1 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely 2 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:10,879 Speaker 1: those of the authors and participants and do not necessarily 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: represent those of I Heart Media, Stuff Media, or its employees. 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: Listener discretion is advised from my Heart Radio and Tenderfoot TV. 5 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: Monster presents Insomniac. I'm Scott Benjamin and everything I'm about 6 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:44,879 Speaker 1: to tell you is real. This is Insomniac. Beginning in 7 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: nineteen and all the way through August of nineteen seventy three, 8 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: there was a pattern forming in the community of Houston 9 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: Heights in the northwest central area of Houston, Texas. Young boys, 10 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: lots of them, were disappearing, more than forty in all 11 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:10,320 Speaker 1: before it finally ended. Parents were frantic reporting the missing 12 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: children to the Houston police, but the police were quick 13 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: to dismiss the cases, all of them as runaways. It 14 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: was a decision that they would later regret, as community 15 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: backlash was intense when the real nature of the disappearances 16 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:32,119 Speaker 1: was soon uncovered. Occasionally, the parents would receive a note 17 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 1: from their missing sons, written in their own handwriting, stating 18 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: that they had moved away to find work, or they 19 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:40,839 Speaker 1: were going to stay with a friend for a while. 20 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: Some even received telephone calls and their missing sons stating 21 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: the same. Of course, none of that was true. The 22 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: boys were forced to write those notes or to make 23 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: those calls to their parents. Now that the circle of 24 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: rust included Elmer Wayne Henley, Dean Coral raised the stakes 25 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: in his deadly game. He offered both of his young companions, 26 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: Brooks and Henley, two hundred dollars for each boy they 27 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: could lure into his house as a victim. Henley waiter 28 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:23,839 Speaker 1: claimed that he ignored Coral's offer until early nine, when 29 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 1: his family was in need of the money. The truth is, 30 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: we'll never really know the first time Henley claimed his 31 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: two bounty for the life of a friend, but we 32 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: do know that it became a regular occurrence. Here's the 33 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:44,359 Speaker 1: way it worked. Henley and Coral came up with a 34 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: plan that coincidentally was almost identical to what John Wayne 35 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: Gacy was doing in Chicago at the very same time. 36 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: They thought of a way to get a team to 37 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: willingly wear a pair of handcuffs. It was almost like 38 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: a game him to them. Henley would first wear the 39 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: cuffs himself behind his back, and he would somehow escape, 40 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:11,239 Speaker 1: making it look easy. The secret was he had a 41 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: key hidden in his back pocket. The teenage victim would 42 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: attempt the same, but when the cuffs didn't release, Dean 43 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: would pounce on the victim, quickly binding and gagging them 44 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:27,080 Speaker 1: so that no one could hear them scream. Henley claimed 45 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: that's when he would leave the victim alone with Coral, 46 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: believing that he was to be delivered to the Dallas 47 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: based sex slavery ring. Again, there was never any evidence 48 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: of Dean Coral belonging to such a group. Maybe the 49 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: most chilling part of all this, at least so far, 50 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: is that the teens and younger kids in the neighborhood 51 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: that Brooks and Henley were delivering to Dean Coral for 52 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: just two dollars each were their neighbors and childhood friends, 53 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: the same kids they grew up with and the same 54 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: kids they went to school with. The date was auguste 55 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: and Henley, now aged seventeen, had invited a friend, Timothy Curly, 56 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: aged nineteen, to a party at Dean's house. When Henley 57 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: and Curly made it to Dean's house that evening, they 58 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: drank alcohol, had sniffed paint fumes before leaving around midnight 59 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: to buy some sandwiches David Brooks was not at Dean's 60 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: house that evening. Along the way, the two teens stopped 61 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: near Henley's house, and Henley walked to the home of 62 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: Rhonda Williams, aged fifteen. She was a friend of Henley's 63 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,080 Speaker 1: and her drunk father had beaten her early in the evening. 64 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: She said she wanted to get out of the house 65 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:03,280 Speaker 1: until he was sober. Henley invited her to join them 66 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: at Dean Coral's home that evening, and the three teens 67 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:11,280 Speaker 1: drove to Dean's house in Pasadena. It was about three 68 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: am on August eight when the three arrived at Dean's house. 69 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 1: Dean was extremely angry with Henley for inviting a girl 70 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: to his house, telling him that he had ruined everything. 