The 1974 Halloween Night "Candy Man" Murder That Changed Trick or Treating Forever

Eight year old Timothy O'Bryan was poisoned on October 31, 1974 with Halloween candy. Several other children in this small Texas town had cyanide laced candy waiting in their bag that could have taken more lives. What started as an innocent night of Trick or Treating ended with a community in shock and disbelief that a trusted member of the community could be capable of such an act of evil. A Nation would panic, urban legends grew overnight, and innocence was lost as every Halloween that followed was met with parents searching through candy looking for tampering.