elmer wayne henley interview

[39][40][41]:7[39][42], David Brooks was tried for the June 1973 murder of Billy Ray Lawrence in February 1975. Elmer Wayne Henley with police at High Island Beach on Aug. 10, 1973. Porras got together with Silver Rock Productions also using her inestimable networking skills: her father, Jack Schiefen, knows Malcolm Phillips, the film's audio person. When they questioned Henley about the items, he completely broke down. [14], On March 24, Henley, in the company of Corll and Brooks, persuaded an 18-year-old friend of his named Frank Aguirre to accompany him to Corll's home on the promise of smoking marijuana with the trio. Henley is the compleat American punk, the kid your mother warned you against becoming if you let smoking stunt your growth. In the documentary, Henley, wearing a white prison outfit, his thinning brown hair neatly cut, talks about his childhood, his relationship with Corll, and the possibility of additional victims and accomplices. How Teenager Elmer Wayne Henley Became The Accomplice Of One Of Americas Most Prolific Serial Killers, Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. gives an interview to. The two boys were killed by strangulation later the same day. Elmer Wayne Henley Jr., 17, leads law enforcement agents along a grassy dune on a beach at High Island, Texas. Henley exchanges a few words with his attorney, and shuffles off down the hall. Thats exactly what I did. When Porras first met with Henley, according to the Houston Chronicle, she said, I thought I was looking at Hannibal Lecter., As the interview went on, she relaxed more, realizing Henley was not as terrifying as she initially thought. Both were later buried in the boat shed. On the evening of August 8, Henley confessed to police that for almost three years, he and David Brooks had helped procure teenage boys some of whom had been their own friends for Dean Corll. At first I wondered what it was like to kill someone, Henley once said. However, Henley and Brooks had led police to Sellars' body on August 13, 1973, and the youth's body was found bound hand and foot and buried in a manner similar to Corll's other known victims. Henley stated to police that Corll had paid him and Brooks $200 for each victim they were able to lure to his apartment, and informed police that Corll had buried most of his victims in a boatshed in Southwest Houston, and others at Lake Sam Rayburn and High Island Beach. Performance meets portability with Apple's 2023 MacBook Pro. Externally, however, Corll remained calm: he waited until Henley and the other two teenagers fell asleep from a night of drinking and smoking marijuana before binding and gagging them. In interviews, Henley has stated that he suffers from a severe color deficiency in his eyesight that makes it impossible for him to clearly distinguish between Was Texaswas the countryhoneycombed with the decomposing victims of some hidden force so demonic that it eluded ordinary perception and even memory lay buried? He then took them to Sam Rayburn Lake, where four more bodies were buried. The couple divorced in 1970 when Henley was 14. Henley's motherwho worked as a cashier at a parking lot[4]retained custody of her four sons. Henley asserted that the only murder he took part in was Corll, the man who was killing . According to Williams, something in Henley appeared to have snapped that night: He stood at my feet, and just all of a sudden told Dean this couldnt keep going on, he couldnt let him keep killing his friends and that it had to stop, she recalled. [16] Corll rented a boat shed on Silver Bell Street in southwest Houston (where police eventually found eight bodies) [17] Later, Corll and Brooks told Henley that his childhood friend, David Hilligiest, had also been killed and buried in that same boat shed along with his swimming companion Gregory Malley Winkle.[12]. Henley suspected that Corll was homosexualI just figured David was hustling himself a queera fact that had remarkably little influence upon his opinion of Corll. Williams was just 15 when she. Dean Corll was viewed as a friend to many children in Houston. I wanted also to feel like I was man enough to deal with my father.. PS I will be back in late August. He is obviously pleased with his clients performance. He could be around people, but still you never knew what Dean Corll was doing. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. That's exactly what I did." . medically recommended intensive supervision. The State of Texas: Full, This page was last edited on 25 March 2023, at 06:41. He said, Theyre never going to let me out, and Im OK with that.'