(NewsNation) — Similar to Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy, a serial killer known as the “Candy Man” was racking up a body count in the 1970s — and his story is the subject of a new documentary.
Dean Corll, an electrician in Houston, was known to pass out candy to kids, who affectionately called him the “Candy Man.” Between 1970 and 1973, Corrl kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed at least 28 boys and young men. He had helpers — two teenagers, including one who would end up turning on him.
A new Investigation Discovery documentary titled “The Serial Killer’s Apprentice” unpacks the story of Elmer Wayne Henley, who, as a teen, became Corll’s accomplice and has served more than 50 years behind bars.
The documentary is based on the 2024 book of the same name, co-authored by forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland, who interviewed Henley. She joined NewsNation’s “Banfield” to share what she learned.
“He was killing under the influence of Dean Corll, who is the adult predator who brought the two teenage boys into being an accomplice,” Ramsland said. “He didn’t initiate the murders. He didn’t want to murder anybody. He was a compliant accomplice.”
Henley was convicted in 1974 of six murders. Another teenager, David Owen Brooks, was convicted in his own trial of one murder, stemming from Corll’s killings.
Henley fatally shot Corll on Aug. 8, 1973, and the crimes, known as the Houston Mass Murders, were subsequently brought to light.
“At one point, there were two kids in the house, in Corrl’s house, with him. Corrl had them bound and was going to kill them all. Wayne talked his way out of it,” Ramsland said. “When Corrl put the gun down, Wayne saw an opportunity to stop him and grabbed it to save his friends and save himself, and also to put an end to this because he was just tired of it. He knew Corrl was never going to stop.”
She said she believes previous coverage of Henley’s story to be inaccurate, which is part of why she wanted to speak with him.
“I hoped that he would be able to tell me his point of view, what it had been like to be pulled into this arrangement,” Ramsland said. “Why had he stayed in this arrangement for 17 months? What was it like for him to become a killer? That’s a kid who wanted to be a minister. How was a predator like Corrl able to get him in that position and keep him there?”
“The Serial Killer’s Apprentice” is streaming on Investigation Discovery and HBO Max.