Candy Man: Dean Corll Part III

 

Trials and convictions

Henley

Elmer Wayne Henley and David Owen Brooks were tried separately for their roles in the murders. Henley was brought to trial in San Antonio on July 1, 1974, charged with six murders committed between March 1972 and July 1973. The prosecution called dozens of witnesses, including Kerley and Ridinger. Ridinger testified that at Corll's home he was tied to the torture board and assaulted repeatedly by Corll before he was released.

Other incriminating testimony came from police officers who read from Henley's written statements. In one part of his confession, Henley had described luring two of the victims for whose murder he had been brought to trial, Cobble and Jones, to Corll's Pasadena residence. Henley had confessed that after their initial abuse and torture at Corll's home, Cobble and Jones each had one wrist and ankle bound to the same side of Corll's torture board. The youths were then forced by Corll to fight each other with the promise that the one who beat the other to death would be allowed to live. After they had spent several hours beating each other, Jones was tied to a board and forced to watch Cobble again be assaulted, tortured, and shot to death before he himself was again raped, tortured, and strangled with a Venetian blind cord. Cobble and Jones were killed on July 27, 1973, two days after they had been reported missing. Several victims' parents had to leave the courtroom to regain their composure as police and medical examiners described how their relatives were tortured and murdered.

Throughout the trial, the state introduced 82 pieces of evidence, including Corll's torture board and one of the boxes used to transport the victims. Inside the box, police had found hair which examiners had concluded came from both Cobble and Henley. Upon advice from his defense counsel, Henley did not take the stand to testify. His attorney, William Gray, cross-examined several witnesses but did not call any witnesses or experts for the defense.

On July 15, 1974, both counsels presented their closing arguments to the jury: the prosecution seeking life imprisonment; the defense a verdict of not guilty. In his closing argument to the jury, District Attorney Carol Vance apologized for his not being able to seek the death penalty, adding that the case was the "most extreme example of man's inhumanity to man I have ever seen."

The jury deliberated for 92 minutes before finding Henley guilty of all six murders for which he was tried. The following day, July 16,  formal procedures to sentence Henley for the six guilty verdicts began, and on August 8, Judge Preston Dial ordered that Henley serve each 99-year sentence consecutively (totaling 594 years), and he was transferred to the Huntsville Unit to formally begin his sentence.

Henley appealed his sentence and conviction, contending the jury in his initial trial had not been sequestered, that his attorneys' objections to news media being present in the courtroom had been overruled, and citing that his defense team's attempts to present evidence contending that the initial trial should not have been held in San Antonio had also been overruled by the judge. Henley's appeal was upheld and he was awarded a retrial in December 1978.

Henley's retrial began on June 18, 1979. This second trial was held in Corpus Christi, with Henley again represented by defense attorneys William Gray and Edwin Pegelow. Henley's attorneys again attempted to have Henley's written statements ruled inadmissible. However, Judge Noah Kennedy ruled the written statements given by Henley on August 9, 1973, as admissible evidence. The retrial lasted nine days, with Henley's attorneys again calling no defense witnesses and again attacking the credibility of Henley's written confession. The defense also contended the evidence provided by the state "belonged to Dean Corll, not Elmer Wayne Henley". On June 27, 1979, the jury deliberated for over two hours before reaching their verdict; Henley was again convicted of six murders and sentenced to six concurrent 99-year terms.

Brooks

Brooks was brought to trial on February 27, 1975. He had been indicted for four murders committed between December 1970 and June 1973, but was brought to trial charged only with the June 1973 murder of 15-year-old William Ray Lawrence. Brooks's defense attorney, Jim Skelton, argued that his client had not committed any murders and attempted to portray Corll and, to a lesser degree, Henley as being the active participants in the actual killings. Assistant District Attorney Tommy Dunn dismissed the defense's contention outright, at one point telling the jury: "This defendant was in on this killing, this murderous rampage, from the very beginning. He tells you he was a cheerleader if nothing else. That's what he was telling you about his presence. You know he was in on it."

