EP. 149: TEXAS - SERIAL KILLER Daniel Lee Corwin: The Worst Man In Texas (PT. 1)

Alice was well-known within the town. My dad and uncle were even friends with her sons. And news of her disappearance spread quickly. Immediately, everyone in the community came together to try and find her. In their mind, she probably had a medical emergency while on her walk.

Maybe she tripped and fell and was waiting for help to arrive. But after hours of searching, no one could find her. My dad and late grandfather fly airplanes. And they even flew around Normandji to see if they could spot Alice from up above. Now, eventually, she would be found.

But it was not the outcome anyone expected. Alice Martin's body was found nestled behind some trees near a pond. She was completely nude and had been raped, strangled, and stabbed to death. Then her killer used a knife to carve a disturbing smiley face into her back. Things like this just don't happen in small towns like Normandji.

Especially to elderly women who are just simply going on a walk. Alice's murder completely stripped all sense of safety, leaving everyone in Normandji wondering, who could have done this? Little did they know, a serial killer named Daniel Corwin had passed through their small town and spotted Alice on her walk. And sadly, Alice's murder was just the start of his reign of terror across East Texas. So this is the story of serial killer Daniel Corwin.

I'm Courtney Brown.

And Daniel was a lot different than his siblings. They all had darker complexions, dark hair, brown eyes. But Daniel had bright blue eyes and hair that was almost white when he spent time out in the sun. But as a whole, the Corwins appeared to be your all-American family. They worked hard, they were respected within their community, and they had a strong connection to the First Presbyterian Church.

The father, Philip, helped teach the youth group, as well as the Boy Scout troop there. And their son, Daniel, would help with the upkeep of the church by mowing its lawn. On the outside, Daniel appeared to be a normal kid. He enjoyed fishing, Boy Scouts, and riding his bike through town. He also loved art, and was always drawing different animals.

But when it came to his education, Daniel struggled. He had a hard time with reading, and even had to repeat the third grade because of it. And throughout school, his report cards were usually filled with C's and D's, with an occasional F here and there. But despite his learning struggles, Daniel appeared to be a good kid. He was very obedient and respectful to authority.

And it was well known that he had a deep-seated desire for adult approval. Any time an authority figure needed something, Daniel was the first to jump up and help.

some may find these answers endearing. It's sweet that a teenager loves and respects their parents that much. But given the other issues Daniel was experiencing, it's clear that there's some dysfunction in his life. You see, throughout his teenage years, Daniel would often wet the bed, which is usually a sign of emotional turmoil. However, his parents didn't seem that concerned about it.

They dismissed it as Daniel being a heavy sleeper. Other people that knew Daniel said that something was just off about him. While he was very friendly with adults, he often didn't get along with kids his own age. In fact, many of his peers didn't like him at all. Named Bruce Smith would later say that Daniel was known to be sneaky and a liar.

On one of their Boy Scout trips, the boys were instructed to bring a roll of coins so they can get snacks from the vending machines. But Daniel forgot to bring his. So instead, he just stole the money from the other Boy Scouts. From then on, the boys knew to never leave their belongings unattended around Daniel Corwin. Now, obviously, stealing a roll of coins is not a recipe for a budding serial killer.

But Daniel's life was about to take a sharp and disturbing turn, revealing the true darkness that lurked within him.

We all thought he was weird. Some people just have a good intuition, I guess, and Cindy seemed to be spot on. You see, a close family friend of the Corwins would later reveal a disturbing story about Daniel regarding animal cruelty. In that incident, the friend said that Daniel got in a fight with his older sister, and in response, he murdered their family cat to get back at her.

That day, Raymond and Gretchen Fenn decided that they needed a date night. Gretchen had given birth to their son a few months prior, and she was exhausted. So a kid-free dinner and movie with her husband was well overdue. Earlier that day, they called Kathy Choate and asked her to babysit. Kathy was new to town and just four days shy of her 14th birthday.

She was also a very sweet girl who loved children. So when the Fenns asked her to babysit, she was happy to accept. She arrived at the Fenns' house, and as Raymond and Gretchen left for their date, Kathy played with the baby in the front yard, gently rolling a ball back and forth on the grass. As darkness fell, Kathy took the baby inside, gave it a bottle, and then settled him into his crib for a peaceful night's sleep. Her work for the night was pretty much over.