. Production of a film directly based upon the Houston Mass Murders. He stated that Brooks had also been an active accomplice albeit for a longer period of time than he. Besides, I liked him personally. Corll was an average, submissive student who played the trombone in the Vidor school band, on the outskirts of Beaumont. He was 18 years old at the time of his conviction. It focuses on FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench as well as Dr. Wendy Carr as they interview many of America's most famous serial killers in the hopes of gaining some insight into their methodology and having a better shot at catching criminals like them before their body count continues to grow. When Elmer Wayne Henley contacted authorities that August day in 1973, he initially stated that he killed only one man Dean Corll. On October 8, Henley and Brooks were brought to court to face a formal arraignment. Once Corll had raped and murdered Aguirre, Henley, Brooks, and Corll buried him at a beach near Houston called High Island. If I did go, I knew Dean would go after one of my little brothers, who he always liked a little too much.". Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story: This article was originally published by the, Articles cannot be rewritten, edited or changed beyond alignments with house style books. Over the next three years, Elmer Wayne Henley and David Brooks helped Dean Corll lure more than two dozen teenagers and young men to his home where they were raped, tortured, and eventually killed. No one had the energy to discover what was common knowledge among students: that any kid who wanted could turn on and pick up a few bucks by allowing a certain fat electrician to go down on himand that some who had done so were no longer around. Emily McCullar is a senior editor covering pop culture, news, and Texas history. White adults drink Pearl beer in Billies Gold Brick, and more than a few teenagers risk mind-dissolving highs by baggingspraying acrylic paint into paper sacks, and breathing the fumes. First appearance: Episode 4. From the moment Brooks and Corll met, Corll took advantage of Brooks vulnerability: Brooks father was a bully who constantly chastised his son for being weak. Henley is currently housed in Texas' Mark W. Michael Unit. When Henley does discuss the victims and his feelings, he speaks with an air of practiced regretfulness and seeming detachment. Only when Porras asks specifics about the crimes does Henley refuse to answer. Leave them blank to get signed up. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. He was hoping to get enough money together to take his girlfriend to the latest James Bond movie. One of them is his. Henley is currently housed in Texas' Mark W. Michael Unit. I asked if he sleeps at night, and he doesnt. Sorry for the bad video editing, I've made that quickly, I don't know much about . Not all of the serial murder victims were immediately identified. Three years before his death, his mother had sent him an inspirational book entitled This Thing Called You. Sex didnt become a factor until later. Williams, who was jailed and hospitalized for a time, was let go and told to forget and never speak of that night again. Based on the real cases of former special agent John E. Douglas, Netflix's Mindhunter features chilling dramatized interviews with serial killers. On August 13, 1973, a grand jury convened in Harris County to hear evidence against Henley and Brooks. Corll agreed. In late 1971, Brooks introduced Elmer Wayne Henley to Corll, reportedly with the intention of selling him to the serial rapist and murderer. Since the 2000s, forensic anthropologist Sharon Derrick, who formerly worked for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, restored names to several victims, including some whose disappearances had previously not been attributed to Corlls group. Unfortunately, this would lead him down a dark and deadly path. [1]:46[n 1], In the winter of 1971, when he was 15, Wayne Henley was again taken by David Brooks to meet Corll. Despite his horror at the realization, Henley didnt tell the police what Corll had done. The parents of the rings last known murder victim, 13-year-old James Stanton Dreymala, are among those who were alarmed after receiving notification of Henleys compassionate release request. ", Even with a weapon pointed at him, Corll was not cowed: he walked towards Henley, shouting, "Kill me, Wayne! As he did so, Williams lifted her head and asked Henley, "Is this for real?" One day, Brooks walked in on Corll raping two teenage boys. While Holden and Bill sweated through a thousand work shirts in a humid Georgia, Wendy and a nervous Gregg took on the interview of this week's killer: Elmer Wayne Henley, an . [Texas Monthly, April 1976 edition p. 124], Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. & Dean Corll Documentary Clip, List of serial killers in the United States, List of serial killers by number of victims, "The Houston Mass Murders: What Really Happened", "Houston Finds Murder Ring a Random, Enigmatic Intrusion", "Dean Corll and Elmer Wayne Henley: Houston's most notorious serial killers By Chris Hanson", "Woman's 11-Year Search for Son Ends in Morgue", "Police News Reporter "Identifies" Houston Mass Murder Victim Bodies to be Exhumed", "2 Texas Youths File Pleas of Not Guilty In Mass Slayings (abstract)", Offender Information Detail Henley, Elmer