Photo: Othell O. Owensby Jr. · Public domain
Born in United States · Nationality American — Crime / criminal cases / serial murders
Documented profile covering 10 controversies, including “2025: parole denied again; next review scheduled for 2035” and “1982: challenge to retrial convictions rejected”.
Profile No. 2506 · Updated on 12 October 2026
§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology
Case · 4 documented stages
7 November 2025
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles again denied Henley parole in November 2025. The Houston Chronicle reports that he may apply again in November 2035.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
22 December 1982
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined to overturn Henley's retrial convictions, leaving his life sentences in force.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1979
Following the 1978 reversal, Henley was retried and again found guilty of six murders; he has since been serving six life sentences.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
vers 1971–1973
Henley was recruited as a teenager by Corll to lure boys; contemporary and subsequent sources report payments of up to $200 per victim brought to him.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
20 December 1978
Protagonist not prosecuted — these proceedings are not counted in their formal charges or convictions.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the six 1974 convictions because the trial court had refused Henley a proper preliminary hearing on his motion for a change of venue despite extensive publicity surrounding the case.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1974
Protagonist not prosecuted — these proceedings are not counted in their formal charges or convictions.
A jury found Henley guilty of premeditated murder in six cases and sentenced him to 99 years on each count, with the sentences initially to be served consecutively.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1971–August 1973
Protagonist not prosecuted — these proceedings are not counted in their formal charges or convictions.
Henley progressed from recruiting victims to direct participation in several acts of violence, murder and concealment of bodies. The criminal proceedings resulted in six murder convictions.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
8 August 1973
Henley shot Corll after Corll tied him up alongside Timothy Kerley and Rhonda Williams and threatened them. Henley then called law enforcement.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
8–9 August 1973
After reporting Corll's death, Henley revealed his own role and the existence of numerous bodies, transforming the investigation from an isolated killing into the Houston Mass Murders case.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
August 1973
Henley guided authorities to several burial sites, including the boat shed where seventeen bodies were found and sites near Lake Sam Rayburn and High Island.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
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