DISCLAIMER : If you're under the age of 13 or if you're sensetive to murder, and scary stuff in general, I recommend you don't read this for your own safety.

Hello, my friends. It's your Detective Noel. Today we're looking at one of the most fascinating Crime Stories I've ever heard of. And a Story that's perfect for October. The Story Of Ronald O'Bryan : The Man Who Killed Halloween. My 4th Favourite Crime Story. I would put this in my Top 5. I've known this chilling Story for 2 years and it still boggles my mind everytime I think about how horrifying it is. I even heard my BROTHER listening to this Story on Tik Tok last year, and he's not into True Crime and Murders as much as I am! Obviously, October is the most appropriate time to look at this Story because not only is it arguably the most famous Crime that happened on Halloween, but today is actually Ronald O'Bryan's 79th Birthday. He was born in the same month as Halloween. I hope you're all having a fun, exciting, and spooky October, because I certainly am. But I want everyone to remember this Story because it changed Halloween forever. Credit to Wikipedia, the YouTuber, Horror Stories, and the True Crime Talk Show, Evidence Room hosted by investigator, Robert Arnold. I highly suggest you check it out. It's 100% without a doubt my favourite Talk Show of all time! It's up there with all of Conan O'Brien's Talk Shows! I recommend watching The Ronald O'Bryan Episode and Jennifer Ertman And Elizabeth Pena Episode! Those are my favourites from that Show! Now that the introduction is finished, let's take a look at The Story Of Ronald O'Bryan : The Man Who Killed Halloween. Enjoy.

Ronald Clark O'Bryan, better known as "The Candyman" and "The Man Who Ruined Halloween" was an American man who was convicted of killing his 8 year old son, Timothy O'Bryan on the night of Halloween 1974 using potassium cyanide laced Pixy Stix all because he needed life insurance money. What he did was so terrible and so monstrous, not only did it shock and terrify everyone to no end, but he single handedly ruined Halloween forever...

Ronald O'Bryan was born on October 19th 1944 and grew up in Houston, Texas where he met and married Daynene O'Bryan and had two children with her. Timothy Marc O'Bryan, who was born on April 5th 1966, and Elizabeth O'Bryan, who was born in 1969. Ronald worked three jobs for his family. He was an eye doctor, a school bus driver, and a deacon at his family's second baptist church where he sang in the choir. A fellow pastor at the church The O'Bryan's went to described Ronald as a "Good Christian man and an above-average father". His wife, Daynene O'Bryan worked by serving her family, and their children played and spent time with their parents as much as they could. It seemed like Ronald loved his family more than anything in the world and The O'Bryan's seemed like a very wholesome family where their lives together were just fine. Unfortunately, no one on Earth would have expected that what would happen to them on Halloween 1974 would become one of the most heartbreaking and chilling stories that still haunts the entire world today and a warning to every Halloween lover for the rest of time...

On this day, 48 years ago, on Halloween, October 31st 1974, Timothy and Elizabeth were the most excited they were all year, as Halloween was one of their favourite times. After school ended, the O'Bryan's spent the evening at their neighbours' house owned by the Bates family, who they were really close friends with. After having an early dinner, they wanted to burst out the door and trick or treat as much as they could around their neighbourhood in Pasadena, Texas. Even though it was raining that evening, Ronald happily agreed to take them out trick or treating because he knew that not even a hurricane would change their minds. Jimmy Bates was ready to take his children, Mark and Kimberly trick or treating as well, and Bates's wife, Donna wanted to spend the night with Daynene while they went out trick or treating. O'Bryan dressed up as an eye doctor for Halloween since he thought it would be funny to wear his work clothes as a costume. The six set out to collect their craved candy and to enjoy one of the most exciting times of the year.

Little did anyone that night know however, that Ronald had a plan he was ready to put into action that night that would turn every Halloween lover's lives upside down for generations to come...

