A chilling new Netflix documentary explores the infamous 'The Devil Made Me Do It' case – the first and only time in American history that 'demonic possession' was officially used as a defense in a murder trial.
The Devil on Trial investigates how 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson pleaded not guilty to the gruesome murder of his landlord and friend, Alan Bono, in Brookfield, Connecticut, in 1981, the first murder in the 193-year history of the city.
Director: Chris Holt
Writer: Chris Holt
Stars: Arne Cheyenne Johnson, Foster Hamilton, Susannah Spearin
Johnson claimed he was under the influence of satanic forces when he stabbed the 40-year-old man more than 20 times with a five-inch pocket knife after they argued.
His family and friends backed his shocking claim and, with the help of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, his attorney maintained that the murder was the work of the devil.
At the center of Johnson's defense was the alleged demonic possession of David Glatzel, the 11-year-old brother of his girlfriend Deborah.
Months earlier, in July 1980, the boy woke up crying after having a vision of a threatening old man who told him: 'Be careful.'
The case caught the attention of self-proclaimed demonologists and paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Religion and reality soon merged. The Devil on Trial will be the first time the case has been investigated since Johnson's childhood. As well as the events leading up to the murder, the trial and the aftermath. As the story goes, Johnson was possessed after an exorcism of 11-year-old David Glatze, the younger brother of his girlfriend. The failed exorcism performed by priests brought the Warrens.
Audiences will even receive first-hand accounts from Johnson himself. The Netflix documentary will make people look at The Exorcist a little differently, since everyone knows that possession cases have been documented long before Johnson.
The Devil on Trial will be released on Netflix on October 17, 2023.
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