Brooks's trial lasted less than one week. The jury deliberated for just 90 minutes before they reached a verdict. He was found guilty of Lawrence's murder on March 4, 1975, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Brooks showed no emotion as the sentence was passed, although his wife burst into tears. Brooks also appealed his sentence, contending that the signed confessions used against him were taken without his being informed of his legal rights, but his appeal was dismissed in May 1979.

Incarceration

Henley is serving his life sentence at the Mark Stiles Unit in Jefferson County, Texas. Successive parole applications dating from July 1980 have been denied. He is next eligible for parole in October 2025.

Brooks served his life sentence at the Terrell Unit near Rosharon, Texas. He died of COVID-19-related complications at a Galveston hospital on May 28, 2020, at the age of 65.

Victims

Corll and his accomplices are known to have killed a minimum of 28 teenagers and young men between September 1970 and August 1973, although it is suspected that the true number of victims is higher. As Corll was killed immediately prior to his murders being discovered, the true number of victims he had claimed will never be known. Twenty-seven of Corll's known victims have been identified, and the identity of a 28th victim whose body has never been found is conclusively known. All of these victims were killed by either shooting, strangulation or a combination of both.

1970

September 25: Jeffrey Alan Konen, 18. A student at the University of Texas at Austin abducted while hitchhiking from Austin to the Braeswood Place district of Houston. He was buried at High Island Beach.

December 13: James Eugene Glass, 14. An acquaintance of Corll who also knew Brooks. Glass was last seen by his brother in the company of Danny Yates walking toward the exit of the church the trio had attended. He was strangled with a cord and buried inside the boat shed.

December 13: Danny Michael Yates, 14. Lured with his friend James Glass from a Heights evangelical rally by Brooks to Corll's Yorktown apartment. He and his friend were strangled before being buried in a common grave in Corll's boat shed.

1971

January 30: Donald Wayne Waldrop, 15. Vanished on his way to visit a friend to discuss forming a bowling league. Brooks claimed Donald's father, who was a builder, was working on the apartment next to Corll's at the time that Donald and his brother were murdered.

January 30: Jerry Lynn Waldrop, 13. The youngest of Corll's victims. He and his brother were strangled the following day and buried in a common grave inside Corll's boat shed.

March 9: Randell Lee Harvey, 15. Disappeared on his way home from his job as a gas station attendant; he was shot in the head and buried in Corll's boat shed. Remains identified October 2008.

May 29: David William Hilligiest, 13. One of Henley's earliest childhood friends; Hilligiest was last seen in the company of his friend Gregory Malley Winkle walking to a local swimming pool, before climbing into a white van.

May 29: Gregory Malley Winkle, 16. A former employee of Corll Candy Company and boyfriend of Randell Harvey's sister. Winkle last phoned his mother claiming he and Hilligiest were swimming in Freeport. His body was found in the boat shed with the cord used to strangle him knotted around his neck.

August 17: Ruben Willfard Watson Haney, 17. Left his home to visit the cinema on the afternoon of August 17. Haney later called his mother to tell her he was spending the evening with Brooks. He was gagged, strangled and buried in Corll's boat shed.

1972

March 24: Frank Anthony Aguirre, 18. Aguirre had been engaged to marry Rhonda Williams, whose presence in Corll's house would later spark the fatal confrontation between Henley and Corll. He was strangled and buried at High Island Beach.

April 20: Mark Steven Scott, 17. A friend of both Henley and Brooks who was killed at Corll's Schuler Street address. He was forced to write a letter to his parents claiming that he found a job in Austin. Henley stated Scott was strangled the following morning and buried at High Island Beach, although his remains were never found.

May 21: Johnny Ray Delome, 16. A Heights youth who was last seen with his friend walking to a local store. He was shot in the head, then strangled by Henley.

May 21: Billy Gene Baulch Jr., 17. A former employee of Corll Candy Company. Baulch was forced to write a letter to his parents claiming he and Delome had found work in Madisonville before he was strangled by Henley and buried at High Island Beach.

July 19: Steven Kent Sickman, 17. Sickman was last seen leaving a party held in the Heights. He suffered several fractured ribs before he was strangled with a nylon cord and buried in the boat shed. Remains misidentified in December 1993 and correctly identified March 2011.