Wayne Jr, "David Brooks, accomplice in Houston Mass Murders, dies at 65 of COVID-19", "Sentenced to life in prison for one of society's most heinous mass murders, it's all Elmer Wayne Henley has. Henley later told police that he ignored Corll's offer for several months. Less than two weeks later, a 20-year-old hitchhiker named Raymond Blackburn was likewise strangled and buried at Lake Sam Rayburn before a 15-year-old South Houston youth named Homer Garcia was shot and buried at the same location after his July 7 abduction. That some things are best left under rocks is not a sentiment appropriate for journalists; yet is there any point in plumbing the random, insane horror known as the Houston Murders? You either enjoy what you do which I did or you go crazy. Twenty-eight young boys killed in all, from 1970 to 1973. Many children buggered, tortured, strangled, and discarded with fiendish intenta process that took years. Little did Corll or Henley realize how consequential their meeting would be or the deadly repercussions it would have. Delivering up friends was easier, less risky, more prestigious. Through extensive networking, she was able to arrange a meeting with Henley, who was at the time in Huntsville's prison. Although some of the victims' families were suspicious of the postcards, authorities were reluctant to investigate the disappearance of boys who appeared to be runaways. The lawyer and his young partners want to sell Henleys life story to recover their fees, and they see this exclusive interview as a kind of literary screen test. Whether youre shopping Way Day 2023 or Walmart, theres an al fresco set for you. Filmed when he was 42 years old . And people knew that if you ran around with me, you ran around with broads.. Brooks accompanied Henley and the police to High Island Beach on Aug. 10, 1973, where they recovered another six bodies. ", "I told him teenagers could learn from him," she said when asked how she succeeded where many others had failed. At the age of 15, Henley dropped out of high school. He was not the only searcherjust the most cunning and desperate, and quite mad. A much more heavyset Kemper was seen in this extended interview footage with French true crime expert Stphane Bourgoin. [18] The same month, a 19-year-old named Richard Kepner was abducted while walking to phone his fiance from a pay phone.[19]. Its not.. I got along with everybody. One time she wrote about sports. He then turned himself over to police, confessing his involvement in one of the country's largest murder sprees. In an interview with Texas Monthly, Henley said Corll, who was in his early 30s, seemed like a "quiet" and friendly man, who simply liked spending time with the teens. HBO Maxs Love & Death Needed a Home for an Axe Killer. I wished I hadnt done it. So when I did something, I enjoyed it, and didnt dwell on it later., It is not incidental that one of Henleys favorite books is Robert Heinleins Stranger in a Strange Land. Her reports in three states over 20 years contributed to the prosecutions of a former congressman and afederal judge, inspired laws and reforms, helped solve cold cases, restored names to unidentified murder victims, and freed dozens of wrongfully-held prisoners. Im glad now Im not hiding it, waiting, and Dean aint out there killing little kids. [7] Through his acquaintance with Brooks, Henley became aware that his friend spent a lot of his free time in the company of an older man with whom he himself gradually became a casual acquaintance: Dean Corll. The 2023 NFL Draft runs April 2729 live from Kansas City, Missouri. He said, "Dean had been training me to react, to react fast and to react, greatly. Image: Netflix. At this point, Corll told him the youth he had previously assisted in the abduction of had been killed and that Aguirre was to suffer the same fate. He loved his children and his grandchildren, he was sharp., We didnt get along. Later, I became fascinated with how much stamina people have you see people getting strangled on television and it looks easy. Corll told Henley that he was involved in organized theft, and he, Brooks and Henley burgled several addresses, for which Henley was paid small sums of money. The following day, David Brooks turned himself in, and assisted authorities in locating the remaining bodies. Volunteers from his Dickinson-based nonprofit, which specializes in missing persons and conducts searches nationwide, used specialized equipment to survey and excavate the yard around Corlls former home in Pasadena and in other places, but unearthed no human remains, Miller told the Texas Observer. On July 16, 1974, after hearing closing arguments from both prosecution and defense, the jury retired to consider their verdict. Corll slumped naked against the wall, dead. The Astrodomes Decline From Eighth Wonder to Eighth Blunder of the World, Matthew McConaughey Is Monetizing His Whole Vibe. They made their billions, but they werent going to be controlled by the government.. When asked how he felt about killing