the devil on trial Arne Johnson true story

Devil On Trial: The haunting true story behind Netflix’s new Arne Johnson documentary

His crimes inspired one of The Conjuring films

7 months ago

Arne Johnson was the first person in the history of the United States legal system to plead innocence to murder by demonic possession. The 19-year-old claimed he’d stabbed his 40-year-old landlord, Alan Bono, more than 20 times while under the influence of the devil and so couldn’t be blamed for the killing – much to the world’s amazement.

And now the haunting case from 1981, which inspired one of The Conjuring films, is being re-examined all over again in Netflix’s new documentary: Devil On Trial. So, in case you’re curious about why Arne really killed Alan, what legal and paranormal experts had to say about Arne’s “possession”, and where he is now, here’s everything you need to know:

So, was Arne Johnson really posessed by the devil?

Basically, after Arne was arrested for Alan’s murder, his family and a pair of paranormal investigators called Lorraine and Ed Warren backed up his claim that he was possessed by the devil when he stabbed his landlord, who he’d been at lunch with at the time. So, they took the defence into the courtroom to try and prove his innocence.

Arne’s girlfriend Deborah said her 11-year-old brother had also been possessed in July. She claimed he had visions of menacing old men, would recite passages from the bible at random, , had scratches and bruises which couldn’t be accounted for, and would kick and bite family members. Deborah asked Arne to move into their family house to help, during which time they took her brother for an exorcism. But, eventually, the couple moved out of the home altogether and into a property rented to them by Alan.

But once they were in their new house, Deborah claimed it was clear Arne had already been possessed by the same evil force which terrorised her brother during the exorcism they’d performed. According to her, Arne would go into a trance, growl and say he “saw the beast” months before he eventually killed Alan.

However, a superior court judge refused to hear Johnson’s defence plea of innocent by demonic possession and said it would be “irrelative and unscientific” to allow testimony for something which couldn’t be properly proven.

And why exactly did Arne Johnson kill Alan Bono?

Arne’s trial is often referred to as the “Devil Made Me Do It” case but reports suggest there could have been a much more earthly motive for Alan’s murder. Deborah had started working as a dog groomer at a kennel owned by Alan and one day Arne called in sick to work and went there with Deborah’s nine-year-old cousin Mary and his sister Wanda. They all went out to lunch, including Alan, who had reportedly been drinking heavily.

Deborah separated from the group with Mary and Wanda to get them pizza and, when the girls returned, The Mirror reports Alan grabbed nine-year-old Mary and wouldn’t let her go. Wanda said Alan then told Alan to let Mary go, “growled like an animal” and started stabbing him in the chest. According to Arne’s lawyer, Alan had “four or five tremendous wounds”, including one which stretched all the way from his stomach to the bottom of his heart.

And where is Arne Johnson now?

Credit: Shock Docks

After the judge at Arne’s trial told the jury to disregard demonic possession as a reason for Alan’s murder, Arne was convicted of first-degree manslaughter on November 24, 1981. While he was in prison, Arne married Deborah and got his high school diploma. He was released after serving just under five years of his 10-20 year sentence for good behaviour and has since been in multiple documentaries about his and Deborah’s brother’s possession. His story was also the inspiration for the horror film The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.

The Devil On Trial is available on Netflix from 17 October. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.