71 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,280 Speaker 1: Henley explained the situation to Coral, and he seemed to 72 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: calm down as he offered the three of them more 73 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: alcohol and marijuana. As they continued to sniff paint fumes, 74 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: Dean sat back and watched. After two hours, all of 75 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: the teens had passed out. When Henley finally awoke, he 76 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: was lying on his stomach and Dean Coral was placing 77 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 1: handcuffs on his wrists. He already had his mouth taped 78 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: shut and his ankles were bound together. Both Timothy Curly 79 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 1: and Rohnda Williams were lying beside Henley on the floor 80 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:10,159 Speaker 1: similar to his situation. They were both gagged with tape 81 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: and bound with nylon rope. Timothy Curley was already completely naked, 82 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: while Ronda Williams still had her clothes on. When Dean 83 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: noticed that Henley was awake, he removed his gag just 84 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: long enough to tell him that he had made a 85 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: fatal mistake in bringing a girl to the house. He 86 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:35,919 Speaker 1: was going to kill all three of them after he 87 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: tortured Curly. Dean then shoved a twenty two caliber pistol 88 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: into Henley's stomach and threatened to shoot him. Henley was 89 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,719 Speaker 1: able to calm Coral by telling him that he would 90 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 1: assist him in the torture and murder of the other 91 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: two teens, but he would have to release him from 92 00:06:53,920 --> 00:07:00,080 Speaker 1: his restraints. Surprisingly, Dean agreed to this and untied Henley 93 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: and then tied Curly and Williams to opposite sides of 94 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 1: his torture board. Dean's plan was for Henley to rape 95 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 1: and kill Williams while he raped and killed Curly. By 96 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: now the other two teens had awakened and the reality 97 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: of the situation was sinking in. Both were terrified, and Williams, 98 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: whose gag was now also removed, asked Henley is this 99 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: for real? Henley told her it was, and then as 100 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: Dean if he could take Williams into the other room, 101 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: Coral was busy violating curly and ignored Henley's request. It 102 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: was at this point that Henley made a grab for 103 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: Dean's pistol and began shouting a Dean that he had 104 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: gone far enough. He couldn't go on any longer. He 105 00:07:54,240 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: couldn't have Dean killing all of his friends. Dean shouted 106 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 1: back defiantly and taunted Henley by yelling kill me, Wayne, 107 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: and then as he moved closer to Henley, he yelled, 108 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: you won't do it. That's when Henley fired the first shot, 109 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: hitting Dean Coral in the forehead, but the bullet didn't 110 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: go through his skull. As Dean moved even closer, Henley 111 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 1: fired another two rounds into Coral's left shoulder. This stopped him, 112 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: and Dean staggered out of the room. As Henley fired 113 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 1: three more rounds into his lower back and shoulder, Dean 114 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: was dead. Henley had killed Dean Coral and saved the 115 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 1: lives of two of his friends as well as his own. 116 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,839 Speaker 1: Curly and Williams were released in the torture board by Henley, 117 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: and the three of them dressed and talked about what 118 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: they should do next. Henley just wanted to leave, but 119 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: Curly said l they should call the police. They all 120 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:24,320 Speaker 1: agreed and Henley made the call. Aside from the Corvette 121 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: that Dean Coral had purchased for David Owen Brooks, which 122 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:31,520 Speaker 1: Dean still had limited access to, he owned another flashy car, 123 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 1: a Plymouth GTX. It wasn't a coincidence that he drove 124 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: a car like this. It was fast and loud, and 125 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 1: it seemed to attract the attention of all the teenage 126 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:50,959 Speaker 1: boys in the neighborhood, exactly what Dean wanted. Coral, along 127 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 1: with Brooks and Henley, would cruise the neighborhood looking for 128 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: potential victims and then lure the boys either into the 129 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 1: car or to Coral's home with a promise of candy 130 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:07,439 Speaker 1: or alcohol, or even a party. But the g t 131 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: X wasn't Dean's only car. He owned another vehicle that 132 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,560 Speaker 1: served a more useful purpose afford a con line van. 133 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:21,120 Speaker 1: This is the universal sketchy van that your parents warned 134 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:24,959 Speaker 1: you to stay away from. Prior to his killing, years, 135 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: Coral would occasionally invite the neighborhood kids that lived near 136 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,439 Speaker 1: the candy store to picnic with him at the beach, 137 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 1: using the van for transportation. Of course, according to those 138 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: that had accepted a ride years earlier, it was much 139 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: nicer at the time, carpeted and clean. However, by the 140 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: time the authority sees the van immediately after Dean's death, 141 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: it was just as creepy an awful inside as you 142 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 1: might guess. By then, it was in regular use to 143 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 1: haul dead bodies from Dean's house to one of several 144 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 1: burial places. It was even rumored that he used this 145 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: as a mobile torture van, similar to the torture room 146 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 1: he had set up in the bedroom of his house, 147 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:20,319 Speaker 1: complete with pegboard like walls featuring drilled holes that served 148 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: the same purpose as his torture board did in his home. 149 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,760 Speaker 1: The van's room windows were completely covered by thick blue curtains, 150 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 1: impossible to see in and impossible to see out. The 151 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 1: cargo area of the van was no longer neatly carpeted, 152 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: but instead hold a worn out section of a beige rug. 153 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 1: It was covered in stains. Police also found a length 154 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 1: of rope and a handbuilt wooden crate with air holes 155 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:52,440 Speaker 1: drilled in the sides. Around the same time, police found 156 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,800 Speaker 1: a similar wooden crate in Dean Coral's backyard, but inside 157 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:01,880 Speaker 1: that one they also found strands of human hair, leaving 158 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 1: little doubt that Dean used these creates to secure and 159 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: transport some of his victims. The sad truth is all 160 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: of the young boys that we're seeing getting into the 161 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 1: van or car along with Dean and his two accomplices 162 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: between the years of nineteen seventy in ninety three, well, 163 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: they never came back. Initially, Henley was treated as a 164 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 1: hero saving the lives of two of his friends from 165 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 1: a real life monster, but Henley soon began to tell 166 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 1: the authorities a lot more than they ever bargained for. 167 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,600 Speaker 1: He told them how he and David Brooks were in 168 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:55,200 Speaker 1: charge of finding teenage boys for Dean Coral's rape, torture 169 00:12:55,480 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 1: and murder fantasies. He also told them he himself had 170 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:05,079 Speaker 1: assisted in several abductions and murders and helped to torture 171 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:08,920 Speaker 1: and mutilate six or eight victims before they were killed. 172 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 1: He told them about the Southwest Houston boat storage shed 173 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:16,600 Speaker 1: that Dean Coral had rented, where most of the victims 174 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 1: had been buried, while others were buried at High Island 175 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:25,800 Speaker 1: Beach and Lake sam Rayburn. Police didn't want to believe 176 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:29,320 Speaker 1: his stories initially, that is until he mentioned a few 177 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:31,319 Speaker 1: specific names of the boys he had helped to a 178 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: Ductford Dean. All of the names he provided were listed 179 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:46,559 Speaker 1: as missing children. Later that very same day, AUGUSTE. Henley 180 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,439 Speaker 1: agreed to go to the Southwest Houston boat storeage shed 181 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 1: with the authorities. He claimed he could lead them to 182 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:57,800 Speaker 1: the bodies of the missing children. When they opened the 183 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 1: door to the enclosed boat shed, there was some sort 184 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 1: of junk to be moved, a half stripped stolen car, 185 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: a kid's bicycle, two sacks of lime, and boxes full 186 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 1: of teenage boy's clothing. When it came time to dig, 187 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 1: the work was done by prison trustees and the soft 188 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: dirt inside the boat shed was relatively easy to move. 189 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 1: Almost right away they uncovered the body of a young 190 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:33,600 Speaker 1: teenage boy, wrapped in clear plastic and buried beneath a 191 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: layer of lime. As they continued to dig, they found 192 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:43,200 Speaker 1: several more sets of human remains, each in different stages 193 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: of decomposition. Most of the bodies were wrapped in the 194 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: same thick, clear plastic sheeting. Some had been strangled and 195 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,200 Speaker 1: the ropes were still wrapped around their neck, while others 196 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 1: had been shot. Digging up to cane bodies in an 197 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 1: enclosed metal shed is hard enough to imagine, but when 198 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 1: you also consider this was Texas in August, the heat 199 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 1: and the smell must have been unbearable. On that first day, 200 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 1: the bodies of eight young boys were pulled from the 201 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:27,200 Speaker 1: ground in the boat shed. All of them had been sodomized, 202 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: and all of them showed evidence of sexual torture, including 203 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: chew genitals, objects inserted into the rectums, pubic hair is 204 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: plucked out, and one other particularly sadistic treatment. Authorities learned 205 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 1: through examining the bodies the dean coral had inserted glass 206 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:51,480 Speaker 1: rides into the boy's penises, and then he would snap 207 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 1: them off and shatter them while they were inside. The 208 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,400 Speaker 1: pain that's inflicted would make a person beg to be 209 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: put out of their misery. The coral would keep the 210 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,280 Speaker 1: teens alive for several days of this type of abuse. 