his friend and mentor, Elmer Wayne Henley told Texas Monthly he did exactly what Dean Corll trained him to do. In an interview for a 2002 documentary film, Henley said, I needed Deans approval. The four got high and drank beer in the living room, but Corll was apparently livid with Henley for bringing a girl to his house. Corll dragged the two victims into his bedroom and tied them to his torture board. As he taunted Kerley and Williams, Henley entered the bedroom holding Corlls gun. All of the Texas Observers articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions: You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. You either enjoy what you dowhich I didor you go crazy. On August 8, 1973 Dean Corll was upset with Elmer Henly as the then seventeen year old had brought a girl back to the house. When that didnt kill him, Henley shot him five more times in the back and shoulder. Henley later said during his confession, Dean told me he would pay me $200 for every boy I could bring in and maybe more if they were really good-looking boys.. They had a little dinner tray they put on the edge of the bed to hold the cups. By the time Richard Kepner had been killed and buried at High Island, Henley had assisted in the abduction and murder of a minimum of nine teenage boys. Corll provided him inspiration, and a program, but at some point the apprentice seems to have surpassed the master. As a result of Henley killing Corll and Brooks dying in prison in 2020 from COVID-19, Henley is the only one of the trio still alive. In the beginning he seemed quiet and in the background, and that made me curious. Henley was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences of 99 years each. He should stay where he is until he dies!. Henley will shortly be sentenced to 594 years by a San Antonio court, but that is a formality. As reported by ABC13, Elmer Wayne Henley led authorities to the bodies of the majority of the victims. Later, I became fascinated with how much stamina people have. No one seemed impressed by the fact that the unusually large number of runaways in the Heights involved teen-age boys who attended the same schools. David Brooks parents were also divorced, so were the parents of most of the victims. Its not. YouTubeElmer Wayne Henley (left) admired Dean Corll (right) and wanted to make him proud. He gave him money and provided him with a place to stay when he didnt want to go home. Serial killer Henley grants interview Dec. 27, 2001 Between 1970 and 1973, Dean Corll, aided by David Owen Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley Jr., killed 26 young men in the Heights area of. If a child in opulent River Oaks had disappeared, the force would have mobilized, but those reported missing in the Heights were considered de facto trash, and expected to drift. Henley, answering in a soft voice, said, "No, ma'am, I'm not a serial killer. But through all these years, one of his victims remains unidentified. Henley and Kerley later returned to Corll's home in the company of a 15-year-old girl named Rhonda Williams. On October 3, Henley assisted Corll in the abduction and murder of two Heights boys named Wally Simoneaux and Richard Hembree. Initially, Henley was an excellent student at school;[1]:201 but after his parents' divorce he took a series of menial part-time jobs to help his mother with household finances, and his grades dropped sharply. In his confession given almost two years later, Henley told detectives Brooks lured him to Corll's home on the promise he could participate in "a deal where I could make some money." In a 2010 interview, Henley stated: "I couldn't leave anyway. Bail was set at $100,000. When Brooks was 12, hed met Dean Corll, a man twice his age. Bettmann/Getty Images (l.) / Netflix (r.), Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. (left) is portrayed by Robert Aramayo in the Netflix series. Henley was sent to prison. The three drove back to Corlls apartment, and Henley left. Before Corll was able to manacle Kerley to his torture board, the pair left Corll's home to purchase sandwiches. Henley Sr. was a violent and abusive alcoholic who took his rage out on his family. While he insisted it was only meant to be a night of fun, not a night of torture and murder, this seems nave on Henleys part. Although he initially confessed to killing only one man, authorities soon learned Henley was one of three serial killers who abducted and killed at least 28 boys, ages 13 to 20 between 1970 and 1973. [5][6], Prior to his leaving high school, Henley became acquainted with a youth one year his senior named David Brooks. Both Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley Jr., now in their late 50s, are serving life prison terms for their part in luring the boys to Corll's home, where they were sexually assaulted and killed.. A film loosely inspired by the Houston Mass Murders. Corlls apartment provided a place to waste time. Henley realized that the candy shop operated by Corlls motherwhere her son constructed a