Donald Wayne Waldrop, a 15-year-old white male, tragically lost his life on January 30, 1971, in Houston, Texas. His death was later determined to be a homicide caused by asphyxia due to strangulation. Donald and his younger brother, Jerry Lynn Waldrop, disappeared while on their way to a bowling alley. Their skeletal remains were discovered on August 9, 1973, among 17 other bodies in a boat shed owned by Dean Corll, infamously known as the "Candyman Killer".
Dean Corll, along with his
teenage accomplices Elmer Wayne Henley and David Brooks, was responsible for a series of gruesome murders that came to be known as the Houston Mass Murders. Corll targeted young boys and teenagers, luring them with promises of money or gifts before subjecting them to torture and murder. Donald and Jerry were among the victims of this horrifying spree.
The case unraveled when Henley killed Corll in self-defense and confessed to the police, leading them to the boat shed where the bodies were buried. Henley and Brooks were subsequently arrested and convicted for their roles in the murders. Henley received six life sentences, while Brooks was sentenced to life imprisonment. The discovery of the victims and the details of their deaths shocked the nation, marking one of the most prolific serial killings in U.S. history.
