True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

 (From left: Caroline Reed Robertson. From right: Rachel Barber: Picture credits: Herald Sun)

*Please be aware that the details shared in this post will be disturbing and will be discussing the stalking and murder of a child. I have, as always, aimed to be as sensitive with the details without taking away from the facts of the case. If you would like to discuss this post, or any case I have covered on this blog, then please email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

You know sometimes when you can just look at some people and think ''That person is going to really go places someday''. It might be a young person who you know or are related to and you see them continue to flourish and over the years, grow in confidence and talent. You feel proud of them, admire their hard work and determination....want to see them continue to be successful. Well, in this particular heartbreaking case (that comes from Melbourne in Australia towards the end of the 1990's, 1999 to be exact) there was a beautiful young girl by the name of Rachel Barber. Rachel was one of those kids who just shone no matter what she did, from a young age, she was not only cute as a button, but she was incredibly gifted as a dancer as well as being blessed with supermodel looks. 

She was born in 1983 and brought up in a loving, caring family and her parents were as proud of her as they were of her sisters. Her maturity at such a young age was remarkable and although she was incredibly gifted with beautiful looks and talent, she was never full of herself or rude, in fact she was very modest, she would often wonder what the fuss was about and would laugh at the many compliments she would receive about her looks and dancing. 

Rachel was so passionate about dancing that she worked so hard practicing and would talk about her goal of having her own dance studio one day, she even had a name in mind for it as well as what it would look like, where it would be based etc, like she was manifesting it and was determined that it was going to happen. She was a young girl who was focused and knew what she wanted in life, she understood that she would have to be consistent and work very hard and she was happy to do so. She was never one to give up and did whatever she needed to do to get that bit more closer to her dreams. Her family were incredibly supportive and they believed in her and knew she would go on to accomplish all of her future goals. 

Whenever 15 year old Rachel was around her family and friends she gave off such a positive energy that everyone around her could feel it and instantly be lifted up by her presence. She was very popular and had many friends as well as a young, handsome boyfriend who absolutely adored her. At the age of just 15, Rachel was on the path to bigger things and everyone who knew her also believed that. Her incredible dancing skills had earned her a place at a very prestigious dance school in Australia, her dreams were getting closer and closer to being fully realised and it was all happening so fast at such a young age. 

Everyone was over the moon for Rachel, everyone but one person, a person who had been obsessed with her for years and she had no idea. Caroline Reed Robertson was a few years older than Rachel, she was aged 19 but had younger sisters who were friends with Rachel's sisters. Sometimes Caroline would babysit for Rachel's parents and this is how Caroline and Rachel became loosely acquainted. Rachel was someone who was beautiful inside and well as outside, so she would welcome people into her world with open arms and she treated Caroline pretty much the same way she would with all of her friends and family. She had a very trusting nature and a lot of that was because she was brought up in such a close-loving family who were very supportive so she didn't have experience of some of the unfortunate unsavoury characters that one may happen upon in life but she was only 15 and was still learning about the world. 

Whilst Rachel had grown up in a protected and loving environment where she continued to grow in talent and confidence as well as being a very sociable, bubbly person. Caroline Reed Robertson had been battling with her inner thoughts and lack of self love for many years, since 14 years of age she began to really focus on her outward appearance and struggled to accept what she saw when she looked in the mirror. She constantly compared herself to other girls and kept a diary where she described herself as fat and ugly with a pizza face. According to her recollection, boys didn't know she existed. She wrote in her diary that Rachel Barber was 'Striking to look at with hypnotic green eyes', she banged on and on for pages and pages about how Rachel's life seemed so perfect and how she seemed to be so good at everything. Instead of admiring the fact that Rachel was growing into a very pretty young woman who was very talented at dancing, Caroline began to become more and more enraged and obsessed with Rachel. 

