Elmer Wayne Henley
Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. (born May 9, 1956) is an American serial killer incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system. Henley was convicted in 1974: 219 for his role as a participant in a series of murders known colloquially as the Houston Mass Murders in which a minimum of 28 teenage boys and young men were abducted, tortured, raped and murdered by Dean Corll between 1970 and 1973. Henley and David Owen Brooks (Corll's other teenage accomplice), together and individually, lured many of the victims to Corll's home. Henley, then 17 years old, shot Corll dead on August 8, 1973.
Elmer Wayne Henley | |
|---|---|
Henley in 1997 | |
| Born | Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. May 9, 1956 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Conviction(s) | Murder with malice (6 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 7 (including Corll, which was ruled to be self-defense) |
Span of crimes | March 24, 1972 – July 25, 1973 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Texas |
Date apprehended | August 8, 1973 |
| Imprisoned at | Telford Unit |
Henley is serving six consecutive terms of 99 years for his involvement in the Houston Mass Murders, which at the time were characterized as "the deadliest case of serial murders in American history". As a result of Henley killing Corll and Brooks dying in prison in 2020 from COVID-19, Henley is the only one of the trio still alive.