100. August 21: Roy Eugene Bunton, 19. Disappeared on his way to work at a shoe store. He was shot twice in the head and buried in the boat shed. Remains misidentified October 1973 and correctly identified November 2011.

101. 
     

October 2: Wally Jay Simoneaux, 14. Lured with his friend into Brooks' Corvette on the night of October 2. Simoneaux attempted to phone his mother at Corll's residence before the call was terminated. He was strangled and buried in Corll's boat shed.

October 2: Richard Edward Hembree, 13. Last seen alongside his friend in a vehicle parked outside a Heights grocery store. He was shot in the mouth and strangled at Corll's Westcott Towers address.

100. November 1: Willard Karmon Branch Jr., 18. The son of an HPD officer who subsequently died of a heart attack in the search for his son. Branch was emasculated before he was shot in the head and buried in the boat shed. Remains identified July 1985.

101. 
     

November 15: Richard Alan Kepner, 19. Vanished on his way to call his fiancée from a pay phone, he was strangled and buried at High Island Beach. Remains identified September 1983.

1973

February 1: Joseph Allen Lyles, 17. An acquaintance of Corll who lived on the same street as Brooks. According to Brooks, Lyles was "grabbed" by Corll at his Wirt Road address. He was subsequently buried at Jefferson County Beach. Remains located August 1983 and identified November 2009.

June 4: William Ray Lawrence, 15. A friend of Henley who phoned his father to ask if he could go fishing with "some friends." He was kept alive by Corll for three days before he was strangled with a cord and buried at Lake Sam Rayburn.

June 15: Raymond Stanley Blackburn, 20. A married man from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who vanished while hitchhiking from the Heights to see his newborn child. Blackburn had arrived in Houston three months before his abduction to work on a construction project. He was strangled by Corll at his Lamar Drive residence and buried at Lake Sam Rayburn.

July 7: Homer Luis Garcia, 15. Met Henley while both youths were enrolled at a Bellaire driving school. He was shot in the head and chest and left to bleed to death in Corll's bathtub before being buried at Lake Sam Rayburn.

July 12: John Manning Sellars, 17. An Orange County youth killed two days before his 18th birthday. Sellars was killed by four gunshots to the chest and buried at High Island Beach. He was the only victim to be buried fully clothed.

July 19: Michael Anthony Baulch, 15. Corll had killed his older brother, Billy, the previous year. He was strangled and buried at Lake Sam Rayburn. Remains identified September 2010.

Marty Jones

July 25: Marty Ray Jones, 18. Jones was last seen along with his friend and roommate, Charles Cobble, walking along 27th Street in the company of Henley. He was strangled with a Venetian blind cord and buried in the boat shed.

July 25: Charles Cary Cobble, 17. A school friend of Henley whose wife was pregnant at the time of his murder; Cobble last phoned his father in a state of hysteria claiming he and Jones had been kidnapped by drug dealers. His body, shot twice in the head, was found in the boat shed.

August 3: James Stanton Dreymala, 13. The son of Seventh-day Adventists, Dreymala was last seen riding his bike in Pasadena. He last called his parents to tell them he was at "a party" across town. He was strangled and buried in the boat shed.

Footnotes

At Henley's trial in 1974, Harris County medical examiner Joseph Jachimczyk raised questions as to whether John Sellars was actually a victim of Corll. Sellars, a U.S. Marine who had been reported missing on July 12, 1973, had been killed by four gunshot wounds to the chest fired from a rifle, whereas all of Corll's other known victims had been either shot with the same pistol that Henley had used to kill Corll, strangled, or both. Moreover, Sellars's car had been found burned-out in Starks, Louisiana, one week after Sellars had disappeared.

Police had been led to Sellars's body on August 13, 1973, by a trucker who recalled conversing with a youth he believed to be Henley after he had seen a car stuck in the sand close to where Sellars's body was subsequently found. The youth had rebuffed the trucker's offer to help free the car, stating he had two friends with him who would free the vehicle. Neither Henley nor Brooks specifically mentioned Sellars being a victim of Corll's in their confessions, nor have they disputed his being a victim. The official tally of victims was reduced to 26 in 1974 after Dr. Jachimczyk testified Sellars "probably was not" murdered by Corll and his accomplices. However, Sellars was of the same age as Corll's known victims and his grave on High Island Beach was close to where confirmed victims of Corll were buried. In addition, his body was found bound hand and foot with rope as other victims had been, and Sellars's autopsy report indicates a possibility of his being sexually assaulted prior to or after death.