Rachel was completely oblivious to Caroline's real feelings about her, she just saw her as a older friend who was more like in the role of a big sister. She thought she could trust Caroline cause she seemed nice and that was the other thing about Caroline, she was a master-manipulator who would act all nicey-nicey around people in an attempt to gain their trust. The scary thing about that was her pretentious act at being a lovely person actually was able to fool people into trusting her. She began asking Rachel's sisters personal questions about their lives and Rachel's life trying to make out that she was just asking as a friend out of general interest. The girls, out of innocence and not really knowing what the true situation was, were happy to answer these questions as well as hand over their birthday details at the request of Caroline who claimed she needed to know these facts for a project she was working on. Caroline's aim was to get as much information about Rachel as possible. 

The obsession with Rachel was continuing to grow and grow and when the news came that Rachel had been accepted into a very well-known dance school, Caroline seethed with jealously. Rachel also had a handsome boyfriend who doted on her hand and foot, everyone nicknamed the young couple 'Romeo and Juliet' because they where very much in love and were constantly wanting to be together. Caroline compared her life to Rachel's non-stop from the moment she first met her, she knew she would never look like Rachel, dance like Rachel, be as popular as Rachel, she was never going to be Rachel and it sickened her. To her it seemed that Rachel was constantly going from one fantastic opportunity to another and everyone adored her, she was always the centre of attention. Caroline was never the centre of attention and she had no skills, no dance technique, no boyfriend, no social circle. Caroline was the complete opposite to Rachel and it drove her literally insane.

With Caroline's issues dating back years it is a wonder why none of it was properly addressed. Her parents did say that they encountered problems with her and admitted that their daughter could be scary at times. One thing we do know is that Caroline fixated pretty quickly on a girl who was younger than her and was obsessed with Rachel's life. Caroline's obsession was spiralling out of control and she decided that she wanted to murder Rachel, she wanted to be her. This disturbing situation was about to take a horrific turn. Having failed to convince Rachel to meet her for a modelling shoot (Rachel asked her mother and she said no) Caroline decided a month later to try again. She told Rachel that she could help her get £100 if she took part in a project with her. Rachel, who loved to work hard for things and make her own money, agreed because she thought she could trust Caroline and there was a pair of shoes that she was desperate to buy. 

Caroline made Rachel swear not to tell anyone where she was going or who she was going with, she did mention to her boyfriend that she was going to make £100 but refused to say how and who was involved. Rachel's day on February the 28th 1999 started out the same as every other day, that evening she went to meet Caroline and unbeknown to her, a friend of Rachel's had actually seen them together. Caroline took Rachel back to her apartment where she gave her some pizza which she had laced with a drug and waited a little bit of time for it to take affect before telling Rachel to close her eyes and think of pretty things. As Rachel closed her eyes, Caroline strangled her to death. 

Rachel's body was placed in a wardrobe and kept there whilst Caroline tried to think about how she was going to dispose of her remains. Investigators later found diaries that had been owned by Caroline Reed Robertson and also details about Rachel and her mother's birth certificates. She wanted these personal documents so she could pretend to be Rachel and there may have a bit of an obsession with Rachel's mother too because her birth certificate was also found.

Caroline removed Rachel's body from her apartment wrapped in rugs and a huge bag. Whilst loading the bag into the taxi she hired, she told the driver that she was moving a sculpture to her Dad's home. She ended up burying Rachel's remains on her Dad's farm right next to where they had buried her cat. 

Caroline tried to return to work and act normal but everyone was alarmed at the sight of her. Eventually the police took the statement from the girl and various witnesses who saw Rachel and Caroline together and she was arrested. 

After everything was said and done, Caroline Reed Robertson has never gave her reasons for what she did. She was found guilty obviously and sentenced to 20 years but served 16, she was released in 2015. People were horrified at the news but Rachel's family took a very dignified approach to it all and told their supporters not to bother Caroline or her family. Understandably nobody was happy about this outcome and Rachel's mother did say that she was very concerned that Caroline could get fixated again on someone else. 16 years is a joke and it is shocking that she was released, everything she did was planned and she had no remorse. Any crying she did was for herself. It's scary to think that such a person is out there free to roam the streets after what she had done. It doesn't feel like justice to me and it should have been a whole life sentence without parole. 