So from there, she went to the family's living room and put on a movie. But about an hour or so in, Kathy heard what sounded like a glass door opening. Curious, she got up to investigate. And it was there where she saw that the family's side door was ajar by about a foot. But for whatever reason, Kathy didn't give it much thought.

She simply closed the door, locked it, and returned back to her movie. But soon after, she heard another sound. This time, it was the piercing cry of the baby. Kathy quickly got up to check on him, but when she turned the corner, her stomach dropped. There, in the dark hallway, was a nude man holding a knife.

And before Kathy could even react, he delivered a chilling threat.

But every time she did, her attacker would aggressively tell her to shut up. Once the assault was over, she quickly grabbed her clothes and ran to the nearest bathroom, locking herself inside. But moments later, she heard a loud bang on the bathroom door.

But more than anything, she just wanted him to leave. And he would. But before walking out of the home, he left her with an interesting comment.

And from there, they quickly called 911.

. Within minutes, the police arrived at the house and took Kathy's statement. She admitted that she didn't know her attacker's identity because the entire assault took place in the dark. But she was able to get a brief glimpse of him when she opened the bathroom door to throw his clothes out. Over the next few minutes, Kathy racked her brain, trying to give investigators a good description of a rapist.

And, as she did, Raymond Fenn couldn't help but notice that his description was eerily similar to their 15-year-old next-door neighbor, Daniel Corwin, the same boy that was rumored to be a peeping tom. Raymond shared his suspicion with the investigators, and they wrote it down in their notes. But from my understanding, Daniel was not questioned. right away. The investigators told Kathy that they would stay in touch.

And from there, she was forced to continue on with life as if nothing even happened. But a little over a week after the assault, Kathy saw something that made her sick to her stomach. There, walking in the halls of her school, was her rapist. And it was none other than Daniel Corwin. This was particularly shocking because he had told Kathy he lived across town, so she never expected to see him again.

But following this, she immediately went to the police and told them that she was confident Daniel Corwin was the one who raped her.

But unfortunately, the results were inconclusive, meaning they didn't have enough to arrest him. Even further, when Kathy was first interviewed, she told investigators that her attacker might have been this boy that went by Speedy at another school. Again, she was under the impression that her attacker lived across town, and he did match his description. However, after seeing Daniel Corwin in school, she knew for a fact that he was the one who raped her. But with the inconclusive polygraph and the misidentification in the beginning, there was nothing they could do, according to investigators.

And Kathy was devastated. Not only would she never get justice, but the Corwin family worked hard to make sure this story never hit the media. In their minds, Kathy's accusations against Daniel were nothing more than a bizarre misidentification. And from there, Daniel Corwin was free to go on with his life, which meant many more women would be hurt.

However, by the end of that school year, everyone would know Daniel's name. On Friday, May 16th, 1975, the Corwin family planned a weekend getaway with their church's youth group. So Daniel was able to get out of school early. that day. At noon, he walked out of his class and made his way towards his car.

And as he did so, he noticed another student who was getting out early as well. Her name was Brenda Evans. She was also in the 10th grade, and that day she was given a pass to leave early so she could complete an extracurricular assignment. But as Brenda walked to her car, she noticed Daniel Corwin leaning on the car next to hers. The two had been going to school together since middle school, so she knew who he was.

Being friendly, she asked, Hey, Daniel, how's it going? As she opened her car door. But the next thing she knew, Daniel was standing at her side brandishing a knife. And he tells her, Move on over, let me in. At first, Brenda thought it was some sick joke.

She even said, You're kidding, right? But the look on his face quickly informed her that he was not kidding. And he quickly snapped at her again.

What's the matter? she asked. But Daniel remained silent, and continued to speed down the road. Eventually, they turned right on 31st Street, making their way further out of town. Far away from anyone that could help her.

After crossing over I-35, there were open fields all around them, with an occasional mobile home here and there. Daniel eventually turned her car onto Eberhart Road, leading them even further into the secluded, unfamiliar. Then, once they reached a gravel pit, he parked her car next to an old abandoned shack. Daniel then killed the engine, and put his knife right up to Brenda's face.

