OVER 40 years ago, a man claimed the Devil made him stab his landlord to death in what has become the country’s first known court case blaming demonic possession for a murder.

Alan Bono was brutally murdered in 1981 in Brookfield, Connecticut by his 19-year-old tenant, Arne Cheyenne Johnson.

The killing and subsequent trial turned into a media circus after Johnson’s defense team argued that he was under the influence of Satan when Bono died.

Netflix’s latest true crime documentary, The Devil on Trial, digs deep into Johnson’s case, the frenzy that surrounded it, and Johnson’s history with possession.

Before the murder, Johnson was engaged to Debbie Glatzel whose family had been struggling with several unexplained events that affected her younger brother, David.

In July 1980, David and Johnson were cleaning up a rental property the Glatzels were preparing to move into when Devid claimed he came across a “burnt-looking” old man who told him that if anyone moved into the home, he would harm them.

David said he continued to see the man for months, including in a dream who told him: “Beware.”

The boy’s family said he would randomly recite passages from the Bible or Paradise Lost and his body would shake all over as if he were being attacked by an invisible being.

Bruises and scratches would appear on David’s body that couldn’t be explained.

His family began to watch over him at night, claiming in interviews that he would suddenly sit up and perform sit-ups for 30 minutes at a time.

“He would kick, bite, spit, swear — terrible words,” his mother, Judy, told The New York Times in 1981.

The Glatzels reached out to their church for help, claiming that priests were sent to examine David but nothing helped.

At their wit’s end, they turned to Lorraine and Ed Warren, famed demonic investigators who tackled the infamous haunting in Amityville case just a few years before.

Lorraine told People magazine that it was clear to the couple that David had been possessed.

“While Ed interviewed the boy, I saw a black, misty form next to him, which told me we were dealing with something of a negative nature,” she said in October 1981.

“Soon the child was complaining that invisible hands were choking him — and there were red marks on him. He said that he had the feeling of being hit.”

The Warrens claimed the recorded “43 demons” in David and told People they performed three “lesser” exorcisms on him in October 1980.

During one of these exorcisms, Johnson reportedly tried to taunt one of David’s “demons” to enter him instead and it worked, according to the Glatzels.

After Johnson’s intervention, the family said he started to show signs of possession, pointing to a night when Johnson drove his car into a tree as proof.

Johnson claimed that he crashed the car because a demon took control of the vehicle.

He wasn’t hurt from the crash and Johnson said he visited the well where the devil supposedly lived, claiming it was the last “lucid” moment he had before the murder.

This was when the Warrens claimed they called the police to warn them that the situation with Johnson and the Glatzel family was becoming dangerous.

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT

On February 16, 1981, Johnson visited Debbie’s job after calling in sick to work.

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At this time, Debbie worked at Bono’s kennel while she and Johnson lived in one of Bono’s rental apartments.

Later that day, Bono took the couple and a few other workers out to lunch where Bono drank heavily, one of the workers told The Washington Post.

After returning to Bono’s apartment, Debbie left to buy him pizza to sober up but by the time she returned, Johnson and Bono got into an argument over a broken TV set.

She tried to get in between the two men when one of the co-workers said Johnson began growling like an animal and something shiny flashed in the air when all of a sudden, “it just stopped.”

Johnson walked into the woods while Bono collapsed to the ground face-first, the worker said.

Bono was stabbed several times with a five-inch blade that Johnson always carried.

He died a few hours later and Johnson was charged with his murder.

TRIAL OF THE CENTURY

The case went to trial on October 28, 1981, and became a hit with the media thanks to the Warrens’ lectures, book deals, and media appearances.

Nearby hotels were sold out and the courtroom was filled with observers every day.

Johnson’s lawyer, Martin Minnella argued he was “not guilty by virtue of possession.”

However, Judge Robert Callahan rejected this plea, saying virtue of possession couldn’t exist in a court of law – Minnella then claimed that Johnson acted in self-defense.

On November 24, Johnson was convicted of first-degree manslaughter after 15 hours of deliberation.

He was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison but was released after five years.

“He was an exemplary inmate,” said then-chief of parole Hans Fjelman to the Associated Press. “His mental condition was carefully examined. They found no negative factors.”

Johnson married Debbie in prison and received his high-school degree and other education certificates.

The couple stayed together and had two children but spent much of their life out of the public eye.

The Warrens fervently believed that the devil was involved in Bono’s murder.

“Possession doesn’t last 24 hours a day,” Ed told The Washington Post at the time.

“It comes quickly and leaves quickly. Arne understands what happened to him. He now knows if something happens how to ward it off and he won’t be stupid enough to take on the devil again.”

Bono’s murder and the story of the Glatzel family were the basis for the 2021 film, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – the third film in the Conjuring franchise.

However, the Netflix documentary will be the first time that several of those involved in the case will speak out, including Johnson himself.

The documentary will “(spark) a new conversation about what happens when assumptions about reality are in direct conflict with strongly held beliefs,” according to Netflix.

The Devil on Trial premiered on October 17.