The children ran as fast as their exciting feet could carry them from home to home, telling the adults to catch up to them, as O'Bryan and Bates talked about their lives when they approached a house with the lights turned off with no Halloween decorations on it. The group of six found it rather odd because pretty much everyone in their neighbourhood celebrated Halloween and was sure everyone would have candy for children, but after looking around the house and waiting to see if anyone was there handing out candy, the children grew impatient and ran ahead to the houses next to it with Bates, but O'Bryan stayed at the house to wait a little bit longer and see if anyone was there. After a few minutes, O'Bryan caught up with the group and out of his shirt sleeves, he pulled out five oversized Pixy Stix straws that had all their tops cut off and folded and sealed with staples and gave them to the four children who stared at them in awe, telling them that there was indeed someone at the house and they just took a while to bring out the candy for them. After trick or treating on two streets, the rain started to get heavier and the children thought they trick or treated enough and agreed with the adults to head back home.

When the group of six made it back to their house, O'Bryan saw a 10 year old boy whom he recognized from his church named Harry who was trick or treating at the house. O'Bryan gave him the fifth and last Pixy Stix straw as Harry jumped with joy and thanked him before he continued his trick or treating. The group of six spent a little more time at the Bates' house where Daynene and Donna were watching TV in the living room and Ronald and Jimmy decided to join them and chat with them as the children played around together. After a while, the O'Bryan's decided to head back home and Daynene told O'Bryan that she needed to run some errands and headed out.

Daynene was lucky that she decided to run some errands that night because if she stayed at the house, she would've witnessed what would have been the most terrifying moment of her life... No one in the house could've expected what was to happen later that night...

As Daynene was out for the night running her errands, Timothy and Ronald were playing with his toy cars in his room when Timothy asked his father if he could have a piece of candy before going to bed. Ronald knew that Daynene would not be okay with Timothy having candy right before bed because she didn't want him to have a sugar rush and trouble sleeping, but Ronald could never say no to anything he asked for, and he and Timothy liked to mess around with Daynene, so Ronald happily allowed Timothy to have a piece of candy before bed. Timothy ran to his candy bag and immediately chose the biggest piece of candy, which was the oversized Pixy Stix his father gave him earlier. Ronald happily watched his child pick his candy before he went into the living room to read the newspaper. Timothy went back to his room to eat the giant Pixy Stix, but he was having a hard time opening the straw so he asked his father to open it for him, and Ronald opened it up within the blink of an eye and he gave it to Timothy as he happily poured the powder into his mouth. But instead of eating what he wanted that night, a delicious powdered Pixy Stix, Timothy ate a powder that would literally be the end of him...

As soon as Timothy poured the powder into his mouth, he cringed and complained that the powder tasted bitter, dried up his mouth and he started to cough as O'Bryan ran to the kitchen to get a box of Kool Aid to wash away the bitter taste, but after drinking the whole box within less than a minute, Timothy still felt the bitter taste and immense dryness in his mouth, and his coughing continued to get worse and worse. He felt like he was gonna throw up and he ran to the bathroom where he immediately began violently vomiting and convulsing. O'Bryan started to get worried as he ran to the bathroom and held his child in his arms as he went limp and he immediately called an ambulance and his wife, Daynene to come back home, and both an ambulance and Daynene drove to The O'Bryan house and Timothy was rushed to the hospital as Ronald and Daynene followed the ambulance, but tragically, Timothy died en route to the hospital less than an hour after consuming the Pixy Stix...

When Ronald and Daynene were waiting anxiously at the hospital, Ronald acted really erratic. He repeatedly punched his fists into the wall, pleading for God to not take his son. He acted so erratic that the doctors were worried he might have also been poisoned and suggested him to lie down on a hospital gurney and pump his stomach to check his health, but O'Bryan instantly told them he was fine and walked off the gurney.

The horrific event shocked and and horrified the entire family and everyone who knew Timothy and everyone wondered how such a horrible thing could happen to a sweet little child like him, and that's when it was found out that Timothy's autopsy revealed that he consumed a fatal dose of Potassium Cyanide, an extremely dangerous poison that kills instantly. It was also discovered that the Cyanide came from the five giant Pixy Stix O'Bryan claimed to have received and the other four were recovered by the authorities. None of the other children consumed the Pixy Stix, but Harry, the 10 year old boy from O'Bryan's church was very close to experiencing the same fate as Timothy as his paranoid parents found him asleep with his Pixy Stix in his arms one night as soon as they found out the candy was dangerous. He tried endlessly to open the giant straw but he gave up and fell asleep that night. It was quickly confiscated by the authorities along with the other four candies.

