Dean Corll

"You won't do it!" -Corll's last words

Dean Arnold Corll, a.k.a. "The Candy Man" or "The Pied Piper", was a prolific American serial killer/rapist, hebephile, ephebophile, and abductor who perpetrated the so-called Houston Mass Murders, which at the time of its discovery, were considered the worst example of serial killings in the history of the United States. Most of Corll's victims were procured to him by two teenage accomplices, David Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley.

Background
Corll was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on December 24, 1939. He was the first child of Arnold Edwin Corll and Mary Robinson. Corll's parents had frequent arguments and they divorced when he was seven. That same year, he was diagnosed with rheumatic fever and had to renounce physical education. The combined effect of growing up in a broken home with medical difficulties made him a shy boy who rarely socialized with other children, though he still cared for the well-being and feelings of others. In 1950, Corll's parents attempted reconciliation and even married again, but they divorced for a second time three years later. Corll's mother, who had retained custody over Corll and his younger brother Stanley, remarried to a travelling clock salesman named Jake West and had a third child with him.

The family later settled in Vidor, Texas where they opened a candy-making business named Pecan Price. While they were in high school, Corll and Stanley ran the candy-making machine and packed the product while West sold it. The working hours did not bother Corll, who was noted to be a well-behaved student with satisfactory grades. However, he continued to be regarded as a loner by his peers, although he would date girls occasionally. Following Corll's graduation in the summer of 1958, the family moved to Houston, where they sold most of their products, and they opened their own Pecan Price shop. Two years later, Corll obeyed his mother's request to return to Indiana and live with his widowed grandmother. There, he dated a local girl; at some point, she proposed to him, but he turned her down. The West-Robinson marriage began to face difficulties in 1962. Corll returned to Houston to help them, but in 1963, the marriage fell apart and they divorced. Robinson opened her own candy business and made Corll vice-president. That same year, one of Robinson's teenage male employees complained about Corll making sexual advances towards him, but she simply fired the boy. A year later, Corll was drafted into the U.S. Army and was assigned to Fort Polk, Louisiana, for a ten-month training regime. There, Corll realized that he was homosexual, and he had his first sexual relations. After being honorably discharged, he returned to work in his mother's company and made advances towards male employees. In 1967, Corll met twelve-year-old David Owen Brooks, and the two became close friends. They would go on trips together, and Brooks admired Corll to the point of considering him a substitute father. However, the relationship took a darker turn beginning in 1969, when Corll paid Brooks to perform oral sex on him. After the closure of the candy company, Corll got another job testing electrical relay systems at the Houston Lighting and Power Company.

The Houston Mass Murders
Corll's first known murder victim was Jeffrey Konen, a student at the University of Texas in Austin, whom he abducted while hitchhiking on September 25, 1970. Konen's body was later buried in High Island Beach. Around the time of Konen's murder, Brooks interrupted Corll in the act of raping two teenage boys, whom he strapped to a torture board. Corll promised Brooks a car in return for his silence and he accepted the offer. Shortly after murdering the boys, Corll bought Brooks a green Chevrolet Corvette. Later, Corll offered $200 to Brooks for any boy he could lure to Corll's apartment. On December 13, Brooks lured two boys away from a religious rally, and Corll raped and killed them. On January 30, 1971, Corll and Brooks encountered two boys walking home. The boys were lured to Corll's van and driven to his apartment, where they were raped and killed. Their bodies were then buried in a boat shed he owned. Between March and May, Corll abducted and killed three more victims with Brooks' help. On August 17, Corll and Brooks encountered an acquaintance of Brooks, named Ruben Haney, walking home from a movie theater. Corll subsequently took Haney to his home and strangled him to death. In the winter of 1971, Brooks lured Elmer Wayne Henley as a new victim. For reasons unknown, Corll spared him, offered Henley the same fee of $200 for any boy he could lure to Corll's apartment, and told Henley that he was a member of a slavery ring. Henley ignored Corll's offer for several months, but he finally accepted it in early 1972, when Henley's family were in dire financial circumstances. On March 24, 1972, the trio encountered an acquaintance of Henley's, Frank Aguirre, when he was leaving a restaurant. They convinced Aguirre to come to Corll's apartment with the promise of drinking beer and smoking marijuana. There, Corll pushed him onto the table and handcuffed him. When he saw it, Henley attempted to persuade Corll to not hurt Aguirre; instead, he killed him, then revealed that there was no human slavery ring and that he had also raped and murdered the previous boy that Henley had lured for him. Henley then followed Corll's instructions and buried Aguirre's body in High Island Beach. However, according to Brooks, Henley was a sadistic individual who enjoyed murdering boys on his own.

