Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “Candy Man” Pt. 2 - Dean Arnold Corll

Episode Date: May 27, 2019

After his candy store closed in 1968, Dean Corll needed a new way to bring in young victims from the greater Houston area. So, he recruited two teenage boys to lure their friends to his apartment, where he would drug and kill them.  Sponsors! Pair of Thieves - Get 20% off your first order at PairOfThieves.com/KILLERS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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I'm Jordan Sillers. Season 2 is out now with new episodes every Thursday. Listen on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. episode includes discussions of murder and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. At 8.24 a.m. on August 8, 1973, the emergency dispatcher in Pasadena, Texas received a call from a young, shaking, male voice. He said, y'all better come here right now. I just killed a man. Moments later, the police pulled up to the rundown bungalow at

2020 Lamar Drive, its white and green paint was chipping, and the small drab yard was populated with withering plants. Three teenagers sat on the porch. They looked haunted like they'd seen something unspeakable. One boy pointed toward the door and told police, in there. The cops entered cautiously. On the living room carpet, they found a body, shot five or six times. His face matted with blood. At first, the police wondered what drove three teenagers to murder. They'd soon find out their victim was a monster in his own right. Hi, I'm Greg Polson. This is serial killers, a podcast original. Every Monday, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we're going to continue digging into Houston serial killer Dean Coral, the most prolific mass murderer of his

time. I'm here with my co-host Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. At Parcast, we're grateful for you, our listeners. You allow us to do what we love. Let us know how we're doing. Reach out on Facebook and Instagram at Parcast and Twitter at Parcast Network. And if you enjoy today's episode, the best way to help us is to leave a five-star review wherever you're listening. It really does help. We also now have merchandise. Head to Parcast.com slash merch for more information. Last week, we covered Dean's unstable childhood and his mother's multiple divorces. We also discussed his family's candy company, which would lend him the nickname, The Candyman. Dean ran the Coral Family's Candy Shop until it closed in June 1968 when he was 28 years old.

It allowed him to develop relationships with many local teenage boys who would hang out there after school. After the factory closed, Dean hosted small parties where he supplied the teens with beer and drugs. Dean would go on to sexually assault and kill many of them. He recruited two young accomplices to help bring in victims. The first was mild-mannered 17-year-old David Brooks, who saw Dean as a father figure. Dean was sexually abusing David, too, which gave Dean even more power over him. Dean's other associate was 15-year-old social miscarriage. misfit Wayne Henley. He had more of an ego than David and only brought in his first victim after

Dean offered him $200 per boy. However, Wayne was under the impression that the teenager, his 15-year-old classmate Rusty Branch, had been used as a model for a gay porn ring. He had no idea that in actuality Dean had raped and killed Rusty. This week, we'll cover the rest of Dean's horrific murders. which were assisted by David and Wayne. We'll also discuss the bone-chilling confessions that accounted for over 20 missing boys. In March, 1972, 32-year-old Dean Coral's teenage accomplice, Wayne,

was ready to continue exploring his criminal inclinations. For his next victim, he had his eye on 18-year-old Frank Aguirre, who worked at the local Long John Silvers. They were friends, but Frank was much. much sweeter than Wayne. Once while working a shift, he saw a little girl crying outside the restaurant. She'd been sent to buy hush puppies for her family, but she'd lost the dime her mother gave her. Frank comforted her and then gave her all the hush puppies she could carry for free. Frank was also very devoted to his 13-year-old girlfriend, Rhonda Williams. He often visited her after work

and brought her family fried chicken. Even Rhonda's father, who didn't like her getting attention from boys, was charmed by Frank. Frank had gone so far as to propose to her, but his mother encouraged him to wait. They were young and could marry after they were done with high school. On March 24, 1972, Frank called Rhonda and told her he'd come to visit when his shift was over. But as Frank was leaving at the end of the night,

Wayne, who'd been hanging around the restaurant, convinced Frank to come back to Dean's apartment first, where Dean and his other teen accomplice, David, were waiting. They'd hang out, have a couple of beers, and smoke some pot. Then Frank could continue on to his girlfriend's house. When they arrived, Wayne and Frank drank and smoked a little, and once they were high, Wayne proposed a contest. With a glint in his eye, he brandished a pair of handcuffs

and challenged Frank to see who could get out of them quickest. Wayne went first. He put on the handcuffs, but he'd stashed the keys in his back pocket, so he appeared to escape them even. Then it was Frank's turn, but as soon as he cuffed himself, Dean pounced. He dragged Frank into the bedroom and tied him to his plywood torture board. But Wayne faltered, confused. He asked Dean whether he was going to sell Frank to the porn ring like he thought Dean had done with Rusty Branch. That's when Dean revealed the truth about Rusty. Dean hadn't sold him to a porn ring. He had assaulted him, then killed him. and he was about to do the same with Frank.

