Warning: Major spoilers ahead for The Conjuring 3.
Everything The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It leaves out about the true story. The film involved another deep-dive into Ed and Lorraine Warrens’ case files, though this one included exorcisms, a grisly murder and a trial. In February 1981, Arne Cheyenne Johnson stabbed his landlord, Alan Bono, to death and walked away before being arrested. The Conjuring 3 includes a lot of true facts surrounding the murder and subsequent trial, which became the first to use the defense of demonic possession in U.S. history. But considering The Conjuring universe has also taken creative liberties before, the latest horror sequel is no different.
The film opens shortly before Arne Johnson's story takes a deadly turn. The Warrens are at present during David Glatzel's exorcism. He's a young boy who's seemingly been possessed by a demon after moving into his family's new home in Connecticut. Arne steps in to challenge the demon when things start to get out of hand, offering himself up in David's place. As The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It depicts, Arne begins acting weird shortly after and it isn't long before he begins seeing visions, eventually leading him to stab his landlord 22 times. Or so the film portrays.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It leaves out plenty of facts and tidbits about who else was there the day of the murder, a missing member of the Glatzel family, and what actually happened in court following the submission of Johnson's defense of demonic possession. Here's everything The Conjuring 3 leaves out about the true story.
Arne’s Sisters Were With Him The Day Of The Murder
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It suggests that Arne and Debbie were the only witnesses at the scene of the crime. However, on the very day Arne killed Bono, his sisters Wanda and Janice were both present, as well as Debbie’s cousin Mary. Bono reportedly took all five of them out to lunch that day, where he allegedly had a lot of wine, before returning home. Arne, Debbie, and the girls were about to leave when Bono grabbed Mary. Wanda says she saw something shiny and heard Arne make growling noises before stabbing Bono in the chest and stomach on the front lawn. Debbie argues he was in a trance the whole time. Arne was later found a couple of miles away from the scene of the crime by the police.
In The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, the landlord’s murder happens from within the dog kennel where Debbie works, with Arne seeing visions right before he commits the crime. The murder itself happens in the dark, with audiences only hearing the sounds of what’s happening before Arne is seen shortly thereafter with blood on his shirt being stopped by a cop, who were called by the Warrens. It’s likely the film left out his sisters and Debbie’s cousin to keep the story simple. Introducing three other people and having to find room for them in the story would have complicated matters, especially since The Conjuring 3 was focused more on the horror aspects rather than an accurately detailed account of events.
The Conjuring 3 Omits Landlord’s Real Name
In the movie, Debbie and Arne’s landlord is Bruno Sauls. While the film keeps the real names of the Glatzels and Johnson intact, Bruno’s real-life counterpart was actually Alan Bono. Considering Bono was the victim of a crime, however, it’s likely director Michael Chaves wanted to leave his real name out of the film out of respect for him and his family. Renaming him Bruno in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It sounds similar enough to his real name that it's notable, but not too big of a change.
The Devil Made Me Do It Defense Was Thrown Out By Judge
In reality, Judge Robert Callahan didn’t allow the defense claiming demonic possession in court and rejected it so the jury never actually heard Arne or the Glatzel family’s testimonies in reference to it, including David's previous exorcism. Callahan didn’t believe that Arne’s claims of demonic possession could be proven in court and would have lacked any actual evidence. After the trial’s conclusion, the jury took three days to determine Arne was guilty of first-degree manslaughter, all sans the defense of possession being taken into consideration. In the film, the story pivots away from the case following the submission of the “devil made me do it” defense, so the audience never sees the judge reacting to it.
David’s Exorcism Happened Months Before The Conjuring 3
The film opens with Ed and Lorraine in the midst of David’s exorcism. It’s July 1981. However, several Catholic priests actually attempted to exorcise him in the summer and fall of 1980, nearly an entire year before the events of The Conjuring 3 took place. It’s during these exorcisms that Arne reportedly taunted the demon possessing David, which the movie does include. The exorcisms took place months ahead of Arne’s crime, but the movie makes it seem like only mere days have passed between that and David’s exorcism. In reality, Arne commits the murder in February of 1981, months in advance of the timeline The Devil Made Me Do It has set up. It’s unclear why the film is set after these things have already happened, but it’s possible The Conjuring 3 wanted Arne’s imprisonment (his trial didn’t begin until October 1981) and the exorcism to be in close proximity without having to jump around in time.
The Warrens Believed David Was Possessed By Several Demons
In The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, David and Arne’s story is simplified because the film shifts its focus to the occult rather than getting into more of the details of David’s time while supposedly possessed and Arne’s murder trial. David was seemingly possessed by one demon in the film before Ed and Lorraine discover he was cursed. In reality, the demonologists believed the young boy was possessed by approximately 42 demons, which is a lot. There was also more than one priest involved in the exorcisms. Of course, the film moves away from a typical possession story to an occultist’s curse and including 42 demons in the film when there is already so much going on probably would have been excessive.
Arne Johnson’s Lawyer Helped Sensationalize The Case
In The Conjuring 3, Arne’s lawyer is hesitant to believe the story he and the Warrens present, arguing that the defense of demonic possession would be difficult to prove and sounded somewhat ridiculous. Her mind is changed after an offscreen visit to the Warrens’ home to meet Annabelle. However, Johnson’s real-life attorney, Martin Minnella, did believe that his client’s story was legitimate and cited a couple of cases of demonic possession that were heard in the UK. Minnella, along with the Warrens, also worked to sensationalize the case to the media, with the attorney calling it more “frightening than The Exorcist.”
The Conjuring 3 Left Out David & Debbie Glatzel's Brother
Carl Glatzel Jr. was the middle child of the Glatzel family. Unlike Debbie, Carl didn’t think David was possessed and that the Warrens exploited his family. While Debbie and Arne continue to claim that demonic possession was the cause of Bono’s murder, Carl believes it was all a hoax. In fact, David and Carl sued Lorraine Warren in 2007 for reportedly coming up with the demonic possession story, one that Carl and the rest of his family later refuted publicly. Carl is the only immediate family member who doesn’t appear in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. It’s unclear whether his real-life stance on the story played a role in his absence from the film or if the filmmakers decided it was best to keep only the key players — similar to how the additional Catholic priests were removed from the exorcism save for one.