Serial killer’s accomplice denied parole

Brooks, now 62, won’t be eligible until 2028 to be considered by the board for release

The Harris County man who helped sadistic serial killer Dean Corll lure more than two dozen young boys to their torture and death was yet again denied parole.

The Harris County man who helped serial killer Dean Corll lure more than two dozen young boys to their torture and death was yet again denied parole.

Following a parole board decision issued last week, David Owen Brooks will stay behind bars for at least another decade — the longest parole set-off possible under Texas law.

“It’s a good decision,” said James Dreymala, the father of Corll’s final victim.

Brooks, now 62, has gone before the board more than 20 times in the four decades since the Houston Mass Murders terrorized the Bayou City in the early 1970s.

“On behalf of all the victims and surviving family members, we are not only appreciative of the parole denial but more importantly granting our request for the maximum 10-year setoff,” said city of Houston victim advocate Andy Kahan.

More time between reviews

Kahan attended the hearing last month in Angleton, along with the parents of Stanton Dreymala, who’s believed to be Corll’s last victim.

Though Brooks has been up for parole every few years since he first became eligible in 1979, a 2015 law increased the maximum time allowed between parole considerations. While he could have been up for parole again in three years under the old law, he’s now not eligible to be considered for release until 2028.

Convicted killers like Brooks and co-defendant Elmer Wayne Henley were a key reason advocates lobbied for the legislation that allowed for longer set-offs, according to Kahan.

“This gives everyone much more time between parole reviews, and no one will have to think about parole hearings for at least 8 years until the next review of Henley,” he said.

The gruesome killings first came to light in 1973, five days after little Stanton vanished.

It was on Aug. 8 that Henley, a 17-year-old high school dropout, called police to say he’d shot Corll, the 33-year-old electric company worker who’d masterminded the slayings.

Henley said he had killed Corll after the older man threatened to rape and kill him and two other teens during a party at a bungalow.

‘Most notorious’ killings

But after the initial confession, another story emerged; Henley told police he could lead them to many bodies.

Inside stall No. 11 at Southwest Boat Storage, authorities discovered the remains of 17 slain and tortured boys buried under the dirt floor, covered in plastic and a layer of lime.

Inside the bungalow, detectives found a chilling collection of torture devices, including a toolbox stuffed sexual devices and a plywood board with holes cut out for handcuffs and restraints.

Eventually Henley admitted that he’d helped lure the unsuspecting victims, along with the help of then-18-year-old David Owen Brooks.

In exchange, the serial killer had paid the pair $10 to $200 per child. In some cases, Brooks and Henley had helped with the torture and killing.

By the end of the week, police probed other sites at High Island and Lake Sam Rayburn and found at least 28 victims.

“This was one of the most notorious serial killings in this country’s history,” Kahan said. “The term ‘serial killer’ wasn’t even invented yet; it wasn’t even known to criminologists. Hence, it was always called the Houston Mass Murders.”