “I don’t even know if it’s here. There’s, uh, I don’t have a phone number here.”Operator: “Okay, where you calling from?”Man: “It’s in Amityville. Call up the Amityville Police, and it’s right off, uh . . .”Man: “Ocean Avenue in Amityville.”Operator: “Austin?”Man: “Ocean Avenue. What the … ?”Operator: “Ocean … Avenue? Offa where?”Man: “It’s right off Merrick Road. Ocean Avenue.”Operator: “Merrick Poad. What’s … what’s the problem, Sir?”Man: “It’s a shooting!”Operator: “There’s a shooting. Anybody hurt?”Man: “Hah?”Operator: “Anybody hurt?”Man: “Yeah, it’s uh, uh-everybody’s dead.”Operator: “Whattaya mean, everybody’s dead?”Man: “I don’t know what happened. Kid come running in the bar. He says everybody in the family was killed, and we came down here.”Operator: “Hold on a second, Sir.” (Police Officer now takes over call)Police Officer: “Hello.”Man: “Hello.”Police Officer: “What’s your name?”Man: “My name is Joe Yeswit.”Police Officer: “George Edwards?”Man: “Joe Yeswit.”Police Officer: “How do you spell it?”Man: “What? I just … How many times do I have to tell you? Y-E-S-W-I-T.”Police Officer: “Where’re you at?”Man: “I’m on Ocean Avenue.Police Officer: “What number?”Man: “I don’t have a number here. There’s no number on the phone. “Police Officer: “What number on the house?”Man: “I don’t even know that.”Police Officer: “Where’re you at? Ocean Avenue and what?”Man: “In Amityville. Call up the Amityville Police and have someone come down here. They know the family.”Police Officer: “Amityville.”Man: “Yeah. Amityville.”Police Officer: “Okay. Now, tell me what’s wrong.”Man: “I don’t know. Guy come running in the bar. Guy come running in the bar and said there-his mother and father are shot. We ran down to his house and everybody in the house is shot. I don’t know how long, you know. So, uh . . .”Police Officer: “Uh, what’s the add … what’s the address of the house?”Man: “Uh, hold on. Let me go look up the number. All right. Hold on.”Man: “Hello. Hello?”Police Officer:

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Below is a  list of resources  used during the research and telling of this story. (partial)

Episode Sources

1. Books:
   • Finstad, Suzanne. Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood. New York: Random House, 2001.
     • This biography is one of the most detailed accounts of Natalie Wood’s life. It includes in-depth interviews with her family, friends, and colleagues, and covers her complex relationship with her mother, Maria, her marriage to Robert Wagner, and her career highs and lows. This book provided background on Natalie’s family, her early life, and the pressures she faced, as well as details about her first and second marriages to Wagner.
   • Davern, Dennis and Rulli, Marti. Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour. Medallion Press, 2009.
     • Co-written by Dennis Davern, the captain aboard Splendour during Natalie’s last weekend, this book provides Davern’s account of the events surrounding her death, Wagner’s involvement, and his later testimonies. It was a primary source for understanding Davern’s relationship with the couple and details of the fateful Thanksgiving weekend.
2. Articles and Websites:
   • Vanity Fair: "Natalie Wood’s Fatal Voyage" by Sam Kashner, March 2012.
     • This in-depth article investigates Natalie Wood's life, the influence of her mother, her relationship with Wagner, and her final days. It provided insight into the challenges Natalie faced balancing family and career in the years before her death.
   • The Los Angeles Times: “After 30 Years, Natalie Wood’s Death Remains an Open Case” by Richard Winton, February 2018.
     • This article covers the 2011 reopening of Natalie Wood’s case, with statements from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and updates on Wagner’s status as a “person of interest.” It was useful for understanding the ongoing investigation and Wagner's relationship with the authorities.
   • Town & Country: “The Mystery Surrounding Natalie Wood’s Death” by Sam Dangremond, February 2018.
     • This article provides an overview of Natalie’s relationships with Wagner, her family dynamics, and new witness statements from people on Catalina Island that night, contributing details about the Thanksgiving weekend on Splendour and interactions between Natalie, Wagner, and Walken.
3. Documentaries and Media Coverage:
   • HBO Documentary: Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020)
     • Produced by Natalie’s daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner, this documentary offers a personal perspective on Natalie’s life, her role as a mother, and her relationship with Robert Wagner. It includes family interviews that gave context to Natalie’s life in 1981 and her family’s evolving feelings toward Wagner.
   • CBS News – 48 Hours Special: Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water (2018)
     • This news special includes interviews with witnesses, Dennis Davern, and law enforcement involved in the reopened investigation. It was a source for additional details on Davern’s testimony, Walken’s role in the weekend, and Wagner’s interactions with law enforcement.
4. Public Records:
   • Los Angeles County Coroner’s Report on Natalie Wood’s Death (1981, with updates in 2011 and 2012).
     • Available in public archives, the coroner’s report was crucial for understanding the official causes, injuries, and suspicions surrounding Wood’s death. This report, along with the revised statements from 2011, provided foundational details about the circumstances of her death and the inconsistencies that led to the case’s reopening.

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and of course Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, Newspaperarchives, FamilySearch.org

 

 

This presentation is protected by US & International copyright laws. Reproduction & distribution of the presentation without written permission of the sponsor is prohibited. 

 

 Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, Newspaperarchives, FamilySearch.org

 

This presentation is protected by US & International copyright laws. Reproduction & distribution of the presentation without written permission of the sponsor is prohibited.