Forensic developments

In June 2008, Dr. Sharon Derrick, a forensic anthropologist with the medical examiner's office in Houston, released digital images of Corll's three still-unidentified victims. The unidentified victims were listed as ML73-3349, ML73-3356 and ML73-3378. Two of the unidentified victims were found buried in the boat shed and were estimated to have been killed in 1971 or 1972. ML73-3378 was buried at Lake Sam Rayburn just 10 feet (3 m) from the body of Homer Garcia, who had disappeared on July 7, 1973.

On October 17, 2008, ML73-3349 was identified as Randell Lee Harvey, a Heights teenager who had been reported missing on March 11, 1971 – two days after he had disappeared. Harvey, who had been shot through the eye, was wearing a navy blue jacket with red lining, jeans and lace-up boots. A plastic orange pocket comb was also found alongside his body.

A body found on a beach in Jefferson County on August 4, 1983, is strongly believed a further victim of Corll. The scattered skeletal remains were discovered within and close to plastic sheeting near an eroding sandbank, along with sections of rope. These remains were listed as ML83-6849. The body was identified November 11, 2009, through DNA analysis as 17-year-old Joseph Lyles, a Heights teenager who had disappeared on February 1, 1973. Lyles is known to have both visited Corll's apartment and to have lived on the same street as Brooks. He was listed as a possible victim of Corll after the other murders were discovered in 1973. At the time of his disappearance, Corll resided in an apartment at 1855 Wirt Road, where he lived between January 20 and March 7, 1973, when he moved to his father's Pasadena bungalow. Brooks had specifically stated Corll had "got one boy by himself" during the time he lived at this address. In addition, at the time that Lyles disappeared, Henley had temporarily moved to Mount Pleasant, which leaves a strong possibility that Corll had killed Lyles without the assistance of Henley.

On September 13, 2010, DNA analysis was able to confirm that the unidentified victim known as ML73-3378 was actually Michael Anthony Baulch, who had incorrectly been identified as case file ML73-3333: the second victim unearthed from the boat shed. Baulch had disappeared en route to a barbershop on July 19, 1973—a year after his brother, Billy, had been murdered by Corll. The 1973 misidentification of Michael Baulch was discovered as a result of an independent investigation conducted by freelance writers Barbara Gibson and Debera Phinney, who contacted Dr. Derrick with a tip indicating that the second victim unearthed from the boat shed had been misidentified; upon conducting additional DNA testing, Dr. Derrick discovered their suspicions were correct.

Henley had stated in his confession to police that he and Corll had "choked" Michael Baulch and buried him at Lake Sam Rayburn. The unidentified victim mistakenly identified as Baulch had been killed by two gunshots to the head and buried inside the boat shed. Three factors helped lead to the 1973 misidentification of Baulch: Michael's parents had previously filed a missing persons report on their son (who had previously left home to search for his older brother) in August 1972—precisely the same time as the second victim unearthed from the boat shed was estimated to have been killed. This was the only missing persons report on file for Michael Baulch. In addition, the victim was of a similar height to Baulch and circumstantial dental fractures had also helped facilitate the misidentification.

On November 4, 2011, the victim mistakenly identified as Baulch (case file ML73-3333) was identified through DNA analysis as Roy Eugene Bunton, a Heights teenager who was last seen by his family heading for work at a Houston shoe store on or about August 21, 1972. Bunton's family had always believed him to be a victim of Corll and had contacted Dr. Derrick in 2009 to submit a DNA sample for comparison with the unidentified bodies. Initially, the results conducted had been negative due to the misidentification of Bunton's remains as being those of Baulch. However, upon discovering the 1973 misidentification of Baulch's remains, DNA samples obtained from Bunton's family were compared to those taken from the body mistakenly identified as being that of Baulch and these proved to be a conclusive match to Bunton.

