Dean Corll

Dean Corll

Dean Corll , known under the name The Candy Man , (born December 24, 1939 in Fort Wayne , Indiana ; † August 8, 1973 in Pasadena , Texas ) was an American serial killer who worked with two teenage accomplices in the early 1970s named Elmer Wayne Henley and David Owen Brooks has committed at least 28 sex murders of boys and young men. The media dubbed the case the Houston mass murder .

Example

After his parents' marriage fell apart, Corll moved to Houston with his mother . He was considered a good and well-behaved student. He was exempt from physical education because of a heart condition. After graduating from high school , he worked in his mother's candy store. It is believed that he first noticed his homosexual side during his military service, to which he was called up in 1964. As a teenager he was interested in girls. As early as 1965, he was given leave to help his mother run her business again. He later took over this himself. Since he regularly distributed free sweets to the neighborhood children, they gave him the nickname Candyman, which was later picked up by the media . Although this was viewed critically in the neighborhood, no one later made a mental connection to the skyrocketing number of young male missing people. In 1968 he closed the business and began training as an electrician . During this time he met a fifteen-year-old boy named David Brooks in 1970, who had previously been a promising A student but whose academic performance had begun to deteriorate and who had already committed a few minor thefts . Corll paid Brooks, who soon moved in with him to his house in Pasadena, for anal sex .

Deeds

Corll began his series of kidnappings , rapes and murders by 1971 at the latest, but probably earlier . He buried his victims in his boat shed and in rural areas around the city. Brooks later said he met Corll once raping two boys who were tied to a bed. Corll bought his silence with a Chevrolet Corvette , and after that he never saw the two boys again.

Shortly after this event, Corll met fourteen-year-old Elmer Wayne Henley. This came from a broken family background and had an alcohol problem. He soon dropped out of school to work and financially support his divorced mother and three younger brothers. Corll probably originally intended Henley to be the victim, but changed his mind when he realized that Henley knew most of the other youths in the area. Henley soon began helping Corll attract victims and eventually took an active part in killings.

The majority of the victims were teenagers, the youngest being nine years old and the oldest 21. Most came from low-income families in Houston. Many had been reported missing to the police and were listed as runaways despite their parents' concerned protests. Corll often lured them into his house through parties where alcohol and other drugs were consumed. Some victims had already attended such parties several times. At least one of his teenage accomplices usually went with Corll in the search for victims. They were less suspicious of the presence of other boys in his car than if he had been alone.

Exposure

The series was exposed on August 8, 1973 only because Corll was shot after an argument.

Corll's death

Brooks was not present at these events. Henley had appeared at Corll's house at about three a.m. that day with a boy named Tim Kerley and a girl named Rhonda Williams. Kerley was to be Corll's next victim, and fifteen-year-old Williams was Kerley's girlfriend. Corll was furious at first because Henley had brought a girl with him. After he calmed down, they started drinking alcohol together. After the teenagers passed out, Corll handcuffed them. When they came back to himself, he waved a gun of caliber .22 around and threatened to upset to kill them all. Henley initially managed to calm him down, so he put the gun aside and untied him. However, when Corll then insisted on rape and killing Kerley and asked Henley to do the same to Williams, Henley refused. This led to a tussle that ended with Henley getting hold of the gun and killing Corll with six shots on the spot. After freeing the other two youths, he called the police. While they waited for the police outside the house, he told Kerley:

"I could have got $ 200 for you."

Obviously, this was the fee Corll usually paid for recruiting new victims.

Subsequent investigation

During interrogation, Henley stated that he and Brooks had helped Corll obtain victims, who then raped and murdered them. This statement was initially met with skepticism by the police, as it was assumed that there was only one killing - namely that of Corll - and that it was classified as the result of an alcohol-related dispute. However, a search of Corll's house confirmed his information. They found a kind of torture rack with handcuffs on every corner, a few dildos , numerous ropes and a wooden shed with air holes and human hair in it.

Later that day, Brooks appeared at the police station with his father. While Brooks insisted that he knew nothing about the crime, Henley cooperated in the investigation. Not only did he describe Corll's murders in detail, but he also admitted to having shot one of the victims himself.

In the boat shed in the southwest of Houston, which Corll had rented for several years, a total of 17 bodies were excavated after a tip-off from Henley, some of them wrapped in plastic. Ten other victims were found in various other locations, including in Crystal Beach in neighboring Chambers County . Henley insisted there were three other victims, but they were never found.

Some victims had been shot, others still had the nooses around their necks with which they had been strangled . All had been raped anally, some with objects. Some had been castrated or otherwise mutilated in the genital area - a container with several severed genitals was also found in the boat shed - others had their pubic hair torn out individually. In the urethra, partially smashed glass rods were found.

In October 2008, the remains of Randell Lee Harvey  - which were found in August 1973 - were identified. 37 years after his disappearance, Harvey was recorded as another victim by Dean Corll. Harvey was 15 years old when he disappeared in March 1971.

In April 2011, another victim was identified as Steven Sickman , who was murdered in July 1972. Sickman was 17 when he was killed.

Condemnation of the accomplices

Since Corll himself could no longer be prosecuted as a dead man - as a former soldier he even received a funeral with military honors - only Henley and Brooks were charged. Henley was charged with six murders and sentenced to sixty-nine years in prison in 1974. The killing of Corll was not included, this was considered self-defense . Brooks was sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder. A detention test takes place every three years. So far, early parole has always been refused. In 2006, both were still in custody.

consequences

In its time, based on the number of victims, this was the worst case of serial murder in the United States to date, even surpassing the 25 victims of the Juan Vallejo Corona . The case made headlines around the world and prompted the Pope to comment, describing the nature of the crimes as "heinous" and expressing condolences to the families of the victims.

The Houston Police Department was subsequently sharply criticized by these families for treating the missing children as runaways and not finding it worth investigating. These included two families who had each lost two sons to Corll and his accomplices.

Henley started painting while he was imprisoned. The sale of some of his pictures on ebay caused outrage.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ This is criminologically incorrect, cf. Mass murderer .
2. ↑ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6127116.html Heights teen slain by notorious serial killer remembered
3. ↑ http://texascrimenews.com/th-houston-mass-murder-victim-named-could-missing-marine-be-number-p175-68.htm

Web links

• Dean Corll at crimelibrary.com (English)