New victim of Houston serial killer identified

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There is a new chapter in one of the nation's most twisted serial murder cases. Dozens of young men and teenage boys tortured, raped, murdered and buried in and around the Houston area. Now an anguished family has answers after 36 years.

Anyone who was in Houston in the mid-1970's remembers the names of Dean Corll, Elmer Wayne Henley, and David Brooks. A serial killer and his two accomplices.

Corll was shot by Henley on August 8, 1973, and their sick plot came to light. It was then investigators realized what had happened to dozens of Houston teenagers who vanished.

It was in a boat shed that 17 bodies were discovered in 1973. Investigators believe Dean Corll was responsible for at least 27, and maybe 28 murders. On Thursday, one victim's family finally has closure, while others are still waiting for answers.

On a perfect fall morning, a small group of mourners gathered to say goodbye to a murder victim no one has ever identified.

"We will never close his identification file until he has a name," said Sharon Derrick, Harris County Forensic Anthropologist.

While one mystery still remains, another family finally has an answer. Thirty-six years after he disappeared, Joseph Lyles was identified on Wednesday. His sisters were among the mourners.

"When he left, he left everything at home. He didn't take his wallet, nothing. We just knew," said Cindi Michalk, Lyles' sister.

Lyles' sisters have always believed that their brother Joseph was murdered by serial killer Dean Corll in 1973. One of Corll's accomplices, Elmer Wayne Henley, led police to find 27 bodies throughout Houston.

"These were just some boys he picked up. I helped him get them. He raped them, ended up killing brought them down here and buried them," Henley said back in 1973.

The 28th body, that of Lyles, wasn't found until 1983, but without ID. He was buried in the county cemetery with no name. That is until Derrick joined the medical examiners' office in 2006 as a forensic anthropologist.

"The Lyles family had always believed that Joseph was a victim, but they didn't have any way to prove it," said Derrick.

So family members provided DNA to the medical examiner and finally, just yesterday, Joseph was positively identified. It happened one day before the county was to bury another Corll victim that still has no name.

"It's bittersweet that we had to tell them after all these years, and it's bittersweet that we have an unidentified boy that we are actually burying today," said Derrick.

So after attending the memorial of the unidentified victim, Joseph Lyles' family walked over to a small marker at the county cemetery and saw for the first time where their brother has been buried and found a bit of solace.

"This is like putting an end to the talk. We know what happened," said Barbara Vaughan, Lyles' sister.

Michalk and Vaughan said their only regret is that their mother was not alive to see the identification of her son.

The Harris County medical examiner's office says there are two bodies that remain unidentified, including the one that was buried today. They are hoping that some family members may come forward to have their DNA tested so perhaps the two remaining young men can be identified.

The mastermind, Dean Corll, was killed when he was shot by Henley back in 1973. Henley is currently serving six life sentences for helping in the murders. David Brooks is also serving a life sentence.

We've posted some clips online of our first reports from the 70's when the story first broke. Just click on the videos in the video player above.

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