211 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 1: While conducting my research for the Dean Coral story, I 212 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: kept returning to the one fact I simply couldn't wrap 213 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 1: my mind around for the longest time, and to be 214 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: honest with you, I still can't completely understand it. My 215 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 1: question was this, why weren't the Houston police more concerned 216 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: about the pattern of missing teens Over a relatively short 217 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:49,840 Speaker 1: span of time, Around two and a half years, there 218 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:56,240 Speaker 1: were approximately fortys missing from the same neighborhood. Two families 219 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,800 Speaker 1: had lost not just one son, but two kids each, 220 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 1: teen brothers, all taken at separate times. What had to 221 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,359 Speaker 1: happen for the authorities to finally take action? What was 222 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:15,760 Speaker 1: the hesitation? Well, I think I found the answer, or 223 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,879 Speaker 1: at least the best explanation I've heard so far. It 224 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 1: comes from a book written in four by a man 225 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: named Jack Olsen titled The Man with the Candy The 226 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:33,200 Speaker 1: Story of the Houston mass Murders. In it, Olsen states 227 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: that it was not just one factor, but rather a 228 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 1: combination of factors that led to the oversight. First, the 229 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:46,199 Speaker 1: Houston Police Department simply lacked the resources to search for 230 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: missing children's request to do so, or often declined. It's 231 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,439 Speaker 1: also true that teens occasionally choose to leave home in 232 00:17:55,520 --> 00:18:01,200 Speaker 1: pursuit of something new, different and exciting, a perceived new 233 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:06,679 Speaker 1: life just somewhere else. It was easy for the police 234 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:08,879 Speaker 1: to tell the parents that they're missing teen was merely 235 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 1: a runaway, easy because that's what they truly believed it happened. 236 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 1: It's also important to remember that the term serial killer 237 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:25,399 Speaker 1: wasn't even coined until ninety Before that it was almost 238 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: unimaginable that a killer of this sort was living in 239 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:31,640 Speaker 1: the same neighborhood along with the families of the kids 240 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:36,879 Speaker 1: he was killing. Unimaginable, that is until Henley shot and 241 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:41,920 Speaker 1: killed Dean Coral in the early morning hours of auguste, 242 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 1: and the truth was then known. Any way you look 243 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: at it, this was an especially dark time for the 244 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:56,679 Speaker 1: community of Houston Heights, the senseless destruction of dozens of 245 00:18:56,720 --> 00:18:59,879 Speaker 1: young men, all with the rest of their lives ahead 246 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:04,680 Speaker 1: of m as they were taken far too young, being 247 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:11,280 Speaker 1: Coral's oldest victim was twenty years old, his youngest was 248 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:24,560 Speaker 1: only nine. David Brooks turned himself in at the Houston 249 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: Police Station. He was accompanied by his father as He 250 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,399 Speaker 1: denied being involved in the murders, but stated that he 251 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,000 Speaker 1: did know that Coral had raped and killed two boys. 252 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 1: In the next day, August nine, Henley accompanied the authorities 253 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 1: to Lake sam Rayburn, where two additional bodies were found 254 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 1: in shallow, lime covered graves. At the same time, police 255 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 1: continued to search the boat shed, and they discovered an 256 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:02,680 Speaker 1: additional nine bodies on their second day of digging. Henley 257 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:06,000 Speaker 1: insisted there were still two more bodies inside, but they 258 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:12,160 Speaker 1: were never located. Later that evening, David Brooks finally gave 259 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: a full confession, admitting to being present while some of 260 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 1: the killings occurred and helping to bury some of the bodies. 261 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:25,680 Speaker 1: The next day, August t, Henley accompanied the authorities to 262 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,400 Speaker 1: Lake sam Rayburn, where they were able to find two 263 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: more bodies. That same afternoon, both Henley and Brooks went 264 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:37,520 Speaker 1: with the authorities to High Island Beach and led the 265 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:42,880 Speaker 1: police to two more shallow graves. Days later, on August 266 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:46,600 Speaker 1: Hemley and Brooks returned to High Island Beach with the police, 267 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:52,680 Speaker 1: where they located four more bodies. Again, Henley insisted that 268 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:54,919 Speaker 1: there were still two additional bodies to be found on 269 00:20:54,960 --> 00:21:00,719 Speaker 1: the beach, but they were never located. In total, they 270 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:04,240 Speaker 1: had uncovered twenty seven known victims, with the possibility of 271 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:09,000 Speaker 1: at least four more. According to Henley. At the time, 272 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:13,920 Speaker 1: it was the worst killing spree in American history, a 273 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,000 Speaker 1: grizzly record that would only stand for five more years 274 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 1: until John Wayne Gaze he was captured in after killing 275 