Elmer Wayne Henley Jr., an accomplice to Texas serial killer Dean Corll, is speaking out for the first time in 50 years in a new ID documentary titled ‘The Serial Killer’s Apprentice,’ premiering Sunday, Aug. 17 at 9/8c.
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In the early 1970s, young boys began vanishing from the streets of a quiet Houston neighborhood. At the time, many believed police brushed off the disappearances as runaways. But the truth was far more horrifying than anyone could imagine.
Dean Corll, a seemingly ordinary man known for handing out candy from his family’s factory to local kids, was living a double life — one that would come to light only after a shocking turn of events in August 1973. With the help of two teenage accomplices, Corll, infamously known as the “Candy Man,” lured at least 28 young boys to their deaths in what became known as the “Houston Mass Murders,” according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Now, over 50 years later, a new Investigation Discovery documentary is revisiting the case. The Serial Killer’s Apprentice features an in-depth interview with Corll’s accomplice, Elmer Wayne Henley Jr., marking the first time Henley has spoken about his crimes in decades. (An exclusive trailer can be seen below.)
The documentary, premiering Sunday, Aug. 17, at 9/8c on ID, will feature Henley in conversation with renowned forensic psychologist Dr. Katherine Ramsland. “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,” reads a press statement from ID.
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Dr. Katherine Ramsland in ‘The Serial Killer’s Apprentice’ on ID.
“I’m not trying to absolve myself of guilt,” Henley says in the trailer. “I’m trying to make people see the truth.”
Henley, along with David Brooks, both teens, lured the victims to Corll’s Pasadena, Texas, home “under false promises of fun,” with Henley later reporting to police that the pair were paid $200 for each boy, per NCMEC. Authorities said the victims, most between the ages of 13 and 20, were tortured and raped before being killed, according to KHOU-11, KPRC-TV, and Houston Public Media.
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Elmer Wayne Henley with his hands covering his face.
The killing spree ended in August 1973, when then 17-year-old Henley fatally shot Corll during an altercation, claiming self-defense, according to NCMEC. Officers who responded to the scene on a report of someone in distress found Henley near Corll’s dead body.
According to Houston Public Media, authorities said both Henley and Brooks, then 18, led investigators to multiple burial sites: a boat storage shed, a remote woodland area, and a beach near Galveston.
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Men digging amid the investigation.
All of the victims have since been identified except for one of the 17 boys found buried in the boat storage shed, per NCMEC. Police believe “John Doe” was between the ages of 15 and 18 and had been dead for at least a year before his body was recovered in August 1973.
Both Henley and Brooks pleaded guilty to their roles in the murders and were subsequently sentenced to life in prison. In 2020, Brooks died in prison and Henley remains incarcerated, having repeatedly been denied parole, KHOU-11 reported.
In addition to the interview with Henley, the documentary will also offer access to “expansive archival footage and insight from victims’ loved ones, local authorities, and journalists who are still unpacking the extent of Corrl’s crimes decades later,” the press statement reads.
The Serial Killer’s Apprentice is produced for Investigation Discovery by Wolf Entertainment and Good Caper Content, an ITV America company. The documentary is inspired by the book The Serial Killer’s Apprentice which is co-authored by Dr. Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman.
The Serial Killer’s Apprentice premieres Sunday, Aug. 17 at 9/8c on ID.