Mark Scott. Despite numerous physical and dental factors, the body of Steven Sickman was misidentified as being Mark Scott in 1993

In the confession given by Henley on August 9, 1973, the youth had stated that victim Mark Scott had been strangled and buried at High Island. Brooks had also stated in his confession that Scott was likely buried at High Island. Scott had been a blond youth who had not had any teeth extracted prior to his disappearance; however, a Dr. Elizabeth Johnson of the Harris County Medical Institute had concluded in 1993 that the fifteenth set of remains unearthed from the boat shed—which had physical characteristics such as dark brown hair and two extracted molars—were those of Scott. Dr. Johnson had based her findings upon comparison of DNA analysis of a blood sample taken from Scott's mother with the remains unearthed from the boat shed, stating with a 98.5% degree of accuracy the decedent had been related to Scott's mother.

In a 2010 interview granted to investigative reporter Barbara Gibson, Henley disputed the 1993 identification of a victim buried in the boat shed as Scott and reiterated his claim that Scott had been buried at High Island "in the sand: fetal position; head up," adding that he had repeatedly argued this point with Dr. Jachimczyk.

As a result of Henley's claims, DNA tests on the body initially identified as Scott were again tested against samples of DNA taken from Scott's family. In March 2011, DNA analysis confirmed that the victim known as ML73-3355 had been misidentified and the same month, the victim was identified as Steven Kent Sickman, a 17-year-old who was last seen walking down West 34th Street shortly before midnight on July 19, 1972. He was murdered at Corll's Westcott Towers address. Sickman's mother had reported her son missing shortly after his disappearance, but police had been unwilling to conduct a search for the youth, telling the mother that he was 17 years old and that unless they found a body, there was nothing they could do to assist her. Had Henley not been adamant in his assertion that the body of Scott had been misidentified, it is likely Sickman would have never been conclusively confirmed as a victim of Corll.

All six bodies directly linked to the Houston Mass Murders found at High Island have been identified. As Henley's claim that the victim known as ML73-3355 was not Scott has been proven to be correct, a strong suspicion remains that Scott's body remains buried on High Island.

Unidentified victim

Corll's only known unidentified victim—the sixteenth body found in the boat shed—was in an advanced stage of decomposition at the time of his discovery, leading investigators to deduce that he had likely been killed in 1971 or 1972. This unidentified victim was found wearing red-white-and-blue striped swimming trunks, cowboy boots, a leather bracelet and a long-sleeved, khaki-colored T-shirt decorated with a peace symbol, leading investigators to conclude that he was likely killed in the summer months. In addition, his T-shirt bore a handwritten inscription believed to read either "LB4MF", "LBHMF", or "L84MF". He had dark hair and may have had spinal bifida, a congenital disability that could have affected his gait, or caused chronic pain. This victim has been referred to as "John Houston Doe" since the discovery of his body.

This unidentified victim was found buried near the entrance to the boat shed between the bodies of Steven Sickman and Ruben Haney, whereas the bodies of the victims killed between December 1970 and May 1971 were found buried at the rear of the shed. It is likely, though not conclusive, that the unidentified sixteenth victim found within the boat shed may have been killed in the late summer or early fall of 1971. Dr. Derrick has stated that she believes this particular victim may be named Harman, Harmon or French, as the only outstanding missing persons reports relating to youths from the Houston area dated between 1970 and 1973, which fit the forensic profile of this unknown youth, include these surnames. Dr. Derrick has stated she has reason to believe this victim may be named Robert (or "Bobby") French, adding she has received an anonymous package containing a series of photographs potentially depicting this individual taken shortly before his murder, and that the sender of this package named this individual as one Bobby French.

On August 15, 2022, authorities announced that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science were working together to identify this victim.

Possible additional victims

Forty-two boys had vanished within the Houston area between 1970 and Corll's death in 1973.  The police were heavily criticized for curtailing the search for further victims once the record set by Juan Corona for having the most victims had been surpassed. After finding the 26th and 27th bodies, tied together, at High Island Beach on August 13, the search for any further victims was terminated, despite Henley's insistence that two further bodies had been buried on the beach in 1972. A curious feature about this final discovery was the presence of two extra bones (an arm bone and a pelvis) in the grave, indicating at least one additional, undiscovered victim.  Investigators later returned to the scene where these extra bones bodies were discovered in efforts to locate any additional human remains at the site of their discovery, although this search yielded no further remains.

