Brand new Netflix documentary The Devil on Trial exposes a shocking true story – that of Arne Johnson, the first person ever to use demonic possession as an excuse during a murder trial. Only 19 years old at the time of allegations levelled against him, Arne was accused of stabbing his 40-year-old landlord, Alan Bono, more than 20 times.
In 1981, Johnson admitted to killing Bono – but said the devil forced him to do it. And to make matters even more complicated, paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren were called in to help prove his innocence. If those names seem familiar, it’s because The Conjuring movies, and their Annabelle spin-offs, were based on the Warrens’ exploits.
And why exactly did Arne’s family believe he was possessed? It all stemmed from Arne’s girlfriend Deborah, who claimed her 11-year-old brother David Glatzel had also been taken over by the devil earlier that year. He suffered from visions of scary old men, and would recite Bible passages at random – as well as being covered in bruises that nobody could account for.
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His main spiritual tormentor was described as “a man with big black eyes, a thin face with animal features and jagged teeth, pointed ears, horns and hoofs”. The child would constantly kick and bite his family members, and was eventually exorcised.
(Image: Courtesy of Netflix)
But Deborah claimed Arne was later possessed by that same force – reportedly going into trances and claim he had “seen the beast” months before Alan’s death. Eventually, Arne and Alan found themselves at lunch together. Joined by Deborah, and her younger sisters Wanda and Janice, Alan had begun drinking heavily and started touching Deborah’s nine-year-old cousin, Mary.
While some experts are sure Arne really was possessed, others have speculated that it was Alan’s drunken holding onto Mary that sparked his outrage. Arne is said to have started growling, before stabbing Bono several times before walking off into the woods “in a catatonic state” – seemingly with no memory of the incident.
(Image: Bettmann Archive)
Alan had “four or five tremendous wounds”, including one that stretched from his stomach up to the bottom of his heart. Eventually, the jury in Arne’s trial were told to disregard the potential for demonic possession, and he was convicted of first-degree manslaughter.
Johnson eventually served five years of a 10 to 20 year sentence behind bars, earning his high school diploma and tying the knot with Deborah all while imprisoned. He was released on good behaviour in 1986.
(Image: Courtesy of Netflix)
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While this week’s Netflix documentary is set to shed more light on the case, Arne has been thrust into the spotlight more than once since the infamous trial. He featured in an episode of A Haunting, as well as inspiring 2021 horror flick The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.
But in another twist of fate, 2007 saw David Glatzel – the original possessed child – sue the Warrens for continuing to profit from the story of his exorcism. His brother Carl insists that David was mentally ill at the time of his so-called ‘possession’. In response, Lorraine Warren shared the thoughts of six priests, all of whom claimed he actually did show signs of being possessed.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
