HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — For greater than half a century, chilling questions have lingered: Had been there extra victims of Houston’s infamous “Candyman,” Dean Corll, the serial killer whose crimes predated even the time period “serial killer” and in that case, who’re they?
On a current Tuesday night time, members of the family, buddies, and true crime fanatics crowded into Homicide By The E-book bookstore to get solutions.
“There’s nonetheless a purpose to inform this story as a result of there are nonetheless individuals like this on the market, and youngsters must know,” mentioned investigative journalist Lise Olsen in an interview previous to the launch of her new e-book “The Scientist and the Serial Killer.”
On that Tuesday night time, the packed room was to have a good time its launch, a learn that took 4 years of Olsen’s life to research, analysis and write.
Debra Christy, who was within the viewers, lived with the story her entire life.
“I heard the tales, , just like the looking out,” she mentioned.
Christy’s uncle was Donnie Falcon, long-believed to be one in all was one in all Corll’s victims, however by no means recognized till lately.
Falcon moved to Houston from Corpus Christi in 1971 at age 16. That August, he vanished with no hint
“We by no means might discover him,” Christy recalled. “Some individuals mentioned he joined the mafia. All people had a narrative.”
TEXAS TRUE CRIME: The Candyman Murders
August 8, 1973 – Pasadena Police obtain a name for assist from a younger man who claimed he killed his pal. However police quickly realized that wasn’t the beginning of a case, it was the horrific finish to a years-long plot to torture, rape and kill dozens of younger boys throughout the realm.
Throughout that very same time, dozens of teenage boys and younger males had been disappearing in Houston. Police typically dismissed these circumstances as runaways, till August 8, 1973. That day, 17-year-old Elmer Wayne Henley fatally shot Dean Corll inside a Pasadena dwelling, revealing a string of horrific crimes.
Corll, infamously nicknamed “The Candyman” due to his household’s sweet enterprise, together with Henley and one other confederate, David Brooks, kidnapped, sexually tortured, and murdered greater than two dozen boys and younger males within the early Seventies. Following Corll’s loss of life, Henley and Brooks led authorities to mass graves at three websites: a seaside at Excessive Island, woods close to Lake Sam Rayburn, and a ship storage facility in southwest Houston the place 17 our bodies had been discovered.
In complete, 27 victims had been recognized.
“Would not we be so grateful to know the reality, even when it is horrible?” requested Dr. Sharon Derrick.
Derrick is a forensic anthropologist and the “scientist” referenced in Olsen’s e-book title. For over 20 years, Derrick has painstakingly labored to determine stays from the mass graves, beginning throughout her tenure on the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Workplace.
“We’re going to present some very outdated identifications that ought to have been carried out by police a few years in the past,” Derrick mentioned.
Her work, pushed by a mixture of obsession and compassion, led to the identification of Donnie Falcon’s stays, bringing long-awaited closure to his household.
“I’ve no doubts,” Christy, whose mom lived lengthy sufficient to see her brother recognized, mentioned. “It meant the world to my mom. I bear in mind when his physique got here dwelling. She hugged it and cried and was so joyful. It had been nearly 45 years.”
Olsen’s e-book uncovers much more identifications, together with some the Medical Examiner’s Workplace nonetheless doesn’t formally acknowledge, such because the so-called “Swimsuit Boy.” The e-book additionally exposes Corll’s ties to a world pornography ring and highlights the misplaced potential of his many victims.
“What a excessive value individuals paid,” Olsen mirrored.
For Olsen and people who packed the bookstore to listen to her converse, the story of Dean Corll stays deeply related.
“It must be informed to the subsequent technology,” Christy emphasised. “Be careful for that Candyman, as a result of they’re on the market.”
For extra on this story, comply with Jessica Willey on Fb, X and Instagram.
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