The horrific crimes of Killer Clown and the Candy Man – and why ‘nobody cared’ about many victims
They are two of the most notorious serial killers in US history after murdering more than 60 young men and boys between them.
The horrific crimes of Dean Corll and John Wayne Gacy shocked America in the 1970s – but how closely they were linked has only recently been discovered.
Corll tortured, raped and murdered at least 28 victims in Texas after luring them to his home with the help of two teenagers.
The Clown And The Candyman documentary investigates the killers’ links to a wider conspiracy. Pic: Cineflix
The 33-year-old was dubbed the Candy Man because he gave children free sweets from his family’s confectionery business.
His brutal killings – known as the Houston Mass Murders – were only uncovered when he was shot dead by his accomplice Elmer Wayne Henley in 1973.
A year earlier, more than 1,000 miles away, Gacy had murdered his first known victim.
The builder from a suburb of Chicago lured victims to his home by pretending to be a police officer or by promising them work.
He became known as the Killer Clown after performing as Pogo the clown at fundraising events and hospitals throughout the years of his murders.
Police mugshots of Gacy. Pic: Cineflix
Gacy as Pogo the clown. Pic: Cineflix
Gacy was later convicted of killing 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978 and was executed in 1994.
Now, a documentary, The Clown And The Candyman, has examined the two killers’ connection to a wider criminal conspiracy.
The four-part series identifies “a link” between the murderers and a network of paedophiles operating in the US at the time, according to its director.
And documentary maker Jacqueline Bynon believes there is “no question” there are more victims of the pair who are yet to be discovered.
She tells Sky News that Corll and Gacy are the most shocking serial killers in US history “because they operated for so long in big cities in plain sight and nobody noticed”.
Corll murdered at least 28 young men and boys. Pic: AP/Houston Chronicle
Many of their victims – who were all boys and young men – would go missing and “nobody cared”.
“The interesting thing looking back from our perspective today is nobody cared about boys then,” Bynon says.
“They called them runaways. They didn’t matter.
“In one high school in one little area, 11 boys were missing and nobody noticed.
“Remember in the early 70s, it was just after Easy Rider; doing your own thing; marijuana – the counter-culture was there. Boys were doing that. And some of them were going to the Vietnam War and not coming back.
Sheriff deputies display Corll’s torture board. Pic: AP
“So when the seats were empty in the classroom, nobody noticed.
“If they had been girls, as one cop said to me, this would have been different.
“If a girl had gone missing, they would have put a lot of time into it.”
After shooting dead Corll in 1973, Henley and fellow accomplice David Owen Brooks confessed to helping the serial killer commit his crimes.
Seventeen bodies were found in a boat shed, four were discovered in woodland by a lake, and the other seven known victims were buried at beaches.
Workers search for more bodies of Corll’s victims. Pic: AP
Bynon visited the Texas cities of Pasadena and Houston where Corll carried out his killings and she says the impact is still being felt.
“For some people, it was like the murders occurred two weeks ago,” she tells Sky News.
“They were still raw over it. They are still almost haunted by it.”
Both of Corll’s accomplices received life prison sentences, with Brooks reportedly dying with COVID last year while still behind bars.
Henley – now aged 65 – remains in prison and Bynon spoke to him several times about doing an interview for the documentary.
Corll’s accomplice Elmer Wayne Henley. Pic: Cineflix
“The problem was COVID hit,” she says.
“Unlike most lifers, he liked being communicated to by journalists. But he always wanted something.
“He was friendly but he was also cautious. When I asked him about certain things, he would go: ‘I don’t know anything about’.
“That’s the one thing I regret – that I never got to sit opposite him… he may have opened up.”
The crawl space inside Gacy’s home. Pic: Cineflix
Gacy claimed all of his killings were committed inside his house in Chicago. Twenty-six bodies were found in his crawl space, three others were buried elsewhere at his property and four victims were dumped in a river.
Eight of his victims were buried without being identified – six still haven’t been named.
