29 Missing Boys. One Shocking Confession.(opens in new tab)
In the early 1970s, teenage boys began disappearing across Houston, Texas. One by one, they vanished, leaving behind empty bedrooms, unanswered questions, and a city that chose not to look too closely.
Police called them runaways. Parents were told to be patient. Lack of concern caused a pattern to go unnoticed, until a single phone call changed everything.
On August 8, 1973, a teenage boy confessed to killing a man and exposed a horror hidden in plain sight. What followed was one of the most disturbing discoveries in American criminal history: a network of abduction, torture, and murder that had operated undetected for years.
In The "Candy Man" Murders(opens in new tab), Jen Schaffer delivers a haunting, deeply researched account of the Houston Mass Murders. Through meticulous investigation and gripping narrative, she reveals not only the crimes themselves but the systemic failures, cultural blind spots, and quiet complicity that allowed them to continue.
Because the most terrifying truth isn’t just what happened—it's how long it took for someone to stop it.
About Author Jen Schaffer
Jen Schaffer is a true crime writer and researcher pursuing a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice at Lamar University. She is the creator of the podcast Crude Acts(opens in new tab) and has been featured on the television series Texas True Crime on HULU. She will also appear in upcoming episodes of Bloodline Detectives and Green Eyed Killers. Her work focuses on responsible true crime storytelling, exploring criminal behavior, systemic failure, and ethical accountability in true crime storytelling.
