Ronald Clark O'Bryan

Ronald Clark O'Bryan (October 19, 1944 – March 31, 1984), nicknamed The Candy Man and The Man Who Killed Halloween, was an American man convicted of killing his eight-year-old son Timothy (April 5, 1966 – October 31, 1974) on Halloween 1974 with a potassium Cyanide-laced Pixy Stix that was ostensibly collected during a trick or treat outing.

O'Bryan poisoned his son in order to claim life insurance money to ease his own financial troubles, as he was $100,000 in debt.

O'Bryan also distributed poisoned candy to his daughter and three other children in an attempt to cover up his crime; however, neither his daughter nor the other children ate the poisoned candy.

O'Bryan lived with his wife, Daynene, in Deer Park, Texas, with their son Timothy and daughter Elizabeth (born 1969).

O'Bryan worked as an optician at Texas State Optical in Sharpstown, Houston.

He was a deacon at the Second Baptist Church, where he sang in the choir and ran a local bus program.

On October 31, 1974, O'Bryan took his two children trick-or-treating in a Pasadena, Texas, neighborhood.

O'Bryan's neighbor and his two children accompanied them.

After visiting a home where the occupant failed to answer the door, the children grew impatient and ran ahead to the next home while O'Bryan stayed behind.

He eventually caught up with the group and produced five 21 in Pixy Stix, which he would later claim he was given from the occupant of the house that had not answered the door.

At the end of the evening, O'Bryan gave each of his neighbor's two children a Pixy Stix and one each to Timothy and Elizabeth.

Upon returning home, O'Bryan gave the fifth Pixy Stix to a 10-year-old boy whom he recognized from his church.

Before bed, Timothy asked to eat some of the candy he collected, and according to Ronald, he chose the Pixy Stix.

Timothy had trouble getting the powdered candy out of the straw so O'Bryan helped him loosen the powder.

After tasting the candy, Timothy complained that it tasted bitter.

O'Bryan then gave his son Kool-Aid to wash away the taste.

Timothy immediately began to complain that his stomach hurt and ran to the bathroom where he began vomiting and convulsing.

O'Bryan later claimed he held Timothy while he was vomiting and the child went limp in his arms.

Timothy O'Bryan died en route to the hospital less than an hour after consuming the candy.

Timothy's death from poisoned Halloween candy raised fear in the community.

Numerous parents in Deer Park and the surrounding area turned in candy their children got from trick or treating to the police, fearing it was laced with poison.

The police did not initially suspect O'Bryan of any wrongdoing until Timothy's autopsy revealed that the Pixy Stix he had consumed was laced with a fatal dose of potassium Cyanide.

Four of the five Pixy Stix O'Bryan claimed to have received were recovered by authorities from the other children, none of whom had consumed the candy.

The parents of the fifth child became hysterical when they could not locate the candy after being notified by the police.

The parents rushed upstairs to find their son asleep, holding the unconsumed candy.

The boy had been unable to open the staples that sealed the wrapper shut.

All five of the Pixy Stix had been opened, with the top 2 in refilled with Cyanide powder and resealed with a staple.

According to a pathologist who tested the Pixy Stix, the candy consumed by Timothy contained enough Cyanide to kill two adults, while the other four candies contained enough to kill three to four adults.

O'Bryan initially told police that he could not remember which house he got the Pixy Stix from.

Police became suspicious because O'Bryan and his neighbor had only taken their children to homes on two streets because it had been raining.

Their suspicions increased after learning that none of the homes they visited had given out Pixy Stix.

After walking the neighborhood with police three times, O'Bryan led them to the home where no one had answered the door.

O'Bryan claimed that he went back there before catching up with the group.

He said the owner of the home did not turn the lights on, but did crack the door open and hand him five Pixy Stix.

He claimed to have only seen the man's arm, which he described as "hairy".

The home was owned by a man named Courtney Melvin.

Melvin was an air traffic controller at William P. Hobby Airport and did not get home from work until 11 p.m. on Halloween night.

Police ruled Melvin out as a suspect when over 200 people confirmed that he had been at work.

He was convicted of capital murder in June 1975 and sentenced to death.

He was executed by lethal injection in March 1984.