Willie Gene Morss, a 5-year-old boy from Pompano Beach, Florida, was tragically killed on May 5, 1964. His death was the result of a brutal stabbing, marking a horrifying crime that shook the local community. Willie, a young child whose ethnicity is not explicitly stated in available records, fell victim to a violent attack that would later be linked to a serial killer operating in the area during the mid-1960s.
Investigations into Willie’s murder eventually led authorities to Leon Corneal Holston, a Black male serial killer born in Pompano Beach, Florida, in 1950. Holston was identified as the perpetrator responsible for multiple killings between 1964 and 1966, including the stabbing deaths of Julian Foxworth, age 11, and Taylor McNeil, age 13, both of whom were murdered in May 1966. Holston was apprehended in 1964, the same year Willie was killed, and was initially sentenced to rehabilitation. However, in 1972, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
Holston’s crimes were characterized by a pattern of violent stabbings, and his actions left a lasting impact on the Pompano Beach community. While Willie’s murder was confirmed as one of Holston’s victims, there were additional suspected cases, including the killing of William White, age 13, who was also stabbed on May 1, 1966. The timeline of Holston’s crimes suggests a disturbing escalation in his violent behavior, culminating in multiple child murders.
Despite Holston’s eventual incarceration, the details surrounding his initial sentencing and subsequent commutation raise questions about the judicial handling of his case. His death in 2020 at the age of 70 closed the chapter on his life, but the pain and trauma inflicted on his victims and their families remain a dark part of Pompano Beach’s history. Willie Gene Morss, an innocent child, was among those whose lives were tragically cut short by Holston’s brutal actions.
