Dean Corll's Real Name: Dean Corll
Dean Corll → Dean Corll
Quick answer: He was known as Dean Corll, his real name. A Library of Congress record citing a published book gives his full name as Dean Arnold Corll and his birth as December 24, 1939, in Waynedale, Indiana, part of the Fort Wayne area. Houstonia Magazine and ABC13 Houston both report that he was shot dead in Pasadena, Texas, on August 8, 1973. He died before he could be charged, so no court ever tried him.
Real name and early life
The Library of Congress record, drawn from a book about the case, lists Dean Arnold Corll, born December 24, 1939, in Waynedale, Indiana. Only that record supplies the middle name.
Houstonia Magazine says his family ran a candy factory in the Houston Heights, a working-class neighborhood at the time, and that he was known locally for handing out sweets to children.
Career highlights
Corll is known only for crimes, not for any public career.
The Houston Mass Murders
Houstonia Magazine says that between 1970 and 1973 Corll, with two teenage accomplices, lured teenage boys and young men and killed them in rented homes and apartments across Houston. The magazine says police often treated the missing boys as runaways, and the term "serial killer" had not yet come into use.
Death and discovery
ABC13 says that on the morning of August 8, 1973, Pasadena police received a call from Elmer Wayne Henley, then 17, who said he had just shot a man. The man was Corll. Houstonia says Henley shot the 33-year-old Corll during an attack on two of Henley's friends.
Henley then led police to burial sites, including a boat storage shed in southwest Houston, a location near Lake Sam Rayburn, and High Island. Houstonia says at least 28 deaths were attributed to the case, and investigators later suspected a possible 29th victim.
Legal outcomes for the accomplices
Corll was never charged. ABC13 says Henley was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, and Houstonia says he is serving six consecutive 99-year sentences. ABC13 says David Owen Brooks, who turned himself in the day after Henley's arrest, was convicted of murder, served a life sentence, and died in custody in May 2020.
Name notes for searchers
Dean Corll was his legal name. Searches for Dean Arnold Corll refer to the same man. Coverage of the case often calls it the Houston Mass Murders, and Jack Olsen's 1974 book The Man with the Candy is one early account Houstonia cites. Houstonia Magazine and ABC13 Houston report that he was shot dead in Pasadena, Texas, on August 8, 1973.
FAQ
Was Dean Corll his real name?
Yes. A Library of Congress record gives the full form Dean Arnold Corll.
When was he born?
The Library of Congress gives December 24, 1939, in Waynedale, Indiana.
How did he die?
He was shot by accomplice Elmer Wayne Henley in Pasadena, Texas, on August 8, 1973.
Was he convicted?
No. He died before being charged; his two accomplices were convicted.