Wayne felt nauseous. This hadn't been anything he'd signed up for. He looked to Frank, whose tear-streaked face was slowly filling with hope. Wayne knew he might be able to save his friend. But he also felt an odd thrill race through him, a brewing darkness that had finally found a release valve. Wayne's stare turned cold as terror washed across Frank's face. Wayne turned to Dean and nodded.

He was in this far. There was no backing out now. Before we proceed, an added warning that the rest of the episode contains descriptions of sexual violence that may be particularly upsetting for survivors of abuse or assault. Please listen with caution. After Dean tied Frank up, he raped the teenager and mutilated his genitals. Then he stuffed Frank's mouth with cloth, taped it shut, and used a noose to strengthen. him. Frank fought it for a minute or two before slipping into unconsciousness. He was dead in fewer

than four minutes. As the life left Frank's body, Dean looked sated like he'd eaten for the first time in days. Vanessa's going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. Based on the perverse sexual torture, Richard Dean enacted on victims like Frank, it's possible he had undiagnosed sexual sadism disorder. According to the DSM-5, individuals with this disorder experience overwhelming and consistent arousal by causing or imagining the intense physical or mental distress of others. There's no known cause, but some psychologists theorize sexual sadism disorder can manifest

due to repressed sexual fantasies and feelings of helplessness. and vulnerability. Because Dean was forced to hide his sexual orientation, his violence could have been an explosive act of vengeance against what he saw as an oppressive society. His sadistic tendencies would have led him to channeling his desire for empowerment into these violent acts. Standing over Frank's body made him feel powerful, the same way controlling Wayne and David felt powerful. After the murder, Dean had Wayne and David help him drive Frank's body an hour and a half away to High Island Beach, where they buried him. The day after Frank's murder, his family realized he was missing. When they reported it, the police brushed him off as another runaway. But the

neighborhood didn't quite believe that Frank would take off like that. He'd uncharacteristically left behind an unclaimed paycheck at work. And besides, he was in love with Rhonda. Why would he vanished without a phone call. Ronda was devastated. She was convinced something was wrong. Her fixation worried Wayne, who knew Rhonda because she was friends with his younger brother. He went out of his way to encourage her to move on from Frank. But while he felt for her, he hardly felt guilty. He told her the mafia had probably gotten to Frank, and she'd likely never see him again. She didn't quite buy it, but she tried to move on. But Wayne knew the sinister truth. Once he learned the full extent of Dean and David's criminal arrangement,

the trio became a well-oiled machine. The details of each assault aren't well-documented, but generally they lured their victims by offering them beer, weed, and inhalants at Dean's. Once the kids had partied, Dean strapped them to the board and tortured them by butchering their genitals. Sometimes he castrated them as he did with Rusty Branch. Then he raped the boys before murdering them. He kept their keychains as trophies. One such victim, 17-year-old Mark Scott knew David and Wayne from around the neighborhood. He'd had a sleepover with David several years before, where he'd ended up in the ER after accidentally being shot in the leg with a pellet gun. And Mark's parents remembered Wayne from one of Mark's parties. He made an impression because he was

the first to arrive and the last to leave. Mark had been in some trouble with the law lately, after getting arrested and charged with carrying a knife. He told his parents he was going to Mexico to get away for a couple of days and relax. But he never made it. Mark was last seen on April 20, 1972. Because he knew Wayne and David, it's likely he encountered them on the street

and went with them willingly. But once in Dean's apartment, he quickly realized something was wrong. According to David Brooks, Dean grabbed Mark and started binding him to the torture board. With only one hand tied, Mark managed to grab a nearby knife. He swung it wildly, trying to stab Dean. The blade caught on Dean's shirt but hardly scratched him.

