Elmer Wayne Henley - Trial and Conviction

Trial and Conviction

Henley was brought to trial in San Antonio in July 1974, charged with the murders of six teenage boys whom he himself lured to Corll's apartment between March 1972 and July 1973. Throughout his trial, Henley was represented by Will Gray and Edwin Pegelow.

The State of Texas presented a total of 82 pieces of evidence throughout Henley's trial, including the written confession Henley had given on August 8, which was read to the court in which he admitted killing or assisting in the abduction and murder of several youths, including the 6 teenagers for whose murder he was on trial. Other pieces of evidence presented included the wooden box used to transport the victims' bodies to the various burial sites and the plywood body board upon which many victims had been restrained. Within the wooden box, investigators had found several strands of human hair which examiners had concluded came from Charles Cobble. A total of 25 witnesses testified as to Henley's involvement in the abductions and murders, including Detective David Mullican. At one point during the trial, Mullican testified that Henley had informed him that in order to restrain the youths; he, Brooks and Corll had "handcuffed (the victims) to the board and sometimes to a wall with their mouths taped so they couldn't make any noise".

Following advice from his defense counsel, Henley did not take the stand to testify in his own defense, although one of his attorneys, Will Gray, did cross examine a number of witnesses. On more than 300 occasions, Henley's attorneys raised objections to the testimony given or evidence presented against Henley which was overruled by the judge presiding at his trial.

On July 16, 1974, after hearing closing arguments from both prosecution and defense, the jury retired to consider their verdict. After one hour of deliberation they reached their conclusion: Henley was found guilty and sentenced to six consecutive 99-year terms of imprisonment. On July 25, Henley and his attorneys filed an appeal, contending that Henley had been denied an evidentiary hearing; that the jury had not been sequestered; that a motion to move the initial trial away from San Antonio had also been denied and that the presence of news media in the courtroom had also prejudiced his trial.