Billy Gene Baulch Jr., a 17-year-old Caucasian male, tragically lost his life on May 21, 1972, in Houston, Texas. His death was part of a series of heinous crimes committed by Dean Corll, infamously known as 'The Candy Man,' who was a serial killer and sex offender responsible for the abduction, rape, torture, and murder of at least 28 teenage boys and young men between 1970 and 1973.
Corll's crimes, which became known as the Houston Mass Murders, were carried out with the assistance of two teenage accomplices, Elmer Wayne Henley and David Owen Brooks.
On the day of his death, Billy Baulch and his friend, 16-year-old Johnny Delome, were last seen walking to a local store. They were subsequently abducted by Corll and his accomplices. Billy was forced to write a letter to his parents, claiming that he and Johnny had found work in Madisonville. According to Henley's later confession, both boys were tied to Corll's bed, where they were subjected to unspeakable torture and sexual assault. Billy was manually strangled by Henley, while Johnny was shot in the forehead and then strangled. Their bodies were buried at High Island Beach.
The discovery of these crimes came to light on August 8, 1973, when Henley fatally shot Corll in self-defense during a confrontation. Following Corll's death, Henley and Brooks confessed to their roles in the murders and led authorities to the burial sites of the victims, including Billy Baulch. Henley and Brooks were subsequently charged and convicted for their involvement in the murders, receiving life sentences.
Billy's death, along with the deaths of other victims, highlighted the horrifying extent of Corll's crimes and the failure of law enforcement to connect the disappearances of so many young boys in the Houston area. The case remains one of the most chilling examples of serial murder in American history.
