Dean Arnold Corll was an American serial k*ller responsible for the slayings of at least 28 boys and young men in the Houston, Texas, area between 1970 and 1973.
His crimes, later known as the Houston Mass m**ders, came to light on August 8, 1973, when his teenage accomplice, Elmer Wayne Henley, slayed him and led police to the victims’ remains.
Corll was born on December 24, 1939, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
His family eventually settled in Houston and operated a candy business, which earned him the nickname “Candy Man.”
Despite his involvement in a series of m**ders, Corll maintained an outwardly ordinary presence in his community.
Most of his known victims were teenage boys, aged between 13 and 20. Many lived in Houston Heights or nearby neighborhoods.
Corll often relied on two teenagers, David Owen Brooks and Henley, to help him approach potential victims. They sometimes offered boys rides, invited them to social gatherings, or used existing friendships to gain their trust.
Brooks first met Corll when he was around 12 years old. Corll gave him money and gifts, gradually drawing him into his activities.
By 1970, Brooks was helping him lure other boys. Henley became involved around October 1971 after meeting Corll through Brooks. According to Henley, Corll offered him money for each boy he brought to him.
Henley also claimed that Corll had told him about a supposed operation in Dallas that involved buying and selling boys.
However, investigators never conclusively established that Corll’s m**ders were connected to a larger trafficking network.
Corll and his accomplices s**ually a**sed and m**dered victims, then concealed their remains at several locations. These included a rented boat shed on Silver Bell Street in southwest Houston, beaches near High Island, and woodland near Lake Sam Rayburn in East Texas.
One of the most troubling aspects of the case was the way authorities handled reports of missing teenagers. Families later said officers had too readily classified their sons as runaways instead of investigating whether the disappearances were connected.
The mother of Gregory Malley Winkle, one of the missing teenagers believed to have fallen victim to Corll, challenged that assumption. According to reporting about the case, she said, “You don't run away (from home) with nothing but a bathing suit and 80 cents.”
Winkle had reportedly left to go swimming and never returned.
His crimes, later known as the Houston Mass m**ders, came to light on August 8, 1973, when his teenage accomplice, Elmer Wayne Henley, slayed him and led police to the victims’ remains.
Corll was born on December 24, 1939, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
His family eventually settled in Houston and operated a candy business, which earned him the nickname “Candy Man.”
Despite his involvement in a series of m**ders, Corll maintained an outwardly ordinary presence in his community.
Most of his known victims were teenage boys, aged between 13 and 20. Many lived in Houston Heights or nearby neighborhoods.
Corll often relied on two teenagers, David Owen Brooks and Henley, to help him approach potential victims. They sometimes offered boys rides, invited them to social gatherings, or used existing friendships to gain their trust.
Brooks first met Corll when he was around 12 years old. Corll gave him money and gifts, gradually drawing him into his activities.
By 1970, Brooks was helping him lure other boys. Henley became involved around October 1971 after meeting Corll through Brooks. According to Henley, Corll offered him money for each boy he brought to him.
Henley also claimed that Corll had told him about a supposed operation in Dallas that involved buying and selling boys.
However, investigators never conclusively established that Corll’s m**ders were connected to a larger trafficking network.
Corll and his accomplices s**ually a**sed and m**dered victims, then concealed their remains at several locations. These included a rented boat shed on Silver Bell Street in southwest Houston, beaches near High Island, and woodland near Lake Sam Rayburn in East Texas.
One of the most troubling aspects of the case was the way authorities handled reports of missing teenagers. Families later said officers had too readily classified their sons as runaways instead of investigating whether the disappearances were connected.
The mother of Gregory Malley Winkle, one of the missing teenagers believed to have fallen victim to Corll, challenged that assumption. According to reporting about the case, she said, “You don't run away (from home) with nothing but a bathing suit and 80 cents.”
Winkle had reportedly left to go swimming and never returned.
Wikipedia
Everett Waldrop, whose sons Donald and Jerry also disappeared, described another troubling encounter with the authorities.
After reporting information that an acquaintance had allegedly seen Corll burying what appeared to be bod*es near his boat shed, Waldrop said police carried out only a limited search before dismissing the report.
On another occasion, he recalled the police chief asking him, “Why are you down here? You know your boys are runaways,” according to Lodi News-Sentinel.
These claims later became part of the criticism directed at the Houston Police Department. Families believed the growing pattern of missing boys should have led to a more thorough investigation much earlier.
Then, on August 8, 1973, the case finally broke open. The previous evening, Henley had brought 15-year-old Rhonda Williams and 20-year-old Timothy Kerley to Corll’s home in Pasadena, Texas. A confrontation followed, and Corll restrained the three teenagers.
Henley eventually obtained a pistol and sh*t Corll.
Prosecutors later determined that Henley had acted in self-defense. Corll was 33 when he d*ed.
At approximately 8:24 a.m., Henley contacted the police and announced what had happened.
His call was reported as, “Y'all better come here right now! I just k**led a man!” per New York.
Officers initially responded to a homicide. They soon discovered that the sh**ting had exposed a much larger crime. Henley told investigators about Corll’s activities and offered to lead them to the places where victims had been buried.
On August 8, police began searching the rented boat shed on Silver Bell Street. Investigators found the remains of 17 victims there over the course of the search. Subsequent searches uncovered more victims near Lake Sam Rayburn and at High Island.
By the end of the investigation’s initial phase, authorities had linked at least 28 d*aths to Corll and his accomplices.
Wikipedia
David Brooks also came forward and provided information about his involvement. Both Henley and Brooks helped investigators understand how Corll had lured victims and concealed their remains. The discoveries shocked Houston and attracted national attention.
The case was widely described as one of the worst serial m**der cases in American history at the time. The number of victims, the ages of many of the boys, and the fact that the crimes had continued for years made the investigation particularly disturbing.
Corll passed away before he could be arrested or tried. Henley and Brooks, however, faced prosecution for their roles in the m**ders.
Henley was convicted in 1974 of six m**ders and initially received six consecutive 99-year sentences. His convictions were later overturned, and in 1979 a jury again found him guilty of six m**ders. The sentences ultimately ran concurrently, but he remained in prison.
Henley is still incarcerated in Texas. On November 7, 2025, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied his latest parole request, leaving him ineligible to apply again until November 2035. He was 17 when the crimes were exposed and has spent decades in prison for his role in them.
In reporting on the 2025 parole decision, KPRC 2 cited Crime Stoppers of Houston representative Andy Kahan on the impact of the crimes on the victims’ families.
He said, “Henley deprived over 20 boys of their lives, and all we can do in return is deprive him of his liberty, and that was accomplished today.”
The statement reflected the continued opposition to Henley’s release among people who have supported the victims’ families through repeated parole hearings. Although Henley helped police uncover the m**ders after k**ling Corll, that cooperation did not absolve him of his own involvement.
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Brooks was convicted in 1975 of m**dering 15-year-old William Ray Lawrence and received a life sentence. He remained imprisoned until his passing on May 28, 2020, from complications related to COVID-19.
The investigations did not end with the initial discoveries. Over the following decades, forensic work helped identify several victims whose remains had gone unidentified for years.
DNA testing and renewed efforts by investigators gave some families answers long after their sons disappeared.
However, one victim remains unidentified.
Often referred to as “Swimsuit Boy” or “John Houston Doe,” he is believed to have been a teenager when he passed away.
In 2023, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released an updated facial reconstruction in an effort to establish his identity.
The total number of victims also remains uncertain.
Investigators have considered whether Corll may have k**led additional boys whose remains have never been found or conclusively linked to the case.