Netflix releases true-crime documentary The Devil on Trial covering true story behind Conjuring 3

I swear there’s always a new documentary landing on Netflix every time I look at the ‘Trending Now’ section - and I absolutely love it.

So, just in time for Halloween season, the latest drop has some links to horror as it tells the true story behind a 2021 hit film.

Released on Netflix today (17 October), The Devil on Trial covers the true story behind The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It.

I mean, if you’ve seen the supernatural horror flick then you’ll have a pretty good idea about this story, but the Netflix synopsis reads: “The Devil on Trial explores the first — and only — time ‘demonic possession’ has officially been used as a defence in a US murder trial.

“Including firsthand accounts of alleged devil possession and a shocking murder, this extraordinary story forces reflection on our fear of the unknown.”

Way back in 1981, Arne Cheyenne Johnson claimed he’d been possessed by some supernatural entity which made him murder his landlord, Alan Bono.

And this was the defence put to court, which is obviously pretty wild.

Netflix

So, and bear with me, this trial is where we find the links to The Conjuring.

To prove Johnson’s innocence, the defence enlisted an expert ghost hunting team.

Ed and Lorraine Warren were the pair hired – yes, the same pair from the film – and had already visited 11-year-old’s David Glatzel’s family prior to the murder.

According to the claims from the paranormal investigator, when they’d tried to rid the child of a demon, it had ended up in Johnson.

They say when they’d desperately been removing it from Glatzel, it had flew into his body instead.

The documentary director, Chris Holt, said in the podcast You Can’t Make This Up: “When the Warrens came along, they were told to start documenting it. They needed to provide proof and evidence to the diocese [to get approved for] an exorcism.

Netflix

“[The documentary] is the first time that audio and those Polaroids have ever been shown — these have been laying in a drawer for 20 to 30 odd years.”

And then a few months on from this demonic trade, Johnson ended up killing Bono and claiming he’d been taken over by something overworldly.

In the end, the court did not believe Johnson's side of the story, and he was convicted of first-degree manslaughter.

Johnson would go on to serve just five years of his 10 to 20-year sentence.

In the history of the US legal system, this is the only time demonic possession has been used as a defence in a murder trial.

The Devil on Trial is now on Netflix.

Topics: Netflix, TV and Film, True Crime, Documentaries

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_