The two bodies that Henley had insisted were still buried on the beach may have been those of Scott and Lyles. In light of developments relating to the identifications of victims, the body of Scott still lies undiscovered at High Island, while Lyles's remains were only found by chance in 1983. Had the search for bodies continued, both victims would have likely been discovered. Following Hurricane Ike in 2008, the area of High Island Beach where Corll is known to have buried his victims remains submerged, leaving a strong possibility that Scott's body will never be found.

How that man was able to go out to that storage shed, time after time, and bury one more dead boy is something I'll never understand. You get close to evil like that, no matter how long ago it was, and it never leaves you.

Former workers at Corll Candy Company recalled Corll doing a lot of digging in the years leading up to 1968, when his mother's third marriage was deteriorating and the firm was failing. Corll stated he was burying spoiled candy to avoid contamination by insects. He subsequently cemented over the floor. He was also observed digging in waste ground that was later converted into a parking lot. Former workers also recalled that Corll had rolls of clear plastic of precisely the same type used to bury his victims. Moreover, co-workers at HL&P would also state that, from the earliest days of his employment, Corll had repeatedly retained coils of used nylon cord that would otherwise have been discarded. This brand of cord was the same type used to strangle and bind the bodies of many of his victims. The suspicion is that Corll began killing much earlier than 1970 and had been abusing youths prior to this date.

Moreover, in one interview, Brooks claimed that Corll's first murder victim was a youth killed at an apartment complex located at 5313 Judiway Street, where Corll had lived prior to September 1970. The earliest of Corll's victims known by Brooks were two teenage boys killed at 3300 Yorktown, where Corll lived after moving out of his Judiway Street apartment. Corll's earliest double murder, that of Glass and Yates, took place in December 1970; those victims were actually killed at Corll's Yorktown address, as was Corll's earliest known murder victim, Jeffrey Alan Konen, killed in September 1970. A possibility exists that the earliest double murder victims were Glass and Yates; however, Brooks specifically described Glass as being killed in an altogether separate double murder from Corll's first double murder in his confession to police. In addition, Brooks only knew the location of Konen's body at High Island Beach because Corll had shown it to him. It is possible that the initial double murder Brooks had discovered Corll in the process of committing occurred after the murder of Konen and before those of Glass and Yates. These details, alongside the two additional bones that were found with the 26th and 27th victims discovered, indicate a minimum of two and possibly four more unknown victims.

There are two suspiciously long gaps between known victims in the chronology of Corll's known murders. His last known victim of 1971 was Ruben Watson Haney, who disappeared on August 17. The first victim of 1972 was Frank Aguirre, who disappeared on March 24, meaning no known victims were killed for seven months. Moreover, Corll also is not known to have killed between February 1 and June 4, 1973.

The January 14, 1973 disappearance of 16-year-old Norman Lamar Prater has been tentatively linked to Corll. Prater was last seen by his mother in Dallas in the company of an adult male and two teenage youths with shoulder-length hair; he had previously lived in the same neighborhood as most of Corll's known victims and had attended the same high school as Henley between 1970 and 1971. Prater is known to have continued to visit his father in Houston during weekends after he moved with his mother to Dallas. However, no firm evidence exists to link Prater's disappearance to Corll and his accomplices.

In March 1973, a Mr. and Mrs. Abernathy had reported to Galveston County authorities that they had observed three men carrying and burying a "long, wrapped bundle" at Galveston Beach. The couple identified two of the men as Corll and Henley. The third individual had long, blond hair—like Brooks. As the couple watched the trio, one of the men (whom they later identified as Henley) advanced upon their car with such a menacing expression that the couple felt compelled to drive away. Two women had also observed three men digging at the beach in May 1973—one of whom they positively identified as Brooks. However, police were again unwilling to extend the search.

