Leon Corneal Holston: The Pompano Beach Child Murders
Background
Leon Corneal Holston was born on April 20, 1950, in Pompano Beach, Florida. He became responsible for a series of violent crimes against young boys during the 1960s. Holston was unusually young when the killings began. His first known murder occurred when he was approximately fourteen years old, and the later killings took place after he had been released from a reform school.
Holston is commonly described as a serial killer because he killed or admitted killing several children in separate incidents over a period extending from 1964 to 1966. The murders occurred in and around Pompano Beach in Broward County, Florida. His victims were boys between five and thirteen years old, and stabbing was the primary method used in the attacks.
The Murder of Willie Gene Morss
Holston’s first confirmed victim was five-year-old Willie Gene Morss. Willie was killed in Pompano Beach on May 5, 1964. Holston sexually assaulted the child and stabbed him to death. Because Holston was a juvenile, the case was handled differently from an adult murder prosecution. He was sent to the Florida School for Boys, commonly known as the Dozier School for Boys, rather than being placed in an adult prison.
Holston remained at the reform school for approximately fourteen months. Reports from the period indicated that he was released after appearing to make satisfactory progress. The decision returned him to Pompano Beach while he was still a teenager. Within a relatively short period after his release, several more boys were murdered.
The 1966 Murders
In May 1966, a new series of child killings terrified the Pompano Beach community. Holston was accused of attacking three boys during a period of roughly two weeks. He was charged in connection with the deaths, but only one of the 1966 cases resulted in a completed murder trial. His conviction for the murder of Julian Marion Foxworth became the central legal case against him.
Julian Marion Foxworth, who was known as “Mac,” was killed in Pompano Beach on May 1, 1966. Court records described Julian as an eleven-year-old boy, although surviving birth and cemetery records indicate that he was one day short of his eleventh birthday. Holston sexually assaulted Julian and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest. The medical evidence established that Julian died from hemorrhaging and shock caused by the multiple stab wounds.
During the investigation and trial, Holston attempted to place responsibility on a supposed person named “Johnnie Dollar.” Psychiatric testimony indicated that this figure was not a real accomplice. The jury rejected Holston’s effort to avoid responsibility and found him guilty of the premeditated first-degree murder of Julian Foxworth.
William Keith White, thirteen, was also killed in Pompano Beach on May 1, 1966. He was found stabbed to death. Holston was charged or strongly implicated in William’s killing, but he was not brought to a separate trial for it after receiving a death sentence in the Foxworth case. For that reason, William is sometimes identified as a suspected victim rather than a judicially confirmed victim, despite the evidence connecting the case to Holston.
Another victim was thirteen-year-old Taylor McNeil, who was known to his family as “Tally.” Taylor was killed in Pompano Beach in May 1966. The exact day of his death is not consistently stated in surviving reliable accounts, although some later compilations list May 5. Holston admitted killing Taylor and reportedly helped investigators locate his body. Accounts of the confession stated that Taylor had been stabbed and that Holston returned to the body after the killing and sexually abused it. Holston was not separately tried for Taylor’s murder because the state had already obtained a death sentence against him for killing Julian Foxworth.
Known and Suspected Victims
- Willie Gene Morss, age 5 — May 5, 1964 — Pompano Beach, Florida: Sexually assaulted and fatally stabbed. Holston was adjudicated responsible as a juvenile and sent to the Florida School for Boys.
- Julian Marion “Mac” Foxworth, age 10 or 11 — May 1, 1966 — Pompano Beach, Florida: Sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times in the chest. He died from hemorrhaging and shock. Holston was convicted of first-degree murder.
- William Keith White, age 13 — May 1, 1966 — Pompano Beach, Florida: Found stabbed to death. Holston was charged or implicated, but the case did not proceed to a separate trial.
- Taylor “Tally” McNeil, age 13 — May 1966 — Pompano Beach, Florida: Stabbed to death. Holston admitted the killing and reportedly directed investigators to the body. A precise day of death cannot be confirmed consistently from the available reliable records.
Trial and Death Sentence
Holston was tried for the murder of Julian Foxworth. The prosecution presented medical testimony, evidence of sexual assault and proof that Julian had been deliberately stabbed several times. Holston’s mental condition was examined during the proceedings. Expert witnesses disagreed on some aspects of his psychological condition, but the jury accepted testimony that he understood the difference between right and wrong when he committed the crime.
The jury convicted Holston of first-degree murder without recommending mercy. Under Florida law at the time, that verdict resulted in a death sentence. The Florida Supreme Court reviewed the case and upheld his conviction in 1968, finding sufficient evidence that Holston had sexually assaulted and intentionally killed Julian.
Commutation and Imprisonment
Holston was never executed. Changes in the legal treatment of death sentences led to his punishment being reduced to life imprisonment. He remained in Florida custody for more than five decades. Because the state had already secured its most severe available sentence in the Foxworth case, prosecutors did not complete separate trials for the murders of Taylor McNeil and William White.
In 2017, Holston was brought to a Broward County courtroom while seeking release or a reduction of his confinement. He was then sixty-seven years old, nearly blind, using a wheelchair and suffering from serious physical limitations. Relatives of his victims opposed his release. Members of the McNeil family confronted him in court and described the lasting pain caused by Taylor’s murder.
Death and Legacy
Leon Corneal Holston died in Florida custody on September 23, 2020, at the age of seventy. He had spent most of his life confined by the state. His record includes two legally established killings—the juvenile case involving Willie Gene Morss and the first-degree murder conviction involving Julian Foxworth—as well as his admitted killing of Taylor McNeil and his alleged responsibility for the death of William Keith White.
The Holston case remains disturbing because of the ages of everyone involved. The victims were young children, and Holston himself was only fourteen when the first killing occurred. His release from reform school before the later murders also raised enduring questions about juvenile rehabilitation, risk assessment and public protection. Most importantly, the case left several families without their sons and permanently affected the Pompano Beach community.