When her apartment was searched, investigators found plans for her to start a new life either as Rachel or Rachel's mother, she was also trying to get hold of some money. Some people believe that she was planning her getaway and really thought she could get away with it and try to live her life as Rachel. In one of her diaries that she had written obsessively about Rachel, there was a detailed plan on how she was going to murder Rachel, disfigure her before dumping her body in a ditch on her father's farm. 

Although this case occurred in 1999, it has never been forgotten, nobody has ever forgotten Rachel Barber and the beautiful light that was stolen from her parents, her family, her boyfriend, her friends and the world. Who knows what could have been? At the age of just 15 she was making waves, fast forward a few years and she could have been dancing around the world, whatever Rachel Barber would be doing today we know 100% that it would be something pretty spectacular because that's who she was, she didn't do anything small scale and she never gave up. We would have all known her name like we sadly do now but it would have been in better circumstances, she would have been one of the best dancers in the world and who knows, she could do anything she wanted, her potential and talent was limitless. What an extraordinary young woman and to have just 15 years on this earth but to have left such a mark on everyone who ever met her or knew her, is really something. RIP Rachel x

In 2009 a drama movie which was based on this case was released, it was titled: In Her Skin

Just a side note: Whilst Caroline was in prison she did try to change her appearance and some believe that she was trying to copy Rachel's style. She also had a romantic long-term relationship with a convicted robber who she was hoping to start a new life with, upon her release. To this day she has not expressed remorse. Rachel's boyfriend who was completely devoted to her and described her as his first love, suffered for many years after Rachel's murder. He said that he had been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, the news about Caroline's release has caused him to suffer greatly. I hope that he and Rachel's family and friends know that people all around the world are thinking of them and I hope that they are feeling stronger today despite all of the heartbreak. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Perfect Victim | Book by Elizabeth Southall & Megan Norris

- Melbourne, Australia | Wikipedia

- Rachel Barber | Find A Grave 

- The Murder of Rachel Barber | Reddit Discussion

- Caroline Reed Robertson | The Herald

Thank you as always for checking out my latest post. I hope you will join me in the next one. In the meantime, I hope to see you elsewhere on social media, you can find all of my socials and ways you can help to support my weekly content & my upcoming book, if you would like to, here. 

Stay safe & take care, until next time....x

Child killers, Predators, Sexual Sadists, Abusers, Necrophiliacs, Liars, Con Artists, Psychologically and Physically violent men...the list goes on, the six monsters pictured above, are the focus of my latest post. In the news recently we have learned that disgraced former rockstar, Ian Watkins was brutally murdered whilst serving 12 years into his 29 year sentence, he was 48 years old. The monster was stabbed to death on the morning of 11th of October 2025 by a fellow inmate at the notorious Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire. Due to the number of highly dangerous individuals who call this daunting place 'home', it has earned the nickname over the years 'The Monsters Mansion'.

 I have written about Ian Watkins previously on this blog. Some posts you might be interested in are: The Sick & Twisted Story of Former Rockstar, Ian Watkins and From Red Carpet To Prison Cell. You may also be interested in my post about Wakefield prison which you can find here.

As well as the death of Ian Watkins, who pretty much had a target on his back from day one (there had been attempts on his life before), we have also seen the announcement of the death of horrific child killer Ian Huntley, otherwise known as The Soham murderer who was responsible for the deaths of two 10 year old girls, Holly and Jessica. The fiend had tricked the two girls into his home, both Holly and Jessica admired his partner Maxine Carr who had worked as a teaching assistant at their school. Ian murdered the two young girls and disposed of their bodies (I go into more details about the whole case in my previous post: The Evil Crimes & Lies of Ian Huntley), he then tried to portray himself as a concerned member of the community, lied to the police and Maxine Carr covered for him. Eventually the truth was brought to light, the girls remains were found and it was heartbreaking, nobody could believe what had happened. Ian Huntley was put behind bars being given two whole life sentences. Maxine Carr got it easy, having served 21 months of a three year sentence. She is now out and about living her life under a different name. 

