Texas ‘Candy Man’ Used Innocent Treat to Murder a Child

The seasons are changing here in the great state of Texas, which means fall is here and Halloween is around the corner.

Growing up I think it’s safe to say that everybody was taught to make sure to check your children’s candy after they go trick-or-treating. It's not something you do lightly -  dissecting and examining every piece of candy should be a mandatory thing for any parent and adult, because you're literally taking candy from strangers.

Halloween should be a time to have fun and let loose, but the sick, sad reality is there are people here in the world who may be out to harm kids, either as a disturbing prank or something worse.

THE DANGER CAN ALSO COME FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE

Sadly though, it's not always the strangers who pose the most danger.

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HAVE YOU HEARD OF RONALD O'BRYAN, AKA THE TEXAS 'CANDY MAN'?

Ronald Clark O’Bryan lived in Deer Park, Texas - an eastern suburb of Houston. On Halloween night of 1974, he took his kids trick-or-treating, and later that night his eight-year-old son Timothy died after eating a Pixie Stix.

O'Bryan told police that he and his kids had knocked at a door at which no one answered, so the kids ran ahead to the next house. According to O'Bryan, a man answered the door as he was walking way and offered the candy that turned out to be deadly.

THE MAN WHO KILLED HALLOWEEN

That was O'Bryan's nickname after his story caused a panic in Deer Park. Parents were terrified that their child's candy might also be poisoned, so they started turning it all in to police.

THE CANDY MAN'S STORY DIDN'T HOLD UP

Meanwhile, police learned that the house O'Bryan claimed to have gotten the bad candy from was owned by a man who'd been working late, and over 200 witnesses backed up the man's statement that he'd been at his station as an air traffic controller.

THE FACTS FORM A TRUE AND TRAGIC HORROR STORY

Police eventually pieced together that O'Bryan was around $100,000 in debt, and had laced the child's candy with cyanide in order to collect on a $30,000 life insurance policy.

Detectives said O'Bryan actually called the insurance company the morning after his son's death to ask about collecting, and that his wife had no idea the policy existed.

How absolutely sick and sad is that?

To make matters worse, police learned he'd poisoned other candy packets that he'd given to his son's friends, but thankfully none of them had eaten the candy by the time police started their investigation. It was a close one, though. One child had almost eaten it, but had given up trying to get the packet open due to a stubborn staple.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 'CANDY MAN'?

O'Bryan was executed on March 30, 1984.

Sadly, he wasn't the only Texan given the name 'Candy Man' after harming and killing innocent people. A man by the name of Dean Corll, who also lived in the Houston area, sexually assaulted and murdered at least 28 teen boys and young men before being caught, and some detectives believed he may have killed more. You can read about him here.

STAY ALERT AND STAY SAFE, TEXAS

You can't be too careful when it comes to the safety of your kids.

The FDA has some handy tips for doing that, including feeding your kids before they go out trick-or-treating, keeping an eye on them and stopping them from snacking on things from their goodie bag before you've had a chance to inspect it, and never accepting or eating anything that's not commercially wrapped or sealed - especially from strangers.