The Devil Made Me Do It: Ed and Lorraine Warren’s Final Case

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 The Devil Made Me Do It: Ed and Lorraine Warren’s Final Case

By: Tammy Summers 

 KY. Sisters Exploring Forgotten Places

 A LEGACY OF THE UNSEEN


For decades, Ed and Lorraine Warren stood at the forefront of paranormal investigation, delving into hauntings from Amityville to Enfield. Their final—and most legally controversial—case emerged in 1981 in Brookfield, Connecticut, when a murder trial claimed demonic possession as defense for the first time in U.S. history. 


In early 1981, 11-year-old David Glatzel began exhibiting bizarre behavior: growling, speaking in unknown tongues, and violent fits. His family enlisted Ed and Lorraine after exhaustively consulting medical experts. Multiple Catholic priests performed an exorcism over several days. Each session followed the Church’s ritual:


1. Recitation of prayers from the Rituale Romanum


2. Sprinkling of holy water and use of blessed oil


3. Invocation of St. Michael the Archangel to banish the demon


Witnesses described violent convulsions and repeated shrieks, culminating in the demon’s departure from David’s body by the final day Witnesses reported that a demon was expelled from David only to “leap” into his sister’s boyfriend, 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson. 


A Demon Unleashed: 


On February 16, 1981, during a gathering at the Brookfield dog kennel where Johnson worked, a heated argument with 40-year-old landlord Alan Bono turned deadly. Witnesses described Johnson pulling a five-inch pocketknife and inflicting “four or five tremendous wounds,” one from Bono’s stomach to his heart base, killing him instantaneously. Johnson was apprehended two miles from the scene and held on $125,000 bail. 


“DEMONIC POSSESSION” DEFENSE IN COURT


When Johnson stood trial later that year, his attorney mounted an unprecedented defense: he claimed Johnson was not responsible due to demonic possession. The Connecticut Superior Court rejected the argument, deeming possession unprovable and inadmissible. All evidence of supernatural involvement was barred, forcing the defense to pivot toward self-defense. 


THE VERDICT AND AFTERMATH


On November 24, 1981, the jury convicted Johnson of first-degree manslaughter, reducing the severity from murder. He received a 10–20-year sentence but was released after five years for good behavior. Throughout, Ed and Lorraine maintained their support for the Glatzel family and Johnson, insisting the demon’s transfer was real and documented in Gerald Brittle’s The Devil in Connecticut. 


     WHEN DARKNESS DESCENDED ...


                 DELVING INTO DAVID’S ORDEAL 


In 1980, 11-year-old David Glatzel’s life took a terrifying turn. While helping his family clean a newly rented farmhouse, he claimed to see a sinister old man lurking in the shadows. Over the following days, David’s behavior devolved into violent fits, guttural growls, and unexplained episodes of levitation and prophetic visions—signs his family could not ignore.


• Sudden levitations, with David reportedly rising off his bed and floating several inches above the mattress


• Speaking in unknown languages and harsh, guttural tones


• Clairvoyant utterances, including a chilling prediction of his sister’s boyfriend, Arne Johnson, committing a violent act


These manifestations convinced Ed and Lorraine Warren that a demonic entity had latched onto David’s spirit. 


THE DEMON’S LAST ACT


According to those present, the expelled entity did not vanish—it transferred itself into 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson, then dating David’s sister, Debbie. This leap of malevolence laid the groundwork for the infamous “Devil Made Me Do It” murder trial months later. 


MY THOUGHTS: FAITH, FEAR, AND THE UNKNOWN


The Glatzel exorcism stands at the crossroads of faith and skepticism. It challenged the Catholic Church’s rigorous standards for possession, tested legal definitions of responsibility, and cemented Ed and Lorraine Warren’s legacy as America’s most famous demonologists. Whether one believes in the supernatural or not, David’s ordeal continues to provoke questions about the limits of both science and spirituality.




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