As scientists and pathologists tested and examined the Pixy Stix, they learned that the candy consumed by Timothy contained enough Cyanide to kill two adults and the other four candies contained enough Cyanide to kill three to four adults.

As soon as it was found out that the five Pixy Stix O'Bryan received were poisoned with Cyanide, police immediately began to search the neighbourhood to find the house and the person who gave him the Pixy Stix, but O'Bryan told the police that he couldn't remember what exact house he received the giant straws from. The police however thought that didn't make sense because O'Bryan and Bates only took their children to homes on two streets that night due to the rain. Jimmy Bates was also just as confused because O'Bryan told him that the dark house whose occupant did not answer the door gave him the Pixy Stix that night. The police immediately started to become suspicious of O'Bryan's excuses, wondering if HE had something to do with Timothy's death, but they didn't want to jump to any conclusions and believe that a father would somehow harm or kill their beloved child, so they decided to take the investigation slow and easy.

However, as the police investigated the neighbourhood more, their suspicions further increased when they realised that no one in the neighbourhood handed out Pixy Stix that night. Their suspicions increased even more when they learned that O'Bryan suddenly remembered where he received the Pixy Stix and back tracked on his original excuse. After walking around the neighbourhood with police three times, O'Bryan pointed to the house he went to that night whose occupant did not answer the door. O'Bryan claimed that he remembered that was the house that handed him the candy before he caught up with the rest of his group that night. He said that while he waited to see if anyone was there, the owner of the home did not turn the lights on, but cracked the door slightly open and handed him five giant Pixy Stix. He claimed to have only seen the man's arm, which he described as "hairy". The police found out that the home was owned by a man named Courtney Melvin who worked as an Air Traffic Controller at The William Hobby Airport. However, police also learned that he did not get home from work until 11 PM on Halloween night, long after O'Bryan visited the home and over 200 people who knew Melvin confirmed that he was indeed at work that evening, so the police completely ruled him out as a suspect. At this point, their suspicion that O'Bryan had something to do with his son's death increased even more as his story and the evidence he was using to help the authorities was not adding up at all. First he claimed that he did not remember which home he acquired the Pixy Stix, especially because he knew what house it was that night because he told it to his group that night, then he claimed that he did remember the house, which was the one house whose occupant did not answer the door, and he claimed that the man who handed him the Pixy Stix was at work that night and not at home. Something was not right about O'Bryan, so the police and investigators started to look into him more. And as they did, all of their puzzle pieces started falling into their places...

When police and investigators started looking more into Ronald O'Bryan, they learned that he was always terrible at holding a job and managing money. They learned he was over $100,000 in debt, which would be the equivalent of $590,000 today. From 1964 to 1974, O'Bryan held a total of 21 jobs and he had almost no money in his bank account. Not only that, but he was also suspected of theft at his job at Texas State Optical and he was close to being fired. His car was also about to be repossessed, he had defaulted on several bank loans, his house was foreclosed on, and he even moved his family around 5 different cities.

At first, these didn't seem like red flags and it just looked like O'Bryan was a desperate and clueless man at life, but they then learned that he had taken out life insurance policies on both of his children throughout the year. In January of 1974, he had taken out $10,000 life insurance policies on both of his children. In September of 1974, the month before Halloween, O'Bryan took out additional $20,000 policies on Timothy and Elizabeth even though his life insurance agency told him it was a very bad idea. Throughout the week before Halloween, O'Bryan had taken out another $20,000 policy on Timothy and Elizabeth. In total, O'Bryan had taken out $50,000 on both of his children. Police and investigators also learned that on November 1st, the morning after Timothy's death, O'Bryan called his insurance company to ask about collecting the policies he took out on his son. Now the police and investigators' suspicions were getting bigger.

Ronald's wife Daynene prayed that her husband had no involvement at all with her son's tragic death and she promised to the police and investigators that she did not know about her husband taking out life insurance policies on either of her children. But when she found out that her husband had taken out $50,000 on both of her children, she became heartbroken and devastated and lost all her faith in Ronald.