She screamed as loud as she could, as Daniel ripped off her clothing and threw them into a puddle of mud outside the car. The next thing Brenda knew, Daniel was undressing himself and climbing on top of her. She did her best to thrash and get away, but there was nothing she could do. Just like with Kathy, Daniel overpowered her and raped her. By the time he was finished, Brenda was in survival mode.

She even began speaking to him in a calm tone, trying to reason with him. With the brutality of the assault, she knew that he was capable of killing her, so she needed to play her cards right. After gaining her composure, she turned to him and said, I'll give you my car and I won't tell the police anything if you just leave me alone. But Daniel said nothing. Instead, he stepped out of the car and grabbed her muddy clothes.

After throwing them at her, Brenda got dressed, thinking this nightmare might actually be over. But then Daniel grabbed his knife and said,

Now, red with anger, Daniel grabbed Brenda and yanked her out. He then attempted to open the trunk, likely to put her inside, but it jammed. He then looked off in the distance and saw a mound of dirt. Pointing his knife towards it, he told Brenda,

And it was then, when Daniel grabbed the knife and plunged it towards her. Brenda was able to flinch, so the knife ended up in her upper arm. But from there he grabbed it again, and in one swift motion, he sliced it across her throat. Brenda immediately grabbed her neck, which was now gushing with blood. And she took this moment to look at Daniel's face.

He wasn't panicked, he didn't look crazed, he just had this intense blank stare. A look that didn't change as he stabbed her once more in the stomach. He then took the knife and held it right above her heart. And this time, with a slight smile on his face, he slowly pressed it into Brenda's chest. She knew that Daniel was not going to stop until she was dead.

So Brenda closed her eyes and laid as still as she possibly could. And then finally, he got up. Brenda wouldn't dare open her eyes, but she could tell that he was still standing there, watching her, making sure she was dead. He stood there for what felt like an eternity. But then, finally, she heard him walk away.

To obscure the scene even further, he grabbed a bunch of hay and scattered it all over the piece of wood. And with that, he was satisfied. with his work. Under the wooden vegetation, Brenda could hear him get into her car and start the engine. Finally, he was leaving.

But a wave of terror washed over her. when she heard her car speeding in her direction. She thought he was about to run her over. Luckily though, he wouldn't. Instead, Daniel drove within inches of her head and took off down the road.

When Daniel stabbed into her chest, the knife actually caught onto her bra's metal underwire, which essentially shielded her heart from the blade. But even so, Brenda was severely injured. She had just been stabbed in the arm, stomach, and her throat had been cut. So she knew she needed to get help immediately. Somehow, she was able to make it to the nearby road, where she attempted to flag down a car.

The first car zoomed past her, but the second car stopped to help. From there, they rushed her to a nearby gas station, where they were finally able to call 911. And luckily, with this incident, Brenda knew exactly who her attacker was. And soon enough, the Temple Police were on the lookout for 16-year-old Daniel Corwin.

I asked him what he had done all afternoon. He said that he had done some pretty strange things today and said nothing more of it. From there, Janie made the drive to the Ford dealership.

Officer Miller quickly informed Gretchen of what was going on, and she responded, That's about right. I knew that boy was responsible. Daniel's mother works at the Temple National Bank downtown. Maybe she knows where he is.

As he neared the church, he saw the Corwins' brown station wagon driving nearby, and Daniel was behind the wheel. Officer Miller quickly turned on his siren, signaling for Daniel to pull over, but he doesn't. Instead, Daniel speeds off down the road, going around 93 miles an hour. Officer Miller eventually pulls up behind him, making eye contact with the 16-year-old. And for whatever reason, in the heat of the moment, Daniel decides to give up.

He pulls the car over on the side of the road and surrenders.

Following his parents' advice, Daniel did not talk to the police about what happened that day. But luckily, Brenda would survive her attack, and there was more than enough evidence to charge him. So following this, Daniel was placed in the Bell County Jail. But sadly, much like with Kathy's case, the news of Brenda's attack was barely even covered in the media. In fact, just one single article was written about it, but it was tucked away in the back pages of the Temple Daily Telegram.

The article also shied away from any of the violent details. So in the beginning, it was hardly even talked about around town.

Maybe he thought he could garner sympathy, especially given the gravity of the charges he was facing. But following this, Daniel would be released from jail after his parents paid a $10,000 bond. And surprisingly, everybody welcomed Daniel back into the community with open arms, especially members of the First Presbyterian Church.

