Growing up in Houston Texas, I grew up with the story of Dean Corll. My mother actually went to school with some of the boys that were killed and moved (after the murders) just a few blocks from where the murders took place in The Heights of Houston in the 1960's.

This case has always fascinated me insofar that he got away with it for so long, that no one ever considered him as a suspect for these boys' disappearances, and how so many of their bodies have yet to this day been found.

In The Heights, which at the time was a relatively upper class neighborhood, Corll's parents owned a candy shop. The way that he lured these boys was rather prototypical. The kids in the neighborhood trusted him and he literally offered them candy and rides home in his white Econoline van.

Now, these days a grown man offering candy and rides to children would raise a lot of people's hackles, back then, not so much.

Dean Corll was twenty-seven years old when took notice of a twelve-year-old boy named David Brooks.

Dean Corll and David Brooks began to grow closer and no one really seemed to notice their growing relationship. As they got closer and Corll continued to groom Brooks, behind closed doors, things began to get a bit strange.

Brooks, a boy who had troubles in his life, such as an unstable household and sometimes found himself in need of a safe place to stay or some money, he would turn to Corll for help; seeing as how Brooks looked up to Corll as a father figure. And while the boy saw Corll this way, it became clearer and clearer that Dean Corll wanted a sexual relationship.

When Corll approached Brooks about it, the boy was hesitant, yet obliged. It's not a far reach that the boy agreed for fear in losing someone who he felt genuinely cared for him when it seemed like no one else really did.

Even after Brook's parents' divorced and he started spending half the time in Beaumont. Whenever he would return to The Heights, Brooks spent most of his time with Corll.

Around the time that Brooks was fifteen, showed up at Dean Corll's house unannounced. Later, when speaking to the police and in his confession, stated that he saw Dean molesting two young boys that he had tied to his bedposts. When Corll noticed Brooks, he yelled out "What are you doing here?!"

Without a word, Brooks turned and left the house in shock at what he'd seen. In an attempt to try and save face, Dean Corll told David Brooks that he was in a gay porn ring, and that the boys he had seen had been sent to California to work as models.

Later, and the reason is unclear as to why...perhaps because they were so close, or maybe it was the fact that Corll knew the power he had over the boy, told Brooks the truth. That he had actually killed both of the boys and buried them in his storage shed.

As a "reward" or perhaps a bribe for keeping this secret, Corll bought Brooks a green Corvette and gave him $200 (Which is more than $1200 today) for EVERY child he lured in.

At this point, Brooks had to likely choose between becoming a (murder) victim himself, or helping Corll, Brooks agreed to help.

Now working as a team, the two of them would go around together and lure boys by offering them somewhere to hang out, huff some paint, smoke weed, or drink beer. They would also offer rides to the boys' in the Corvette or Dean's van.

Together they lured in over half a dozen boys that Dean would systematically torture and kill. His typical fashion, Corll would tie them to either his four post bed, or what he called a "torture board", which was an 8X2 slab of plywood that had holes drilled into each corner, at which he would ties the boys' limbs.

When tied to the bed or board, he'd abuse and rape his victims for days before finally killing them and getting rid of their bodies. During these periods, Corll showed no mercy, and seemingly took great pleasure in the torture.

Dean would insert thin glass rods into the urethra of some of his victims. Once inserted, Corll would then shatter the rods, leaving them inserted in the urethra.

Another victim had his genitals bitten off. The forensics would later indicate that they had been bitten off in a single bite.

Others would be shot in various parts of the body, such as the mouth, chest or head, leaving them to bleed to death. However, he would mostly strangle the boys. Strangulation, like stabbing, is a very intimate and personal way to kill someone. Generally speaking, those who are killed by either of these methods, know (in some fashion) their killer in some kind of intimate way. A family member or friend etc...

Now fast forward seven years into their murderous activities, David Brooks introduced Dean Corll to Elmer Wayne Henly to more than likely be another victim.

Henley, however, would not become a victim due to the fact that he and Corll hit it off so well, Corll decided that he would bring Henley in on the action.

Like Brooks, Corll paid Henley $200 a child, under the pretext that the boys would be sold into a gay porn ring, Dean began asking Henley to bring him kids as well.

Within the next two years, the three of them had collected a body count of more than 24 victims in the Houston/Pasadena areas. Corll owned a house in Pasadena, which is where the crimes were committed.

There's no doubt in my mind that, but for the events of August 8th 1973, these murders would have continued for much longer.

On the evening of August 8th 1973, Henley brought two of his friends, Rhonda Williams and Timothy Kerley with him when he went to Corll's Pasadena home to simply hang out.

In Henley's words it was "just supposed to be a night of fun". As the night progressed, they got high from huffing paint and eventually passed out. When they awoke, they found that they had been hogtied by Corll.

Dean then dragged Henley from the room, screaming pissed off that he was about the fact that Henley brought a girl with him, stating that he had "ruined everything". In order to calm Corll down, Henley agreed that he would kill Rhonda Williams and they could forget the whole thing.

This seemed to pacify Corll, as he agreed to Henley's terms. Leaving Henley alone, Corll began to rape Timothy Kerley, at which time Henley was able to get Dean's .22 pistol away from him.

As he pointed the pistol at Corll, Henley said, "You've got far enough, Dean. I can't have you kill all my friends."

Dean, at this point, stopped assaulting Kerley and, thinking that he had substantial power over the young man, taunted Henley that he wouldn't fire the gun.

Dean Corll then began advancing on Henley and Henley shot Corll six times in the head and torso until he fell to the floor and died in his hallway.

Henley wanted to book it out of there, but Rhonda Williams and Timothy Kerley convinced him to call the police.

While in custody, Henley quickly confessed to his role in the murders, and began giving names of the children that were, at that time, still considered missing. He informed the police of the various locations they had used to get rid of the boys' bodies, and in particular, the unit that Dean had rented at the local Southwest Boat Storage.

It was here that the authorities found the several bodies.

With this information, the Harris County PD was able to discover body after body. So many bodies were recovered that the searches were paused once the body count and exceeded the highest in US mass murder history.

It seems, and I can't blame them, that HCPD was so overwhelmed by the number of bodies recovered and the mountain of evidence that was collected. Or, it could also be that they suffered embarrassment on how long this went unnoticed.

There have been 27 of at least 33 victims identified. It is said that the majority of boys that went missing between the ages of 12 and 20 between the 1960's and 1973, can be attributed to Dean Corll, though we will never know the actual number for sure.

Elmer Henley received six life sentences for his involvement in the murders and David Brooks received life as well. David Brooks died of COVID-19 on May 28th 2020. Henley is still serving out his sentence in the Huntsville Prison in Huntsville Texas.