[2][3] On November 24, 1981, in Brookfield, Connecticut, Arne Cheyenne Johnson was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for the killing of his landlord, Alan Bono.

After witnessing a number of increasingly ominous occurrences involving David, his family, exhausted and terrified, decided to enlist the aid of Ed and Lorraine Warren in a last-ditch effort to "cure" the child.

The Glatzel family, along with the Warrens, then proceeded to have multiple priests petition the Catholic Church to have a formal exorcism performed on David.

The trial attracted media attention from around the world and has obtained a level of notoriety due to numerous depictions of the events in literature and television.

Arne Cheyenne Johnson and Debbie Glatzel provided firsthand accounts for the version of events depicted in Discovery Channel's A Haunting, episode "Where Demons Dwell".

After David experienced night terrors, exhibited strange behavior, and obtained unexplained scratches and bruises, the family called upon the services of a Catholic priest, who attempted to bless the house.

Debbie and her mother told the Warrens they had seen David being beaten and choked by invisible hands and that red marks had appeared on his neck afterward.

After moving in, Johnson started to exhibit odd behavior that was strikingly similar to David's, causing Debbie to fear that he had become possessed as well.

Bono, the couple's landlord and Debbie's employer at the kennel, bought the group lunch at a local bar and proceeded to drink heavily.

Gordon Fairchild of the Brookfield Police Department, said he helped arrest Johnson on a charge of assault (while Alan Bono was still being treated at the hospital).

When Johnson was informed at police headquarters that Bono had died, Fairchild said the suspect became incoherent and then fell asleep for 20 to 25 minutes.

John Lucas advised him of his rights and charged Arne Johnson with first-degree murder;[10] he was held at the Bridgeport Correctional Center on bail of $125,000.

[7] A "media blitz" soon surrounded the story, fueled in part by the Warrens, whose agents promised that lectures, a book, and a movie detailing the gruesome case were in the works.

[2][11] Minnella attempted to submit a plea of not guilty by virtue of possession, but the presiding judge, Robert Callahan, promptly rejected this defense.

Callahan argued that no such defense could ever exist in a court of law due to lack of evidence and that it would be "irrelative and unscientific" to allow related testimony.

[4][12][13][14] Lorraine Warren defended her work with the family, claiming that the six priests who were involved in the incident agreed at the time that the boy was possessed and that the supernatural events she described were real.

[8] Johnson and Debbie (now married) wholeheartedly support the Warrens' account of demonic possession and have stated that the litigants were suing simply for the money.

[12][13] He said that the possession story was a hoax concocted by Ed and Lorraine Warren to exploit the family and his brother's mental illness, and that the book presented him as the villain because he did not believe in the supernatural claims.

[3][8] The Discovery Channel’s paranormal series A Haunting produced the episode Where Demons Dwell based on David’s possession and the Warrens' investigation.