The more the police and investigators looked, the red flags continued to get worse and worse. Ronald's brother in law and sister in law told police and investigators that on the day of Timothy's funeral, Ronald talked about using the life insurance he took from Timothy to take a long vacation and buy a lot of things. Not only that, but he even told a parishioner at the church that he was jealous of his deceased son because he said he was in a better place and he didn't have to deal with the difficulties of life like he did. Ronald's own wife Daynene even described him as an exaggerate and narcissist to detectives.

All of these red flags were already alarming, but the final nails in the coffin were when the police and investigators started investigating the five stapled cyanide pixy stix with their tops cut off. They realised that a pair of scissors and a knife in O'Bryan's house had grains of sugar on them from the pixy stix and he was bragging to his friends and family about a new pocket stapler he recently bought and always carried around with him.

Bigger red flags appeared when one of O'Bryan's acquaintances told police and investigators O'Bryan contacted him in the summer of 1973 and asked him about cyanide and how much cyanide could kill someone. A chemical supplies salesman also told police O'Bryan contacted him and asked him where he could obtain cyanide. O'Bryan's friends and co-workers told the police that throughout the months leading up to Halloween, he had an unusual interest in cyanide. He talked about it a lot with his friends, including how much it would take to kill someone.

But by far the biggest red flag was when police and investigators found that O'Bryan had attempted to BUY CYANIDE from 2 chemical supply stores shortly before Halloween in October of 1974. They found out the first store O'Bryan visited had expensive cyanide that was more than enough than he needed, and the second store had cheaper cyanide that was the perfect amount he needed.

After 5 days of searching everywhere to find out who murdered Timothy O'Bryan, the police and investigators confirmed the worst. It was 100% positive that Ronald O'Bryan had murdered his very own son just because he was terrible at holding a job and managing money and he attempted to murder his daughter Elizabeth, his neighbours, Mark and Kimberly Bates, and his friend, Harry to cover up the crime and throw detectives off his tail.

Ronald O'Bryan was arrested and charged with one count of Capital Murder and four counts of Attempted Murder on November 5th 1974. Everyone was disgusted and devastated that a father could do something so terrible and evil to his very own child.

Despite all of the red flags and evidence that proved O'Bryan was 100% guilty of murdering his own son, he never confessed and admitted to the murder and he always maintained his innocence for the rest of his life.

Not only was this Crime so unthinkable because Ronald O'Bryan murdered his very own son, but it ruined Halloween for everyone. Instead of everyone looking at Halloween as one of the most exciting holidays of the year, now everyone looked at it as the tragic day Timothy O'Bryan was murdered by his own father. Not only that, but everyone had to be extra careful and check their Halloween candy to make sure it's safe and not tampered with, infected, laced, and has no dangerous objects inside of it. Everyone loathed O'Bryan for not only killing his own son but also ruining Halloween and turning it from a fun holiday into a devastating tragedy.

O'Bryan's trial started six months later on May 5th 1975 in Houston, Texas. He pleaded not guilty to all of his charges, despite everyone he knew testifying against him and telling the court all of the red flags he showed. O'Bryan still maintained his innocence and stuck with the original story that there was a serial killer in his neighbourhood who handed out Halloween candy laced with poison or needles or razor blades.

Thankfully though, to this day, Ronald O'Bryan has been the only human to ever poison Halloween candy and there have been no documents or stories about any other Halloween candy being poisoned.

The trial garnered attention from everyone and O'Bryan was given the nicknames "The Candyman" and "The Man Who Killed Halloween".

O'Bryan's trial lasted for nearly a month until June 3rd 1975 when the jury took 46 minutes to find O'Bryan guilty of capital murder and four attempted murders. 71 minutes later, the jury sentenced him to death by electrocution.

After Ronald was convicted, Daynene gave up on her despicable husband. She divorced him and she thankfully married a new husband who adopted Elizabeth, and the three were planning on starting a new and better life together. Jimmy Bates also felt betrayed by his former friend.

But everyone was completely done with Ronald O'Bryan. He made the unthinkable choice of murdering his very own child, and he had to pay for what he did.