Death
"Y'all better come here right now! I just killed a man!" -Elmer Wayne Henley

The murder spree continued until August 7, 1973. Henley, now aged seventeen, invited Timothy Kerley to attend a party at Corll's house. Kerley accepted the offer, but as they were heading there, they were joined by Rhonda Williams, a friend of Kerley's. Williams' father was drunk and he attacked her that evening, so she decided to wait outside until he sobered up. Henley took pity of Williams and invited her to Corll's home. Corll was initially furious about Henley bringing a girl to his house, but later calmed down after Henley told him about Williams' father and how she could not return home, and he offered the trio beer and marijuana. They drank and smoke while Corll watched and waited for them to pass out. Henley awoke to find himself gagged while Corll snapped handcuffs onto his wrists; the still-unconscious Williams and Kerley were strapped next to him in the same manner. Noticing that Henley was awake, Corll removed the gag and said that he was going to kill them all because of Williams. Henley then promised to Corll that he would participate in the torture and murder of both Kerley and Williams if Corll released him, to which he agreed. The two dragged Kerley and Williams to Corll's bedroom and strapped them to the board. Corll handed Henley a hunting knife and told him to cut Williams' clothes, insisting that he rape and kill Williams entirely by himself, while he was occupied with Kerley. By this point, both Kerley and Williams had awoken. Henley removed Williams' gag and began to cut her clothes, prompting her to ask, "Is this for real?" When Henley said "Yes", Williams asked him, "Are you going to do anything about it?" This caused Henley to question his actions under Corll's orders for the first time. He first asked Corll if he could take Williams to another room, but he ignored him. Henley then grabbed Corll's pistol and shouted that they had gone too far and they had to stop. Corll left Kerley and yelled at Henley to kill him. Panicking, Henley stepped back as Corll advanced and taunted him, saying, "You won't do it!" Henley then fired once at Corll, hitting him in the forehead, but the bullet failed to penetrate his skull. Corll continued to lurch towards Henley and he fired two more shots, hitting Corll in the left shoulder. Corll then spun around and exited the room, hitting the wall of the hallway. Henley followed him and fired three more times into his back, killing him.

Henley freed Kerley and Williams and they discussed about what to do. Henley just wanted to leave, but Kerley convinced him to call the police and explain what happened. Once in custody, Henley confessed to Brooks' and his own involvement in Corll's murders, and revealed the locations where the bodies had been buried. The police used unqualified convict labor to dig up the bodies, and the search was abruptly ended when their body count just surpassed 25, the number of victims attributed to Juan Corona, who was considered the most prolific American serial killer up to that point. As a result, the total number of Corll's victims remains unknown, and some of his attributed 29 victims were known only from spare bones that did not match any retrieved bodies. Henley was later indicted for, and found guilty of six murders. Brooks, who attempted to portray himself as a silent partner of Corll and Henley's who was not present for any rapes and murders, was indicted for four murders and found guilty of one. Both accomplices were sentenced to life in prison. Henley is currently incarcerated at the Mark W. Michael Unit in Anderson County, Texas, while Brooks is incarcerated at the Ramsey Unit near Rosharon.

Modus Operandi
Corll targeted males between the ages of 13 and 20, all of whom he would abduct with the help of Brooks and Henley. His victims were either friends of Henley and/or Brooks, acquainted with Corll, or former employees of the Corll Candy Company. Corll would drive them to his house with promises of alcohol or drugs, and once there, they would be stripped naked and tied to a plywood torture board in Corll's bedroom. They were then raped, beaten, and tortured, sometimes for several days. When he killed his victims, Corll would strangle them or shoot them with a .22-caliber pistol. The bodies were then tied in plastic sheets and buried in one of three mass graves: beneath Corll's boat shed in Southwest Houston, near Lake Sam Rayburn, and in High Island Beach. Occasionally, Corll would force his victims to either call or write letters to their parents explaining their absence, helping the Houston Police Department's assumption that the victims were runaways. He also kept their keys as trophies.