Now, Brenda Evans' father, Reginald Evans, was actually a very prominent figure within their community. He served as temple's chairman, and he was also on the school board for most of the 1960s. Reginald was very vocal about his daughter's case, and he made his expectations abundantly clear to the temple prosecutors. He wanted Daniel Corwin prosecuted to the full extent for trying to murder his daughter. Reginald also expected his community to rally behind him.

But sadly, that wasn't really the case. The Corwin family had deep ties to the First Presbyterian Church, and many prominent members of their community were a part of their congregation, including temple's mayor, Jamie Clements. Another member of the congregation who stood behind the Corwin family was a man named Frank Mayborn, who pretty much controlled all of the media in temple, including the town's newspaper, radio station, and broadcasting channel. Interestingly enough, Frank Mayborn and Mayor Jamie Clements would often meet with the church's minister, Wilson Keenan. And in these meetings that were held at the church, the three men would discuss strategies on how they were going to navigate Daniel's case and his family's reputation.

Now, I will say, Mayor Clements spoke highly of the Corwin family, but he did think that Daniel should be excluded from the church until his trial was over. But the other men, along with many members of the church, showed unwavering support for Daniel and his family. People began to whisper that Brenda must have enticed him that day, and that Daniel simply gave in to the devil's temptation, and that he just needed a little guidance. The church began to spread these rumors throughout town, labeling Brenda as a whore. And soon enough, the phone in the prosecutor's office began ringing off the hook.

Phone calls were pouring in from people in their community, proclaiming Daniel's innocence. Prosecutor Bob Odom would later say, quote, I've tried numerous sexual assault cases, and this one drew the most pressure I have ever received. End quote.

After the results of the polygraph came back, they lied and told Daniel that he failed it. And it was then when he finally confessed. Daniel Corwin went into great detail on everything that happened during Brenda Evans' rape and assault. And those details matched everything that Brenda told investigators on May 16th, 1975..

The kid slit her throat. But the group continued, Please, Bob. What about just sending him to a juvenile treatment facility? Yet with each plea, Bob remained steadfast, reiterating that Daniel Corwin slit the girl's throat, and that no amount of pleas were going to change his mind. But Bob was painfully aware that this trial was not going to be easy, especially for Brenda Evans.

He knew that Daniel's defense would do everything in their power to tear her to shreds during cross-examination. And he made sure to prepare her for that. When he did, it was obvious that Brenda was not ready for it. So they agreed to offer Daniel Corwin a plea deal. If he pleaded guilty to her rape and assault, avoiding a trial, he would receive a sentence of 40 years in prison, and Daniel would ultimately accept this deal.

Surprisingly, his hearing would come and go, and the media barely even covered it. In fact, after getting sentenced, there was just one small paragraph mentioning it in the back pages of the Temple Daily Telegram.

The other inmates even referred to him as the warden's boy, because he was always going out of his way to volunteer and help the prison staff with whatever they needed. And it ended up working in his favor. Because Daniel was so respectful and trustworthy, he got a lot of privileges. Unlike the other prisoners, Daniel was allowed to go anywhere he wanted within the prison without having a pass. He was also exempt from routine searches, which was extremely rare.

He even took over a leadership role within the prison, overseeing various workshops. Because of all this, Daniel acquired a celebrity status of sorts. He also used his time wisely. While in prison, he taught himself how to play the organ and would play it during the prison's church services. During the holidays, he'd put his artistic skills to use and line the prison hallways with drawings of Santa, reindeer, and ornate Christmas trees.

He really seemed to make the most out of his stay, and he was considered an inspiration to the people around him.

But now that they were overcrowded, they changed it to just one-fourth of their sentence. They were also considering parole for inmates who had had good behavior. So, in Daniel's case, he was now eligible for parole in 1986.. The year prior, when the parole board looked at his record, they saw a model prisoner. Not only did he have excellent behavior, but he also completed a ton of classes.

Daniel was no longer a danger to the world, so he was ultimately granted parole in 1985.

