The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It True Story: What Happened To Arne Johnson?

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves, with a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick from a story by Johnson-McGoldrick and James Wan. 

The film serves as a sequel to The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016), and as the eighth installment in the Conjuring Universe. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren, with Ruairi OConnor, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Julian Hilliard also starring. Wan and Peter Safran return to produce the film, which is based on the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, a murder trial that took place in 1981 Connecticut.

Initial development for a third Conjuring film began in 2016, though Wan stated that he would not be directing another film in the series due to scheduling conflicts with other projects. Safran confirmed that the next film would not be a haunted house film. By June 2017, it was officially announced that a third installment was in development, with David Leslie Johnson hired to write the screenplay. Michael Chaves was announced as the films director, after previously directing The Curse of La Llorona (2019). Filming took place in Georgia in summer 2019.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (in Spanish: El Conjuro 3 Película Completa) true story explained and what happened to Arne Johnson? The third installment in The Conjuring films — and the eighth in the franchise universe overall — may be the most disturbing movie to date because it depicts aspects of Arne Cheyenne Johnsons murder of landlord Alan Bono. All of the films are based on Ed and Lorraine Warrens paranormal case files (all of which are embellished to various degrees), but in lieu of a haunting, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It turns its focus to a real-life court, and highly publicized, case and the events leading up to it. 

Set in 1981, the horror sequel sees Ed and Lorraine called in to investigate the case of David Glatzel, who is presumably possessed by a demon. When an exorcism goes awry, Arne Johnson (Ruairi OConnor), the boyfriend of Davids sister Debbie, provokes the demon to leave David alone and take him instead. Shortly thereafter, Johnson kills his landlord and claims he did it while possessed. The murder itself is blacked out in the film, though the general summary of events that audiences saw are based on Johnson, Debbie, and the Warrens accounts of what happened during this time.

However, there are certain details about Johnsons case, as well as what happened to him after, that The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It doesnt really focus on. Here is what happened to Arne Johnson leading up to the murder and the life he led following his sentencing. 

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It isnt all fiction when it comes to depicting aspects of Arne Cheyenne Johnsons and the murder he commits. According to Ed and Lorraine Warren, Arne was indeed present during the exorcism of David Glatzel, the brother of his girlfriend Debbie, in which he taunted the supposed demon possessing David. The exorcisms, because there were more than one, occurred in the summer and fall of 1980. Following the exorcisms, Debbie told police that Johnson started acting weird — he would growl like an animal and hallucinate, followed by no recollection of any of these behaviors. It was similar to how David acted when he was presumably possessed (Davids brother Carl, who isnt in the film, believes his brother had a mental illness).

While the actual events of the exorcism are up for debate, the facts are that Johnson stabbed Alan Bono, his and Debbies landlord multiple times with a five-inch pocket knife after previously going to lunch with him, Johnsons two sisters, Debbie and her younger cousin, where Bono allegedly became drunk. After getting home, Bono and Johnson reportedly got into a fight right before the latter killed Bono. The murder was the first to ever occur in Brookfield, Connecticut at the time, which is why it was so shocking to the community at large. Johnson was found by the cops two miles from where he killed Bono that same day, claiming he didnt remember what happened. Debbie alleges Johnson was in a trance during the stabbing. He was arrested and taken into custody, pleading not guilty to Bonos murder on account of demonic possession. At the time, the Warrens were major players in publicizing what happened because of their prior involvement in Davids exorcism, though Carl Glatzel argues they were in it for the money and attention. 

Johnsons trial began in October 1981 and, while his defense attorney Martin Minnella, backed the claim that Johnson had been possessed when he murdered Bono and believed the defense to be legitimate, Judge Robert Callahan rejected the defense and threw it out because he didnt think it could be genuinely backed up by evidence. The case itself made headlines and waves on account of it being the first "devil made me do it" defense on record in the U.S. However, the jury never heard any arguments regarding the possession because it never got past the judge. After 15 hours of jury deliberation, which took place over the course of three days, Johnson was charged with first-degree manslaughter and sentenced to serve 10-20 years in prison. He was only in prison for five years, however, getting out early on parole for good behavior. 

For one thing, Johnsons case didnt actually involve an occultist who wanted him to murder someone before dying by suicide. That part of the story was created solely for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and had no bearing on any of the real-life events the film depicts. Because of The Occultists presence in the horror sequel, the time Johnson spends in prison before his trial is also changed to reflect the fictitious nature of the film as there are no accounts of him attempting suicide or of anything out of the ordinary occurring during his lock-up..  

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The film also changed Johnsons relationship with Bono. Many have claimed that the two were friends before Johnson killed him, which is why they went out to lunch together the day of the crime. The police argued that the pairs argument on the day of the murder stemmed from Johnsons jealousy over Debbie and Bonos relationship, which they suspected to have been more than platonic. The film touches upon some of this tension between them, but doesnt spend too much time on Bono (who is renamed Bruno Sauls in the film). 

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It glossed over Johnsons actual trial to instead focus on The Occultist. Johnson and Glatzel stayed together throughout the years, with the couple marrying while Johnson was still in prison. There isnt much information regarding what happened to him after he was released and hes largely kept the details of his life private. What information can be gleaned comes mostly from Lorraine Warren, who once revealed that Johnson had gotten a job with a landscaper after getting out of prison and was settling back into his life while surrounded by family.

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