Skip to main content

Bloody Bloody Texas

Fifty years ago today, American serial killer Dean Arnold Corll was murdered by one of his teenaged accomplices.  While spending some time online, I found that quite a few serial killers have called the Lone Star State home.  Here's a list of the five most prolific Texas killers . . . in order of their number of victims:

#1 Dean Arnold Corll: (28+) The Candy Man targeted, raped, tortured, and killed boys in the Houston-area, particularly runaways and teenage male sex workers who frequented in his candy factory.

Movie:   In a Madman's World, directed by Josh Vargas

Stage Play:  The Boys From Houston Heights, written by Bradley Nies

#2 Carl Eugene Watts (22+) The Sunday Morning Slasher kidnapped, tortured, and murdered young women between the ages of 14 and 44, usually around 4:00 AM on Sunday mornings.

Movie:  The Empty Chair, directed by Andrew Shebay

Book:  Hidden Brutality: The Life of Serial Killer Carl Eugene Watts, written by Jack Smith

#3 Ángel Maturino Reséndiz: (16+) The Railroad Killer was a Mexican serial killer who committed his crimes near railroads, where he jumped off the trains he used to travel around the country.

Movie:  The Texas Railroad Killer, directed by Luis Antonio Rodriguez

Book:  Along the Rails: A Juror's Journey, written by Thomas McHenry

#4  Joseph Douglas Ball: (5+) The Alligator Man murdered area women and disposed of the bodies in a pond containing six alligators.

Movie:  Eaten Alive, directed by Tobe Hooper

Book:   The Alligator Man: The True Story of Joe Ball, written by Pete Dove

#5 Faryion Edward Wardrip: (5) The Wichita Falls Body Snatcher killed four women in Wichita Falls, and one woman in Fort Worth, between the ages of 20 and 25 and weighing less than 120 pounds.

Movie:  Forensic Files: Sip of Sins, directed by Michael Jordan

Book:  The Wichita Falls Body Snatcher: The Life of Serial Killer Faryion Wardrip, written by Jack Smith

Sources:

Gurwell, J. K. (1974). Mass murder in Houston. Houston, TX: Cordovan Press.

Murderpedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/ball-joseph.htm

Murderpedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://murderpedia.org/male.W/w/wardrip-faryion.htm

Murderpedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://murderpedia.org/male.W/w/watts-carl-eugene.htm

Resendiz, A., & Lukacs, D. (2017) 5 worst serial killers in Houston, Texas. Retrieved from https://serialkillershop.com/blogs/true-crime/5-worst-serial-killers-in-houston-texas






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Enter Three Murderers: Three Halloween Stories with a Nod to William Shakespeare

  I am thrilled to announce that I've had a play chosen to be performed at Paris Junior College's 10th Annual Pyro Play Festival . This annual short-play festival will take place on the school's campus and run April 23rd through April 27th . There will be other unpublished works produced at the festival, and I am honored to have one of my plays showcased alongside the works of such highly talented playwrights! My play is titled, Enter Three Murderers: Three Halloween Stories with a Nod to William Shakespeare . This "monologue play" tells three separate stories of real-life killers who carried out their gruesome deeds on or about Halloween. In doing so, the audience is shown how their deeds mirror those of three murderers from Shakespeare's plays, specifically Macbeth , Titus Andronicus , and Arden of Faversham . In Scene I, we meet Nancy, a jovial grandmother from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who decides that murdering husbands is the only way she will find true happines...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tooting My Own Horn!

  It's summertime, and most theatre directors are looking for great shows to produce this upcoming year. Well, look no further! I've got some published works available through Next Stage Press, as well as some I hope to have published soon. Check them out! Published: MINOR INCONVENIENCES by Bradley Nies Cast Size: 2M 1W Running Time: 40 minutes After hitchhiking along Houston’s busy FM 1960, a young waitress comes face to face with an unlikely duo who claim to be responsible for the minor inconveniences in our lives. Excellent for Middle School/ Junior High/Community Theatre [Comedy/Drama) www.nextstagepress.com/minor-inconveniences-perfect-mother/ PERFECT MOTHER by Bradley Nies Cast Size: 1M 1W Running Time: 40 minutes A single mother living in a small Texas town will do anything to keep her daughter happy…including blackmail, lying, causing personal injury, and even murder! Junior High/High School/Community Theatre (Drama) www.nextstagepress.com/minor-inconveniences-perfect-m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dean Corll and The Boys from Houston Heights

  Today marks the 49th anniversary of the death of Houston serial killer Dean Corll.  Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of Corll's murder, as well as a time when so many Houstonians found out just what horrible fate befell the missing boys who crossed Dean Corrl's path.  My play, The Boys for Houston Heights, not only serves as a docudrama about Corll's early murders, it touches upon Houston's "lost boys" and what their parents were feeling during that time.  For those who are into true crime and what to learn more about this dark time in Houston's history, I have included a list of books, plays, and movies that tell the story of what people in 1973 referred to as The Houston Mass Murders: The Boys from Houston Heights  by Bradley Nies.  (Next Stage Press, 2018) The Candy Man:  The True Story of Serial Killer Dean Corll by Jessi Dilman.  (Trellis Publishing, 2021) The Clown and the Candy Man directed by Marcus Valentin.  (Cineflex P...
Post a Comment
Read more