Houston’s criminal past includes some of America’s most shocking offenders. You’ll encounter Dean Corll, who with his accomplices murdered dozens of teenage boys, and Ángel Maturino Reséndiz, known as “The Railroad Killer.”
Andrea Yates drowned her five children in a case that transformed maternal mental health awareness. Robert Durst and Ronald Clark O’Bryan round out this sinister list of individuals whose horrific crimes changed how Houston views public safety forever.
The Houston Mass Murders: Dean Corll, Elmer Wayne Henley, and David Brooks
In the early 1970s, Houston residents were unaware of the horror unfolding in their community as Dean Corll orchestrated one of America’s most heinous crime sprees. The 34-year-old Pasadena man, nicknamed “The Candy Man,” lured young people to his residence where they endured sexual torture before being murdered.
Corll didn’t act alone. With accomplices Elmer Wayne Henley and David Brooks, he claimed at least 28 known victims, though the true number may be higher. The case broke only when Henley shot Corll, claiming self-defense to save himself and two potential victims.
Investigators faced gruesome challenges recovering human remains from various burial sites. The overwhelming stench and decomposition complicated identification efforts. These killings, among America’s most disturbing crimes, revealed how predators could operate undetected even in populated areas.
Similar to Bonnie and Clyde who utilized various hideouts across Texas to evade authorities, Corll maintained multiple murder sites to conceal his crimes.
The Railroad Killer: Ángel Maturino Reséndiz’s Reign of Terror
While Houston was still processing the horror of the Corll murders, another predator would soon emerge whose crimes stretched far beyond city limits. Ángel Maturino Reséndiz terrorized communities across multiple states throughout the 1980s and 90s, earning his chilling nickname “The Railroad Killer” for his method of traveling between crime scenes on freight trains.
Reséndiz’s pattern was methodical—he’d target homes near railroad tracks, brutally murder and often sexually assault the occupants, then disappear by hopping a train. His violent spree left at least 15 confirmed victims across five states, overwhelming local homicide divisions with gruesome crime scenes. Many of the victims were found bludgeoned, though not dismembered as sometimes misreported.
After a nationwide manhunt, authorities captured Reséndiz in 1999, ending his reign of terror. He was executed in Texas in 2006. His execution by Texas authorities is among the many stories documented at the Texas Prison Museum, where visitors can learn about “Old Sparky” and other significant moments in the state’s criminal justice history.
Andrea Yates: The Clear Lake Tragedy That Changed Maternal Mental Health Awareness
The tragedy that unfolded in a Clear Lake home on June 20, 2001, sent shockwaves through Houston and the nation when Andrea Yates methodically drowned her five young children in the family bathtub. Unlike other notorious Houston cases involving Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. and young men, Yates’ actions stemmed from severe mental illness rather than malice.
Her case transformed our understanding of maternal mental health through:
- Highlighting the catastrophic consequences of untreated postpartum psychosis
- Exposing gaps in mental healthcare for new mothers
- Challenging legal definitions of insanity in criminal proceedings
- Sparking policy reforms nationwide
Initially convicted of capital murder, Yates was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. She remains confined at Kerrville State Hospital, where she has undergone psychiatric care since her 2006 retrial. The case continues to serve as a somber reminder of mental health’s critical importance.
The case drew particular attention in Houston, home to the University of Houston, which enrolls over 47,000 students and has contributed significant research to mental health studies.
Robert Durst: The Real Estate Heir and His Ties to Houston Crimes
Robert Durst’s chilling saga represents a sharp contrast to Yates’ mental health tragedy, centering instead on calculated violence and decades of suspicion. Unlike the methodical brutality of Dean Corll and his accomplice David Brooks, Durst’s crimes were isolated but equally disturbing to Houston-area residents.
The real estate heir’s connection to the 1982 disappearance of his wife Kathleen and the 2000 murder of Susan Berman shocked the nation. His story gained widespread attention through HBO’s “The Jinx,” where his own words ultimately contributed to his downfall.
After seemingly evading justice for years, Durst’s 2015 arrest in New Orleans led to his conviction for Berman’s murder in 2021. Though not charged in Houston, he was previously acquitted in Galveston for the 2001 killing and dismemberment of neighbor Morris Black, despite admitting to the act. His life sentence closed a dark chapter in a criminal saga that haunted Texas for decades.
The Candyman Killer: Ronald Clark O’Bryan and the Halloween Horror
In Houston’s dark history of notorious criminals, perhaps no case has influenced an American tradition as profoundly as that of Ronald Clark O’Bryan. Known as the “Candyman Killer,” O’Bryan poisoned his eight-year-old son’s Halloween candy in 1974, forever altering parents’ approach to the holiday across the Houston area.
The horrific details reveal a father’s unthinkable betrayal:
- O’Bryan murdered his own child for insurance money he’d secured just weeks earlier
- His son died the next morning after consuming the poisoned candy
- He was executed in 1984 for the crime, in one of the most infamous filicide cases in U.S. history
- The case sparked nationwide Halloween safety protocols still followed today
This calculated crime remains one of Houston’s most infamous cases, leaving a permanent mark on America’s Halloween traditions.