After being convicted of 33 murders – then the most homicides by one person in US legal history – Gacy was sentenced to death in 1980, but it would be another 14 years until he was executed by lethal injection.
“His final words when he was executed were: ‘Kiss my ass,'” says Bynon.
Gacy was sentenced to death for his crimes. Pic: AP
The filmmaker says she was given recordings of conversations Gacy had during his time in prison – which feature in the documentary – with a man called Randy White who was “fascinated by serial killers”.
White recorded his talks with Gacy over two years and spoke to the murderer the day before he was executed.
Police recover bodies from Gacy’s home. Pic: AP
Bynon believes some people’s fear of clowns originates from the Gacy case.
“They’re supposed to make you laugh but that’s the way he lured people in,” she says.
“He did it with innocence to cover up.”
The Clown And The Candyman begins airing on Sky Crime at 9pm on Sunday.
US
Eight dead and 40 taken to hospital after bus carrying farm workers involved in Florida collision
Eight people have died and another eight were critically injured after a bus carrying farm workers crashed and overturned in Florida.
The bus was transporting 53 workers when it collided with a pickup truck in Marion County, north of Orlando, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) said.
The bus then swerved off State Road 40 – a hilly two-lane road that goes through farms – and crashed through a fence, before overturning, authorities said.
The incident took place at 6.35am local time on Tuesday and it is unclear why the two vehicles crashed.
A total of 40 people needed hospital treatment – eight of whom are in a critical condition, the Marion County Fire Rescue confirmed to NBC News.
The driver of the truck was also taken to hospital and more than 30 ambulances attended the scene, NBC News added.
A map showing the location of Dunnellon, Florida. Pic: Datawrapper
Debris can be seen around the bus and both of its emergency hatches are open. Pic: AP
Lieutenant Pat Riordan, from the FHP, told reporters some of those injured are “in very serious condition” and there’s a “high probability” the number of dead could rise.
“At this point, we are conducting a massive traffic homicide investigation,” he said.
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Fire engines and more than 30 ambulances attended the crash site. Pic: AP
Torrential rain and thunderstorms have hit some US regions in recent days – including Marion County – and authorities will be investigating if the weather contributed to the collision.
Photographs from the scene show the bus on its side, with both its rear emergency door and top hatch open.
The bus was transporting 53 people when the crash took place. Pic: AP
The farm workers were being transported to Cannon Farms in Dunnellon, where watermelon harvesting has been taking place.
Following the crash, a post on the farm’s social media account said it will “be closed today out of respect to the losses and injuries endured early this morning”.
“Please pray with us for the families and the loved ones involved in this tragic accident,” the post continued. “We appreciate your understanding at this difficult time.”
Cannon Farms is a family-owned business that has been operational for more than 100 years, according to its website.
They now focus on peanuts and watermelons, which they supply to grocery stores across the US and Canada.
The vehicle transporting the workers was a 2010 International Bus and the pickup truck was a 2001 Ford Ranger, authorities said.
US
Donald Trump ‘not thinking about Melania’ when he paid off Stormy Daniels, says ex-lawyer Michael Cohen
Donald Trump “wasn’t thinking about (his wife) Melania” when he paid off a former porn star, his former lawyer has testified.
Michael Cohen told a court Mr Trump personally approved $130,000 in hush money to Stormy Daniels over an alleged 2006 sexual encounter.
The payout isn’t illegal, but Mr Trump is accused of falsifying records to hide it – a claim he denies.
On Monday, his trial in New York heard from Mr Cohen, once a lawyer and self-described “fixer” for the ex-president.
Mr Trump’s lawyers have painted the hush money as an attempt to protect his wife from rumours and upset.
Michael Cohen has himself been jailed over the payment to Daniels. Pic: Reuters
However, Mr Cohen said his boss was purely concerned with keeping the claims quiet as he ran for the presidency.
“He wasn’t thinking about Melania. This was all about the campaign,” he said, prompting Mr Trump to shake his head in response.
