Elmer Wayne Henley
When Elmer Wayne Henley was fourteen years old, he was approached by a candy factory worker named Dean Allen Corll. Corll had an interesting business proposition: he'd give Elmer two hundred dollars for every boy Elmer brought over to Corll's home. Elmer's friend David Brooks was in on the deal too, and Corll supplied him with a car to make transporting the boys that much easier. Never mind the fact that Brooks was way too young to drive. Together, this trio would orchestrate the torture and murder of 27 boys, some as young as nine. These games ended on August 8, 1973. Elmer committed the unpardonable sin
of inviting over fifteen year old runaway Rhonda Williams—a Corll demanded that Elmer rape Rhonda right that second, but poor Elmer was too nervous and distracted to perform sexually. Corll began making fun of Elmer's impotence, prompting Elmer to grab a .22 caliber pistol. He shot Corll six times in the head and upper body. Then he released the others, who ran away. Then he called the Pasadena police department. "Y'all better come right now. I killed a man. The address is 2020 Lamar." Then he called his mother. Elmer led officers to a boat shed in southwest Houston, where the corpses of eight young men were unearthed, the first of 27 in various locations, and Elmer was charged with murder. In July of 1974, he and David Brooks were sentenced to six consecutive 99-year terms, one for each victim they personally disposed of. To this day, Elmer creates art from his prison cell, and he donates one third of his Houston art show profits to charity.
RealAudio: Elmer cries into a police CB radio and confesses to his mother that he's murdered Dean. [0:54] Police interview with Elmer, with crickets chirping in the background. [0:28] Elmer being cross examined in court. [0:23] |