Elmer Wayne Henley Jr., an accomplice to the Texas serial killer nicknamed the ‘Candy Man’, is speaking out for the first time in a new documentary detailing how he became wrapped up with a murderer.
Henley, now 69 years old, was only a teenager when he began working with Houston man Dean Corll, a local who was known for treating kids to candy from his family’s factory.
Five decades on, he is now the subject of a true-crime documentary titled The Serial Killer’s Apprentice, which details how, over the course of three years in the early 1970s, Henley helped Corll lure in teenagers and young men from nearby neighborhoods before they were murdered.
Henley was ultimately convicted of six murders, though Corll is believed to have killed at least 28 victims in total. It wasn’t until 1973 that their spree came to an end when Henley killed Corll in a fight.
After the serial killer was dead, Henley led police to the bodies of the boys he’d helped bury.
According to All That’s Interesting, Henley met Croll at the age of 15 after befriending another teenager, 16-year-old David Owen Brooks.
Brooks introduced Henley to Corll, who Brooks had already known for years despite Corll being twice his age.
In a later confession, Henley explained that Corll told him about an organization he was involved with that trafficked boys and young men, saying: “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.”
When he needed money, Henley agreed to help. He and Corll drove around, ‘looking for a boy’, until they found a teen and Henley asked if he wanted to come and smoke weed with them.
The teen agreed, and after arriving back at Corll’s apartment, Henley left. He later learned Corll had sexually assaulted and murdered the boy.
Henley didn’t go to the police when he found out, but, along with Brooks, continued to find boys for Corll.
Henley was convicted of six killings (Investigation Discovery)
What is Henley saying about the crimes?
More than 50 years have passed since the killing spree, but Henley is speaking out now for the new Investigation Discovery (ID) documentary which is set to arrive on August 17.
In a trailer for the new documentary, the killer’s ‘apprentice’ explains that he’s ‘not trying to absolve [himself] of guilt’, but rather trying to ‘make people see the truth’.
Henley describes how it felt to ‘strangle somebody’, saying: “It’s memorable. It’s poignant. I was horrified.”
As well as centering on conversations with Henley, the documentary also features renowned forensic psychologist Dr. Katherine Ramsland, as well as interviews with law enforcement.
A statement from ID explains: “Over the course of two hours, Ramsland will work to delve into the mind of Henley — and what motivated him to act as an accomplice in such tragic, violent crimes.”
Henley helped lure victims to Corll’s home (Bettmann/Getty Images)
Where is Henley now?
After confessing to his role in the deaths of Corll’s victims, Henley was sentenced to life in prison. He remains behind bars, but is eligible for parole – something family members of the victims have criticized.
In an interview with Click2Houston, James Dreymala, the father of Corll’s last known victim, Stanton, said of Henley’s parole review: “You know it’s coming. You might as well prepare for it mentally, but what are you going to say? What are you gonna do? You’re going to tell the parole board exactly how you feel.”
After a request for compassionate release in 2022 was denied, Henley is now undergoing a new parole review, with a decision expected in the fall.
Brooks was also sentenced to life in prison for his involvement, and died behind bars in 2020.
Featured Image Credit: Investigation Discovery
An interview with Aileen Wuornos ahead of her execution shows the serial killer suggesting a chilling theory about her murders.
Wuornos was working as a prostitute when she shot, killed and robbed seven of her clients in Florida during a 12-month period between 1989 and 1990.
Despite Wuornos claiming her crimes were committed in self-defense after being sexually assaulted, she was found guilty and was sentenced to death.
Ahead of her execution, she took part in true-crime documentary Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer, directed by filmmaker Nick Broomfield.
One of his interviews with Wuornos has begun to do the rounds on social media again and shows the killer endorsing a chilling theory about the police’s activity.
Broomfield asked Wuornos why she killed the seven men in such a short span of time.
Aileen Wuornos argued her crimes were committed in self defense (Lafayette Films)
She replied: “Because the cops let me keep killing them, Nick, don’t you get it?”
Wuornos also argued that the police were already following her and allegedly allowing her to kill these men.
When Broomfield asked again, this time pointing out most people do not commit murders, she appeared to grow frustrated.
The convicted serial killer answered: “Oh you are lost Nick, I was a hitchhiking hooker, running into trouble.
“I shoot the guy if I ran into trouble, physical trouble, the cops knew it.
