When I began this journey in 2010, I was only looking for the license plate number of Dean Corll’s Corvette. But after my first interview with forensic anthropologist Dr. Sharon Derrick, I realized the investigation into the remaining unidentified victims was riddled with contradictions — issues that would require extensive research to fully understand. A much bigger problem was at hand.
I originally published Houston Mass Murders – 1973: A True Crime Narrative so you could have a complete account of the police and medical examiner’s investigation as it unfolded in 1973. Now I’ve released my breakthrough research findings in a serialized format: Houston Mass Murders: A Serial Investigation. Breaking this work into a serial allows me to share the critical photographic evidence supporting my conclusions without the cost-prohibitive delivery fees of a single massive volume on Amazon.
Each installment delivers bite-sized, image-backed pieces of intensive research. Together, we will re-examine this monumental case, correct decades-old errors, and answer lingering questions that have haunted it for decades.
In Serial Part 1 of Houston Mass Murders: A Serial Investigation, I lay out the groundwork of my original 2010 research, pulling back the curtain on decades of administrative errors and missed leads:
A Mother’s Hope: In 2009, Mrs. Erma Sickman still lit a candle every morning for her missing son Steven—but a devastating DNA revelation would soon change everything.
The Missing Lead: How a single vanished clue from an unrelated 1973 murder pulled me into the Dean Corll case in April 2010.
Missing Police Files: The shocking moment I realized Dr. Sharon Derrick was missing the core Pasadena PD files and photographs—and what happened when we viewed my copies on a 6-foot screen.
Lost Evidence: The key witness who refused to speak, and the Harris County agency mistake that halted critical DNA testing.
DNA 101: The crash course in mitochondrial versus nuclear DNA that completely reframed how we look at the surviving siblings of the victims.
Age Markers: The critical biological milestone Dr. Derrick taught me to look for—knowledge I would later use to challenge official records.
Unidentified Bodies: The truth behind the High Island and Sam Rayburn victim maps, proving why two boys remained completely unidentified despite modern science.
Tainted Composites: Dr. Derrick’s stunning admission about the Sam Rayburn composite (Unknown #22) and a piece of evidence that was simply cut out of the picture.
Circumstantial IDs: The 2006–2007 jailhouse interviews with David Brooks that led to a highly controversial circumstantial identification.
Skipping Henley: Why the medical examiner’s office had no intention of interviewing Elmer Wayne Henley, despite admitting they didn’t even possess his original statements.
The Blood Discrepancy: The glaring contradiction in the Corll crime-scene photos regarding the total lack of blood on the floor despite six gunshots.
The Sam Rayburn Contradiction: How a “missing” 1973 statement I later uncovered and sent to Dr. Derrick blew the official identification of Michael Baulch completely wide open.
Answering the Call: Why science stalled, forcing the medical examiner to request the public’s help—and how my 2010 research finally answered that call.
The recorded interviews, original Pasadena PD crime scene photos, and primary source maps behind these breakthroughs are all laid bare inside the text.
→ Join me in the search for the Lost Boys, beginning with Serial Part 1, Houston Mass Murders: A Serial Investigation. Serial 1 is free to read on Kindle.