In June 1972, the Rev. Matt Chambers was appointed pastor of Henley’s church, Fulbright Methodist, which was founded by the mother of Fulbright & Jaworski’s namesake, Rufus Fulbright. Like most Methodist ministers in Texas, he had graduated from SMU’s Perkins School of Theology in Dallas.
When Henley’s mother gave a tearful interview in 1973 insisting her son was innocent, she pointed out that, in his heart, he wanted to become a minister. The possibility of his sainthood was also shared by the Harris County DA’s hypnotist, who summed up his impression of Henley as being someone who very well could have become a minister if he hadn’t crossed paths with Dean Corll.
It was hard to imagine Henley following in the enlightened footsteps of Rev. Chambers, who told the press the sensitive boy had confided in him the heavy weight he felt from being the breadwinner for his mother and younger brothers.
In August 1973, Henley described the burden in slightly different terms to Detective David Mullican by confessing he chose to accept Corll’s offer after he decided he could “use the money to get better things for my people.”
Chambers said Henley attended and participated in the church’s recreational program during the fall of 1972, which made it difficult for the pastor to reconcile Henley’s involvement with Corll.
Although the “sensitive boy” refrained from plucking a teen from the pastor’s flock that fall, two boys who lived within a few blocks of the church disappeared on Oct. 3, 1972. Henley shot 13-year-old Richard Hembree in the jaw and allowed him to linger in agony until ultimately taking his life, along with Wally “Jay” Simoneaux, 14, later that evening.
Henley then shadowed three more victims who lived within eyeshot of his pastor. One was Billy Lawrence, 15, who lived a few doors down from the pastor’s parsonage, which was sold the same week the boy disappeared. After Chambers moved to the Ben Hur apartments across the street from Henley, two more boys vanished from the same complex: Charles Cobble and Marty Ray Jones.
Even more chilling is the experience of Rev. Chambers’ boss, Dr. Leslie LeGrand, the superintendent of the Methodist Church’s northwest district since June 1970. It was his son, Bruce, who was the last to see Corll’s alleged first victim, Jeffrey Konen, when he dropped off the UT student in southwest Houston on Sept. 25, 1970, to continue hitchhiking to his girlfriend’s house in West University.
Despite Henley’s deeds, Chambers helped Henley’s mother find a lawyer and cautioned his congregation against judging others.
🔎 Join me in the search for the Lost Boys, beginning with Serial 1—Houston Mass Murders: A Serial Investigation (free to read on Amazon Kindle).
📖 Special Edition Release: The current phase of the investigation, Houston Mass Murders: The Elmer Wayne Henley Interview (Serial Parts 4 & 5), is now available as a special edition. You can get your copy directly on Amazon Kindle.
📁 Researcher’s Note: Following is my primary source file: Houston Mass Murders - 1973: Pasadena Police Department Investigation File (Companion Resource). Available for immediate download.
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