Between 1970 and 1973, Dean Corll, aided by David Owen Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley Jr., killed 26 young men in the Heights area of Houston. According to Williams, something in Henley appeared to have snapped that night: He stood at my feet, and just all of a sudden told Dean this couldnt keep going on, he couldnt let him keep killing his friends and that it had to stop, she recalled. Henleys mother told police that Dean Corll was like a father to Wayne. Corll was himself the product of quarreling parents, who divorced when he was young, remarried, divorced again; his mother traveled around the South in a trailer, started a candy business with the help of a dutiful son. Sex didnt become a factor until later. Henley told the interviewer he believed he had been reformed and that he was under the spell of Corll. In one of the more dramatic moments in Houston television history, Jack Cato, a reporter for Houston's NBC television affiliate KPRC-TV, accompanied Henley and police as Henley led them to the storage shed where he and Corll had buried some of the murder victims' bodies. Families of Corlls victims have actively opposed parole for Henley for decades. Its not.. In Atlas Shrugged, I liked the little utopia of the working people. [43] Brooks died of COVID-19 complications in May 2020.[44]. According to Texas Monthly, Henley and Brooks began roaming the Houston Heights neighborhood, smoking marijuana, drinking beer, and shooting pool. In fact, Henley even brought another of his friends, Frank Aguirre, to Corll. This is the company's first production outside of the corporate world, according to Huffine. But Henley wanted money. Which Serial Killers Are in Mindhunter Season 2? - POPSUGAR Andy Kahan, the victim advocate for Houston Crime Stoppers, said that several murder other victims relatives are concerned and angry about the request. Photos, illustrations and other art may be available for syndication but must be confirmed. By the time Richard Kepner had been killed and buried at High Island, Henley had assisted in the abduction and murder of a minimum of nine teenage boys. But through all these years, one of his victims remains unidentified. If you support this mission, we need your help. At Corll's home (where he was possibly taken as an intended victim), the youth was told by Corll that he belonged to an organization based in Dallas which recruited young boys for a child sex slavery ring. Wayne seemed to enjoy causing pain, Brooks told police, a fact Henley readily admits. Within the wooden box, investigators had found several strands of human hair which examiners had concluded came from Charles Cobble. Based on the real cases of former special agent John E. Douglas, Netflix's Mindhunter features chilling dramatized interviews with serial killers. Seated with us in the dentists officeit affords the only privacy in the ward, where Henley is considered safest from the two dozen people who have vowed to kill himis one of his defense attorneys, a retired army officer in owlish spectacles. However, in early 1972, he decided he would "help find a boy" for Corll, as he was in dire financial circumstances. Leave them blank to get signed up. In the beginning he seemed quiet and in the background, and that made me curious. He gave him money and provided him with a place to stay when he didnt want to go home. Transcript of letter Billy Lawrence was forced to write to his father by Corll.[21]. But as far as any emotion to it, theres no heartfelt emotion.. Corll told Henley that he was involved in organized theft, and he, Brooks and Henley burgled several addresses, for which Henley was paid small sums of money. Maybe thats what started it, the divorce and all I trapped him over the head with the vacuum cleaner, and called the police.. [32], The State of Texas presented a total of 82 pieces of evidence throughout Henley's trial, including the written confession Henley had given on August 8, which was read to the court in which he admitted killing or assisting in the abduction and murder of several youths, including the 6 teenagers for whose murder he was on trial. Elmer Wayne Henley, 17, (R), accused of 6 of 27 Houston mass murders, is escorted to District Court by Chief Bexar County Deputy Rudy Garza, (L). When Elmer Wayne Henley contacted authorities that August day in 1973, he initially stated that he killed only one man Dean Corll. At the time, the so-called Houston Mass Murders were described as the most lethal in modern U.S. historythe Pope sent his condolences and Truman Capote considered writing about the case as a sequel to his book In Cold