It was just before seven a.m.

Vito D'Aurio stepped from his car into the briskly cold, grey morning, which had dawned over Brooklyn. D'Aurio, in his 60's, and despite suffering from a heart condition, had made it his duty to arrive early at work each and every morning, and well before any of the other twenty-plus employees. For just under two decades, D'Aurio had worked for one of several Brooklyn Buick dealers, Brigante-Karl Buick, at Coney Island Avenue and Cortelyou Road, nestled right in the heart of the borough.

Approaching the service drive fronting a busy Coney Island Avenue, D'Aurio recognized a particular dark blue Buick parked before the still-closed garage door. It was a 1970 Buick Electra 225 4-door sedan with a black vinyl top. The hood of the car was pointed inward, toward the roll-up door. D'Aurio smiled as he rounded the car and approached the driver's side door. Peering in, he saw fellow dealership employee Ronald Joseph DeFeo, Jr., slumping in the driver's seat, dozing peacefully. DeFeo was the son of his co-service manager Ronald DeFeo "Big Ronnie" Sr., and he was also the grandson of D'Aurio's boss, Buick dealer Michael S. Brigante Sr., one of the partners of Brigante-Karl Buick.

RONALD DEFEO SR., 43

Hanging up the stairs and into the landing of the second floor, a series of portraits, rumored to have cost in excess of $15,000 each, adorned the walls. The first portrait depicted the DeFeo daughters, Allison and Dawn. The next portrait, a couple of steps further up, was that of Butch and his father, the latter Senior pouring Junior a glass of liquor. Above this, sons Marc and John. In the landing hung an elaborately detailed vertical portrait of the beautiful Louise Marie Brigante-DeFeo seated in an elegant chair. Adjacent this, on an opposite wall hung a portrait of Michael Brigante. While clad in a sleek black suit and donning a warm smile, he was none-the-less imposing. Clearly, this series of portraits, hand painted by an artist and expensively framed, was not a household accessory found in the home of the average middle-class American.

While Butch's own arrival on this grey November morning even preceded D'Aurio's morning ritual of arriving ahead of anyone else, Butch's sporadic schedule was hardly enough to make anyone believe that anything could be amiss. Butch, accordingly, often arrived very early and left all the earlier in the afternoon, sometimes well before the closing hours for his fellow clerical and service department workers. Regardless, Butch's early arrival must have surely triggered thoughts of his father, Ronald DeFeo Sr., for Vito D'Aurio. Big Ronnie had, in recent weeks, told D'Aurio of some particularly troubling phone calls that he was receiving. The conversation occurred in the presence of service department employee Lucy Burkin who later recalled the conversation saying "...He [Ronald Sr.] would not go into specifics...but he was very worried as the family had been receiving mysterious telephone calls which contained threats." Burkin, like D'Aurio, had been told in the service department office that the series of calls had been taking place over the month of October and November 1974, and according to Big Ronnie Sr., he was at a loss as to who the calls were from. "...It was enough to make him worry," Burkin said.

Lucy Burkin had worked for Mike Brigante for 14 years in November 1974. Like D'Aurio, she was an employee of the service department, and worked in a clerical position within the office. Her direct supervisor was Ronald DeFeo Sr.. Apparently, the relationship went beyond just that of being co-workers based on statements that Mrs. Burkin made to others. From her account, it seemed that the DeFeos and the Burkins had become friends.

Lucy Burkin and her husband were guests at the DeFeo house for a New Year's Eve party just 11 months earlier. Lucy, speaking of the party, recalled, "Ronnie Sr. had at least 35 to 40 youths there, plus a number of adults. He was very good natured and there was loads of food and drink." Lucy recalled later that Big Ronnie DeFeo had practically insisted that the Burkins stay over at the house rather than drive back to Brooklyn that night when the party wrapped.

Burkin's fondness didn't end with Big Ronnie DeFeo, however. It carried over to Butch. She felt that Butch was exceptionally "polite and kind." Knowing that Burkin liked grape soda, he went out of his way to make sure that there was always a can of such on her desk. Whenever Butch DeFeo left for lunch or to pick up a sandwich, he would go out of his way to ask Burkin if he could get something for her. Lucy Burkin was described as a "matronly" type of woman, so the love and admiration that Butch allegedly had for his mother most likely carried over to Burkin.

Burkin always felt that Butch was "very neat and clean." One of her duties at Brigante included the coordination of uniforms for the mechanics and service personnel from an outside launderer and uniform provider. Each employee got one set of uniforms at a time, to be worn between the designated drop off and pick-up times. In most cases, such services provide enough uniforms for one week. For Butch, Lucy Burkin always ordered three sets at a time so that Butch would always have an abundance of clean uniforms to work in.

On this 13th day of November, Big Ronnie DeFeo was nowhere to found at the Brigante operation. He hadn't reported for work that day. To Vito D'Aurio and Lucy Burkin, however, this was no surprise.

Butch DeFeo's next-to-youngest brother, Marc Gregory, 11, had been injured in September during a local football game. He was a member of the Massapequa Mustangs, and the injury had rendered him almost paralyzed. He was reliant upon crutches and a wheelchair for mobility, but the doctors had assured Ronald and Louise DeFeo that he would get better. As a result, Marc was undergoing physical therapy treatments. On 13 November, Marc DeFeo had such a treatment. In the days before, Big Ronnie had advised his coworkers of such and told them that he would not be in the shop that day. Big Ronnie distinctly told Lucy Burkin that if anyone from the shop needed to speak to him, he "would probably be home by 3:00 p.m."

When Butch DeFeo came into the service department office at approximately 2:30 p.m., Lucy Burkin reminded him of these facts when Butch picked up the phone and told her he was going to call home.

"No one is going to be home until probably after three, Butch," she said.

Butch considered it for a moment, and then went ahead and dialed the number to the DeFeo residence anyway. Standing but a few feet away from her, Butch paced as the phone rang. There, as Lucy had warned, was no answer.

Shortly after making this phone call, Butch DeFeo left the dealership to make the drive back to his parent's house in Amityville. Vito D'Aurio nor Lucy Burkin realized that this would be the last time that they would see Butch DeFeo at the dealership.

THE STORY • PART II