After he was sentenced to death, O'Bryan was sent to the Ellis Unit in Huntsville, Texas where he spent the last 8 years of his life. Reverend Carroll Pickett, a chaplain who worked for The Texas Department Of Criminal Justice reported that O'Bryan was SHUNNED and DESPISED by his fellow death row inmates for killing his very own child and was "absolutely friendless". The inmates even petitioned to hold an organised demonstration on O'Bryan's execution date to express their hatred of him. Ronald O'Bryan was so evil that even his prison inmates loathed him.

Despite that almost everyone was against him and wanted him to die as soon as possible, O'Bryan and his lawyers tried as much as they could to file appeals and change his sentence. "My feelings right now are optimistic." O'Bryan said in a prison interview. In another prison interview, he said : "Because I have no guilt, and because I know inside that I didn't do it, and the people that are close to me and know me as an individual know I couldn't have done it, and I know that the Lord knows I didn't do it. So I've really got nothing to be scared about or afraid about."

But of course, everyone else hated O'Bryan with all their heart and thought the death sentence was the only punishment he deserved. O'Bryan's first execution date was set for August 8th 1980, but his attorney successfully petitioned for a stay of execution and his execution was postponed. O'Bryan's second execution date was scheduled for May 25th 1982, but the second date was also postponed.

Judge Michael McSpadden was arguably the most excited for O'Bryan's upcoming execution because not only did he schedule a third execution date for October 31st 1982, the eighth anniversary of the crime, but he even offered to personally drive O'Bryan to the death chamber. By this point, Texas had stopped using the electric chair to execute killers, and started using lethal injection. If Judge McSpadden's request was granted, O'Bryan would've been the first inmate executed by lethal injection in Texas. But The Supreme Court delayed the date for a third time to give O'Bryan a chance to pursue more appeals to seek new trials and the first person executed by lethal injection in Texas was a 40 year old kidnapper and murderer named Charlie Brooks.

O'Bryan's fourth execution date was scheduled for March 31st 1984 and thankfully, this would be the real day O'Bryan would meet his end. O'Bryan's lawyers tried to cancel his execution for the fourth time believing that lethal injection constituted "cruel and unusual punishment". But on March 28th 1984, their request was finally rejected. It was finally time for O'Bryan to die.

On this day, 39 years ago, just after midnight on March 31st 1984, Ronald O'Bryan was finally executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas 9 years after he murdered his very own son at the age of 39. His last meal consisted of T-bone steak and french fries with ketchup, whole kernel corn, sweet peas, lettuce and tomato salad with eggs and French dressing, iced tea, sweetener, saltines, Boston cream pie, and rolls. He took a shower after his last meal. When O'Bryan was escorted to the death chamber, his last words were : "What is about to transpire in a few moments is wrong! However, we as human beings do make mistakes and errors. This execution is one of those wrongs yet doesn't mean our whole system of justice is wrong. Therefore, I would forgive all who have taken part in any way in my death. Also, to anyone I have offended in any way during my 39 years, I pray and ask your forgiveness, just as I forgive anyone who offended me in any way. And I pray and ask God's forgiveness for all of us respectively as human beings. To my loved ones, I extend my undying love. To those close to me, know in your hearts I love you one and all. God bless you all and may God's best blessings be always yours. Ronald C. O'Bryan P.S. During my time here, I have been treated well by all T.D.C. personnel." After saying his final words, he was finally given the lethal injection he deserved and died.

During the execution, a crowd of 300 people gathered outside the prison holding candles for Timothy cheered, clapped, celebrated, yelled, "Trick or treat!" and they even threw candy at anti capital punishment activists and O'Bryan's lawyers.

Daynene O'Bryan was relieved that her ex husband was finally executed. She said she didn't hate him, but she felt nothing when he died and saw it as "a wiping of slate" and a way to move on with life with her daughter Elizabeth and her new husband. Everyone was very happy and relieved that the man who killed Halloween was finally gone forever.

Ronald O'Bryan was buried in Forest Park East Cemetery in Webster, Texas and Timothy O'Bryan was buried in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston, Texas.

Even though Timothy O'Bryan's tragic murder happened 48 years ago and Ronald O'Bryan's well deserved execution happened 39 years ago, their Story still haunts the world as a warning to everyone that even the most fun and innocent times of the year such as Halloween can involve tragic events...

The end...