Latest news with #DeanCorll
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Daily Mail
He was lured into a murderer's home and survived. How the lie that saved him triggered a killing spree... and made him an accomplice
Elmer Wayne Henley Jr was just 14 when a friend brought him to the home of Dean Corll - the seemingly friendly man known to children in Houston Heights for working in his parents' candy store. Corll struck up a conversation about his side hustle of burglarizing homes in the neighborhood. Then, he asked Henley if he would be able to defend himself against an angry homeowner - or even kill them - if he was attacked.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
Accomplice of ‘Candy Man' killer breaks silence about chilling role in murders
Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. was a 15-year-old gas station worker when he became an accomplice to the "Candy Man" serial killer. Now 69, Henley is serving a life sentence for his part in helping Texas murderer Dean Corll lure young victims to be tortured and killed during the '70s. Henley is speaking out in a new Investigation Discovery (ID) true-crime documentary, "The Serial Killer's Apprentice." In the film, Henley has candid conversations with renowned forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland, who studied his case. According to the network, this is the first time in decades Henley is speaking out in great detail about the killings. Ramsland told Fox News Digital she believes Henley is remorseful for the crimes he committed. "When Wayne looks back — and he doesn't like to — he's horrified," said Ramsland. "When we started talking, he would have nightmares. He suffered from PTSD for some time after he first went to prison. He hates that he was a part of this. He hates that this is what his life has come to. He doesn't want to be identified as a person who is a part of a serial murder team, even though he was." "I told the FBI … he's not really a serial killer because he didn't have the motivating drive for me," Ramsland said. "He just participated in it. So, technically, yes, he killed more than two people, but he didn't want to." According to Ramsland, Henley grew up in a broken home in Texas. His grandmother raised him after his abusive father abandoned the family. At 14, he began working at a gas station to support his mother, who was struggling to make ends meet while raising his three younger brothers. Henley skipped school one day to smoke marijuana when he met David Brooks, an older teen who appeared to have plenty of money without a job. "He thought, 'How is that possible? Cut me in on this,'" said Ramsland. "Brooks introduces him to his neighbor, Dean Corll, who then tells him about an arrangement." Corll was a Houston electrical company worker and former candy store owner who was known for handing out sweets to children. When Brooks brought a curious Henley over to Corll's home, the "Candy Man," as known by locals, made an offer. "[He] tells him, 'We pick up boys who are hitchhikers and have no place to go, and we [send] them to California. They become pool boys for some rich family. They make out great, and we get paid for it. It's a way for you to make $200,'" Ramsland explained. "That's a lot of money for a kid, a 15-year-old who's making peanuts at a part-time job at a gas station. And it sounded like nobody was getting hurt. This is Corll's way to reel Wayne in. To Wayne, it just sounded like everybody wins." WATCH: FOX NATION DOCUMENTARY HIGHLIGHTS SERIAL KILLER'S MYSTERIOUS AMAZON REVIEWS Henley told Corll his mother knew where he was, and Ramsland believes that move saved him from being a victim. After earning Corll's trust, Henley, who was eager to make money fast, picked up a young hitchhiker. "Corll kills [the hitchhiker], not in front of [Wayne], but he told him, 'That guy died, and you were a part of that, and now you have to do what I say.' Wayne could have gone to the police, but he thought, 'Who's going to believe me, a kid against an adult? And I don't even know where this body is. I don't even know what he did. I didn't witness it. I can't lead them anywhere.' "Corll also said there was this syndicate of traffickers who were watching all the time," Ramsland added. "If anything happened to them, they would come for Wayne. … He didn't think he had a way out." Between 1970 and 1973, young boys and teens mysteriously vanished across Houston Heights, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children [NCMEC] revealed. Despite growing numbers of missing reports made by parents, the disappearances were often brushed off by police as runaways. No one suspected the horrors the "Candy Man" was committing behind closed doors. "Dean Corll was a sadist," Ramsland said. "He looked for kids to torture. He is one of the worst in terms of what he did. Sometimes he would keep them for two or three days, torturing them. He had this torture board that had holes drilled into it. He would put two kids on the board and have them fight each other. "One time, it had two best friends. He said, 'Whoever wins will survive.' It wasn't true. But having two kids fight with each other to try to save their own lives, that's sadistic. He would torture his victims physically and psychologically. And it endured for a while. "He was a predator," she said. "But he used the face of being a completely normal nice guy, a big brother who was helpful to everyone. He lived a double life that fooled a lot of people." Corll tortured, raped and killed at least 28 boys and young men between the ages of 13 and 20. Many of the bodies were then buried in remote locations. According to NCMEC, Henley and Brooks, who knew some of the victims as friends, were responsible for luring many of Corll's victims into his home under false promises of fun. The outlet noted that Henley later reported to police that Corll paid them $200 for each victim. Henley told Ramsland that after Corll killed his captives, he made him wear their clothing. The reign of terror came to an end in August 1973. