Ronald Clark O'Bryan
Encyclopedia
Ronald Clark O'Bryan (October 19, 1944 – March 31, 1984) was a murder
er from Deer Park
, Texas
(near Houston
), who was convicted of killing his eight-year-old son Timothy on Halloween
, 1974 with cyanide
-laced Giant Pixy Stix
candy in order to claim life insurance
money. He may have also distributed poisoned candy to other children in an attempt to cover up his crime. However, Elizabeth, his daughter, and none of the other children ate any of the poisoned candy.
O'Bryan was eight months behind on his car payments and had total debt
s of almost $100,000. In January 1974 he had taken out $10,000 life insurance policies on both of his children, Timothy and Elizabeth, over the objections of his wife. He later bought additional $20,000 policies on both children, over the objections of his life insurance agency, bringing the total policy value to $60,000.
O'Bryan, Texas Department of Corrections Death Row inmate No. 529, was held in the Ellis Unit
, and he was executed in the Huntsville Unit on March 31, 1984, by lethal injection
. O'Bryan's last meal request consisted of a T-bone steak (medium to well done), French fries with ketchup, whole kernel corn, sweet peas, a lettuce and tomato salad with egg and French dressing, iced tea, sweetener, saltines, Boston cream pie, and rolls.
His last statement was:
After O'Bryan's crimes became public, Halloween safety programs were implemented in Deer Park, teaching parents methods for evaluating the safety of door-to-door treats by visual inspection.
During the execution, a crowd of college students wearing Halloween masks showed up to cheer.
The musical group Siouxsie and the Banshees recorded a song about O'Bryan called "Candyman," the first track on their album Tinderbox
.
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
er from Deer Park
Deer Park, Texas
Deer Park is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city is located in Harris County and is situated in Southeast Texas. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Deer Park was 32,010....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(near Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
), who was convicted of killing his eight-year-old son Timothy on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, 1974 with cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
-laced Giant Pixy Stix
Pixy Stix
Pixy Stix is a powdered candy packaged in a wrapper that resembles a drinking straw.Pixy Stix used to be made by Sunline which started 1952 in Springfield, Missouri. Originally it was a drink mix in the late 1940s, sold as Frutola, but J. Fish Smith found that kids were eating the sweet & sour...
candy in order to claim life insurance
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
money. He may have also distributed poisoned candy to other children in an attempt to cover up his crime. However, Elizabeth, his daughter, and none of the other children ate any of the poisoned candy.
O'Bryan was eight months behind on his car payments and had total debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
s of almost $100,000. In January 1974 he had taken out $10,000 life insurance policies on both of his children, Timothy and Elizabeth, over the objections of his wife. He later bought additional $20,000 policies on both children, over the objections of his life insurance agency, bringing the total policy value to $60,000.
O'Bryan, Texas Department of Corrections Death Row inmate No. 529, was held in the Ellis Unit
Ellis Unit
O. B. Ellis Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison located in unincorporated Walker County, Texas, north of Huntsville. The unit, with about of space, now houses up to 2,400 male prisoners. Ellis is situated in a wooded area shared with the Estelle Unit, which is located away...
, and he was executed in the Huntsville Unit on March 31, 1984, by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
. O'Bryan's last meal request consisted of a T-bone steak (medium to well done), French fries with ketchup, whole kernel corn, sweet peas, a lettuce and tomato salad with egg and French dressing, iced tea, sweetener, saltines, Boston cream pie, and rolls.
His last statement was:
- "What is about to transpire in a few moments is wrong! However, we as human beings do make mistakes and errors. This execution is one of those wrongs yet doesn’t mean our whole system of justice is wrong.
- Therefore, I would forgive all who have taken part in any way in my death. Also, to anyone I have offended in any way during my 39 years, I pray and ask your forgiveness, just as I forgive anyone who offended me in any way. And I pray and ask God’s forgiveness for all of us respectively as human beings.
- To my loved ones, I extend my undying love.To those close to me, know in your hearts I love you one and all. God bless you all and may God’s best blessings be always yours.
- Ronald C. O’Bryan
- P.S. During my time here, I have been treated well by all T.D.C. personnel."
After O'Bryan's crimes became public, Halloween safety programs were implemented in Deer Park, teaching parents methods for evaluating the safety of door-to-door treats by visual inspection.
During the execution, a crowd of college students wearing Halloween masks showed up to cheer.
The musical group Siouxsie and the Banshees recorded a song about O'Bryan called "Candyman," the first track on their album Tinderbox
Tinderbox (Siouxsie album)
Tinderbox is the seventh studio album released by the English alternative rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was the first effort recorded with new guitarist John Valentine Carruthers...
.
See also
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
- List of individuals executed in Texas
- Poisoned candy scarePoisoned candy scareThe poisoned candy myths are a moral panic in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s regarding the threat that children could be in danger of ingesting razor blades, needles, drugs, or poison introduced to candy by tampering, especially during traditional Halloween trick-or-treating...
External links
- Offender information from the Texas Department of Criminal JusticeTexas Department of Criminal JusticeThe Texas Department of Criminal Justice is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional facilities, funding and certain...
- Last statement from the Texas Department of Criminal JusticeTexas Department of Criminal JusticeThe Texas Department of Criminal Justice is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional facilities, funding and certain...
- Last meals from The Memory Hole
- Kuffner, Charles. "The Candy Man", 30 years later" in Off the Kuff, October 29, 2004.
- Babineck, Mark. "O'Bryan's Deed Haunts Halloween ", Associated Press, October 31, 1994.
- The Malefactor's Register. "The Man Who Ruined Halloween"
- Glenn, Mike and Ruth Rendon. "'Man Who Killed Halloween' still haunts holiday", The Houston Chronicle, October 29, 2004
