Dean Arnold Corrl, also known as “Candy Man”, was a serial killer from the US who,
along with two accómplices, kidnapped, tortured and killed at least 28 young people between
1970 and 1973 in Houston, Texas.
He was born on December 24th 1939 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, US.
He was the first son of Mary Robinson and Arnold Edwin Corll.
His mom was very protective, but not his dad, strict and tough with his two kids - he usually
grounded them.
Corll was a very shy boy who had a rough time interacting with others, tho he always cared
about the well-being of other people.
His parents argued more and more frequently, so they ended up getting a divorce when he
was 7.
After this, his mom sold the family house, and after moving several times, they settled
in Vidor, a small town in the west of Texas.
His mom married again, and with her new husband, she started a candy company in their garage.
Dean was really involved in the family business since day 1, and he worked day and night after
he got out of school every day.
There, he was seen as a well-behaved and generous student who used to give candy to his friends.
The family business kept growing and growing, so after Dean’s graduation the family decided
to move again.
The place they chose was Houston Heights, a low income neighborhood in the city of Houston,
where they opened a small store.
During his teenage years, Dean never showed any kind of weird behavior,; in fact, neighbors
would say he was a model boy, kind, who gave candy to the kids in the neighborhood.
However, it all changed in August 1964, when he was drafted into the US army.
He soon showed his disdain for the service, and after 10 months he asked for a leave of
absence, with the excuse of taking care of the family business.
He would be later on named the vice president of the business.
When he went back to Houston, he restarted his work in the company, and he moved to an
apartment right above the store.
It was then that his personality changed, drastically - he became iráscible and gloomy.
With the excuse of the candy, Corll started to spend more and more time with teenagers.
In 1967, he became friends with David Brooks, who was 12 years old - one of the kids he
gave candy to.
The family nucleus of this young boy was totally unstructured, and Corll’s attention soon
made the kid look up to him as a father figure.
Dean’s dark instincts sparked in September 1970.
Jeffrey Konen, an 18 year old boy who hitch hiked on the road became his first victim.
Corll picked him up and took him home.
On their way there, he gave him some candy, and once they were home, he hit him on the
head, leaving him unconscious.
After this, he tied him to a chair and tortured him for hours, until he finally ended his
agony by hitting his head until it was destroyed.
Dean was surprised by Brooks in the middle of the slaughter.
He managed to blackmail him and keep him silent about it, offering him in exchange a car,
a Chevrolet Corvette.
The influence of the killer upon the kid was such, that he even made a deal with him: he’d
give him 200 dollars for each kid he’d bring him.
Brooks accepted, becoming, automatically, his accomplice.
His mom’s marriage failed again, and the family closed down the candy company, so Corll
started on a job as an electrician.
His mother moved again, to Colorado this time, and even tho they talked on the phone regularly,
she never came back to visit her son.
In 1971, David Brooks introduced Elmer Henley to Dean Corll - he also came from a humble
family with financial problems.
Dean decided he could be a good accomplice, and he offered him, again, 200 dollars for
each kid he’d bring to his apartment.
Henley’s family was so poor that he accepted the offer, without really knowing about Dean’s
intentions yet.
Dean carried out most of his murders during the following 2 years.
All his victims were teenagers, younger than 20 years old, who lived in the outskirts of
Houston Heights.
His modus operandi consisted in attracting his victims to his apartment with the help
of his accomplices.
After that, he’d offer them drugs, and then, he’d strangle them or shoot them, tho torturing
them first.
Corll became more and more cruel: he’d cut their bodies, he’d break their bones with
a hammer, or he’d choke them with plastic bags, lengthening the agony of his victims
for hours.
Once they were killed, he bathed them in lime and covered them with layers of plastic - he’d
tie the ends and wrap his victims as if they were a piece of candy.
And then finally, he’d bury them.
However, everything went wrong in August 8th 1973.
Henley had taken a boy to Corll’s house, but he had also invited Rhonda Williams, a
friend of his.
She was 15 years old.
Corrl got furious with Henley for taking a girl inside his house, but he managed to calm
him down.
The two teenagers kept drinking and taking drugs until they fell unconscious.
When they woke up, they found themselves gagged and with their hands tied.
Corll threatened Henely putting a gun on his temple, but the young boy calmed him down
again, promising he’d participate in the torturing of the other 2, so he set him free.
Dean offered him a hunting knife and asked him to cut off Rhonda’s clothes while he
tortured the other boy.
But he refused to do so, and tired of these slaughters, he grabbed Corll’s gun and threatened
him.
They both struggled, and finally, he shot his head, tho the bullet didn’t make it
all the way through the cranium.
He shot other 5 times, until the killer collapsed and bled to death.
It was Henley himself that called the police and confessed not only Dean Corll’s murder,
but also his and David Brooks’ participation in the torture and death of more than 20 teenagers.
They collaborated with the justice by pointing out the location of several bodies, and they
both were sentenced to imprisonment for life.
And this was how Dean Corll went down in history as one of the most heartless serial killers
of all the ones we know.
And also… now our parents warning finally makes sense… the one that says… dont take
candy from a stranger.