giant frog with red eyes that lit up when the telephone rang, for the amusement of childrenwas a store he had visited earlier. He died in prison in 2020 of COVID-19. The compassionate release process, which is confidential, first requires the board to consider whether Henleys request is based on a legitimate medical condition or other hardship covered under the law. As Henley claimed in an interview with Texas Monthly, Corll allegedly promised him $200 for every boy he brought to him, as part of "a homosexual porn ring in California." Even after the pandemic began, that did not change. She sent him a box of candy. Even with the COVID-19 epidemic rendering prison conditions infinitely more hazardous, Texas officials rarely granted compassionate release. He told them that Corll had been killing boys for the past two-and-a-half years and burying many of them at Southwest Boat Storage, according to the Houston Chronicle. I have decided to go to Austin because I have got a good job offer. Other evidence included the "torture board" Corll handcuffed his victims to and the "body box" that he used to transport bodies to burial sites. It was a great big knife. . Corll, on the other hand, did not make fun of Brooks. When I interviewed serial killer, Elmer Wayne Henley, Jr., in October 2010 and discovered that a second victim of the "Houston Mass Murders," Mark Scott, 17, abducted on April 20, 1972, had. From what Wayne says, there may be more bodies out there. He gestured vaguely in the direction of the Gulf of Mexico, where in August 1973, police discovered the remains of seventeen teen-age boys beneath the dirt floor of a boat shed, wrapped in plastic shrouds and laced with lime, and subsequently dug up ten more along a lonely stretch of beach. Elmer Wayne Henley, Jr. (born May 9, 1956) is a convicted American serial killer, incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system. However, Henley is not a typical aging and ailing Texas prisoner. However, things became more sinister when the older man suggested committing murder. The pair then drove around Houston Heights and, at the corner of 11th and Studewood, Henley persuaded a youth to enter Corll's Plymouth GTX. A decade later, Henley was interviewed by filmmaker Teana Schiefen Porras for her documentary Decisions and Visions. Henley was convicted in 1974[1]:219 for his role as a participant in a series of murders known colloquially as the Houston Mass Murders in which a minimum of 28 teenage boys and young men were abducted, tortured, raped and murdered by Dean Corll between 1970 and 1973. Henley and David Owen Brooks (Corll's other teenage accomplice), together and individually, lured many of the victims to Corll's home. From arguably the best film . Porras was reluctant to say whether she considered Henley sincere in his thoughts, saying simply, "I think (the documentary) sends a powerful message. Huffine pointed out that the video's purpose was to encourage parents and children to become more aware of their surroundings. Because Holden and Bill are busy in Atlanta, Wendy and Gregg meet with Elmer Wayne Henley Jr., the mentee of "The Candyman" Dean Corll who acted as an accomplice to . The State of Texas presented a total of 82 pieces of evidence . Instead, he was held several days and tortured before being murdered and buried in Corlls rented boatshed. Even after Elmer Wayne Henley found out what happened to the first boy hed lured to Corlls home, he didnt stop. Wikimedia CommonsDean Corll was viewed as a friend to many children in Houston. You won't do it!" Her work is featured in CNN's The Wrong Man (2015) about the innocence claims of executed offender Ruben Cantu and the six-part A&E series on the victims of a 1970s serial killer, The Eleven, (2017). In the spring of 1973, Henley attempted to enlist in the U.S. Navy, but his application was rejected on June 28 due to the fact he had dropped out of high school andalthough a later intelligence test would reveal his IQ to be 126[20]possessed a limited education. PASADENA, Texas - Convicted killer Elmer Wayne Henley directed Texas Equusearch Friday to the Pasadena home of Dean Corll, otherwise known as the 'Candy Man' and 'the Pied Piper,' one of his accomplices whom he shot to death.. At the time, the so-called Houston Mass Murders were described as the most lethal in modern U.S. historythe Pope sent his condolences and Truman Capote considered writing about the case as a sequel to his book In Cold Blood. He told the operator that he had just shot and killed Corll and then gave them the address of Corlls house in the Houston suburb of Pasadena. This is the company's first production outside of the corporate world, according to Huffine. The oldest of the couples four sons, Henleys childhood home was an unhappy one. There were rumors going around school about Dean, but he was never overt. He does NOT deserve to have any compassion for any illness as my brother was not even treated with basic humanity..

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