Ronald Joseph DeFeo, Jr. was an American mass murderer and family annihilator who, in the early morning hours of November 14, 1974, systematically shot each member of his family to death. He later confessed to the murders, was tried, found guilty, and incarcerated. DeFeo, Jr. shot each member of his family with a .35 caliber lever action Marlin 336C rifle that he later discarded, along with his own bloodstained clothes, by casting them into a storm drain. DeFeo, Jr. claimed in court that he was "possessed by Satan" while committing the murders, and that he acted "in self defense", as he had heard his family's voices plotting against him. His alleged insanity was indeed supported by the defense psychiatrist, Daniel Schwartz.