Wayne ran out of the room and came back with Dean's gun. 32-year-old Dean caught hold of Mark's hand. When Mark saw Wayne pointing the gun at his head, Mark dropped the knife. Dean tortured and raped him. And then Wayne and Dean strangled Mark with a cord. All three brought him to High Island Beach and buried him in the fetal position not far from their last victim Frank's body

When Mark didn't return after the weekend as expected His parents panicked They drove around Houston looking for him to no avail When they reached out to his friends None had seen him The police were no help either They saw Mark had a record And didn't investigate his disappearance further

Then, a week later, Mark's distraught parents received a postcard from Austin, Texas. It read, quote, How are you doing? I'm in Austin for a couple of days. I found a good job. I'm making $3 an hour. I'll be home when I get enough money to pay my lawyer, end quote. The Scots were confused.

They didn't understand why their 17-year-old son would look for a job out of town. And besides that, he'd left behind his prized Honda motorcycle. something wasn't right. But without support from the authorities, they felt powerless to investigate. They would be left wondering about their son for years. Dean was a monster in private, but he still presented to the world as polite and clean cut.

In his personal life, he maintained a relationship with Betty Hawkins, though their courtship remained fairly distant. They saw each other less, and every time she visited his apartment, It was overrun with teenage boys. Betty knew David and Wayne too, but didn't question their relationship with Dean. She thought Dean's gentlemanly nature was a good influence on the troubled teens. Betty had no idea that her boyfriend was using them to murder some of the very boys she'd seen at his apartment.

The next two such boys were 17-year-old Billy Balch and 16-year-old Johnny Deloam. Years prior, Billy had sold candy for the court. Pearl Candy Company door to door. The boys also attended Dean's apartment parties, which made Billy's parents uneasy. His mother asked what the kids did there, and Billy said, quote, Dean shows us things. Once he showed us handcuffs, Dean and David Brooks and somebody else started playing around with the handcuffs and put them on some of the boys. And Dean never found the key to take them off. On the afternoon of May 21st, Billy and Johnny left Billy's house to go buy sodas.

They were supposed to return to go to the movies with Billy's family that evening, but instead they were picked up by the trio. Billy and Johnny were brought back to Dean's apartment, where they were raped and tortured. But this time, Dean didn't strangle Billy. Wayne did. Then Wayne took Dean's gun and said, Hey Johnny, to get the other boy's attention.

When Johnny looked up, Wayne shot him in the head. But the bullet exited Johnny's skull by his ear. Instead of killing him, it only knocked him out. After a couple of minutes, the boy sat up, dazed. Knowing Wayne would try to kill him again, Johnny muttered, Wayne, please don't. Wayne watched his friend plead with him, then put the gun down. But he hadn't gone through any change of heart.

Wayne and Dean strangled Johnny. The boys' bodies were buried at High Island Beach amongst the growing cemetery of their classmates. Throughout these last few kills, Wayne began exploring a burgeoning appetite for brutality. That may have been why the trio started deviating from strangulation, Dean's preferred method of killing, by using a gun. Additionally, Dean was supposed to be paying Wayne $200 per victim,

but Dean had stopped giving Wayne money, and Wayne never seemed to ask. David would later note, quote, Wayne seemed to enjoy causing pain. According to forensic psychologist Dr. Joni E. Johnston, there's evidence crime is addictive and the increase in violence could have been reflective of a tolerance Wayne was building.

As time wore on, he'd require more intensity for the same level of enjoyment. It was no longer enough to kill his friends. He wanted to see them beg. Three days after, Billy and Johnny's disappearance. Their parents received letters from their sons. Billy's was postmarked from Madisonville, Texas, a small town about 70 miles north of Houston. It read, quote, Dear Mom and Dad, I'm sorry to do this, but Johnny and I found a better job, working for a trucker

and unloading from Houston to Washington, and we'll be back in three to four weeks. After a week, I will send money to help you and Mom out. Love Billy. This raised red flags for Billy's father, who was a trucker himself and knew there was no such job. Also, the letters themselves seemed suspicious. The handwriting on the envelope seemed like Billy's, but the writing on the card appeared slightly different, like it was written under stress or by an imposter. Johnny's parents were doubtful of the letter they received too. The spelling was too perfect.

Billy's parents racked their brains for any suspicious behavior they'd witnessed. They remembered their son once came home with marijuana that he'd gotten from David Brooks. And then they recalled Billy's bizarre stories about Dean's parties. Billy's parents confronted Dean, convinced he knew more about the boy's disappearance. But Dean innocently told them he had no idea where they were. But behind closed doors, Dean was far from innocent. In fact, his sadism was only growing more twisted. One afternoon, Dean invited David over to his apartment on Schuller Street.