Ian Huntley didn't have it easy behind bars, so many people knew what he had done, it was a high profile case, had been splashed across the news and newspapers for weeks and months. Documentaries were on TV about it, books and articles published, there was no escaping what he had done and quite rightly so, he deserved to be punished. His fellow inmates were well educated on Ian Huntley's crimes and they were just waiting for their moment. 

Like Ian Watkins, he had suffered quite a few vicious attacks whilst behind bars, hospital visits were common and there was moments when it looked like he was on the brink of death but somehow managed to survive....not this time though. Just the other day (I'm writing this post in March of 2026) it was announced that Ian had been brutally attacked, he was rushed to hospital and was reported to be in a coma. After a few days his life support machine was switched off on the Friday and his death was announced officially to the public on the 7th of March 2026. On social media, when both the deaths of Ian Watkins and Ian Huntley were announced, there was jubilation, not a shred of sympathy and to be honest, nor should there have been, the sympathy should be saved for the victims of these evil individuals. 

With the sudden deaths of Watkins and Huntley together with hearing about how another monster, Wayne Couzens is currently shaking in his boots (Wayne was a disgraced former police officer who abducted Marketing Executive, Sarah Everard on the 3rd of March 2021. He sexually assaulted and murdered Sarah before disposing of her remains. I sadly wrote about the case from the moment that Sarah was first reported missing, you can follow the timeline as well as more about the case in my post: The Kidnap And Murder of Sarah Everard), he is reportedly terrified because there are a number of prisoners who are hoping to get their hands on him. 

For Wayne Couzens, not only is he hated for being a sick, cold-hearted murderer, but he was also a policeman so the hatred for him is off the scale, he's a marked man and he knows it. He is currently serving a whole life term meaning he will never leave prison alive, so he has a long time to find out if he's going to die from natural causes or at the hands of others. For such an evil individual I think of nothing better than to know that he feels like he has to constantly look over his shoulder. He took a beautiful young woman away from her family and subjected her to a horrendous ordeal before he cruelly took her life, I have no sympathy for him. 

I have been told that a lot of these murders that are happening with high profile offenders are due to others being paid (for example: money for the prison canteen, phone calls etc for prisoners who are on a long term sentence). When a prisoner faces a long stretch or there's no sign that they will be leaving prison, they feel like they have nothing to lose so they are more likely to commit more offences behind bars. They are also in need of money especially if they don't have regular support from outside. In prison you still have to work and pay for things like snacks, calls etc. Some prisoners will offer protection in exchange for money, others will trade food and the rumours are rife that some will make attempts on someone's life for the right price. 

So Kyle Bevan was another monster with a target on his back and it was only a matter of time before he found himself at the mercy of three prisoners (allegedly). The three accused were due to stand trial in June of last year but there's been no word since so I assume the trial must have been delayed because there's no further information about it, but like I said before, I don't think anyone really cares. Kyle Bevan was serving a sentence at Wakefield Prison after being convicted of the murder of his partner's two year old daughter, Lola James. The little girl's mother was no better, she was also a waste of space who neglected and abused this little angel faced child. Lola had 101 external injuries all over her body, endless cuts and bruises from head to toe. She had catastrophic internal injuries and severe brain damage consistent with someone being thrown from a 10 storey balcony or being in the impact of a horrific high-speed car crash. He was sentenced to life with a minimum of 28 years. 

The poor and evil excuse for a mother, Sinead James, was given just 6 years. Kyle Bevan was found dead on the 5th of November 2025, the investigation into the full circumstances of his death is ongoing but knowing that three people were involved, I can't imagine that he got off lightly on the way to hell. A small bit of justice for what he had done to little Lola. 

Jeffrey's case was another one of those 'stuff of nightmares' stories that was so horrible and unbelievable that you'd be forgiven if you thought it all never happened at all, it was all just too horrific, 17 (possibly more) young men and boys murdered and dismembered. Remains found in his apartment, some of the victims eaten...the whole gruesome nine yards of it was insane, I go into all the horrible details in my previous post about him but as you know, he was convicted obviously and sentenced to 16 consecutive life terms so he was never going to leave prison alive but somebody wanted to end things sooner for Jeffrey and that was Christopher Scarver. 

