The Poisoned Halloween Candy- The Case of Ronald Clark O’Bryan

It’s not Halloween yet, but I was looking at crimes that happened in the month of October, and this one kept coming up. I heard about this case one other time, but never got deep into the details.

Background

Ronald, his wife Daynene and their kids Timothy and Elizabeth in Deer Park, Texas. Ronald was a optician in Houston, and was also a deacon at their church.

The Death of Timothy

Timothy

On October 31st, 1974, Ronald took Timothy and Elizabeth out for trick or treating. Jim Bates, who was the O’Bryan’s neighbor joined them along with his son.

Timothy in his costume

The kids were running ahead of the parents, and were going to every house even if the lights were off. They were banging on doors, but many houses weren’t giving out candy. A little while later, Ronald caught up with the group with 5 Pixy Stixs. He said he got them from a house where no one answered the door earlier. He gave the Pixy Stix to his kids, their neighbor and another kid from their church.

As many kids want to do when they get home from trick or treating, Timothy wanted to eat some candy before bed. His father said it was fine, and Timothy wanted the Pixy Stix. After eating some, he said it tasted bitter. Ronald gave Timothy some Kool-Aid to wash it down with. It didn't help, and Timothy began vomiting and convulsing.

Timothy died less than an hour from when he chose to have the Pixy Stix, he died on the way to the hospital.

Pixy Stix

Autopsy

While they were doing the autopsy, the examiner stated that their was “a scent of almonds coming from the boy’s mouth.” The autopsy found that the Pixy Stix was laced with potassium cyanide.

Investigation

The police were able to recover all the candy. The last child they had track down was unable to get his candy open, as it was stapled shut.

The Pixy Stix were opened, refilled with potassium powder, and were resealed and stapled.

The police tried to get Ronald to re-trace his steps and tell them where he got the candy. He said he couldn't remember, and the person who owned the house had opened the door just a crack, and gave him the candy. He said all he could see was the man’s “hairy” arm. The police were obviously skeptical.

The house belonged to a man named Courtney Melvin. He was almost immediately ruled out, because he was at work that night. He was an air traffic controller at William P. Hobby Airport, and wasn't home until 11pm on Halloween.

Evidence

All of their leads led back to the same person, Ronald. They found out that Ronald was over $100,000 in debt, and was unable to keep a job. His car was also about to repossessed and their house was going to be foreclosed on. He had taken out life insurance policies on his kids. Ronald had called the insurance company the day after Timothy died, about collecting the policy on his son. He also visited a chemical supply store in Houston to buy cyanide. He continued to tell police he was innocent, even though the evidence was piling up.

Trial

Ronald was arrested on November 5th, 1974, for Timothy’s murder. He was indicted on one count of capital murder and four counts of attempted murder. He pleaded not guilty.

Ronald Clark O’Bryan

Their were many people- many of Ronald’s friends, and a chemist that Ronald had shown a unusual interest in cyanide, and had asked the chemist how much would be fatal. Apparently, the amount of cyanide that was in Timothy’s Pixy Stix was enough to kill 2 adults, and the amount in the other Pixy Stix was enough to kill 4 adults.

Ronald was dubbed as ‘The Candy Man’ during his trial. On June 3rd, 1975, Ronald was found guilty of capital murder and four counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to death.

Other

Ronald’s wife filed for divorce, and remarried. Her new husband adopted Elizabeth.

Apparently while Ronald was in prison, he didn't get along with other inmates, who hated him for killing a child. Ronald was executed on March 31st, 1984. Before he was executed, he tried to say one last time that he was innocent. His last words were:

“..I forgive all – and I do mean all – those who have been involved in my death. God bless you all, and may God’s best blessings be always yours.””

Apparently after he was executed, many people outside were yelling things like “trick or treat” and showering people with candy.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This case is heartbreaking. All Timothy wanted was to go out and trick or treat, and his scumbag dad wanted to kill him for money. He did it knowing his son was naive, and wanted candy. He also tried to murder 4 other innocent kids.

I don’t believe in the death penalty, I believe that people should spend their life in prison for taking the lives of others. Ronald deserved to be hated for what he did to his son, and knowing that he tried to say he was innocent makes me angry. Their was no other suspect, and the evidence against him clearly showed the police had arrested the right man.

I also can’t believe I enjoyed Pixy Stix when I was younger. They are tasty, but SO bad for you. It’s literally pure sugar, but I know that Halloween is a fun time of the year.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Clark_O%27Bryan

https://www.vice.com/en/article/8ge87v/halloween-killer-ronald-clark-o-bryan-candy-man