Known Victims

 * 1970:
 * September 25: Jeffrey Konen, 18
 * December 13: James Glass and Danny Yates :
 * James Glass, 14
 * Danny Yates, 14
 * 1971:
 * January 30: Donald Waldrop and his brother Jerry :
 * Donald Waldrop, 15
 * Jerry Waldrop, 14
 * March 9: Randell Harvey, 15
 * May 29: David Hilligiest and Gregory Winkle :
 * David Hilligiest, 13
 * Gregory Malley Winkle, 16
 * August 17: Ruben Watson Haney, 17
 * Unspecified date in 1971 or 1972: "Swimsuit Boy", 15-19
 * 1972:
 * February 9: Willard Branch, Jr. 17
 * March 24: Frank Aguirre, 18
 * April 20: Mark Scott, 17
 * May 21: Johnny Delome and Billy Baulch, Jr. :
 * Johnny Delome, 16
 * Billy Baulch, Jr., 17
 * July 19: Steven Sickman, 17
 * August 21: Roy Bunton, 19
 * October 2: Wally Simoneaux and Richard Hembree :
 * Wally Jay Simoneaux, 14
 * Richard Hembree, 13
 * November 12: Richard Kepner, 19
 * 1973:
 * February 1: Joseph Lyles, 17
 * June 4: William Ray Lawrence, 15
 * June 15: Raymond Blackburn, 20
 * July 7: Homer Garcia, 15
 * July 12: John Sellars, 17
 * July 19: Michael Baulch, 15
 * July 25: Marty Jones and Charles Cobble :
 * Marty Jones, 18
 * Charles Cary Cobble, 17
 * August 3: James Stanton Dreymala, 13
 * August 8: The standoff at Corll's house:
 * Timothy Cordell Kerley, 19
 * Rhonda Williams, 15
 * Elmer Wayne Henley, 17
 * Note: William Branch, Jr.'s father, William Branch, Sr., was a Houston police officer who died of a heart attack while searching for his son. As a result, he had been, at times, considered an indirect victim of Corll.

Evidence of Other Victims

 * A total of 44 boys were reported missing in Houston during the period of Corll's known activity.
 * An isolated arm bone and pelvis were found in the same grave containing the 26th and 27th victims, who had been buried tied together. The search was abruptly terminated shortly after finding them, in spite of Henley's claim that Mark Scott and Joseph Lyles had not been found yet. Lyles' body was found by chance in 1983, and Scott's body has yet to be found. However, the bones have not been positively matched to Scott, and Henley denies that Scott was buried there, implying the existence of a 30th victim.
 * Corll Candy Company employees saw Corll retrieving nylon cords and plastic rolls, which resembled those used to bury the bodies, from the factory as early as 1968. He also dug a lot in those years, supposedly to bury spoiled candy.
 * Brooks declared that the two youths he saw when he ran into Corll and was bribed into silence were not James Glass and Danny Yates, Corll's first known instance of a double homicide. He also said that Corll had killed another victim before their first encounter, and that it happened at Corll's earlier residence before he moved into the house where Brooks and Henley brought victims to him.
 * Corll, Henley and Brooks were suspects in the January 17, 1973 disappearance of sixteen-year-old Norman Lamar Prater. Prater was last seen in Dallas, Texas while in the company of a man and two teenagers with long hair; lived in the same neighborhood as most of Corll's victims and went to the same high school as Henley between 1970 and 1971; and continued to visit Houston during weekends after he moved to Dallas. There are no known murders attributed to Corll between November 1972 and February 1973, but he is believed to have continued killing during that time.
 * In March 1973, a couple announced seeing three men burying a suspiciously long, wrapped bundle in Galveston County. That same couple identified two of the men as Corll and Henley, and said that the third had long, blond hair like Brooks. However, there are no known murders attributed to Corll between February and June 1973, and no bodies were searched in Galveston.
 * Two other witnesses also claimed to have seen three suspicious men digging at the beach in May 1973, one of whom was later identified as Brooks. This sighting was not investigated by the Houston Police Department.
 * An unrelated March 1975 investigation discovered a cache of pornographic pictures and films of sixteen young boys in Houston. Eleven of these boys were identified as Corll's then-known victims, giving rise to the possibility that he was telling Henley the truth when he said that he was part of a slavery ring "that bought and sold boys". Subsequent investigations resulted in the arrest of five individuals in Santa Clara, California. However, the Houston Police Department declined to investigate any links between them and Corll, arguing that Corll's victims' families "had already suffered enough". According to Brooks, Corll told him once that his first victims had been buried in California.
 * In February 2012, a filmmaker preparing a documentary about Henley found a partial Polaroid among the objects of Henley that his family had stored after his arrest in 1973. The image purportedly shows an unidentified boy in handcuffs, strapped to an unseen device on the ground, and next to Corll's toolbox. The boy has not been matched to any known victim of Corll and Henley claims to not know his identity. However, he has confirmed that he bought a Polaroid camera in 1972, the same year he met Corll.

On Criminal Minds
Corll shares some traits with serial killer Anita Roycewood. Like Anita, Corll used two submissive male accomplices to provide new victims for him, one of whom, Henley, was an abducted victim himself. Corll was about to kill two victims provided by Henley, when Henley pointed a gun at him and told him to stop, much like when Anita was about to kill the victims she held captive before Charlie pointed a gun at her. Also like Anita, Corll laughed off the threat and tried to retrieve the gun before he was shot and killed. Anita's husband being an electrician might be another nod to Corll, who worked as an electrician at the time of his death.