Christopher was an African-American man who beat Jeffrey and another inmate, with a metal bar in the gymnasium. Jeffrey died an hour after he was found and the other man had managed to hang on for two days before he passed away. With Christopher being African-American and most of Jeffrey's victims being African-American, some believed that it was some sort of karma and justice for what Jeffrey had done to those young men and boys. Jeffrey was murdered on the 28th of November 1994. He was 34 years old. 

Bulger led a very dangerous life and was finally captured in 2011 at the age of 81. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus five years to be spent in a federal prison. It wasn't an easy time for him in prison with the reputation he had as a police informant or as they called it 'rat'. When you're involved in that lifestyle and you are committed to it, one of the worst things you could ever do is break code and share information with the police. Whitey Bulger was notorious in his hay day as being one of the most feared gangsters, there was so many people he had done wrong in the past and for being exposed as someone who backstabbed others, he was a sitting duck no matter what age he was, his enemies didn't care that he was now just a frail old man. 

On the 30th of October 2018 just 12 hours after he had been transferred to USP Hazelton in West Virginia. 89 year old Whitey Bulger was brutally attacked as he sat helpless, frail and confined to his wheelchair. His attackers didn't hold back, they beat him to the point he was unrecognizable, with a padlock inside a sock. They also tried to gouge out his eyes. It was gruesome, blood was everywhere and it was a very horrific attack on an elderly man. There was no mercy and no sympathy, even at the age of 89, being an old man in very poor health to begin with, Whitey Bulger couldn't escape the demons of his past and the wrongs he had done to others. 

I have yet to cover the full story of Whitey Bulger and his crimes but if you would like me to talk about him in a future post, please let me know in the comments below or email me (jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com).

With the amount of victims and the way Robert disposed of the remains, how can they say it was not premeditated? It seems the 'justice' system in Canada is also quite questionable. As you have probably gathered by the fact that I've included him here, Robert is no longer of this earth, he's in hell (hopefully). On the 19th of May 2024, Robert had been attacked by a fellow inmate. On hearing the commotion, a prison officer rushed to the scene and tried to separate Robert and his attacker, before anyone knew what was happening, the prisoner attacking Robert, managed to grab a broom stick, broke the handle and with such force, shoved it into Robert's face. More prison officers arrived and managed to restrain the man while other officers rushed Robert to the hospital. He was officially pronounced dead on the 31st of May 2024. 

Donald pleaded guilty to to 37 of the murders he was charged with (and evidence could be provided for) avoided the death penalty. His sickening murder spree of innocent hospital patients reportedly began in 1970 right up until 1987 when he was arrested. He confessed to everything and was sentenced to 28 consecutive life sentences. Donald Harvey was 64 years old when he was brutally beaten in his cell by fellow prisoner James Elliott on the 28th of March 2017. Donald was rushed to hospital but died two days later. He was officially pronounced dead on the 30th of March 2017. James Elliott was sentenced to 25 years to life, on top of the sentence he was already serving. 

So, this was quite a long post and I appreciate it you have made it this far. I hope that you found this post informative and as I mentioned before with some of the cases that I haven't written a stand alone article on, please let me know if you would like me to cover that particular case. 

Each Individual that I have mentioned in this post has a horrific story behind them and it just goes to show that if you go around hurting people, taking people's lives, being a heartless and sick monster, it doesn't matter if you're 34 or 89, karma will come back around. Donald Harvey was 64 when he was murdered, Ian Huntley was 52 and Whitey Bulger was 89, nobody cares about the ages or vulnerability of these monsters and that is something that people like them should bare in mind. If they are lucky enough not to face the death penalty and are handed a life sentence it should not be a walk in the park for them. In my opinion they should spend the rest of their lives uncomfortable, anxious, always looking over their shoulder and thinking about what they've done to people, what evil they have caused. These monsters are behind bars for a reason and whatever befalls them whilst they serve these sentences it's just tough, no sympathy, like I said before.....sympathy is only for the innocent people and children they murdered and harmed. 

