Credited cast: | |||
Edward Asner | ... | Narrator | |
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Remy Bogna | ... | Allison DeFeo |
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Don Bonander | ... | Juror |
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Wendy Bonander | ... | Jury Forewoman |
Shawn Bordoff | ... | William E. Weber | |
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Josh Bower | ... | Gerard Sullivan |
D.T. Carney | ... | Detective | |
Chris Connell | ... | Billy Davidge | |
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Terra Davenport | ... | Juror |
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Allison DeFeo | ... | Self |
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Dawn DeFeo | ... | Self |
John Matthew DeFeo | ... | Self | |
Marc DeFeo | ... | Self | |
Geraldine DeFeo-Gates | ... | Self | |
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Agnes Dosio | ... | Juror |
In the sweat of an autumn night in November 1974, Ronald DeFeo gunned down his entire family -- father Ronald Sr., mother Louise, brothers Marc and John, and sisters Allison and Dawn as they slept. Within 48 hours, DeFeo had been arrested and was convicted the following year of the mass murder. Today, DeFeo remains incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Shattered Hopes initially explores the "official" widely accepted account of the murders while conducting an extensive forensic analysis of the case which clearly suggests that DeFeo could not have committed the crime alone. For nearly four decades, DeFeo has maintained that his sister and another party played a role in the events that transpired at 112 Ocean Avenue. Now, for the first time ever, Shattered Hopes strips away the hazy of mystery behind the infamous Dutch Colonial home and investigates those claims. Pairing vivid reenactments of life in the DeFeo home with extensive and often exclusive ... Written by KatcoMedia
You have to give the producers credit, they did unearth rare Defeo family photographs and got interviews with 3 close family friends who have not spoken about the family since 1974. The fundamental problem is the basis of this documentary is the unreliable testimony of Geraldine Defeo who may or may not have married to Butch Defeo and has been called a fraud by many authorities on the Defeo Murders. I do agree with the producers it is impossible Butch Defeo committed the crimes alone but that sister Dawn took part has been debunked by forensic science. Brigante mob ties too were long ago dismissed. Mike Brigante did have some friends who were outfit guys and may have had some dealings with them on some minor level but the half of the Buick dealership was his own earned through hard work in the automobile business since the end of WWII. The Defeo Murders were the story of a family that could have been your neighbors or mine who were all killed by their mentally disturbed son who found access to a shot gun.