When David arrived, Wayne surprised him and punched him in the face, knocking him out. Then Dean strapped David to the torture board, just like all his previous victims, and raped David several times. David was certain he was about to be strangled like the rest of them. But instead, Dean let him go, and they never brought the incident up again. The incident wasn't enough to drive David away, but his loyalty started to fracture. When explaining their relationship, David said,

We stayed friends, but after that I was always afraid of him, and we had a lot of fights. David was still affected by the attack when they kidnapped 19-year-old Billy Ridinger in 1972. He tried to care for Billy while he was imprisoned at Deans. David begged Dean and Wayne not to kill Ridinger when the boy was tied to the plywood board. He likely empathized with Billy

after his own assault. And for some reason, Dean listened to David and let Billy go, riding her left and didn't tell a soul what happened to him. It's unknown if he had any previous relationship with Dean or the boys before his abduction, but he certainly knew them now. And maybe because there was now a potential witness out in the world, in the summer of 1972, Dean moved to an apartment in Westcott Towers, a few blocks outside the Heights. Wayne and David were there so often that the neighbors thought all three were residents,

but their close dynamic was shifting. David's allegiance was weakening while Wayne's only grew stronger. Wayne's obsession with killing was intensifying. He said, quote, at first I wondered what it was like to kill someone. Later I became fascinated with how much stamina people have. I mean, you see people getting strangled on television and it looks easy. It's not. Sometimes it takes two people half an hour. And he would only continue to accumulate first-hand knowledge of what it took to take a life.

In a moment, we'll dive back into Wayne's pathological escalation and the gruesome murders he committed with Dean and David. Now back to the story. By July 1972, the Candyman had racked up a body count of at least 14 boys in just two years. Though 32-year-old Dean Coral had started as a one-man operation, now he relied on his two teenage accomplices to help him aggressively abduct his victims. But lately, David Brooks had grown more hesitant, while Wayne Henley was enthusiastically embracing his sadistic side. He was actively scouting their next victim.

On July 19th, 17-year-old Stephen Sickman and his 14-year-old sister Sandy had been fighting all day. Stephen was irritated with Sandy. She had a crush on his friend, and she'd been following them around, as he put it, like a puppy dog. He called her names and snapped a towel at her, but before he left that night to go to a party,

he apologized, which meant a lot to Sandy. It was the first time he'd ever done so. Stephen then headed out with friends. He was last seen walking home shortly after midnight. The trio picked him up. He was tortured, raped, and beaten with a blunt object that fractured his ribs, though it's unclear whether Wayne or Dean beat him. Finally, he was strangled with a nylon cord and buried in the shed.

Stephen's family was immediately worried about him when he didn't come home. They reported him missing, but the police responded as they had with all the other boys. Stephen was a teenager. He'd probably run away. There was nothing they could do. Dean had long stopped paying Wayne for these victims. Wayne didn't seem to mind. He liked killing. The group had momentum now.

On October 2, 1972, 14-year-old Wally J. Simono went to his friend Richard Hembrie's house just a few blocks away to spend the night. The boys were killing time loitering around the neighborhood when they were picked up. It's unclear if they were previously acquainted with the Candyman or his accomplices, but they likely went willingly with the promise of drugs and alcohol.

On their way to Dean Corals, the group stopped by a grocery store. They were spotted in the parking lot by a friend of Wally and Richards. The friend later recalled that he started to walk over to talk to them, but another boy, probably Wayne, got out of the vehicle and yelled, beat it. Once at Dean's apartment, Wally J. managed to get to the phone to call his mother. When she answered, he said, Mama. But when she asked where he was, there was some commotion on the line. Then it went dead.

The next time Mrs. Simono would see her son. Police would be pulling his lifeless body out of the ground, beneath Dean's boat shed. At this point in the killing spree, Wayne claimed he enjoyed the act of murder. He said, quote, you either enjoy what you do, which I did, or you go crazy. So when I did something, I enjoyed it, and didn't dwell. on it later. But privately, his savage veneer began to crack. The violence weighed heavily on him. Wayne even started to hope that Dean would kill him because he didn't see any other escape. He later alleged that if he died, he'd hidden a confession for his mother to find among his

belongings, though the existence of the note was never confirmed. He was likely experiencing an extreme level of cognitive dissonance. According to social psychologist Leon Fessinger, when an individual acts in a way that is inconsistent with their internal beliefs, it causes serious discomfort, and he or she is forced to adjust either their behavior or their beliefs to bring things back into balance. Wayne probably knew deep down that what he was doing was wrong.