My heart goes out to all of the victims of the monsters mentioned in this post, to which there is sadly so many but they are never forgotten and the sadness for what they went through and the fact that they are no longer with us, never fades. I also think of the families and friends of all of the victims, to lose someone close to you is always difficult but to know they died in horrific circumstances is something that I could never imagine, it must be one of the most horrendous things to ever deal with and I admire their strength.

Further Reading & Sources:  

- Bevan & James Sentencing | Judiciary Court Documents

- Kyle Bevan: Article | BBC News

- Kyle Bevan: Article | DYFED Police

- Kyle Bevan: Article | The Guardian

- Kyle Bevan: Article | Sky News

- The Life & Gruesome Crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer: Part One | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- The Life & Gruesome Crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer: Part Two | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- Jeffrey Dahmer | Wikipedia

- Inside The Mind of Jeffrey Dahmer | Book by Christopher Berry-Dee 

- Serial Killer Groupies | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- Whitey Bulger | The Mob Museum

- Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, The FBI & A Devil's Deal | Book by Dick Lehr & Gerard O'Neil

- James 'Whitey' Bulger | FBI Most Wanted Files (Archive)

- Whitey Bulger: Article | BBC News

- Whitey Bulger | Wikipedia

- Robert Pickton | IMDB

- Serial Killers (Archives) | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- Robert Pickton | Court Documents

- Robert Pickton: Article | The Guardian

- On The Farm: Robert William Pickton | Book by Erin Moon & Stevie Cameron

- Donald Harvey: Article | NY Times

- Donald Harvey | Wikipedia

- Donald Harvey | Murderpedia

- Wayne Couzens: Article | BBC News

- The Sarah Everard Case | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- Sarah Everard | Wikipedia

- Wayne Couzens | Met Police

- The Legacy of Sarah Everard | Centre For Women's Justice

- Wakefield Prison | Wikipedia 

- Beyond Evil: Inside The Twisted Mind of Ian Huntley | Book by Nathan Yates

- The Evil Crimes & Lies of Ian Huntley | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- The Sick & Twisted Story of Former Rockstar Ian Watkins | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

Thank you again for checking out my latest post and I hope you will join me in the next one. As you may know, I always aim to have a post up on Sunday evenings or just a little bit before. Follow me on my socials to ensure you never miss a post and don't forget to come and say hi. All of my social media links can be found here

If you would like to make a small donation and help support my weekly content, please do so here. Thank you so much!

As always, please stay safe...until next time x

You often hear people of a certain age say that things were much better back in the day, situations were much safer, you could send your kids out to play in the street and nothing bad would happen. Well, I think it's a common thing to look back over years gone by with rose-tinted glasses and believe that everything was all good and safe, but the truth is, it wasn't. I've been writing about serial killers and true crime on this blog since 2019 and before that, I studied Criminology and grew up reading and learning about the dark side of life and history. I don't think there's ever been a time when we have been 100% safe, just look as far back as the infamous Jack The Ripper case in the 1800's. 

I don't think there's a difference in the level of evil that's out there today then what was out there decades ago, our forensics have become more advanced and we are able to find more missing persons due to improved technology. I always say to keep yourself safe but the truth is, anyone can be a victim of crime at any time, any place. I've written about so many serial killers and I'm in the process of writing my first book as we speak. Each case of the serial killer has been horrific to research and in this particular post I have unfortunately delved into the dark and twisted crimes of Dean Corll (also known as The Candy Man or The Pied Piper). This post is not for the faint-hearted and it was a difficult case to research for me despite the countless books and newspaper articles I had at my disposal, the details of the murders were a lot to take but again, I always say that the victims deserve to have their stories told, the evil perpetrators exposed and also for police incompetence to be discussed to ensure that the wrongful handling of a particular case never happens again.

