Prior to Netflix’s 2023 documentary, The Devil on Trial, there was the 2021 film The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. In that movie, Arne Johnson stabbed his landlord, Alan Bono, to death after a brief altercation. Johnson’s defense was that he’d been possessed by the Devil following the exorcism of his girlfriend’s 12-year-old brother, David Glatzel.
In this “true” story, supposed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren became involved. While Johnson was ultimately found guilty, his “devil made me do it” case became the first in United States history to invoke Satan as a criminal defense, and it made the Warrens a nice chunk of change, with the publication of the book The Devil in Connecticut.
The Devil and Arne Johnson
Netflix and “four-time BAFTA nominated” director Christopher Holt’s The Devil on Trial is the “bone-chilling true-crime story” of Johnson and Glatzel. Unsurprisingly, given Netflix’s reputation for misleading docuseries like Sons of Sam and Fall River, The Devil on Trial is light on facts and heavy on fantasy. Despite using photographs and audio recordings taken by the Glatzel family and the Warrens, the film presents this first-hand evidence heavily filtered and with special effects, including what is unmistakably audio samples from The Exorcist of Linda Blair (or rather, Pazuzu) growling.
The Devil on Trial has a runtime of an hour and 21 minutes, with the entire first hour devoted to the facts of the case and the testimony of Glatzel and his older brother Alan, both of whom insist David really was possessed, and Johnson was innocent. Only in the last twenty minutes do we hear the argument of oldest brother, Carl Glatzel Jr., who explains that the Warrens exploited his family for financial gain. He says they persuaded the family that David was possessed and provided him with all the direction he needed by warning their mother, in front of David, that, “He can start cursing at you, spitting at you. He’ll grunt and growl like a savage.”
As Carl pointedly asks the camera, “You don’t think Dave’s smart enough to put two and two together? A couple of days later David, was doing just that.” At least he was until their father — who remained skeptical despite the Warrens’ counsel — marched into the room, slapped David, and yelled at him to stop, at which time he did. The power of Christ wasn’t compelling, but apparently the power of Carl Glatzel Sr. and his five fingers to the face was.
The one thing all the Glatzel children do agree on is that, regardless of whether or not David and Arne were possessed, the Warrens profited from their story, and despite allegedly telling the family, “You guys will be millionaires,” the Johnsons only received $2,000 from the publisher of The Devil in Connecticut, and the Glatzel family received $4,500. The Warrens made an estimated $81,000.
“If they can profit off you, they will,” Carl said.
Sweet dreams are not made of this
A bombshell allegation is dropped in the last few minutes of The Devil on Trial, which offers a plausible explanation for the apparent demonic doings. Carl Jr. claims that after his mother Judy’s death, within her diary he found a passage alluding to the family having “taken their medicine.” Remembering that their mother always prepared her food separately, Carl alleges that she was drugging the family with Sominex, an over-the-counter sleep aid with the active ingredient diphenhydramine. An overdose of this antihistamine can cause “agitation, confusion, delirium, nervousness, tremors, and hallucinations.”
Given that David was the youngest child, it’s reasonable to think he would’ve been the person most at risk for diphenhydramine overdose, if the drugging really did occur. If none of the rest of the family (nor the Warrens) were aware of this, and Judy was ignorant of the effects of diphenhydramine overdosing, it’s not hard to see how they could have seen David’s behavior as classic symptoms of demonic possession.
Crime doesn’t pay, unless you’re Ed and Lorraine Warren
Whether or not diphenhydramine overdosing was responsible for what happened to David Glatzel, it should be clear that absolutely no evidence exists to support the claim that Johnson was possessed by the Devil when he killed Bono. While The Devil on Trial makes an attempt to present a skeptical viewpoint of events, it’s far more interested in capitalizing on the sensationalism of the diabolical.
Still, anyone interested in the story of Glatzel and Johnson, or who loves to hate Ed and Lorraine Warren, should check out The Devil on Trial. It offers a rare opportunity for the Glatzel family and Johnson to appear on camera and tell their side of the story, while not shying away from presenting criticism of the Warrens as opportunistic grifters.
Every February, to help celebrate Darwin Day, the Science section of AIPT cranks up the critical thinking for SKEPTICISM MONTH! Skepticism is an approach to evaluating claims that emphasizes evidence and applies the tools of science. All month we’ll be highlighting skepticism in pop culture, and skepticism *OF* pop culture.
AIPT Science is co-presented by AIPT and the New York City Skeptics.
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