He tried to justify or diminish those feelings, which could have contributed to his bragging and overcompensating. But he couldn't quiet his conscience completely. and the confession note to his mother was probably written in a moment of overwhelming guilt. But his internal justification was not yet overwhelming enough to stop him from participating in the trio's kills, as he did with the next victim. 19-year-old Richard Kepner. They strangled Richard and buried him at High Island Beach.

By the end of January, 1973, Dean had become a conspicuous tenant in the apartment building. His neighbors claimed they heard disturbing noises coming from the apartment one night between 2 and 4 a.m. It sounded like someone was pounding their head against the wall and screaming. Then someone yelled, stop him, but the neighbors never reported it. They assumed someone was having a bad trip and his friends were helping him. In addition, the apartment complexes made refused to clean the apartment. She told the building manager she wouldn't touch it until the foul smell had been aired. out. Dean couldn't afford others paying him so much attention. Mere days after the

smell complaint, he moved to a new apartment on Wirt Road, east of the Heights. Only one known victim was killed at this new residence, a 17-year-old named Joseph Liles. Joseph lived on the same street as David and had been to Dean's last apartment for one of Dean's famous parties. Joseph kept to himself and had a soft and creative spirit. Before he was killed, he had been painting a holiday scene on a window at home that enchanted his sisters. It was never finished. Dean and David picked Joseph up without Wayne two weeks after Dean moved to Wirt Road in early February 1973.

But something changed that night. David got an eerie feeling when they got back to the apartment. Something was telling David to get out of there. He even tried to pick a fight with Joseph so the boy would leave Dean's apartment before it was too late. But Joseph stayed and David left on his own, claiming he had someplace he needed to be. Dean proceeded with the murder by himself. He strangled Joseph and buried him at Jefferson County Beach, just northwest of High Island Beach. Joseph was the only victim buried in this location, and he was the first victim Dean murdered on his own since Jeffrey Conan, his first known kill. It's hard to say what transpired between Dean and David, but after leaving that night, David pulled sharply away from Dean.

He tried to create his own life and started spending more time with his girlfriend, a neighborhood girl named Bridget Clark. Wayne also began isolating himself from the group. He moved away from the area for a couple of months to live in Mount Pleasant with his father, a man who'd previously abused him. Wayne also tried to enlist in the Navy early that summer, but he was denied because he didn't finish high school. Without David Brooks and Wayne Henley, Dean's murder spree briefly ceased. He also had a minor medical issue that led to an uncomfortable swelling in his testicles, which could account for him not acting on his own. There are no known victims between February 1st and June 4, 1973.

However, the trio may not have been as quiet as the record suggests. There were a few witnesses who came forward later, claiming they spotted the trio during this latent period. In March, a couple in their car saw three suspicious men in Galveston, a coastal city about an hour southeast of Houston. They were lugging a large bundle, which they then buried. One of the three men spotted the car and approached them threateningly, so they drove away. They later identified the figure as Wayne. However, no bodies were ever recovered in Galveston. There was a second sighting two months later in May 1973.

Two witnesses saw three men burying something at the beach and noted their behavior as suspicious. They contacted the police who neglected to look into it. Later, they ID David as one of the group. These sightings weren't tied to the trio until after the killings became public knowledge, so it's possible these witnesses may have misidentified Wayne and David. According to Dr. Elizabeth Loftus, psychologist and memory expert,

quote, when people who witness an event are later exposed to new and misleading information about it, their recollections often become distorted. In other words, they could have conflated the gruesome news story with their memory of the suspicious figures months earlier and falsely identified the teenage boys. On March 7, 1973, while the trio was still separated, Dean moved into his final residence, a house owned by his father in the nearby suburb of Pasadena, Texas.

Dean's father had remarried and was living elsewhere in Houston, and he and Dean had a fairly amicable relationship. The neighbors welcomed 32-year-old Dean, relieved he didn't seem to be a hippie like others of his generation. By early summer, Wayne had moved back to the area after living with his father hadn't worked out. When later pressed on why he came back to Dean, Wayne simply said, quote, I couldn't leave anyway. If I wasn't around, I knew Dean would go after one of my little brothers, who he always liked a little too much.

