ohhh ok, I didn’t know about the manhunt. She still commented on his increased drinking. What do you think that was all about?
If you follow my speculative timeline (i chose the case as subject for my criminal psychology course thesis, little did i know what rabbit hole i had gotten myself into):
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late 1965-1967: Corll returns a changed man from a 10-month Army stint, relates he's gay to close friends, works at candy shop which includes extensive travels, manages to meet shady guys from the seedier parts of Houston for his burgeoning criminal activities, certainly meets Roy Ames, his main pedo connection: these connections are to become the mysterious 'crime ring' that became official case lore
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1967-1970: Corll enlists his little teenager friends for robbing houses (i. e. those of his HLP colleagues of which he knew their vacation plans), unloading the loot and sharing the spoils - since money was hard to come by in the Houston Heights area, it was probably a very motivating factor for all what happened thereafter
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mid-1968: mother closes candy shop and leaves Houston, Corll immediately starts off his strange habit of constantly moving
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ate 1968: presumably kills his first victim, as per the first of David Brooks's 3 confessions (to note: the rumors of him digging at the candy shop and nearby waste grounds would predate that to a time period prior to that - but since it was never investigated, who knows)
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late 60's: is known to roam the Heights in his muscle car, trying to lure kids, probably with a frustrating success rate (one of these encounters is related in Clown/Candyman doc, there's more on Reddit), it's probably around this time Corll starts making his infamous 200$ offer to several of his young accomplices, rumor mill has it that at least two of them took it (really nothing ever came of this, investigation-wise)
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1970: Corll's official timeline starts, with his first known victim (later located at High Island Beach) dated late September, around this time Brooks walks in on him molesting two bound and gagged teenagers
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1971-1973: the official trio account of the case, Corll's high time, really, his kill & torture mill runs like a well-oiled machine, but then:
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early 1973: both Brooks and Henley start defecting, Brooks gets himself a girlfriend and moves in with her, Henley moves to his father for a few months, for a control freak like Corll that must have been hell and also temporarily left him without a dependable victim pipeline.
All these factors combined might explain his drinking problem and the black moods, though i guess he also saw the writing on the wall: it was all to end soon, so he starts trying to get away from the whole thing. Also of note: by Henley's account Corll became much more savage on his victims, like a dope addict who's craving more and more, but Henley drew the line when Corll wanted to use a sword on a victim (really).
I’m still suspicious of his Brooks comment. Didn’t Brooks have a child by then? Fatherhood could’ve created a vein of empathy as a parent regarding all those other children he procured. I suppose he’d have said so though, if only to make himself look better. Which makes me think you all are right, and I’m wrong.
The daughter was born after Brooks was arrested. I think it's rather simple: David to Dean 'Look man, i sort of have a gf now and want to start a family', Dean to David 'I think you kind of misjudge the power dynamic of our little relationship here, you are either my killer slave or dead wood' - not verbatim, of course, but that was the gist of it. For a while they arranged a truce of sorts, so David still returned to Corll (probably to show he posed no danger). And i think both boys were aware the danger was mutual: Corll would have been the first suspect if they just vanished, so he couldn't just kill them on the spot like the others, but given Corll's mental state that must have been a faint hope.
What FBI book?! I’m looking for my next book on the subject. I’m finishing the Clown/Candy Man doc tonight.
There are several books by FBI's Robert Ressler and Roy Hazlewood and stuff like 'The Psychology of Serial Killer Investigations' (Robert D Keppel William J Birnes) that line up all the checkbox stuff of i. e. sadistic ritual killers like Corll, and keeping a trophy of your prey is high on the list.
Do any of y’all believe the nationwide pedo ring connection?
Bests source of information:
https://cavdef.org/w/index.php?title=Dean_Corll
John Norman's call boy operation is often blown out of all proportion - this was basically clandestine backdoor stuff but still well-protected by influential men who were using his services. Rumor has it that there is at least one snuff movie of a Corll victim out there, but this rests on a quote by one vice officer.