In the early 1970's Dean Corll together with the help of two young male accomplices (who he had groomed), had been responsible for the sickening rape, torture and murder of young boys and men (ages 13 to 20) in Houston, Texas. All of the boys were enticed to whichever home Corll happened to be living at the time, by his two young accomplices, Elmer Wayne Henley and David Owen Brooks. Elmer and David would be promised money and gifts as well as beer and cigarettes for their part in procuring the boys, most of which were known to them and in many cases, actual friends of theirs. 

Dean Corll would move every two months in an attempt to keep his sickening and evil hobby a secret. His confirmed victim count was said to be 29 but authorities believe he could be responsible for the deaths of up to 42 young men and boys. The majority of Corll's victims were from the same area of Texas known as Houston Heights, at the time the boys who disappeared where dismissed as just runaways despite their distraught families trying to explain to the police that their sons were not the type to just run away from home. A lot of these boys were on their way to a swimming pool or their part time jobs. One parent pointed out that her son would not have run away with just his swimming trunks and some spare change in his pocket. None of these boys had run away despite the quick judgements and assumptions from the cops. These boys were actually led to their heartbreaking demise by people they thought they could trust, boys of similar age to them that they knew, their so-called friends Elmer and David. 

Elmer and David would go out looking for unsuspecting victims to take back to Dean Corll who was a grown man with an obsession with young boys, blood and sadistic torture. Dean would award them with money and gifts, sometimes Elmer and David would take part in tying the victims up or committing assault. Dean was very much in control and his victims would be tied to a torture board where he would subject them to the most horrendous sexual assaults and torture before he killed them. Sometimes photographs would be taken of the victims. Dean would keep his victim's keys as trophies and reminders of his evil crimes. He was known to bite his victims genitals extremely hard to the point they were bitten off. He would perform disgusting and degrading sexual acts on the victims as well as pulling out their pubic hair one by one. He would gag the victims and turn music up loud to drown out the screams of agony. On one horrific occasion, two young brothers were both tied up and Dean had both boys handcuffed to his torture board, side by side with one wrist handcuffed. With the wrist that each boy had free, David forced them to beat each other to death and told them whoever survived would be set free. Both boys began punching each other as hard as they could to the point that they were both covered in blood. The sickening ordeal ended when Dean got fed up watching the boys and decided to strangled them to death. Dean would also enjoy castrating his victims and he would either do this with his teeth or with a weapon and then he would enlist the help of his two young accomplices who would help him wrap the bodies in plastic sheeting and help get rid of the remains, he would ensure that his victims were buried alongside a bag which contained their private parts that Dean had chewed or cut off. 

With so many boys going missing and the police quick to call them runaways, the parents tried to lean on each other for support and conducted their own searches for their children. 

Both Elmer and David were from poor families who were struggling to make ends meet and they looked up to Dean. Dean had been born on the 24th of December 1939 to a doting mother, Mary and strict father, Arnold. He had been a sickly child who struggled with his confidence and trying to strike up friendships with the other kids. At that point there was no red flags of what he was to become. As he grew up he realised more and more that he was actually attracted to other boys. He had a stint in the Army and his curious thoughts about his sexuality finally came to a conclusion that he was infact, gay. His Mother Mary was very homophobic. The family had run a successful candy business and Dean was very much part of that, his nickname around town was 'Candy Man' due to the fact that he liked to hand out candy to the children. David was popular in the community because of his generosity with candy for the children, but also because he came across as a really nice, hardworking man. Nobody could imagine what was really behind those evil eyes. 

Dean's sick reign of horror would last for three years but before he had the help of Elmer and David, investigators (and myself) believe that he had been killing long before that so nobody knows for sure the exact number of deaths that he is responsible for. 

In August of 1973, Dean Corll's sickening crimes were to come to an ultimate end when he was shot dead by one of his accomplices Elmer. On the 8th of August, Elmer brought back two friends to Dean's house and he was reportedly furious because Elmer had brought a girl there. Dean had set up Elmer and his two friends by plying them with alcohol, marijuana and acrylic paint that he would inhale as well as encouraging others to do so. Eventually Elmer and his friends had passed out and Dean had been watching them the whole time, waiting to make his move.