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:24,639 Speaker 1: thirty three young men and boys and burying them in 276 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:30,679 Speaker 1: his crawl space. In the end, Dean Coral was the 277 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:35,119 Speaker 1: only one who escaped without suffering to consequences. Maybe he 278 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,960 Speaker 1: paid the ultimate price, losing his life, but it was 279 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,919 Speaker 1: his young accomplices that eventually had to answer for all 280 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,919 Speaker 1: of his wrongdoings, along with her own, of course, and 281 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: they're still paying for it today. In David Owen Brooks 282 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 1: was found guilty of abduction and murder and received a 283 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:00,919 Speaker 1: life sentence. He's been up for p roll several times, 284 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: but has been denied every time. His most recent chance 285 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:09,120 Speaker 1: for freedom came in two thousand and fifteen. He's still 286 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:15,080 Speaker 1: locked away. Elmer Wayne Henley is currently serving six consecutive 287 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,639 Speaker 1: terms of ninety nine years for a grand total of 288 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:22,480 Speaker 1: five years in prison for his role in the Houston 289 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: mass murders. With no chance of parole. He'll die in prison. 290 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,080 Speaker 1: There's no question my entire view of the world around 291 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,879 Speaker 1: me has changed. When I started this journey, I wanted 292 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: to know why serial killers did what they did, what 293 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:50,480 Speaker 1: motivated them, what made them tick and well. I did 294 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:55,000 Speaker 1: find some answers to those questions. I also found darkness, 295 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 1: a lot of darkness to go along with it. I 296 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:01,160 Speaker 1: know they are good people around us, but we should 297 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 1: also never forget. They're bad people around us too, very 298 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,359 Speaker 1: bad people who are capable of doing things you and 299 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: I could never imagine everything I've gone through my personal life. 300 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: In addition to delving into the lives of these serial killers, 301 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:18,800 Speaker 1: the sadness and death that I've read about every single 302 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: day has led me to the biggest question of all. 303 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,879 Speaker 1: Is this healthy? We all consume violence in one way 304 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:29,920 Speaker 1: or another on a daily basis. It's on our televisions, 305 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:32,919 Speaker 1: it's on the radio, and in our podcasts. Is what 306 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:36,719 Speaker 1: drives storylines and plots? We turned to true crime as 307 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:40,760 Speaker 1: a means of enjoyment. I'm guilty of this myself. But 308 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:44,400 Speaker 1: what are the consequences, the long lasting implications on all 309 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:49,359 Speaker 1: of us as individuals, as a society. I don't know. 310 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,160 Speaker 1: If I'll ever be able to forget what I've seen 311 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: in my third year so years a true crime infatuation. 312 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: But I'm hoping some of those vivid images will begin 313 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,760 Speaker 1: to fade into the distance as I grow older. I 314 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 1: haven't been able to entirely stabilize or separate my dreams 315 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,920 Speaker 1: from reality. I'm still working on it. For now, though 316 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,159 Speaker 1: I've reached the end of my fascination with true crime. 317 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 1: It's time to take a break, and hopefully with that 318 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:18,840 Speaker 1: break the nightmares that have kept me up all night, 319 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 1: we'll transition back into normal dreams once again. Well, today 320 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,160 Speaker 1: is one of those unusual days when I actually got 321 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 1: some sleep last night, about six hours of sleep, and 322 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:39,199 Speaker 1: I feel pretty good. Um it's almost like a like 323 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,400 Speaker 1: a fog is lifted from my head, like I can 324 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,400 Speaker 1: I can think clearly. I'm kind of ready for the day, 325 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: which is really pretty unusual. They's pasted a few uh 326 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:52,679 Speaker 1: well years, but um, yash, I don't know. It feels good. 327 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:54,879 Speaker 1: It feels like today might be a good day and 328 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: I'm kind of looking forward to it. So not all 329 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 1: doom and gloom all the time, um as far as 330 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:03,080 Speaker 1: sleep goes, But most of the time it is, but 331 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: I thought, you know, hey, I'm having a good day. 332 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:17,439 Speaker 1: I'll talk about that too. Insomniac is a production of 333 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:21,400 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Tenderfoot TV, written and hosted by 334 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:26,400 Speaker 1: Scott Benjamin and produced by Miranda Hawkins, Alex Williams, Matt Frederick, 335 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:30,600 Speaker 1: and Josh Than. Music composed by Makeup and Vanity, Set 336 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:34,520 Speaker 1: and cover by Trevor Eisler. Follow on Twitter and Facebook 337 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,920 Speaker 1: at Insomniac Pod, on Instagram at Insomniac Podcast, and at 338 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:43,680 Speaker 1: our website insomniac podcast dot com. For more podcasts for 339 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:47,840 Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 340 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,280 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.