Kumari Shreya
Directed by Chris Holt, Netflix’s ‘The Devil on Trial’ focuses on members of the Glatzel family as they recall the events surrounding the alleged demonic possession of David Glatzel and Arne Cheyenne Johnson. The documentary movie‘s primary focus is to allow everyone to present their own side of the story, especially those who were affected the most by it. As such, the words of David Glatzel themself perhaps touch the viewers the most. Naturally, people are curious about what he has been up to these days, and we are here to answer the same!
Who is David Glatzel?
David Glatzel grew up in Brookfield, Connecticut, and was the third son of Carl Glatzel Sr and Judy Glatzel. He had three other siblings, including his two brothers, Carl Jr and Alan Glatzel, as well as an older sister, Deborah “Debbie” Glatzel, who had been dating Arne Cheyne Johnson in 1980 and was planning on moving in with him. In fact, on July 2, 1980, an 11-year-old David was helping his sister and her boyfriend move in together, and their new house is where the family’s apparent dealing with the paranormal started.
After coming back home, David claimed that he had seen a supernatural being in one of his sister’s home’s rooms. He stated that the entity looked like the devil from a Halloween costume whose “eyes were black, solid black, just like a chunk of coal, and it scared me.” While the others initially ignored his concerns, things quickly took a turn when the youngest Glatzel started to exhibit behaviors unlike his. It was only after that all members of the family seemingly felt their house tremble that they believed in the idea of possession.
Initially, Judy Glatzel talked to the church and had the house blessed with holy water, but then decided to ring up famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Upon entering the house, the warrens told the Glatzels that the entity in their house was actually a demon and that they should start collecting evidence in order to make a compelling case to the clergy and gain permission for an exorcism. In the following days, the Glatzels stated how David started to act violently and would curse at others, seemingly in line with what Ed Warren had predicted.
Hence, the Glatzels were able to get permission to exorcise David, an event overseen by the Warrens. However, during the apparent exorcism, Arne Johnson apparently told the demon possessing his future brother-in-law to instead take shelter in his body. While David was seemingly free from demonic possession after that, the same could not be said for Arne, who would go on to allegedly kill Alan Bono, with his defense claiming that he had been possessed by a demon that made him do it.
David Glatzel Still Believes That He Was Possessed by the Devil
Over the years, the David Glatzel possession story has gained much traction in the media, largely thanks to Ed and Lorraine Warren, who facilitated the take to be published as a book titled ‘The Devil In Connecticut’ by Gerald Brittle. However, it seems like not all members of the Glatzel family continue to have a good impression of the Warren family, with even David stating that the couple got the lion’s share of the profit that was made from his traumatic experience.
Even in 2021, when the possession of David Glatzel was converted into a movie titled ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,’ David tried to limit his exposure to the media, a path that was also followed by his eldest brother, Carl Glatzel Jr, though for different reasons. Even today, David maintains that he was indeed possessed by a demonic entity and that he has almost no recollection of what he had done when being under the thrall of the supernatural being, though he stated in the Netflix movie that he does remember being choked at one point.
David, along with his brother Alan Glatzel and late sister Debbie Glatzel, were in support of Arne Johnson during his trial for the murder of Alan Bono, claiming that the defendant had indeed been possessed by a demon. Despite his fame, David prefers to maintain a private lifestyle, with the Netflix documentary being one of the rare occasions that he has talked about his past experience with the supernatural. We wish him the very best in life and hope that he has a wonderful future ahead.
Read More: Where is Judy Warren Now?