Dean had bound and gagged all three of them, still in a rage about Elmer bringing a girl to the house. He began to torture the girl and Elmer's friend. As all this was going on, Elmer tried to plead with Dean and persuaded him to untie him so that he could join in with the torture and assaults. What resulted next was a confrontation between Elmer and Dean, Elmer pointed a gun at Dean's head, Dean mocked him and said that he didn't have what it took to kill him. Elmer fired the gun but it didn't have the desired effect at first. Elmer fired the gun a few times more and Dean stumbled to his knees, falling to the ground and into the hallway where he died instantly. Dean was 33 years old at the time of his death.

Elmer untied his two friends and the police were called, when they arrived, Elmer confessed to everything. At first the police were struggling to believe what Elmer was saying was true because it all sounded so nightmarish but when he mentioned the names of some of the victims they began to take him seriously. When he took them to the burial sites of the victims and the remains exhumed, they realised that he had been telling them the whole truth. All the boys that Elmer mentioned were on a missing persons list.

David finally confessed that he had been involved and had a part in three of the murders of the young boys. Elmer confessed to being partly responsible for helping with the murders of nine boys, he also described himself as a psychopath who admired Dean in the beginning and described some of his experiences with him as 'exciting'. 

They both stood trial separately, both were found guilty for their parts in the murders. Elmer was found guilty and charged with six life terms of ninety-nine years to run alongside one another. He tried to appeal this and a re-trial took place but it resulted in the same outcome. David was only charged and convicted of the murder of one boy, he received a life sentence. David passed away at the age of 65 due to complications of Covid-19 in May of 2020. Elmer Wayne Henley is still alive and serving his sentence, unlike David who was quiet and didn't want to draw too much attention to himself whilst behind bars, Elmer has spoken about Dean and his crimes in interviews, he is also a keen painter who sells his art work (and handmade jewelry) through a friend on Facebook. Elmer believes he may never get out of prison and is at peace with that. 

We may never know the true number of victims that Dean Corll horrendously murdered, so many young boys classed as runaways never to be seen again. They are still out there and their families are still without answers, it a real heartbreak. 

This case is one of the most disturbing and sickening in American history. It's terrifying to read the details of this case and imagine Dean Corll paying these two boys to basically bring their friends to him so he could torture, sexually assault and murder them, all for the sake of $200 and gifts. Those innocent victims wouldn't have had a care in the world thinking that they were just going to hang out with their friends but the reality was so horrific and evil. I'm aware that these two boys were groomed and abused by Dean themselves but the fact that they were quite happy to lure innocent boys to their ultimate suffering, torture and cruel, painful deaths is something that is beyond evil in itself. Those two boys joined in on some of the torture and watched as the victims were murdered, they would then go home and act normal like nothing happened. I see them as part of it all, there was plenty of opportunities for them to tell someone, contact the police or the families, they actively took part and that's so disturbing,

Thank you so much as always if you have made it this far in the post, I really appreciate it. I would like to take a little moment in this post to remember the poor young boys who's lives were so cruelly and heartlessly stolen (and also thinking of those still out there, yet to be identified):

RIP Jeffrey Konen, James Glass, Danny Yates, Donald Waldrop, Jerry Waldrop, Randell Harvey, David Hilligiest, Gregory Malley Winkle, Ruben Watson Haney, Willard ''Rusty'' Branch Jr, Frank Aguirre, Mark Scott, Johnny Delone, Billy Baulch, Steven Sickman, Wally Jay Simoneaux. Richard Hembree, Richard Kepner, Joseph Lyles, Billy Ray Lawrence, Ray Blackburn, Homer Garcia, John Sellars, Michael ''Tony'' Baulch, Marty Jones, Charles Cary Cobble and James Dreymala.

Further Reading & Sources: 

- The Big Book of Serial Killers | Book by Jack Rosewood

- Dean Corll: The True Story of The Houston Mass Murders | Book by Jack Rosewood

- Dean Corll | Murderpedia

- Dean Corll | Wikipedia

- Dean Corll: Article || ABC13 News

- Houston, Texas | Wikipedia

- The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers | Book by Michael Newton