Dean Corll: The Candyman Killer

A Monster Who Hid Behind a Smile

Some killers hide behind masks.Dean Corll hid behind a smile — and a candy shop.

In 1970s Houston, dozens of boys disappeared from quiet neighborhoods. Police assumed they were runaways. Families begged investigators to take the cases seriously.

But the truth would shock the nation:

A friendly man known for giving candy to local kids was luring boys into a nightmare.

This is the dark, twisted, and deeply chilling story of Dean Corll, the man the media would eventually call:

The Candyman Killer.

The Making of a Monster

Dean Arnold Corll was born on Christmas Eve 1939 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The home was tense, the marriage strained, and his parents argued constantly. When Dean was seven, they divorced.

He grew up:

• Withdrawn

• Socially awkward

• Overly polite to adults

• Distant from other children

His mother described him as gentle.But something always felt… off.

After high school, Corll moved to Houston, where his mother opened a small candy company. Dean worked long hours making pralines and pecan treats, hand-wrapping each piece.

Neighborhood kids loved the candy shop.They loved the quiet, friendly man behind the counter even more.

The nickname “The Candyman” seemed harmless.

But it would later become synonymous with horror.

The Candy Shop Turns Into a Hunting Ground

By 1967, Corll’s mother remarried and moved away — leaving Dean in charge of the business.

He hired teenage boys from the neighborhood, paid them well, and invited them to his apartment to hang out.

Pool. Beer. Music.He became “the cool older guy.”

Then an employee complained that Corll made sexual advances.

Instead of firing Dean…His mother fired the boy.

That was the turning point.

Corll left the candy business and began spending increasing amounts of time alone.

That isolation created the perfect conditions for what came next.

The Recruitment of David Brooks

Corll met David Brooks, a lonely, vulnerable boy barely in his teens. Brooks looked up to him as a father figure.

Corll groomed him:

• Gave him money

• Bought him gifts

• Let him come and go freely

• Manipulated his psychology until Brooks depended on him

By high school, Brooks was fully under Corll’s control.

What Corll did next would bind the boy to him in a way that was nearly impossible to escape.

1970: The Disappearances Begin

In 1970, 15-year-old Jeffrey Konen went missing while hitchhiking.

He would later be identified as Corll’s first known victim.

From that moment, the killings escalated:

• More boys disappeared

• Some vanished in pairs

• Most vanished from the Heights, Montrose, or Pasadena

• Police wrote them off as “runaways” due to Houston’s growing teen homelessness problem

But they weren’t runaways.They were being hunted.

The Torture Board and the Soundproof Rooms

Corll crafted a horrifying system:

• He moved frequently

• Soundproofed walls

• Built a plywood torture board with holes for shackles

• Created hidden spaces for restraint and assault

The torture board, later recovered by police, is considered one of the most disturbing pieces of physical evidence in American criminal history.

Corll’s crimes followed a chilling pattern:

• Lure teenage boys

• Offer rides, money, or drugs

• Handcuff them

• Gag them

• Restrain them to the board

• Torture for hours or days

• Kill, usually by strangulation

Brooks helped bury the bodies.And soon, Corll would recruit another accomplice.

The Arrival of Elmer Wayne Henley

Elmer Wayne Henley was only 15 when Corll promised him $200 for every boy he brought over.

Henley believed Corll was delivering runaways to a human trafficking network.

He thought they were being sent overseas.He had no idea they were being murdered.

Then he found out.

But by then, he was in too deep — financially, emotionally, and psychologically trapped.

For three years, Corll, Henley, and Brooks operated unnoticed.

Houston’s Lost Boys

1970–1973:

• Boys vanished from the same neighborhoods

• Some were last seen getting into Corll’s van

• Police failed to see the pattern

• Families begged officers to investigate

But Houston’s runaway crisis allowed Corll to hide his crimes in plain sight.

By the time the truth came out, 27 victims were confirmed.Some investigators believe there were more.

August 8, 1973 — The Night It All Unraveled

Henley invited two friends — Tim Curley (19) and Rhonda Williams (15) — to Corll’s home.

Big mistake.

Corll became enraged when he saw a girl.He tied up all three at gunpoint.

Henley begged for his life. Corll relented, promising not to kill him.

But when Corll turned his back…

Henley grabbed the gun—and shot Corll six times, killing him instantly.

The nightmare was finally over.But the horrors beneath the surface were just beginning to be uncovered.

The Bodies in the Boat Shed

Henley immediately confessed.

He led police to a rented boat shed.

Inside the shed and surrounding areas, investigators uncovered:

• Bodies buried in shallow graves

• Victims still bound with nylon rope

• Young boys tortured beyond recognition

More graves were found:

• In Galveston

• In wooded areas

• Near a lake

• In remote fields

In total, at least 27 victims were identified.Some were never recovered.

At the time, it became the largest serial murder case in U.S. history.

Houston’s Horrific Reckoning

Houston was shattered.

Front pages showed smiling photos of young boys who had vanished.Parents locked their doors and chained their windows. Neighborhoods that once felt safe took on a shadowed, haunted quality.

The city would never fully recover from the shock.

The Trials of Brooks and Henley

In 1974:

• Elmer Wayne Henley received six consecutive life sentences

• David Brooks received life in prison

Henley admitted:

“I didn’t want to be there.But I was trapped.We all were.”

Both men remain incarcerated to this day.

The Legacy of Dean Corll

Dean Corll died in 1973.But his shadow still hangs over Houston.

Decades later:

• Families still grieve

• Some victims remain unidentified

• Investigators believe more bodies may be hidden in southeast Texas

Forgotten graves beneath concrete and overgrowth. Lost boys whose names may never be known.

Dean Corll remains one of the most terrifying examples of a predator who lived undetected among ordinary people.

A quiet man.A candy maker.A serial killer.

Proof that sometimes the monsters who haunt us most…are the ones who look the most harmless.