After Dean's move and Wayne's return to the area, Dean and the boys began murdering again in earnest at the Pasadena, Texas House. But Dean seemed to have changed in the time the group spent. apart. Wayne and David noticed that he was more vicious and intense than before. Wayne said, quote, it was like a bloodlust. Dean would make these short, jerky movements. He'd start smoking a cigarette, which he never usually did, and he'd say he needed to do a new boy. His compulsion could hardly be satisfied. He would have done a new boy every day if David and Wayne provided that. He was more violent and sadistic, too.

His assaults grew more savage. Again, a content warning for our listeners. When he mutilated the boy's genitals, he sometimes used his teeth. He even inserted glass rods into their penises and smashed them. This escalation could be an aspect of sexual sadism disorder, acting jointly with a concept known as chronic criminal spin. This is when an individual with deviant tendencies succumbs to his or her heightening impulses, The longer Dean's spin went on, the more urgently he felt the need to act on his criminal desires.

The spin continued on June 4, 1973. When the crew picked up 15-year-old Billy Ray Lawrence, Billy, a six-foot-tall football player, lived with his widowed father, Jimmy. Like many teenagers, he wasn't interested in school. He just wanted to have a good time and smokeweed, which aggravated Jimmy. They clashed often, and Billy complained about his dad to his friends. Jimmy Lawrence worked long hours in the Houston Post mailroom, which left his son Billy unsupervised much of the time.

Billy often had friends over while his dad was out, including his new friend, Wayne Henley. Once, Jimmy came home while Billy and Wayne and some other boys were smoking marijuana. His dad started an argument with Billy and beat him. He dragged Billy by his long, hippie hair, to the the bathroom, or he forced him to flush his weed down the toilet. After that, Billy exhibited noticeably better behavior and his relationship with his father improved somewhat. On June 4th, Billy's dad gave him a lift down to the corner, where he was going to meet some friends. They talked about Jimmy's upcoming birthday and what he wanted as a present. Jimmy paternally insisted

it was the thought that counted. Billy hopped out of the car and ran off to find his friends. Jimmy called after him that he loved him. The rest of the day passed quietly. Then around 10 p.m., Billy called and begged his father to let him go fishing with friends at Lake Sam Rayburn. He said he'd be back in a couple days, probably by Thursday. Jimmy considered asking who he'd be fishing with, but remembered he and his son had gotten into fights when Billy claimed Jimmy wasn't respecting his privacy. He decided not to pry and gave him permission to go without further question. Billy made it to the lake where Dean Coral had a family cottage.

Once there, Billy didn't have the chance to go fishing. Instead, Dean and the boys tortured him for three days because, according to David, Dean really liked him. The trio forced Billy to write a note to his father before they killed him. They buried him near the lake. Billy's father, Jimmy Lawrence, wasn't concerned when Thursday came and went and Billy didn't return home. Jimmy knew his son's generation was independent and free-spirited.

Several days later, he received the letter which read, quote, Dear Daddy, I've decided to go to Austin because I have a good job offer. I'm sorry that I decided to leave, but I just had to go. P.S., I will be back in late August. Hope you understand, but I had to go. Daddy, I hope you know I love you, your son, Billy. Jimmy was saddened, but he didn't.

didn't question the note's authenticity. When someone called looking for Billy Lawrence a month later, Jimmy told them that his son was working out of town until school started. When he asked who was calling, the voice answered, Wayne, and hung up. Dean's dark side was really coming to the forefront now, and the volume of victims was escalating. The trio brutalized four more boys over the next month. Raymond Blackburn, Homer Garcia, John Sellers, and Michael Bolch. Michael's death was particularly tragic because his brother, Billy Balch, had been a victim of Deans the year before. Plus, his older brother had died in a car accident somewhat recently.

The Balchers were destroyed by losing their three oldest children. Meanwhile, David Brooks, now 18, was still pulling away. He'd married his girlfriend, Bridget, after she'd gotten pregnant. and they honeymooned at Dean's cabin at Lake Sam Rayburn. Then they moved to an apartment outside the Heights. He still hung around with Wayne and Dean, but Wayne now lured boys in on his own. The next victims, 17-year-old Charles Cobble

and 18-year-old Marty Ray Jones were often seen around town together. Wayne picked up the boys on July 25, 1973. The three were spotted walking toward Wayne's house, Wayne behind Charles and Marty. They all looked stiff and serious. Later, Wayne shot Charles in the head and strangled Marty. He then buried them in the shed by himself.

