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Now streaming on HBO , produced by Investigation Discovery, The Serial Killer’s Apprentice is a harrowing recollection of the terrifying crimes of the Candy Man Killer, Dean Corll, and his seventeen-year-old accomplice, Elmer Wayne Henley Jr.

“One of the Worst Serial Killers In US History”

Led by serial killer expert Dr. Katherine Ramsland, Henley opens up about his experience with the serial killer and the extent of his involvement in the crimes.

Background of a Serial Killer

In the mid-70s, Dean Corll stalked the streets of Houston, Texas, under the guise of a kind neighborhood man. Under the mask, Corll hunted and killed 28 young men. many of whose bodies were disposed of in Corll’s boat shack. With the assistance of Wayne Henley and David Brooks, Corll had vulnerable boys come to the house to be tortured, assaulted, and killed.

At that time, Houston’s population was not at the size it is today. The community was tight-knit. Everybody knew everybody. yet teen boys were going missing left and right in this small, innocent town and no one knew who was taking them.

yet no one would have suspected Dean Corll, a friendly neighborhood man. Dean Corll earned the nickname The Candy Man; he was always passing out candy to the neighborhood kids. His family had been famous for owning the chocolate factory and candy store in town. Corll was a person whom many of the kids felt like they could look up to. Including Wayne Henley, who was looking for a father figure.

By all accounts, Elmer Wayne Henley Jr had a normal childhood. But after the death of his grandfather, Wayne Henley’s father fell apart. After becoming physically abusive, his father left them, leaving Henley’s mother and grandmother to support the household. As he grew older, Henley held an anger towards his father – one that Corll saw and used to his advantage.

Making him the perfect victim.

“If I could learn to kill someone, I could kill my father…..If I was doing something he wanted me to do, there was no guilt……. I did things with Dean I never thought I’d do before.”

The Arrest of Elmer Wayne Henley

Elmer Wayne Henley shot and killed Dean Corll in his home on Lamar Street on August 8, 1973. Houston Police arrived at the scene and discovered Henley beside Corll’s lifeless body.

Earlier that night, Wayne and David had partied with Dean, who then used this opportunity to take advantage of them. When Henley and Brooks woke from a drug-induced sleep, handcuffed, they knew they were in trouble. Dean had two others attending the party tied up, Rhonda and Tim. Dean was mad that Rhonda was there, as the intended victim had been Tim. Wayne had tried negotiating with Dean, saying he would help dispose of the bodies if he untied him. Dean lays his gun down when untying him – Tim is in full panic mode, and Rhonda is crying as Wayne begins to cut her clothes off.

“Is this for real?

“Yes, this is for real?”

Well, are you going to do something about it?

As the truth came out, Houston P.D. charged Henley with the procurement of young boys and participating in the murders at the orders of Dean Corll.

Mama, I killed Dean….no you can’t come. I’m with the police, mama”

Henley, on the phone with his mom at the scene of the crime

From there, the most compelling confession and evidence unfolded into something horrifically beyond the Houston Police Department’s imagination.

The Investigation

With Dean Corll dead, the Houston police have no one else to help them identify the twenty-seven bodies. No one. except for none other than Corll’s accomplices: Seventeen-year-old Henley and eighteen-year-old David Brooks. With their tormentor gone, Henley and Brooks cooperated with the police without fear of reprimand.

The boys even led investigators to several of the bodies in Corll’s boat shack.

“I can lead you to them, if you want. “

But what has baffled investigators and forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsfield is how Henley could at one moment follow Dean Corll’s vicious and murderous commands and then shoot him?

Ramsland sits down with hopes of getting answers to these questions.

Sitting Down With Henley

Although Dr. Katherine Ramsland may have written over 20 books on the subject of serial killers and had expertise on the subject of serial killers, the Houston Mass Murders case had fascinated her. She wanted to know Henley’s experience from the very beginning: What happened between Henley and Corll? What was the relationship like? What hold did Corll have over his accomplice? Moreover, what pushed Henley to finally kill his so-called friend and mentor?

“I was doing exactly what I needed to do”

Wayne Henley had wanted to sit down with Ramsland and set the record straight – in hopes that his story might help someone else like himself.

Review

I had to watch this twice to remember a lot of the details. I would highly recommend this documentary as it is a harrowing story of redemption in the face of murder. Uniquely, Elmer Wayne Henley’s story is about the crucial influence a mentor can have over a young mind. Desperate for a male influence after his father walked out, Henley was the perfect victim for a serial killer to mold.

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Related Content

https://www.missingkids.org/blog/2023/candy-man-victim

https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/candy-man-killer-victims

https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/elmer-wayne-henley