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Episode 355:

Satanic Panic Attack

Arne Cheyenne Johnson and the "Demon Murder Trial"

Georgia

...

Karen

Episode 355: Satanic Panic Attack

This week, Georgia tells Karen the story of Arne Cheyenne Johnson and the "Demon Murder Trial."

Listen on Apple Podcasts.
Arne Cheyenne Johnson and the "Demon Murder Trial" Notes:

Header Image Source: Photo by Call Me Fred on Unsplash 

 

"In the Book of Matthew, an encounter between Jesus and two demon-possessed men is described, and the demons beg: ''If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.'' He does, the passage recounts, ''and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.''

Normally, pigs can swim quite well. But such stories in the Bible help form the basis for the Roman Catholic Church's acceptance of the concept of demonic possession, and even of its transfer from one person to another. It is the concept made famous by the book and movie ''The Exorcist.''

Now, in this graceful, affluent and heavily Roman Catholic region of southwestern Connecticut, a similar story is being told, this time to defend an accused murderer. For the killing of a man named Alan Bono, the first murder this quiet town has known in decades, the court and the public are being asked to let the Devil take the blame. The defendant, the story goes, was possessed by demons.

Little Evidence Made Public

Mr. Bono, the manager of a kennel, was fatally stabbed on Feb. 16 after an argument with 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson, who worked for a tree surgeon here. Mr. Johnson's knife, with a folding 5-inch blade, was found at the scene, and he was indicted last Thursday on a charge of first-degree murder. No other evidence has been made public."

-Source: “Defendant in a Murder Puts The Devil on Trial” by Dudley Clendinen (New York Times)

Arne Cheyenne Johnson and the "Demon Murder Trial"

Georgia's Episode Sources

  1. “Man Is Convicted In Friend's Death” UPI (New York Times)
  2. “Defendant in a Murder Puts The Devil on Trial” by Dudley Clendinen (New York Times)
  3. “By Demons Possessed” by Lynn Darling (The Washington Post) 
  4. “Killer's Defense Was Demon Possession” by Julie Stagis (Hartford Courant)
  5. “Was the 12-year-old Connecticut boy featured in ‘Conjuring 3′ really possessed? His brother says ‘no’ - and the true horror story has been his family’s exploitation” by Jesse Leavenworth (Hartford Courant)
  6. “In a Connecticut Murder Trial, Will (Demonic) Possession Prove Nine-Tenths of the Law?” by Lynne Baranski (People)
  7. “The Twisted Murder Trial Of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, The Man Who Claimed To Be Possessed By Demons” by Marco Margaritoff  (All That’s Interesting) 
  8. “What Really Happened With Arne Cheyenne Johnson's 1981 'The Devil Made Me Do It' Trial?” by Kevin Dolak (Oxygen)
  9. “The New Conjuring Movie is Based on the Real Story of a Murderer Who Claimed He Was Possessed” by Lauren Kranc (Esquire)
  10. Article (No headline) by Associated Press
  11. “The Murder that Inspired The Conjuring III” by Josie Klakström (Medium)
  12. “December 18: Connecticut’s 20th Century ‘Demonic Possession’ Murder Case” (Today In Connecticut History)  
  13. “ARNE CHEYENNE JOHNSON” UVA Law  
  14. “The devil forced him to kill: the true story behind ‘The Conjuring’” by Johnny Oleksinski (New York Post)
  15. “‘The Conjuring 3': The True Story Behind 'The Devil Made Me Do It'’ by Samuel Spencer (Newsweek)
  16. “Brookfield Man Sues Over 'Demon' Book” The Danbury News Times
  17. “Is Debbie Glatzel Dead or Alive? How Did She Die?” by Kriti Mehrotra (The Cinemaholic)
  18. “The Glatzel Family is Trying to Distance Itself from 'The Conjuring 3’'’ by Chris Barilla (Distractify)