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Now back to the story. In July 1973, Dean Arnold Coral was torturing and murdering boys with a voracious appetite. However, one of his accomplices, David Brooks, had started to pull away to spend more time with his pregnant wife. Dean's other teenage companion, Wayne Henley, was still a willing accomplice. But Wayne's friends noticed he had grown irritable and was drinking more. He even sought counsel from a Methodist minister. Dean, meanwhile, was calling his girlfriend Betty more often and took her and her children to his family's cabin. He asked the children if they'd like him to marry their mother and maybe have some siblings. Betty

thought Dean might finally commit to her. He asked her if she'd consider moving to Colorado with him, and she enthusiastically agreed. But he reneged shortly after. 33-year-old Dean Arnold Coral wasn't done with Houston Heights just yet. On August 3rd, 1973, 13-year-old James Dramala left his home and was riding his bike in Pasadena. He was slight of build and blonde. David and Wayne spotted him on the street and offered him a ride. They brought him back to Deans, claiming they were going to grab some glass recycling they could sell. James called his parents and told them he was at a party across town.

Shortly after that, David and Wayne bound him to the torture board. David spent some time with James before he was murdered. He brought him a pizza while James was tied up and kept him company for the better part of an hour, but left just before James was killed. James was buried in the boat stall. The next day, Dean called his mother, who was still living in Colorado after divorcing her third husband in 1968. Dean told her that he was in trouble.

He thought he might be losing his mind and that he might kill himself by overdosing. He was in a bad way. It was the only time he showed any vulnerability in regards to his emotional state. His mother, Mary, couldn't see past the perfect sun facade she'd created, and vaguely told him everything would be fine. She sent him a spiritual book and some candy in the mail as a comfort. According to psychologist David Lester from Stockton University, suicide among serial killers is extremely uncommon.

Only 4.4% of mass murderers take their own lives, and 52% of those cases occurred after the individual was in custody. Almost none killed themselves while they were still active, like Dean was threatening. He may have been feeling some remorse, which is very rare for a serial killer. According to forensic psychologist Catherine Ramsland, the few mass murderers who suffer from guilt experience their violent compulsions as a separate, monstrous part of themselves beyond the realm of their control. Often they believe they should be punished with death. Jeffrey Dahmer was one such killer.

He famously tried to band-aid his impulses throughout his killing career. So guilty did he feel about taking the lives of his victims. On the evening of August 7, 1973, the now-17-year-old Wayne Henley invited his friend Tim Curley to come party at Dean's apartment. While they were on their way, their previous victim, Frank Aguirre's former girlfriend, Rhonda Williams, joined them. Wayne had remained a big brother of sorts to 15-year-old Rhonda since Frank's disappearance. That night, she'd run away from home because her father had beat her in a drunken rage.

When Wayne showed up at the apartment with a teenage girl, Dean threw a fit. He said that bringing Rhonda had ruined everything, but Wayne tried to explain that she couldn't go home to her father. Dean acquiesced a bit, and the party proceeded as usual. Dean, now 33, gave all three teens beer, marijuana, and some paint to huff, and they slowly passed out in a haze. When Wayne woke up, he had a gag on his mouth, and Dean was handcuffing him. Tim and Rhonda were passed out and bound next to him. Wayne was confused and scared. This wasn't how they ran things.

Dean said he was going to kill Wayne, too, because he brought a girl into the apartment. Wayne begged Dean to let him go. He didn't want to die. He'd do anything Dean wanted. He'd even help murder his own friends. Dean's interest was piqued. He agreed and untied Wayne. They dragged the other two to Dean's bedroom and tied them to the plywood board. Rhonda and Tim grogly started to wake up. Dean pulled out a huge hunting knife and ordered Wayne to cut off Rhonda's clothes and rape and kill her. Meanwhile, he would torture and rape Tim. Tim began screaming for his life, but Rhonda was in shock and stayed extremely calm. Wayne briefly considered shooting Rhonda in the back of the head, a twisted kindness. But then she asked him quietly,

Is this for real? When he said yes, she asked, Are you going to do anything about it? In that moment, something shook loose in Wayne. He grabbed Dean's pistol. Dean saw Wayne with the pistol and dared Wayne to kill him. He didn't think Wayne had it in him. But then, Wayne fired.

