Brother of 'possessed' boy whose story is retold in The Conjuring 3 speaks out against film's focus on his family's trauma

BROOKFIELD, Conn. — The brother of a boy who some thought was possessed by demons has told the Hartford Courant previously that he resents the retelling of his family’s trauma, which features as the plot in the new film The Conjuring 3. Carl Glatzel, 55, left Connecticut because of the painful events that started when his brother, David, began having hallucinations and delusions as a boy, the newspaper reported Wednesday. Arne Johnson, the boyfriend and later husband of Deborah Glatzel, Carl and David’s sister, alleged that a demon left the boy and entered him during an exorcism and caused him to murder his landlord, Alan Bono, in 1981. Johnson was convicted of manslaughter and served four years in prison. A defense attorney tried to defend Johnson against the charges, saying the devil had made him do it. The judge did not permit the arguments, which were based on claims by a couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren, who said they were paranormal investigators. The couple feature as the main characters in the film franchise. Carl Glatzel has said the Warrens exploited his family for monetary gain. He told The Associated Press in 2007 that his brother had suffered from mental illness as a child but has now recovered. “It was living hell when we were kids,” Glatzel told the AP that year. “It was just a nightmare. I’m not going to go through that again. Neither is my brother.” The case was made into a 1983 NBC television movie, The Demon Murder Case, and was the subject of a book The Devil in Connecticut, by Gerald Brittle. Carl Glatzel sued Brittle and Lorraine Warren when the book was reprinted in 2006, though the case was dismissed. Brittle told the newspaper the book was taken out of print because of the lawsuit. “I did it because I was fed up with the case, fed up with Carl Glatzel,” Brittle said. “It just wasn’t worth it to me. It had no bearing on the fact that the book was true.” The Conjuring 3 opens in US theaters on 4 June and will be available on HBO Max for 31 days from theatrical release. The newspaper could not reach Arne Johnson for comment. Deborah Johnson, Ed Warren and Lorraine Warren have died, the newspaper reported.