Roy Eugene Bunton, a 19-year-old male, was tragically murdered on August 21, 1972. He was one of the victims of the notorious Houston serial killer Dean Corll, who, along with his teenage accomplices Elmer Wayne Henley and David Owen Brooks, was responsible for the abduction, torture, and murder of at least 28 young males in the early 1970s. Bunton, who was likely hitchhiking to work at a Houston shoe store, was abducted and later killed.
His remains were buried in Corll's infamous boat shed, a location where many of the victims were discovered.
The case of Roy Bunton's death is deeply intertwined with the broader investigation into Dean Corll's heinous crimes. Corll, often referred to as 'The Candy Man,' lured his victims with promises of work or social gatherings, only to subject them to unimaginable suffering. Bunton's remains were among those exhumed during the investigation, and his identity was confirmed decades later through DNA analysis and circumstantial evidence. This identification brought some closure to his family, who had long suspected he might have been one of Corll's victims.
Dean Corll's reign of terror ended in 1973 when Elmer Wayne Henley, one of his accomplices, fatally shot him during an altercation. Henley and Brooks were subsequently arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder. Both were convicted and received life sentences for their roles in the crimes. The discovery of Bunton's remains and the subsequent identification highlighted the extensive and methodical nature of Corll's atrocities, as well as the challenges faced by investigators in unraveling the full scope of his crimes.
