Every Town - Demonic Possession By An 'Old, Burnt Man' - Arne Johnsons Claims He Forced Him To Commit The Crime

Episode Date: March 8, 2024

This is “the Devil made me Do it” defense…meaning our killer claims to have gotten possessed by a demon…an old burnt up skinny man demon, who took over control of his body and then forced them to kill. It’s the only time ever that this defense has been attempted in United States history and whether or not it succeeded, well stick around and find out. 👀 Watch This Episode On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/scarymysteries 🎧 Our Other Podcast Scary Mysteries: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZooEZMoZ421WdsOVJhVkT 💀 Exclusive Videos, Podcasts & Perks: https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries  👁 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew.fitzg 👁 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewfitzgerald 👁 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarymysteriesofficial 🗣 Business Inquiries, questions and comments hit us up at [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love true crime, grab your favorite mug and pour yourself a dose of creepy true crime every single morning with a morning cup of murder. This short daily show is the perfect podcast to incorporate into your morning routine because in less than 15 minutes, you'll hear about a true crime that took place on a day's date in history. Each day's dark history lesson will kickstart your morning with intriguing tales of murder, abduction, serial killers, cults, and everything in between.

With over 20 million downloads, Morning Cup of Murder has something for every true crime lover. One listener describes the show as a small package with a powerful punch of crime. Another writes that the show is an absolute delight in the morning. Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everytown has a dark side. In court, a defendant who's fighting for their own life, even if they've taken someone else's, will try anything they can to get out of the crime they committed and convince the judge and jury

of their innocence. And so, as you can imagine, there's been quite an array over the years of the tactics attempted to remain free. The Twinkie defense, for example, is one where Dan White, who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Mascone and supervisor Harvey Milk had his lawyer try and prove to the people, but his client was eating many, many twinkies, which was proof that he was depressed. And because of that deep, dark feeling he had inside, he went on to commit murder. In other words, he didn't really do it. He just wasn't right in his mind.

There's been those who have, of course, pleaded insanity when they weren't. In an interesting little subsection of that is the full moon defense, claiming that when the crime took place, it was a full moon, and the moon can do strange things to people. The sleepwalking is another one. It wasn't the person's fault. They picked up an axe and chopped up their spouse or father. They were just asleep the whole time, so take it easy on them.

And so, in today's story, we bring you but another unique defense for a senseless killing. Only, there may be some truth to this one, depending on where you fall in the religious spectrum. And this is, the devil made me do it defense. meaning our killer claims to have gotten possessed by a demon, an old burnt-up skinny man demon, to be exact, who took over control of his body and then forced him to kill. It's the only time ever that this defense has been attempted in the U.S.

And whether or not it succeeded, well, stick around and find out. Hey guys, it's Andrew. Welcome to this week's episode of Everytown. Thank you so much for tuning in. Today we have a good one for you, a story that straddles two different genres that I'm sure you're fans of, because on one side of this, we have the paranormal aspect. It's not just some crazy guy who randomly said he was possessed. There's a whole backstory and evidence to support it. And on the other side, we have a true crime murder that took place in the light of day and was extreme and violent in nature.

And this is the story of David Glatzel, a boy who got possessed. and Arnie Johnson who committed a murder seemingly out of nowhere. Their stories intertwine in what would become the first killing in Brookfield, Connecticut's 193-year history back in 1981. Arnie claims a demon got a hold of them, and after hearing the details of this case, maybe you'll agree. Brookfield, Connecticut is a town in Fairfield County. It's located in the western portion of the state,

situated down in the southern foothills of the Berkshire Mountains. Up until the 1970s, it was a rather quiet town, made up of old cotton and paper mills. Around them, it was the white flight exodus from the big cities all across America. A lot of people began to move up to Brookfield from New York City. As a result, real estate boomed, and suburban cul-de-sacs popped up and families moved on in. Included in that was the Glatzel family. Back in the summer of 1980, 26-year-old Debbie Glatzel was living at home in Brookfield at her mom and dad's house. However, things were about to change for her.

