The Story of 'The Candyman' Who Killed His Young Son on Halloween

On Halloween in 1974, father of two Ronald Clark O’Bryan took his children, Timothy and Elizabeth, trick-or-treating in their neighborhood. Just after Timothy ate a pixy-stick later in the evening, he began complaining of stomach pains and ultimately collapsed. He would later die from cyanide poisoning and his father would be dubbed ‘The Candyman’ for his role in Timothy’s murder.

Despite the fact he had never before shown too much interest in Halloween, on October 31, 1974, O’Bryan was excited to take his children, 8-year-old Timothy, and 6-year-old Elizabeth trick-or-treating. Family friend Jim Bates and his two children met with O’Bryan as they walked around a few neighborhoods near their homes in Pasadena, Texas. O’Bryan remained behind the group.

At one of the houses the children visited, no one answered. After a few minutes, O’Bryan caught up with the group and held five pixy-stiks, a sweet and sour candy that came in a straw like tube. He told the children that the homeowner was at home and giving away expensive candies. He handed one Pixy-Stik to each child, then went home. The final one went to a random child who came to the O’Bryan’s doors.

As Timothy and Elizabeth got ready for bed, O’Bryan allowed the kids to have one piece of candy. Soon afterward, Timothy complained that the Pixy-Stik was bitter. He was encouraged to drink some Kool-aid to wash down the food. Thirty seconds later, Timothy began crying, saying his stomach was hurting. Within minutes, he was in the bathroom convulsing, vomiting, and gasping for air according to statements made by Ronald O’Bryan. He died en route to the hospital.

When an autopsy was performed, the medical examiner immediately noticed the smell of almonds coming from Timothy’s mouth. The smell of almonds is the tell-tale sign for cyanide poisoning. The medical examiner reported that the amount of cyanide found in Timothy’s body was enough to kill three grown men. Tests showed the top two inches of each pixy-stik was filled with cyanide then resealed with a staple.

In an attempt to find which house and person who gave O’Bryan the pixy-stiks, police wanted him and Bates to retrace their steps. O’Bryan began having conflicting accounts according to A & E. He reported that he rang the doorbell at the dark house and a man with a “hairy arm” shoved the candy towards him. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the man who lived in the home was at work as an air-traffic controller and was able to have 200 people vouch for him.

As they continued their investigation, police soon discovered O’Bryan had a myriad of financial issues. As an optician who worked for Texas State Optical, he reportedly only made $150 a week and was about to be fired after his boss found out he was stealing. In the decade before the crime, he was fired from 21 positions.

O’Bryan was also $100,000 in debt and his car was going to be repossessed soon. O’Bryan took out life insurance policies on his children for $60,000. At 9 a.m. the morning following Timothy’s murder, O’Bryan called his insurers to ask about the payout. On November 5, 1974, O’Bryan was arrested for the murder of Timothy. He was charged with one count of capital murder and four counts of attempted murder. He pled not guilty to all five charges.

During his trial, police were unaware how exactly O’Bryan was able to obtain cyanide. During a community college class O’Bryan attended, he asked his professor whether cyanide was more lethal than other drugs. One man who worked at a chemical company in Houston described how a customer came in to inquire about the buying of cyanide. When the customer was told the smallest amount of cyanide he could buy was 5 pounds, he left. Although the man could not directly identify O’Bryan, he described his work uniform almost perfectly according to Vice.

The jury deliberated for less than an hour to find him guilty of Timothy’s murder, and the attempted murder of the four other children. It took an hour and five minutes to sentence O’Bryan to death by electric chair according to ABC 13. O’Bryan maintained his innocence for nearly a decade as he exhausted all appeals. By 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executions via the electric chair were cruel and unusual punishment. He was executed by lethal injection on March 31, 1984, in Huntsville, Texas.