Poisoned Halloween candy? True story behind urban legend traces back to Houston 'Candyman' murder

On Halloween night 1974, perhaps the worst Halloween crime in living memory occurred. Father-of-two Ronald O'Bryan laced candy with cyanide and poisoned his son earning him the name The Candyman. On Halloween night 1974, perhaps the worst Halloween crime in living memory occurred. Father-of-two Ronald O'Bryan laced candy with cyanide and poisoned his son earning him the name The Candyman. Photo: Harris County TDC Photo: Harris County TDC Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Poisoned Halloween candy? True story behind urban legend traces back to Houston 'Candyman' murder 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

Of all the urban legends about poison-laced Halloween candy, one is true.

And 43 years later, the true story of Houston's "Candyman" murder still feels very real for residents who remember the shocking crime.

On Halloween night 1974, Ronald O'Bryan, a father from suburban Deer Park who had volunteered to take his son and friends trick-or-treating in nearby Pasadena, fatally poisoned his 8-year-old son Timothy with a Pixy Stix laced with cyanide.

At trial, it was found that O'Bryan had opened the Stix, added the cyanide and stapled it back shut.

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Four other friends were also given the poisoned Stix, which O'Bryan claimed had been given to the boys while trick-or-treating at a darkened home.

None of the other boys ingested the candy, though one was found asleep that night with the candy in his hand; he had been unable to remove O'Bryan's staple.

Prosecutors said O'Bryan pushed his son into eating the candy before going to bed Halloween night. After complaining of the bitter taste, the boy went to bed, but moments later he began vomiting.

By the time he was taken to a nearby hospital, Timothy had died.

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Two days after the boy's burial, an insurance agent discovered that O'Bryan had taken out a $40,000 life insurance policy on each of his children prior to Timothy's death, unbeknownst to their mother.

A jury convicted O'Bryan of murder in less than an hour. He was executed in 1984 by lethal injection.

His fellow prisoners had named him the "Candy Man."

Many longtime Houston residents, however, still remember him as "the man who killed Halloween."

See more about the Ronald O'Bryan "Candyman" killing along with other infamous crimes that happened on Halloween in the photos above ...