She was planning on moving out soon with her fiancé, 19-year-old Arnie Johnson. The two had found a decent home in the area to rent, but part of its affordability came at a price, and as they would go on to find out, it wasn't just monetary. This place needed to be cleaned out and fixed up a bit, so, The two lovebirds got it cheap with the understanding that they would take care of that. So on Muggy Day that year, Arnie, Debbie, and Debbie's 12-year-old brother David, headed over there to give it a good once over. While David would rather be out with friends, I'm sure, and wasn't all that excited for the manual labor,

he did want to help out his sister, who he loved, and his future brother-in-law, who he looked up to. Once they arrived, Debbie got to work in the kitchen, scraping up years' worth of burnt grime from the stove. David was dealing with the cobwebs in the living room, and David set out upstairs to see what filth awaited up there. This house was old, and the wooden stairs creaked as the young boy ascended up into the darkness of a hallway without any windows. This was the type of house that looked like its previous occupant and lived there for decades, just collecting items, and eventually became part of the overall decor. Stacks of newspapers and old magazines were piled into boxes that sat in the corners of the bedrooms,

as if someday, said owner may want to read that five-year-old Time Life magazine again, even though they knew they never would. Dirted caked itself into the cracks of the floorboard so hard that you couldn't tell where one slate ended and the next one began. The musky smell of damp dust permeated every room he stepped into. And they weren't there long before David came running downstairs in a sheer panic with claims that they weren't alone in the house. He said that an old man appeared out of nowhere, shoved him, and then threatened him.

Arnie, being the man of the house, and wanting to prove that, did a spot check in each room up there, but no old man was hiding in the closet or under the bed. Still, David was adamant that what he saw was real, and this person or entity was a dark figure. It was hard to make out any real facial features, as David described. him was looking skinny and burnt. This figure then pushed him onto the bed and told him that if anyone moved into this house, then bad things would happen to the family.

Debbie figured this was David's way of just trying to get out of this cleaning session, but Arnie thought it was something more than that, something sweeter. Perhaps David just didn't want his only sister to move away, and so he made up the old creepy burnt man story. A good attempt by the kid, but of course they weren't buying it. But either way, with David appearing shaken, that was it for the day. Chores were done, and Annie and Debbie would do the rest of the cleaning on their own, so the three of them had it back home.

While they may have thought that this was the end of that, it was really only the beginning, the start of a very strange string of events that would culminate and the gruesome murder of one man. Back at home, David just couldn't seem to let the thoughts of that old man from upstairs go. It was either a very elaborate attempt from him to keep his sister close by at home, or maybe there was actually something much darker going on. In the weeks that followed, David started suffering from night terror, something he had never experienced before. These weren't just nightmares, they were more extreme, and they got to the point where he became scared to even go to sleep. The normally outgoing David now didn't want to do anything. So he became withdrawn from his schoolwork and his friends.

He kept on describing what was scaring him and through time was able to get more details. It was a man with black eyes, a thin face with animal features and jagged teeth, pointed ears, horns, and hoofs. Arnie and Debbie had continued working on their cleanup without incident, but it appeared that the old man from the house was making good on his claims of harming the family if they moved in. and he was using David to get that message across loud and clear. David's visions worsened to the point where they began happening in the daytime as well. On one occasion, the family kept calling him down for dinner. When Debbie went to find him in his room, he was just staring blankly at the wall as if stuck in a trance. The family was concerned as they tried to navigate what exactly was going on.

But what really put them over the edge was when David started showing up with unexplained scratches and bruises, and claims that it was the old man who was hurting him. Debbie needed another man around, and so she had Arnie come over and stay with them for a few nights while they all took turns watching over David. If the stories were true, then if someone were there to witness it, then they could figure out what they were dealing with. And so, as he slept, like watchmen on patrol, mom, dad, Debbie, and Arney would take turns, keeping an eye on David. It was an unsettling situation. It was an unsettling situation. because they weren't sure what was scarier, that some entity was hurting David or, and this was more likely, that David was doing it to himself.

