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Houston Mass Murders

Also known as: Candy Man murders

Active

1970–1973

Region

Houston and Pasadena, Texas, USA

State

TX

Kind

Serial

Status

Convicted

Victims

29

Between 1970 and 1973, at least 28 teenage boys and young men, most from the Houston Heights, were lured, abused and killed by Dean Corll, helped by two teenagers, Elmer Wayne Henley and David Owen Brooks. The killings came to light on August 8, 1973, when Henley shot Corll dead at Corll's home in Pasadena and called police. Henley and Brooks then led investigators to graves in a rented boat shed in southwest Houston, near Lake Sam Rayburn and on the beach at High Island. Henley was convicted of six murders and Brooks of one; both received life-length sentences.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

• Jeffrey Alan Konen, 18 · September 25, 1970

  A University of Texas student hitchhiking in Houston.

• James Eugene Glass, 14 · December 13, 1970
• Danny Michael Yates, 14 · December 13, 1970
• Donald Wayne Waldrop, 15 · January 30, 1971

  Jerry Waldrop's older brother.

• Jerry Lynn Waldrop, 13 · January 30, 1971
• Randell Lee Harvey, 15 · March 9, 1971

  Identified in 2008.

• David William Hilligiest, 13 · May 29, 1971
• Gregory Malley Winkle, 16 · May 29, 1971
• Donald John Falcon, 17 · July 1, 1971

  Remains believed to be his were identified by DNA in 2014.

• Ruben Willfard Watson Haney, 17 · August 17, 1971
• Frank Anthony Aguirre, 18 · March 24, 1972
• Mark Steven Scott, 17 · April 20, 1972

  His remains have never been found.

• Johnny Ray Delome, 16 · May 21, 1972
• Billy Gene Baulch Jr., 17 · May 21, 1972

  Michael Baulch's older brother.

• Steven Kent Sickman, 17 · July 19, 1972

  Identified in 2011.

• Roy Eugene Bunton, 19 · August 21, 1972

  Identified in 2011.

• Wally Jay Simoneaux, 14 · October 3, 1972
• Richard Edward Hembree, 13 · October 3, 1972
• Willard Karmon Branch Jr., 18 · November 1, 1972

  Identified in 1985.

• Richard Alan Kepner, 19 · November 11, 1972
• Joseph Allen Lyles, 17 · February 3, 1973

  His remains were found in 1983 and identified by DNA in 2009.

• William Ray Lawrence, 15 · June 4, 1973

  David Brooks was convicted of his murder.

• Raymond Stanley Blackburn, 20 · June 15, 1973
• Homer Louis Garcia, 15 · July 7, 1973
• John Manning Sellars, 17 · July 12, 1973

  His inclusion among the victims has been questioned.

• Michael Anthony Baulch, 15 · July 19, 1973

  Identified by DNA in 2010.

• Marty Ray Jones, 18 · July 25, 1973
• Charles Cary Cobble, 17 · July 25, 1973
• James Stanton Dreymala, 13 · August 3, 1973

  The last known victim.

Timeline of locations

1. 1965
   Corll Candy Company (Houston Heights) (Workplace, approximate area)

   Corll's family candy business stood in the Houston Heights, across from Helms Elementary School. Corll lived in or near the Heights until spring 1973, and many of the victims were boys from the neighborhood.

2. August 8, 1973
   Corll's house, Pasadena (Arrest, approximate area)

   On August 8, 1973, Henley shot Corll dead in the Lamar Drive house Corll was renting, then called Pasadena police, who took Henley into custody. His statements uncovered the murders.

3. August 8, 1973
   Rented boat shed, southwest Houston (Recovery site, approximate area)

   Seventeen bodies were recovered over two days from a boat storage shed Corll rented on Silver Bell Street in southwest Houston.

4. August 9, 1973
   Woods near Lake Sam Rayburn (Recovery site, approximate area)

   Henley led investigators to four graves in woodland near Lake Sam Rayburn in East Texas.

5. August 10, 1973
   High Island Beach (Recovery site, approximate area)

   Henley and Brooks led police to the beach at High Island, where six bodies were recovered.

6. 1974
   Mark W. Stiles Unit (Prison)

   Henley is serving his sentence at the Stiles Unit near Beaumont.

7. July 1, 1974
   Henley trial, San Antonio (Court / trial, approximate area)

   Henley's trial was moved to San Antonio. He was convicted of six murders in July 1974 and sentenced to six 99-year terms; a 1979 retrial in Corpus Christi produced the same convictions.

8. February 1975
   Brooks trial, Houston (Court / trial, approximate area)

   Brooks was tried in Houston for the murder of William Ray Lawrence, convicted, and sentenced to life on March 4, 1975. He died in state custody in 2020.

9. August 4, 1983
   Jefferson County beach (Recovery site, approximate area)

   Remains found on a Jefferson County beach in 1983 were identified by DNA in 2009 as Joseph Lyles.

Watch, listen, read

Sources

• Dean Corll (Wikipedia)
• Dean Corll and Elmer Wayne Henley: Houston's most notorious serial killers (ABC13)
• David Brooks, 1 of Houston's most notorious serial killers, dies (ABC13)
• Parole denied for accomplice of Houston's notorious 'Candy Man' serial killer (KPRC)

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.