He aimed for Dean's forehead, but the bullet only grazed him. He shot twice more and hit Dean in the shoulder. Dean then turned and staggered out of the room. Wayne ran after him and shot him in the back three more times. Dean crumpled to the floor, dead. When Wayne spoke about killing Dean later, he said, quote, Dean had been training me to react, to react fast, and to react greatly. That's exactly what I did.

There wasn't anything that could have made me more uptight than to have been drunk and stoned and hung over and having withdrawals, and then I just blew his life away. He'd have been proud of the way I did it if he wasn't proud before he died. Wayne wanted to leave the scene, but Tim convinced him to call the police. They came to the house and found Wayne, Tim, and Rhonda on the porch before going inside and discovering Dean's corpse. The police were shocked, but it wasn't until Wayne started alluding to the crimes they'd been committing and listing names of boys

who'd been reported missing that the police realized the massive case they had on their hands. When they searched Dean's home, officers found devices used for torture and a coffin-sized wooden box with air holes and human hair. Dean had used the box to transport bodies between his residence and the burial sites. 18-year-old David Brooks was brought in for questioning too. Both boys confessed separately and told police they'd lead them to bodies. Between the boat shed, high island beach, and Lake Sam Rayburn, 27 bodies were uncovered in the early days of the investigation. When the news broke, a friend of Billy Lawrence's father, Jimmy, called with her condolences. Jimmy assured her that there was some

mistake. His son wasn't dead. He was working in Austin. Then he got another sympathy call. Confused, Jimmy contacted a friend in the police department. The officer gently told him they'd found a body matching Billy's dental records. And Jimmy collapsed, grief-stricken. A week later, the search was suspended, even though David and Wayne said they thought there were more bodies to be found. Detectives wanted to continue, but they were denied by higher authorities. At 27 bodies, the death toll exceeded the record for mass murder in the United States, which was previously 25. The case made international news and brought the Houston police under a massive microscope. Even the Pope spoke out about the horrific tragedy in Houston. The

city was humiliated on an international scale for a crime spree they were completely unaware of. It seems as though the authorities called off the search to avoid an even higher body count and more embarrassment, and so some victims were left in the ground. Joseph Lyle's body was found by chance at Jefferson County Beach. His remains were discovered near an eroding sandbank in 1983. Mark Scott's body has never been found. found. Wayne always insisted that Scott was buried at High Island Beach. However, when Hurricane Ike struck Houston in 2008, the beach was submerged, so his body may never be recovered. An unnamed 16th body was found in the boat shed during the initial investigation. He was buried

next to his clothes, a swimsuit, cowboy boots, a leather bracelet, and a t-shirt. Based on the state of decomposition, it's estimated he was killed in late summer, 1971. David and Wayne were both tried. Wayne confessed to his active role in the murders and was found guilty of six homicides. David's confession painted him in a more passive role. He claimed to not have been present for any rapes or murders and he was only found guilty of one of four murders he was charged with. Both of their juries found them guilty in 90 minutes. Billy Ridinger, the one victim that Dean let go, was present for the trial, but he attended with a paper bag over his head with eye holes cut out. He never spoke publicly about his appearance, but likely felt guilty he never went to the police

after his escape. In 2012, documentarian Josh Vargas interviewed Wayne's mother, who agreed to let him look through Wayne's room. Shockingly, the police never went through his belongings during the investigation. While sifting through Wayne's things, Vargas found a Polaroid of an Unidentified teenage boy seated next to Dean's toolbox. Vargas brought the picture to Wayne in prison, but Wayne wasn't sure who the boy was. He said there are likely more victims that were never found, and without a formal search, they may remain missing forever, nameless victims of the Candyman and his cohort's depravity. For more information on Dean Arnold Coral and his teen accomplices, amongst the many sources we

used, we found the book, The Man with the Candy by Jack Olson, and reporting done for Texas Monthly by James Conaway and Skip Hollinsworth, extremely helpful to our research. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. You can find more episodes of serial killers as well as all of Parkast's other shows on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Several of you have asked how to help the show, and if you enjoy the show, the best way to help us is to leave a five-star review. We'll see. see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers was created by Max Cutler, is a production of Cutler media and is part of the

Pardcast Network. It is produced by Max and Ron Cutler, sound design by Carrie Murphy, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro and Paul Mahler. Additional production assistance by Maggie Edmire and Freddie Beckley. Serial Killers is written by Alison Lynch and stars Greg Paulson and Vanessa Richardson. year old man washing up getting ready for bed is brutally beaten and killed. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not crime beat. Search for and follow the award-winning podcast Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music,

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