The reality of their situation soon revealed itself when both Debbie and her mother while on patrol, witnessed David in the night being beaten and strangled by invisible hands. David would also make disturbing sounds while in his bed, guttural growls mixed with Bible passage recitings. He would wake up and have no recollection of what he said or sounded like. And then on top of all that, each member of the family swore to hearing someone upstairs in the attic walking around. That unmistakable sound of footsteps pacing along the creaky ceiling boards, they all heard it, and yet each time it was investigated, no one was there. They got louder over time as if this thing was becoming more of a presence in the house,

and within David. Debbie and Arnie had a Catholic priest come over to their new rental house to try and really cleanse it, hoping that they may rid young David of his issues since they started there. But it did nothing, which makes sense if the demon were attached to the boy. His visions continued on, and so at that point, they said, screw it to that new rental. They weren't going to live there, so they cut the lease and were done with that place for good.

They had to deal with helping David, it, get rid of whatever it was that attached itself to him. And so, they did what anybody in the 1980s living in Connecticut would do in their situation. They reached out to longtime fellow residents and world famous paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, who assisted in the matter. The Warrens came to a Glatzel's home and at first just observed so they could wrap their heads around the situation. And soon, they experienced exactly what the family had.

footsteps in the attic, David's animalistic screams and wounds, courtesy of the old man. They watched the boys suffer through violent spasms and convulsions. They would go on to conduct a series of three lesser exorcisms, meaning without a priest in an attempt to release David from this demon. And all three of these were terrifying for everyone involved to say the least, as they witnessed David, levitate, and at one point stopped breathing for a brief time as well. David would gargle and yell profanities at his family as the exorcisms occurred, and he spoke about the murder that was going to happen in a short time, but of course no one knew in that moment exactly what he was referencing. The Glatzels were extremely stressed while these played out over the course of a few weeks.

Each time it would appear that he may be okay, and then some days later it would come back with a vengeance. During the third one, amidst the family's wails of terror, Arnie had seen enough, and he stepped forward demanding that the demon possess him instead of the boy saying, Take me on, leave my little buddy alone. All those who were present at that moment claimed to have actually witnessed the demonic transference, or at least see a black mist emanate out of David and disperse. Lorraine said she saw it enter Arnie, and at that point her hands were tied. A demon could take time to grab a hold of someone, especially an older person who's not a child.

And you can't fight off what you can't see, so in order to rid Arnie of the demon, he'd need to show signs of possession. The warrants told the family to call them, if anything else happened. A few days later, David finally appeared to be doing better to the relief of everyone. His face came back with a youthful glow. The bruising stopped, and his visions were no more. And so, all was right with the world again, at least for a few weeks. Debbie was working at the Brookfield boarding kennel, where she groomed dogs for a living at this time. Her boss, 40-year-old Alan Bono, had watched her go through this trying time with her family,

and even though he wasn't sure how to take it exactly, you know, believe whether or not her little brother was actually possessed, he saw it took a toll on her. She was stressed about the situation and lost her rental house in the process. And so Alan, being a kind-hearted man, offered her a discount on a small rental property that he owned, really close to the kennel, and it was basically next door. That was a plus, and with David on the mend, Debbie was eager to get back on track and out of that house. So in late 1980s, she and Arnie moved on in. But over the next few months, something in Arnie was changing. and he himself said he never felt right.

Debbie witnessed it too and caught him in the living room one day, staring off into space, much like she had seen her brother, but Arnie was able to convince her that he was just fine. Denial is a powerful thing. Having gone through the ordeal with David, maybe it was just too much for them to think that it could happen again. Arnie certainly didn't want to believe that perhaps the old man demon had become part of him, and so he hit it, pushed it down. as best he could. Just like in the movies, when a person's been bitten by a zombie but doesn't want to tell the

rest of the group about it, they hide it as long as they can, even though they know the inevitable is coming. In early 1981, one day while driving home from work, Arnie said that finally this entity got a real hold on him, and for the first time, he felt out of control. On an isolated road, it forced him to jerk the wheel right into a tree, but luckily, Arnie walked away unharmed. Now you may think that if this story is in fact real, then this demon was probably trying to kill him. However, that didn't appear to be the case.

