{"id":1978581,"date":"2025-08-25T11:55:23","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T11:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1978581"},"modified":"2025-08-25T11:55:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T11:55:23","slug":"n-j-satanic-panic-case-from-80s-focus-of-new-true-crime-series-let-the-devil-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/n-j-satanic-panic-case-from-80s-focus-of-new-true-crime-series-let-the-devil-in\/","title":{"rendered":"N.J. satanic panic case from \u201980s focus of new true-crime series \u2018Let the Devil In\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The headlines arrived as satanic panic gripped 1980s America.<\/p>\n

\u201cSatanist teen Uses Scout Knife to Kill Mother, Self<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBoy Kills Mother and Himself<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Suicides Blamed on Music\u2019s Satanic Spell<\/a>.” <\/p>\n

Jefferson Township<\/a>\u2019s Thomas \u201cTommy\u201d Sullivan Jr.<\/a> was 14 when he killed his mother, Betty Ann Sullivan<\/a>, by stabbing her with his Boy Scout knife<\/a> in 1988. <\/p>\n

More than 37 years later, a true-crime docuseries will explore the New Jersey case.<\/p>\n

The show, called \u201cLet the Devil In<\/a>,\u201d is hosted by writer, actor and director Eli Roth<\/a> (\u201cThanksgiving,\u201d \u201cBorderlands,\u201d \u201cInglourious Basterds,\u201d \u201cHostel,\u201d \u201cKnock Knock\u201d), also an executive producer. <\/p>\n

The four-part series, premiering on MGM+<\/a> Sunday (Aug. 31), is based on Branden Morgan<\/a>\u2019s podcast \u201cThe Devil Within<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\"LTDE\"<\/picture>
Eli Roth, host and executive producer of “Let the Devil In,” which is based on the podcast “The Devil Within.”Jeremy Gould | MGM+<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Morgan serves as an executive producer on the series from showrunner and director Danielle Franco. <\/p>\n

Tommy Sullivan Jr. and his mother had reportedly been arguing about his fixation on satanic ritual and folklore<\/a> when he fatally attacked<\/a> her, set the family\u2019s house on fire<\/a>, then slit his throat in a neighbor\u2019s yard, killing himself.<\/p>\n

Tommy\u2019s father, Thomas Sullivan Sr., and brother, Brian Sullivan, then 10, escaped the fire after waking up to a smoke alarm, finding Betty Ann\u2019s body in the basement. <\/p>\n

The first season<\/a> of Morgan\u2019s podcast<\/a>, released in 2021, examines Tommy \u2014 who was a a student at the Rev. George A. Brown Memorial School in Sparta \u2014 along with his family and that deadly night at their Jefferson Township home in Morris County.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet the Devil In\u201d promises firsthand accounts and interviews related to the 1988 Jersey case, with sources including witnesses, friends, members of the community and law enforcement.<\/p>\n

See the trailer below.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/i>Let the Devil In<\/i><\/a>\u201d premieres Sunday, Aug. 31, 9 p.m. ET\/PT on <\/i>MGM+<\/i><\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting <\/i>NJ.com<\/i><\/a> with a subscription.<\/i><\/p>\n

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at <\/i>akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com<\/i><\/a> and followed at <\/i>@AmyKup<\/i><\/a> on Twitter\/X, <\/i>@amykup.bsky.social<\/i><\/a> on Bluesky and <\/i>@kupamy<\/i><\/a> on <\/i>Instagram<\/i><\/a> and <\/i>Threads<\/i><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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