Blood. Brooks would later tell investigators that Henley seemed to enjoy causing pain, something Henley admitted was true. He does NOT deserve to have any compassion for any illness as my brother was not even treated with basic humanity.. [26] The youth, who vanished on July 12, 1973, had died of four gunshot wounds fired from a rifle, whereas each other victim of the Houston Mass Murders had either been strangled or killed with the .22 caliber pistol Henley had used to kill Dean Corll. She has made commercials and short films in the past. [47][n 2], Following the revelation of Henley's subsequent involvement in the murders initiated by Corll, the mother of David Hilligiest would recollect: "He (Henley) would ask if we had heard anything and he would look off into the distance. On July 16th, the jury reached their verdict in less than an hour: guilty on all six counts. Rubber thong sandals dangle from grubby toes; gone are the wispy beard and shoulder-length hair of those blurred news photos, replaced by dark, oily curls pressed against his head. Before kids started coming around, we got money from Dean for thieving, for setting up places to rob. As a result, the estimated number of victims rose to at least 29. I got along with everybody. Excerpted from The Texans, by James Conaway,to be published this spring by Alfred A. Knopf. Psycho killer Elmer Wayne Henley - YouTube Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. The term serial killer had not yet been invented. He loved his children and his grandchildren, he was sharp., We didnt get along. Henley lured the victim to Corll's Schuler Street apartment on the promise of smoking some marijuana. After listening to the evidence presented, the jury initially indicted Henley on three counts of murder and Brooks on one count. Dean Corll Serial Killer The Candy Man To compensate, any people Henley paints are in black and white while his other works are usually in color. Corll was an average, submissive student who played the trombone in the Vidor school band, on the outskirts of Beaumont. When he instructed Henley and Brooks to bring him boys, instead of stolen television sets, to be sold to a fictitious white-slave market in Dallas for $200 apiece, they complied. Bettmann/Getty ImagesElmer Wayne Henley with police at High Island Beach on Aug. 10, 1973. Later, I became fascinated with how much stamina people have. Elmer Wayne Henley - Trial and Conviction | Trial Conviction Dean was a personal friend, as well as a source of income. Partners must notify. Dad was always beating up on my little brothers. Thats exactly what I did. His homosexuality played second fiddle to this aura of experience and latent power, as viewed in the boys narrow perspective. Henley will shortly be sentenced to 594 years by a San Antonio court, but that is a formality. I have decided to go to Austin because I have got a good job offer. Although some of the victims' families were suspicious of the postcards, authorities were reluctant to investigate the disappearance of boys who appeared to be runaways. I'm an accomplice to a serial killer. FactualTV host a documentary focusing upon the murders committed by Corll and his accomplices. As reported by Texas Monthly, Dean Corll's suggestion piqued Henley's curiosity, as he "wondered what it was like to kill someone.". The jury heard evidence from both Rhonda Williams and Tim Kerley, who each testified to the events of August 7 and 8 leading to the shooting of Dean Corll, plus the testimony from various police officers who recited and discussed the written statements each youth had made and described how both Brooks and Henley had led them to each of the burial sites. Henley is serving six consecutive terms of 99 years for his involvement in the Houston Mass Murders,[3] which at the time were characterized as "the deadliest case of serial murders in American history". I had Dean in a corner, see, and he told me, You wont kill me. I shot himcoollyuntil I ran out of bullets. Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. was born May 9, 1956, to Elmer Wayne Henley Sr. and Mary Henley in Houston, Texas. Emily McCullar is a senior editor covering pop culture, news, and Texas history. However, things became more sinister when the older man suggested committing murder. Although he initially confessed to killing only one man, authorities soon learned Henley was one of three serial killers who abducted and killed at least 28 boys, ages 13 to 20 between 1970 and 1973. The night of Aug. 8, 1973, Henley shot and killed Corll. Despite the revelations to the reality of the fate of the boys brought to Corll, Henley nonetheless continued to assist Corll and Brooks in the abductions and murders of youths, who would be lured to Corll's home either alone or in pairs. Three years before his death, his mother had sent him an inspirational book entitled This Thing Called You. How Galvestonians used to dance until they dropped (for fun), a former figure skater turned journalist, and other Lone Star State stories. He was not the only searcherjust the most cunning and desperate, and quite mad. [16] Corll rented a boat shed on Silver Bell Street in southwest Houston (where police eventually found eight bodies) [17] Later, Corll and Brooks told Henley that his childhood friend, David Hilligiest, had also been killed and buried in that same boat shed along with his swimming companion Gregory Malley Winkle.[12]. Elmer Wayne Henley (left) and David Owen Brooks (right) in 1973. Filmed when he was 42 years old . Elmer Wayne Henley, Jr. | Mindhunter Wiki | Fandom Please notify us by email that the article will be republished at, Supreme Court had declared to be cruel and unusual punishment. [46] Henley refuses to paint or draw any images of a violent or exploitative nature: many of his works depict serene imagery such as landscapes, buildings and flowers and the majority being created using acrylics and graphite. I just found that, this show still continues to amaze me a few years after. He had brought enough people to Corll to know what would happen. Following advice from his defense counsel, Henley did not take the stand to testify in his own defense, although one of his attorneys, Will Gray, did cross examine a number of witnesses. On August 8, 1973 Dean Corll was upset with Elmer Henly as the then seventeen year old had brought a girl back to the house. On October 3, Henley assisted Corll in the abduction and murder of two Heights boys named Wally Simoneaux and Richard Hembree. Delivering up friends was easier, less risky, more prestigious. You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. The 15 Most Interesting Serial Killers On Mindhunter (& 5 They Should Henley unequivocally stated that since the winter of 1971, he had actively participated in the abductions and, later, the murders of the victims. Henleys earliest memory is of near suffocation. Even with a COVID-19 epidemic that rendered prison conditions infinitely more hazardous, Texas officials reported granting compassionate release to very few. Acute asthma attacks were overcome with the aid of his grandparents, who tended Henley while his mother was occupied with younger children and an unpredictable husband. Family victimized by serial killer Elmer Wayne Henley speak out At the end of the conversation, Henley told Porras, "You have your interview. Despite his horror at the realization, Henley didnt tell the police what Corll had done. In all, 49 states provide some type of compassionate release. The two became friends and often played truant together. Later, he got down to the fact that we was going to be killing people. Sometimes it takes two people half an hour.. Henley exchanges a few words with his attorney, and shuffles off down the hall. All rights reserved. [7] Through his acquaintance with Brooks, Henley became aware that his friend spent a lot of his free time in the company of an older man with whom he himself gradually became a casual acquaintance: Dean Corll. In interviews, Henley has stated that he suffers from a severe color deficiency in his eyesight that makes it impossible for him to clearly distinguish between The oldest of the couples four sons, Henleys childhood home was an unhappy one. Because Holden and Bill are busy in Atlanta, Wendy and Gregg meet with Elmer Wayne Henley Jr., the mentee of "The Candyman" Dean Corll who acted as an accomplice to . Henley represents a larger problem because he seems to be quite sane. Porras was reluctant to say whether she considered Henley sincere in his thoughts, saying simply, "I think (the documentary) sends a powerful message. However, Elmer Wayne Henley and David Brooks did not become involved until later that same year when, as reported by All That's Interesting, Corll began offering Henley and Brooks money to lure other teenage boys to his home. He untied Henley, and the two of them went back into the living room, Corll with a gun and Henley with a knife. Deans front was wholesome and masculine. Trial and Conviction. In August 1973, Henley, then 17, shirtless and jittery from a night of partying, was arrested and confessed to participating in a murder, rape, and torture ring led by Dean Corll, a Houston electrician and former candy maker with no criminal history.