After all, it had spent some time digging its heels into the man, and so why waste all that work? Now, this demon didn't want to kill Arnie. It was just looking to make itself stronger. Because just a few days later, Arnie found himself driving back to the old house. They almost rented out. this started. Whether he did this on his own accord or the entity inside him forced him there as anyone's guess. But once at the property, he headed out back to an old well, as if drawn to it for reasons unknown, staring down into its blackness. It was here that he encountered the demon

itself in full force. He locked eyes with it down in the well that day, and after that, nothing would be the same. Arnie felt it. He was no longer the good, kind-hearted young. He was no longer the good, kind-hearted, young man everyone knew him to be. He was the demon. It had taken over, and he was now fully possessed. February 16th of 1981 was the day it all went down. He had called in sick from his job at Wright Tree Service, and he just felt like doing something else that day. With his sister Wanda and Debbie's nine-year-old cousin, Mary, the three headed over to hang out with Debbie at her job for a bit, while she worked, brushing out the dogs, and so Debbie could bet the animals. Bono, Debbie's boss and landlord at this point, was there for the day,

and for lunch decided to take them all out to a local pizza joint. It was here that the first sign of trouble crept in as Bono was said to have drank a decent amount of beers to the point where he started having some loose lips. There's nothing crazy, but loose lips sink ships, and it was enough to annoy Arnie, where he told him to relax. The two had a minor exchange of words, and the tension was building. And they all returned to the kennel after,

the words continued, until eventually an argument broke out between Bono and Arnie. Debbie at that point tried to take her little cousin out of there before anything bad went down, and that's when Bono reportedly grabbed the little girl and refused to let her go. In his mind, perhaps he thought he was playing,

but this infuriated Arnie, who looked down at the ground before letting out a deep and loud growl like some sort of possessed animal. It was so odd that it broke all the talking back and forth. It was in that brief moment of silence that Arnie pulled out a five-inch pocket knife and attacked Bono right there on the spot, viciously stabbing and screaming the whole time. Wanda tried to pull them off and Debbie tried to help separate them, but Arnie was way too overpowering and there was no stopping them. Within less than a minute, Bono had been stabbed 20 times, mainly in the chest and stomach.

A few times the blade pierced the man's heart, and Bono would be rushed to the hospital. Within a few hours, he unfortunately passed away. The coroner said that four or five of the blows were utterly devastating, hitting Bono's vital organs, and there was one slice that went from his heart all the way down to his belly. Arnie would soon be apprehended about two miles away after an attempt to flee to his body, the scene. Sergeant Gordon Fairchild of the Brookfield PD was there on scene, and he said that Arnie told him he didn't mean to hurt anyone, and that he was unable to remember anything. Down in the local jailhouse while in custody, there's one word came back that Bono had in fact

passed away. Arnie then spoke in complete gibberish for a few minutes, before he just fell asleep in his cell for the next half hour. When he awoke, he would go on to be charged with first-degree murder officially, and this weird story would mark the first murder ever in Brookfield's 193-year history. The day after the killing, Lorraine Warren informed the police that Arnie hadn't done this himself, that he was in fact possessed, and she told them the story. The trial that eventually followed captivated the world's attention, as the defendant's lawyer boldly claimed that the accused was possessed by demons at the time of the killing. The judge, however, cited the lack of empirical evidence and deemed their defense impossible to prove in the

court of law, so that was quickly dismissed. As a result, Johnson was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter and then sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. But he actually got out early due to good behavior and only served just under five years. While in prison, the convicted killer received an education and got married to Debbie, and life for him and David eventually went back to normal, or at least as normal as it could be after this, as to why the demon decided to leave Arnie as anyone's guess. The most logical explanation is, of course, that he was never possessed in the first place. That the timing was just right when he lost his temper with Bono and decided to try and get out of it, what the devil made me do-a-plea. It could be that after this

killing, the demon was satisfied, and so hit up and moved on. Or perhaps, since Arnie and Debbie never did move into that old house, then the old demon kept its word and eventually left them alone. So that's it for this week's episode of Everytown. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Remember you can go check this out in video form over on our YouTube channel called Scary Mysteries. And for additional podcasts from us, check out the Scary Mysteries podcast. Thanks for tuning in today. Remember to come back next week for another episode filled with scary, strange, and mysterious stories. But you never know. Maybe your town will be next.