Dean Corll and Elmer Wayne Henley: Houston's most notorious serial killers

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- More than four decades have passed, but the horror, shock and grief over the events that unfolded in Houston in 1973 have not diminished.

It all started on the morning of August 8th, 1973, when the Pasadena Police Department received a call from Elmer Wayne Henley, who told police he had just shot a man.

Pasadena police detective David Mullican responded to the scene.

"It started out as any other homicide," Mullican said, but it soon turned into the worst serial killer case in Houston history.

The man Henley shot was Dean Corll. Henley told police Corll had tortured and murdered six teenagers at Corll's home.

Later that day, Henley led police to a boat storage shed in southwest Houston on Silver Bell Street, where police dug up eight bodies. The next day police uncovered nine more bodies at the shed.

Henley also led authorities to a location near Lake Sam Rayburn, where four bodies were uncovered.

The day after Henley's arrest, another man, David Brooks, turned himself into police for his role in the deaths. Both Henley and Brooks then led police to a location on High Island, where six bodies were discovered.

Elmer Wayne Henley was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He was last denied parole in October of 2015. His next scheduled parole review date is October of 2025.

David Brooks was convicted of murder and was serving a life sentence. He was last denied parole in December 2018, and he died in custody in May 2020.