In February 2012, a picture was released to the news media of a likely unknown victim of Corll. The color Polaroid image had been found in the personal possessions of Henley, which had been stored by his family since his arrest in 1973. The image depicts a blond-haired teenage youth in handcuffs, strapped to a device upon Corll's floor, alongside a toolbox known to contain various instruments Corll used to torture his victims. The individual depicted has been ruled out by the Harris County Medical Examiner as being any of Corll's known victims, including his one remaining known unidentified victim. Henley himself has stated that the picture must have been taken after he had acquired a Polaroid camera in 1972—although he is adamant that he has no idea who this boy is. Given that Henley became acquainted with Corll in 1972, it is likely this boy would have been killed in 1972 or 1973.

Potential association with a national sex ring

During a routine investigation in March 1975, the HPD discovered a cache of pornographic pictures and films depicting boys as young as eight, most of whom were from the Heights. Of the sixteen individuals depicted within the films and photos, eleven of the youths appeared to be among Corll's known victims who had been identified by this date. The discovery raised the disturbing possibility that the statements Corll had given to both Henley and Brooks prior to his murder that he was associated with an organization based in Dallas which "bought and sold boys" may indeed have held a degree of truth. The discovery of the material in Houston in 1975 subsequently led to the arrest of five individuals in Santa Clara, California. No direct link in these arrests to Corll was proven, as the HPD declined to pursue any possible link to the killings, stating they felt Corll's victims' families had "suffered enough."

On August 15, 1973, just two days after investigators had uncovered the final bodies initially linked to the Houston Mass Murders, investigators in Dallas uncovered a nationwide homosexual procurement ring. This police raid seized a card filing system containing up to 10,000 names of individuals across America ascribed to this network and the personal details of numerous teenage boys exploited by this sex trafficking ring.

There is still no conclusive evidence to suggest that Corll had ever solicited any of his victims in this manner, not only because the HPD chose not to pursue this potential possibility, but also because neither Brooks nor Henley ever mentioned having met any individuals from the "organization" Corll had claimed he was involved with. In addition, neither mentioned having seen any of the victims either filmed, photographed, or released from the devices Corll restrained his victims to until after their rape, torture, and murder. The arrests in Santa Clara do, however, suggest possible validity in Brooks's statements to police that Corll told him that his earliest murder victims had been buried in California.

Media

Film

A film loosely inspired by the Houston Mass Murders, Freak Out, was released in 2003. The film was directed by Brad Jones, who also starred as Corll. This film largely focuses upon the last night of Corll's life, prior to Henley shooting him and contacting authorities. The film has received mostly mixed to positive reviews.

Production of a film directly based upon the Houston Mass Murders, In a Madman's World, finished in 2014. Directed by Josh Vargas, the film is directly based upon Henley's life before, during, and immediately after his involvement with Corll and Brooks. Limited edition copies of the film were released in 2017.

Bibliography

Christian, Kimberly (2015). Horror in the Heights: The True Story of The Houston Mass Murders. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-515-19072-1.

Gurwell, John K. (1974). Mass Murder in Houston. Cordovan Press.

Hanna, David (1975). Harvest of Horror: Mass Murder in Houston. Belmont Tower.

Olsen, Jack (1974). The Man with the Candy: The Story of the Houston Mass Murders. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-1283-0.

Rosewood, Jack (2015). Dean Corll: The True Story of The Houston Mass Murders. CreateSpace ISBN 978-1-517-48500-9.

Television

A 1982 documentary, The Killing of America, features a section devoted to the Houston Mass Murders.

FactualTV has screened a documentary focusing upon the murders committed by Corll and his accomplices. Dr. Sharon Derrick is among those interviewed for the documentary.

Investigation Discovery has broadcast a documentary focusing upon the Houston Mass Murders within their documentary series, Most Evil. This documentary, entitled "Manipulators", features an interview with Henley conducted by a former forensic psychologist named Kris Mohandie.

The crime thriller series Mindhunter has broadcast an episode mentioning the Houston Mass Murders. This episode was first broadcast on August 16, 2019.

Podcast

The Clown and the Candyman (2020-2021). An eight-part podcast series narrated by Jacqueline Bynon, investigating the murders committed by Dean Corll and John Wayne Gacy, their respective potential links to a nationwide sex trafficking network, and the ongoing efforts to identify their victims.