“When the physical trouble lot came around, they thought ‘let em clean the streets, then we’ll pull her in’, that is why.”
Wuornos did not give any evidence to substantiate her claim that police let her continue killing. She was executed on October 9 2002, aged 46.
Broomfield got to know Wuornos while filming the documentary and even weighed in on her mental state and behavior.
Wuornos was executed on October 9 2002, aged 46 (Florida DOC/Getty Images)
In an interview in 2004, he said: “I think this anger developed inside her. And she was working as a prostitute. I think she had a lot of awful encounters on the roads. And I think this anger just spilled out from inside her. And finally exploded. Into incredible violence. That was her way of surviving.
“I think Aileen really believed that she had killed in self-defense. I think someone who’s deeply psychotic can’t really tell the difference between something that is life threatening and something that is a minor disagreement, that you could say something that she didn’t agree with.
“She would get into a screaming black temper about it. And I think that’s what had caused these things to happen. And at the same time, when she wasn’t in those extreme moods, there was an incredible humanity to her.”
Featured Image Credit: Lafayette Films
A prolific serial killer who was only convicted of murdering three women confessed to have killed 90 more before his death.
Samuel Little is considered to be one of ‘America’s worst serial killers’, but just the sheer quantity of people he murdered didn’t come out until after he had served four years of his life sentence.
Warning: Video contains content some viewers may find disturbing:
His murder spree is believed to have ran from 1970 till 2005, but there are claims he even murdered in 2012 – the year he was finally apprehended.
Well, that’s not completely true – by 1975, when he was roughly 35 years old, he had already been arrested 26 times across 11 states, and those arrests kept coming but each time he was let go.
In 1982, he was arrested and charged with the murder of Melinda LaPree in Pascagoula, Mississippi, but a grand jury found him not guilty.
He was then extradited to Alachua County, Florida and tried for the murder of Patricia Mount.
Samuel Little posed for 15 mugshots between 1966 and 1994, but wasn’t arrested for murder until 2012 (FBI)
Again, he was acquitted in 1984 of the 26-year-old’s murder – though the 80-year-old later confessed to murdering both women.
That same year cops arrested him after Laurie Barros lived to tell the tale of how Little kidnapped, beat and strangled her.
After being let go, he was caught by police again this time with an unconscious woman in the back of his car.
It was found that he beat and strangled her in the exact same location as he did Barros. He was finally locked up but only served two-and-a-half years in prison.
The locations of each of Little’s confirmed murders – with some markers revealing confessions to the murders of multiple women (FBI/OpenStreetMap)
Incredibly, the FBI collated a series of 15 mugshots taken of Little between 1966 and 1994, but it wasn’t until September 2012 that he was finally arrested for murder.
In 2019, the agency released 16 pictures of women drawn by the despicable killer in a bid for families and relatives of his victims to help identify the women.
Spokesperson for the authority Shayne Buchwald said: “We are hoping that someone – family member, former neighbor, friend – might recognize the victim and provide that crucial clue in helping authorities make an identification.
“We want to give these women their names back and their family some long awaited answers.
Little drew portraits of his suspected victims (FBI)
“It’s the least we can do.”
So far only 60 of the 93 women Little claimed to have killed have been confirmed.
Little died on December 30, 2020. His cause of death was never made public, although it is understood he had diabetes and heart problems, among other conditions.
Featured Image Credit: Wise County Jail / FBI
In a notorious case from nearly 20 years ago, a cop killer entered court wearing a strange mask, leaving his family and everyone present in complete shock.
The day of reckoning came on April 17 2005 when Esteban Carpio was being questioned by Providence Police Detective Sgt. James L. Allen and another detective at their law enforcement headquarters.
Carpio was being questioned for the stabbing of an 85-year-old woman, Madeline Gatta, but his crimes did not stop there.
When the second detective left questioning to get some water for the suspect, an altercation occurred between Allen and Carpio.
The police officer was ultimately shot twice after Carpio grabbed his revolver and died a short while afterwards.
With the questioning taking place on the third floor of the building, Carpio jumped from that extremely high height.
Esteban Carpio’s day of reckoning came in 2005 (MSNBC)
Law enforcement eventually caught Carpio and he was arrested and charged for the police officer’s murder.
In his first court appearance, Carpio made all the headlines for wearing a rather strange looking mask.
