Crime Documentary - The Dean Corll story
- 7 years ago
Viewer discretion is advised. Some may find this content disturbing. This is a documentary I found interesting.
Dean Arnold Corll[2] (December 24, 1939 – August 8, 1973) was an American serial killer who (with two young accomplices named David Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley, Jr.) abducted, raped, tortured, and murdered at least 28 boys in a series of killings spanning from 1970 to 1973 in Houston, Texas. The crimes, which became known as the Houston Mass Murders, came to light after Henley fatally shot Corll.
Corll's victims were typically lured to a succession of addresses in which he resided between 1970 and 1973 with an offer of a party or a lift. They would then be restrained by either force or deception, and all were killed by either strangulation or shooting with a .22-caliber pistol. Corll and his accomplices buried 17 of their victims in a rented boat shed; four other victims were buried in woodland near Lake Sam Rayburn; one further victim was buried on a beach in Jefferson County; and at least six victims were buried on a beach on the Bolivar Peninsula.
Corll was also known as the Candy Man and the Pied Piper, because he and his family had owned and operated a candy factory in Houston Heights, and he had been known to give free candy to local children.
At the time of their discovery, the Houston Mass Murders were considered the worst example of serial murder in American history.
Between 1970 and 1973, Corll is known to have killed a minimum of 28 victims. All of his victims were males aged 13 to 20, the majority of whom were in their mid-teens. Most victims were abducted from Houston Heights, which was then a low-income neighborhood northwest of downtown Houston. With most abductions, he was assisted by one or both of his teenaged accomplices: Elmer Wayne Henley, and David Owen Brooks. Several victims were friends of either or both of Corll's accomplices; others were individuals with whom Corll had himself become acquainted prior to their abduction and murder and two other victims, Billy Baulch and Gregory Malley Winkle, were former employees of the Corll Candy Company.
Corll's victims were usually lured into one of two vehicles he owned, a Ford Econoline van or a Plymouth GTX, with an offer of a party or a lift, and then driven to his house. There, they were plied with alcohol or other drugs until they passed out, tricked into putting on handcuffs, or simply grabbed by force. They were then stripped naked and tied to either Corll's bed or, usually, a plywood torture board, which was regularly hung on a wall. Once manacled, the victims would be sexually assaulted, beaten, tortured and—sometimes after several days—killed by strangulation or shooting with a .22-caliber pistol. Their bodies were then tied in plastic sheeting and buried in any one of four places: a rented boat shed; a beach on the Bolivar Peninsula; a woodland near Lake Sam Rayburn (where Corll's family owned a lakeside log cabin); or a beach in Jefferson County.
In several instances, Corll forced his victims to either phone or write to their parents with explanations for their absences in an effort to allay the parents' fears for their sons' safety. Corll is also known to have retained keepsakes—usually keys—from his victims.
During the years in which he abducted and murdered young men, Corll often changed addresses. However, until he moved to Pasadena in the spring of 1973, he always lived in or close to Houston Heights.
Dean Arnold Corll[2] (December 24, 1939 – August 8, 1973) was an American serial killer who (with two young accomplices named David Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley, Jr.) abducted, raped, tortured, and murdered at least 28 boys in a series of killings spanning from 1970 to 1973 in Houston, Texas. The crimes, which became known as the Houston Mass Murders, came to light after Henley fatally shot Corll.
Corll's victims were typically lured to a succession of addresses in which he resided between 1970 and 1973 with an offer of a party or a lift. They would then be restrained by either force or deception, and all were killed by either strangulation or shooting with a .22-caliber pistol. Corll and his accomplices buried 17 of their victims in a rented boat shed; four other victims were buried in woodland near Lake Sam Rayburn; one further victim was buried on a beach in Jefferson County; and at least six victims were buried on a beach on the Bolivar Peninsula.
Corll was also known as the Candy Man and the Pied Piper, because he and his family had owned and operated a candy factory in Houston Heights, and he had been known to give free candy to local children.
At the time of their discovery, the Houston Mass Murders were considered the worst example of serial murder in American history.
Between 1970 and 1973, Corll is known to have killed a minimum of 28 victims. All of his victims were males aged 13 to 20, the majority of whom were in their mid-teens. Most victims were abducted from Houston Heights, which was then a low-income neighborhood northwest of downtown Houston. With most abductions, he was assisted by one or both of his teenaged accomplices: Elmer Wayne Henley, and David Owen Brooks. Several victims were friends of either or both of Corll's accomplices; others were individuals with whom Corll had himself become acquainted prior to their abduction and murder and two other victims, Billy Baulch and Gregory Malley Winkle, were former employees of the Corll Candy Company.
Corll's victims were usually lured into one of two vehicles he owned, a Ford Econoline van or a Plymouth GTX, with an offer of a party or a lift, and then driven to his house. There, they were plied with alcohol or other drugs until they passed out, tricked into putting on handcuffs, or simply grabbed by force. They were then stripped naked and tied to either Corll's bed or, usually, a plywood torture board, which was regularly hung on a wall. Once manacled, the victims would be sexually assaulted, beaten, tortured and—sometimes after several days—killed by strangulation or shooting with a .22-caliber pistol. Their bodies were then tied in plastic sheeting and buried in any one of four places: a rented boat shed; a beach on the Bolivar Peninsula; a woodland near Lake Sam Rayburn (where Corll's family owned a lakeside log cabin); or a beach in Jefferson County.
In several instances, Corll forced his victims to either phone or write to their parents with explanations for their absences in an effort to allay the parents' fears for their sons' safety. Corll is also known to have retained keepsakes—usually keys—from his victims.
During the years in which he abducted and murdered young men, Corll often changed addresses. However, until he moved to Pasadena in the spring of 1973, he always lived in or close to Houston Heights.