One 'Candy Man' murder victim remains unidentified, 45 years after killer's death

A moldy pair of cowboy boots and a pair of swim trunks found with a body nearly 34 years ago are laid out at the medical examiner's office Monday, May 12, 2008 in Houston along with a digital image of what the victim may have looked like. The young man is one of three victims of serial killers Dean Corll and Elmer Wayne Henley who was never identified. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) less A moldy pair of cowboy boots and a pair of swim trunks found with a body nearly 34 years ago are laid out at the medical examiner's office Monday, May 12, 2008 in Houston along with a digital image of what the ... more Photo: Pat Sullivan, ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo: Pat Sullivan, ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close One 'Candy Man' murder victim remains unidentified, 45 years after killer's death 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

It took 37 years for the parents of Randall Lee Harvey to find out what happened to their son.

For decades, they didn't know that a 15-year-old Harvey became one of at least 29 young boys tortured and killed by Dean Corll and his two teenage accomplices in Houston from 1970 to 1973. The murders eventually earned Corll the nickname "Candy Man" after his family's candy store in the Heights.

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Corll was shot by one of his accomplices on August 8, 1973, around the time Harvey's body was discovered. Harvey had been one of the last few unidentified "Candy Man" victims until his name was confirmed in 2008.

Today, 45 years after Corll's death, only one unidentified victim remains. And victim advocates are still working to close the book on the horrific string of murders for good.

"I can tell you, from dealing with homicide victims for over 25 years, the grief is intensified when justice is lacking," said Andy Kahan, the director of victim services and advocacy at Crime Stoppers of Houston. "Right now, justice and bringing him back to his family is sorely lacking, and that needs to change."

Kahan said this final case is personal because he's been speaking with the other victims' surviving family members for about 26 years. He said he's still confident that the final victim can be identified after all these years, and he's still encouraged by Harvey's case.

"We were able to locate [Harvey's] sisters by getting the word out," he said. "I'm hoping the proverbial lightening strikes twice."

Kahan isn't the only one who feels strongly about identifying the last victim. Dr. Sharon Derrick, the forensic anthropologist who helped identify Harvey, is using her own time and resources on the case, even though she stopped working at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences last month.

"I can't give this search up yet," Derrick said.

The boy may have been dead for more than a year when his skeletal remains were recovered in Houston on August 9, 1973, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He has been described as a 15 to 18 year old boy with brown hair approximately 7 inches long. He may have been afflicted with a minor form of Spina Bifida.

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Authorities said he was found wearing a knotted leather ankle bracelet, brown leather cowboy boots with "NEOLITE" on the heel. He was also found wearing multi-colored striped Catalina swim trunks with a belt and a khaki long-sleeved shirt that had a large peace symbol and a flag. On the back of his shirt were the printed letters and numbers, "L84MF."

New technology and forensic research has allowed for a facial reconstruction of the boy, which is featured above. Anyone with information on a possible identity can call The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences at 713-796-6858 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.

"We've done it before, and I'm confident were gonna be able to do it again," Kahan said. "Somebody out there knows who this young boy is."

Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com