The Amityville house sold for $80,000 after six murders; the family that fled sued, and a judge called their story largely fiction

Kind 1. On 13 November 1974 Ronald DeFeo Jr., 23, shot his parents and four siblings as they slept at 112 Ocean Avenue. He was convicted of second-degree murder in November 1975, sentenced to six terms of 25 years to life, and died in prison in 2021. In December 1975 George and Kathy Lutz bought the house for $80,000 and moved in on 18 December with three children. They left on 14 January 1976, after 28 days. Jay Anson's book The Amityville Horror (1977) told their account. In May 1977 the Lutzes sued DeFeo's lawyer William Weber, writer Paul Hoffman and two magazines for $4.5 million; Weber and others countersued for $2 million each, alleging fraud and breach of contract. In September 1979 the court dismissed the Lutzes' claims, saying the book appeared to be largely fiction resting heavily on Weber's suggestions. Weber told People magazine, "I know this book's a hoax." James and Barbara Cromarty bought the house in March 1977 for $55,000^† and sued the Lutzes, Anson and the publisher^†. The address was changed to discourage sightseers. Owners since 1976 have reported no problems. The house sold in 2010 for $950,000 and in February 2017 for $605,000, below its asking price.