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB "Wayne brought a girl over with another kid," said Ramsland. "Corll had bound all of them and said he was going to kill them all. Wayne persuaded him to let him go and said he would help. … When Corll laid the gun down and went after the boy, the girl said something to Wayne like, "Aren't you going to do something about this?'" It was Corll who taught Henley how to shoot. And when Corll came charging at him, Henley killed the 33-year-old with his gun. Later that day, a shaken Henley led police to the bodies of the victims. Over three days, investigators found 16 bodies wrapped in plastic or sheets and buried in a mass grave. Most of the bodies were badly decomposed, and their identities were obscured by time and the elements, The Associated Press reported. The outlet noted that the conditions of the bodies showed traces of suffering. Over the years, investigators were able to identify known victims. Henley quickly admitted direct involvement in six of the killings and said he struggled with his actions but feared being killed by Corll. Henley and Brooks received life sentences. Brooks died in 2020 of complications from COVID-19. Ramsland said that, based on her numerous conversations and letters with Henley, she assessed him as both a victim and a perpetrator. It's something that needs to be studied more because "we're going to see more of it," she argued. "I don't put [a person like this] on any level like the victims who were tortured and killed," Ramsland stressed. "By no means is he that kind of victim. But victims come in all varieties, and I don't think you can deny that." Ramsland believes Henley continues to be haunted by his actions. "He wanted to be a minister," she said. "He doesn't know what to think of himself."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Where Is Elmer Wayne Henley Now? Inside His Life Today, 5 Decades After Helping the 'Candy Man' Serial Killer
Elmer Wayne Henley assisted Dean Corll in killing six of his 28 victims NEED TO KNOW From 1970 to 1973, Dean Corll murdered at least 28 boys and young men in the Houston area He enlisted two teenage accomplices to help find his victims: David Owen Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley Henley shot and killed Corll in August 1973, and was later given six life sentences for his role in the murders Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. could have been one of Dean Corll's many victims. Instead, he became the serial killer's teenage accomplice. Dubbed the 'Candy Man' by the media, Corll — a seemingly friendly man known for handing out candy to kids in Houston — was responsible for the deaths of at least 28 boys and young men in the early 1970s. Henley — a teenager himself — and neighbor David Owen Brooks helped lure victims to Corll's Pasadena, Texas, home 'under false promises of fun,' per the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Once inside, Corll would torture, rape and kill them. Henley took part in at least six murders. All of Corll's victims were between the ages of 13 and 20. The crimes came to light in 1973, when Henley fatally shot Corll during a confrontation. He and Brooks were later sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the murders. Henley's story is explored in the Investigation Discovery (ID) documentary The Killer's Apprentice with forensic psychologist Dr. Katherine Ramsland, which debuts on Aug. 17. Reflecting on their first meeting, Henley said, 'I believe that I was originally taken over to Dean's as a victim. What scares me is, did Dean recognize a fellow psychopath?' So, where is Elmer Wayne Henley now? Here's everything to know about the convicted killer and his role in the infamous Houston mass murders. Who is Elmer Wayne Henley? Henley is a convicted murderer and former accomplice of Corll. While growing up, Henley said his father was abusive, once firing a gun at him, he told Texas Monthly in April 1976. Henley assumed the role of a surrogate father, working odd jobs to support his mother. Henley said he met Corll through his former classmate and neighbor, Brooks, he told Texas Monthly. Twice Henley's age, Corll impressed the teenager because he had 'a steady job ... wasn't a wild drunk, got along with kids and people in general.' Henley's mother told police that Corll was 'like a father" to Henley, according to the publication. 'Dean's front was wholesome and masculine,' Henley said. 'He was a loner in his own right. He could be around people, but still you never knew what Dean Corll was doing. No matter how much you talked to him, you didn't know him.' At first, Corll involved Henley and Brooks in petty thefts, per Texas Monthly. But soon, he asked them to procure boys he claimed to be selling to a nonexistent slave market in Dallas. Henley and Brooks were paid $200 for each victim. What was Elmer Wayne Henley accused of? In addition to luring many of Corll's victims to his home between 1970 and 1973, Henley murdered at least six boys throughout Corll's killing spree. He later told Texas Monthly that he was curious about killing before he began getting involved in Corll's crimes. 'I mean, you see people getting strangled on television and it looks easy,' he said. 'It's not. Sometimes it takes two people half an hour.' To keep his teenage accomplices from talking, Ramsland told PEOPLE in August 2025 that Corll used an 'idea of a larger sex trafficking network' that would go after them and their families if 'they did anything out of line.' How many victims were killed in the Houston mass murders? The three men were responsible for the deaths of 28 people between 1970 and 1973, some of whom were Henley's friends. Only one of Corll's victims hasn't been identified, and the true death toll will likely never be known, according to the NCMEC. What happened to Dean Corll? On Aug. 8, 1973, police responded to a 911 call at Corll's home and found him dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Henley, then 17, told officers he had shot the serial killer six times in self-defense after Corll tried to kill him and two friends, including a 15-year-old girl, per ID. He went on to reveal Corll's crimes and led investigators to several sites where victims' bodies were buried, according to the NCMEC. At the time of the murders, Corll was working as an electrician. He was 33 when he died, per The New York Times. What happened to David Owen Brooks? Brooks turned himself in to the police the day after Henley was arrested, per ABC13. Though he consistently denied participating in the murders, he was convicted of killing a 15-year-old boy in March 1975, per The New York Times. Brooks was sentenced to life in prison and died of COVID-19 complications in May 2020, according to ABC13. Where is Elmer Wayne Henley now? After pleading not guilty, Henley was convicted in 1974 of murdering six boys, per The New York Times, and was given six consecutive life sentences in prison. His multiple parole requests have been denied, with his most recent being in 2015. He'll be eligible for parole again in October 2025, per ABC13. Ramsland told PEOPLE that Henley has resigned himself to the possibility that he will die in prison, saying, 'He goes back and forth with recognizing the things that he did and that he has a just punishment." During his incarceration, Henley took up painting and even had his work featured in local galleries in 1997 and 1998, according to the Houston Chronicle. FOX 26 reported in January 2016 that the convicted murderer had a Facebook page that he used, through a third-party, to sell his artwork and handmade jewelry. Read the original article on People