Mr Cohen told the court he’d heard Stormy Daniels was considering selling her story and he told his boss swift action was required.
Mr Trump denies the affair and his lawyers say Mr Cohen acted on his own – a claim he denied in court.
He told jurors in Manhattan that “everything required Mr Trump’s sign-off” and he was ordered to “just do it”.
Mr Cohen said he stumped up the $130,000 himself after Mr Trump told him he would pay him back.
He said he set up a shell company – listed as a “real estate consulting company” – to make the payment.
Stormy Daniels, pictured in January. Pic: AP
Prosecutors say Mr Trump later paid the money back and covered it up by recording it as a legal retainer fee.
He faces 34 counts of falsifying business records over the claims.
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Hear Trump and his lawyer discuss hush money
The court also heard a recording of a conversation between Mr Trump and Mr Cohen over hush money said to have been paid to another woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who he also allegedly had an affair with.
Mr Cohen suggests in the recording setting up another company to repay David Pecker – who said he provided the $150,000 to cover up the story.
The former National Enquirer boss previously testified he bought the story to keep it hidden and eventually decided against seeking reimbursement.
Later in the recording, Mr Trump can be heard suggesting the $150,000 might be better off being paid in cash.
Mr Cohen told the court this was to “avoid any type of paper transaction”.
The 57-year-old – who once said he would take a bullet for Mr Trump – worked for him for nearly a decade.
Stormy Daniels, pictured in January. Pic: AP
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
He pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance law in 2018 over the Stormy Daniels payment and was jailed, but at the time prosecutors did not bring charges against Mr Trump.
Mr Cohen’s credibility is in the sights of defence lawyers as he has previously admitted lying under oath.
Mr Trump – who will take on Joe Biden in his bid to become president again in November – is unlikely to face a custodial sentence if found guilty.
His other cases are potentially more damaging but mired in delays.
They concern allegations of keeping stacks of secret documents after leaving office and trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. He denies the claims.
A livestream portal between Dublin and New York was temporarily shut down after “inappropriate behaviour” in the Irish capital.
Thousands of people have visited the two-way portal, which allows people on either side to see and interact with each other.
And while there have been a number of wholesome moments – including Irish dancing and even a proposal – a handful of people have behaved “inappropriately”, Dublin City Council has said.
Videos on social media have shown people on the Irish side flashing body parts, and displaying images of 9/11 and swear words on phone screens.
A woman was also escorted away by police after being seen grinding against the portal.
In a statement issued on Monday evening, a spokesperson for Dublin City Council said “technical solutions” to address this are being implemented in the next 24 hours.
People in each city could be seen greeting each other when the portal opened last week. Pic: Reuters
“We will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days with our partners in New York to ensure that Portals continue to deliver a positive experience for both cities and the world,” they said.
“The team at portals.org and partners are still working on improving the software for better stability and to prepare for Portals to expand to more locations on Earth.
“Those works are being done mostly at night and during those hours, the livestream might be paused.”
Dublin City Council noted there has been an increase in footfall since the Portal was unveiled in north Dublin, facing O’Connell Street. The New York portal is at the busy Manhattan junction of Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street.
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Most interactions via the portals have been wholesome. Pic: Reuters
“The overwhelming majority of interactions are positive,” the spokesperson added. “We have seen families and friends unite, dancing moves being shared as well as new friendships being made. There was even a successful marriage proposal.
“The Portal offers a window to other cities and is connecting people and cultures in a unique manner – what we are seeing between Dublin and NY is reflective of a wider narrative of cultural behaviour.”
The Portals Organisation said: “We do not intend to suggest people to interact with Portals in any particular way – our goal is to open a window between far away places and cultures that allows people to interact freely with one another.
“We encourage people to be respectful and from our position as observers, we see that the absolute majority of experiences is on the bright side.”
In an earlier statement, they confirmed the livestream had been paused so they could “update the software used on the Portal”.
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