. After serving just nine years of his 40-year sentence. Which is crazy. Daniel was a violent offender, and instead of releasing people who were there on drug convictions, they decided to release him, a decision they would go on to deeply regret. But on November 11th, 1985, Daniel Corwin walked out of the prison gates, while many of his fellow inmates and prison officials bid him farewell.

It was an inspiration, seeing Daniel released back into the world. He was one of those rare success stories. A truly rehabilitated man, or so they thought.

Daniel was their pride and joy, so, as you can imagine, they were elated to have him back home. Philip and Nancy even submitted a new family photo with Daniel to the First Presbyterian Directory. And the congregation, once again, welcomed him home with open arms. In their minds, a good Christian boy like Daniel should never have even gone to prison in the first place. His crime was merely a lapse in judgment, brought on by a promiscuous girl who enticed him.

And the First Presbyterian Church was committed to helping Daniel transition back into everyday life, with as much ease and comfort as possible. Believe it or not, they even gave Daniel a leadership role as the church's new youth leader.

The Corwins were thrilled about their relationship. Not only was it Daniel's first real girlfriend, but more than anything, they just wanted Daniel to have a normal life. And dating is what normal people do. But Daniel wasn't normal, and it wouldn't be long until Beckley caught on to this. And their relationship wouldn't last very long.

But as a condition of his parole, Daniel also had to attend regular sessions with a psychologist. And although he seemed to be doing well on the outside, it was clear that Daniel was still struggling. His psychologist notes revealed someone suffering from a lot of inner turmoil. He even admitted how scared he was to delve into his own psyche for fear of what he might uncover. He also talked about his fear of rejection, feelings of disgust, and the guilt he felt for his past crimes.

But after about a year in therapy, he finally decided to open up about it. He told his psychologist that the reason he attacked her was because of his deep-seated anger and fear of rejection, issues that stemmed from not being able to fit in with people his age. Daniel admitted that he tried to assimilate into the social fabric of Temple High School, but it was always so hard for him, and he didn't know why. And over time, the constant rejection from his peers just boiled over, causing him to commit the unthinkable. Now, as disturbing as this confession is, the fact that he was able to finally talk about it was progress in his psychologist's eyes.

Maybe Daniel Corwin was truly on the path towards rehabilitation. In the fall of 1986, Daniel even applied for college and was accepted into Texas A&M University as a computer science major. He started his academic journey in January of 1987, but only went to school part-time.

The interaction only lasted a few minutes. But after John left that day, he couldn't help but think about how well Daniel seemed to be doing, which was pretty rare to see in his line of work. So John wanted to help him out. After leaving the church that afternoon, he decided to speak with his friend Ben Pruitt about hiring Daniel. You see, Ben Pruitt owned a cabinetry business called Personal Touch Cabinetry, and he was hiring at the time.

John Heyman vouched for Daniel, and soon enough, he got a call that he was hired. Now, Daniel was still going to school at Texas A&M, but he only went on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So the rest of the week, he was free to work. So every week, Daniel would drive from Temple to Personal Touch Cabinetry, which was north of Huntsville. The shop was in a pale green warehouse in a quiet part of town, and it was the perfect job for him.

He made decent money, and he was allowed to go to school. The only problem was that the shop was about two hours away from his parents' house. So every week, he would have to put a lot of miles on his car. But Daniel was a good worker. So after a while, his boss, Ben, offered to let him stay in his rental house in downtown Huntsville.

It was a great opportunity for him. Daniel now had a good job, a good boss who believed in him, and a place to live. The only conditions they gave him were that he had to stay out of trouble, and he had to stay in school. Daniel readily agreed to both, promising to hold up his end of the bargain. However, it was a promise he wouldn't be able to keep.

Up until this point, Daniel had done a good job of staying out of trouble, but unbeknownst to everyone, deep down, he was still that sick, perverted man who had a desire to harm women. Since his release from prison, he had been able to keep these thoughts under control. But one day, Daniel spotted 72-year-old Alice Martin walking down the road, and those dark thoughts began to consume him. As he drove down the road, he looked around, and he saw that there were no other cars. It was just he and Alice, and no witnesses.

So it's here, where he finally decided to give in to those dark fantasies that had been dormant for so long. And on that February day in 1987, Daniel would commit his most heinous crime to date. So join us next week as we walk you through Daniel Corwin's descent, and how he quickly became one of East Texas' most infamous killers.

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