An age-old Halloween custom turned into a real-life nightmare for a young boy in a chilling incident that shocked many.
Trick or treating, a beloved activity during the spooky season, took a horrific turn when a ‘Candy Man’ poisoned sherbet straws with cyanide, resulting in the death of his own son.
Ronald Clark O’Bryan, a seemingly upstanding member of the Deer Park, Texas community, was actually harboring dark secrets beneath his respectable facade. Despite being a deacon in his local church and a choir member, O’Bryan was drowning in a staggering £70,000 debt, driving him to desperate measures.
On October 31, 1974, O’Bryan covertly laced Pixy Stix sherbet straws with deadly potassium cyanide. Accompanied by a neighbor and their children, O’Bryan distributed the poisoned candies while trick-or-treating, leading to a tragic outcome.
Following the poisoning, suspicions quickly fell on O’Bryan as he attempted to shift blame to an empty house. However, evidence of his financial woes, coupled with a suspicious insurance policy taken out on his children’s lives, exposed his sinister intentions.
Charged with murder and attempted murder, O’Bryan’s guilt was swiftly determined by a jury, leading to a death sentence. Despite his denials, he met his fate on March 30, 1984, maintaining his innocence to the end by invoking a local urban legend of a “mad-poisoner.”
In his final moments, O’Bryan expressed remorse and sought forgiveness, acknowledging the gravity of his actions and extending love to his family and friends.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the saleor sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Privacy Notice.