While it may have shocked his family, Carpio was forced to wear the mask because it was said ‘here were concerns he would become combative.’
The mask really was a blast from the past, Joy Fox, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Corrections at the time, revealed the department had used the mask only about ’10 times in 10 years’.
As per NBC News, manufacturers stated the masks would typically be used when officers feared infection from HIV.
Once proceedings had got underway, it was argued Carpio was under the influence of a psychosis, which meant he wasn’t able to comprehend the ‘wrongfulness of his actions.’
Just weeks before the deadly shooting, the killer was taken for a psychiatric evaluation by his mother, while his girlfriend took him to hospital after displaying concerning behavior.
The cop killer entered court wearing a strange mask (MSNBC)
Doctors ultimately attributed Carpio’s bizarre symptoms to stress and drug abuse.
On June 27 2006, a jury found Carpio guilty of murdering Allen and stabbing Gatta. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Carpio appealed the ruling – something which was thrown out by the Supreme Court in 2012.
And then in 2017, a federal judge refused to overturn the serious conviction once more.
Carpio argued his lawyers were ineffective as they failed to provide genuine arguments on the grounds of appeal.
He also argued once more his mental health problems at the time meant he wasn’t aware of the seriousness of his crimes.
However, the judge didn’t buy it and the ruling stood.
Featured Image Credit: MSNBC
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
The Scream franchise has become a monster in its own right by inspiring parody movies and Halloween costumes, but did you know the horror actually has its origins in real life?
Before the release of the 1996 movie, a series of killings took place in Gainesville, Florida which earned the murderer the nickname of ‘The Gainesville Ripper’.
The killings have been detailed by YouTuber MrBallen, whose in-depth coverage tells the story of Daniel Rolling’s four-day murder spree.
Christina Powell was among the first of Rolling’s victims (Acey Harper/Getty Images)
It all began on August 24, 1990, when Rolling broke into an apartment where two college students, Christina Powell and Sonja Larson, were asleep.
Rolling saw Powell asleep on the couch, but initially chose to spare her. First, he focused on Larson, whose mouth he taped shut before he stabbed her.
Rolling then returned to find Powell, who he assaulted and killed before posing her and Larson’s bodies.
Just hours later, Rolling struck again at the home of student Christa Hoyt.
Hoyt wasn’t home at the time, so Rolling waited for her to come home before he assaulted and stabbed her. Once she was dead, he cut off her head and once again posed her body.
The next two killings took place the following week, when Rolling killed Manny Taboda – the first and only male involved in his spree.
He then turned his attention to Taboda’s roommate, Tracy Paules. She attempted to escape to the bedroom, but Rolling broke through the door and stabbed her.
Paules’ death marked the end of Rolling’s murderous rampage, but it was actually events that took place prior to these killings that led to him being caught.
As police investigated the murders, they found a link to the murder of a family in Louisiana six months earlier.
While Rolling was in Louisiana, he admitted to friends that he had a problem, and when they asked him to expand, Rolling said he ‘likes to stick knives into people’.
When news of the Florida murders reached the friends, they called Crime Stoppers and advised police to look into Rolling – who at that time, had been jailed for robbing a grocery store.
Police found that evidence, such as tape and tools, from the robbery had also been used in the killings. Not only that, but Rolling had talked about his crimes in a diary police found.
After being charged with the killings, Rolling was found guilty of his crimes and sentenced to death.
Rolling was executed for his crimes (Clark Prosecutor)
Four years after the Florida killings, Scream writer Kevin Williamson was watching an ABC show which detailed the crimes of The Gainesville Ripper.
The news of the killings left Williamson shaken, and it was this feeling he held on to when he began to write the screenplay that went on to become Scream.
MrBallen’s coverage of the killings captivated viewers, with one going as far as to ask Netflix if the YouTuber could ‘have his own show’.
While the creator is still staying busy on YouTube and with his podcast series, he has also launched a new graphic novel titled MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious.
The book, created in collaboration with graphic novelist Robert Venditti and acclaimed comic book artist Andrea Mutti, offers true crime fans a new way to digest the horrors by featuring graphic adaptations of the mysterious stories based on true events.
The collection, which also includes new, exclusive stories, promises all sorts of twists and surprises which will leave readers thoroughly spooked.
MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious is available to buy now.
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
