Daniel Lee Corwin

Daniel Lee Corwin (September 13, 1958 – December 7, 1998) was an American serial killer who was sentenced to death and executed for murdering three women across three counties in Texas between February and July 1987. After his conviction for an attempted murder, he confessed to the previous crimes, for which he was tried, convicted, and eventually executed.

Corwin's case is notable as he is the first person to be tried and successfully convicted under Texas' "serial killer statute".

Early life Little is known of Corwin's background. Born in Orange County, California on September 13, 1958, he was one of two children born to Phil and Nancy Corwin, who also had a daughter named Debbie. At some point, the family moved to Temple, Texas, where the young Corwin became a Boy Scout, worked as a Sunday School teacher and was reportedly a good student. It is known that Corwin suffered two severe cuts to the head during accidents; later, psychologists suggested that this caused him brain damage.

Crimes 1975 attack In 1975, Corwin abducted a classmate at knifepoint in their high school parking lot while she was getting into her car. He drove her to a remote location in her own car and raped her. He then dragged her out of the car, knocked her down, slit her throat, and stabbed her in the stomach and heart. Her body was found on the following day, but due to the lack of an apparent motive at first, authorities were unable to locate a suspect. The murder came as a shock to the local community, as Martin, a retired postmistress and wife of the local commissioner, was well-respected in the area. Eventually, the Robertson County CrimeStoppers branch and the Normangee State Bank raised a total of $12,000 as a reward for any potential information that could lead to an arrest.

In May of that year, following the arrest of murderer James Otto Earhart, authorities investigated him for involvement in the Martin murder, but he was quickly ruled out.

On July 10, 1987, Corwin kidnapped at gunpoint 26-year-old Debra Lynn Ewing from an insurance office at the Huntsville Vision Center in Huntsville. He then drove her to Montgomery County, where he raped and stabbed her. Despite a witness being present and describing the abductor in detail, authorities failed to identify Corwin as a suspect at this time. Corwin then tied her upright to a tree and slit her throat. Gant managed to free herself and hid until Corwin left, later being found in a parking lot by a county employee and taken to hospital. Shortly after his arrest, authorities announced that he was a suspect in the three murders, but that they had not yet gathered enough evidence to charge him.

Police subsequently found a fingerprint from Corwin on the driver's side door of Gant's vehicle. In 1989, he pleaded guilty to attempted capital murder in the case and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. In the course of the following two months, Corwin additionally admitted to killing Martin as well, but claimed that it was unintentional. Despite his admissions, he was indicted on 3 counts of capital murder under the state's serial murder clause.

Corwin's second trial began in March 1990 in Montgomery County, under the agreement that it would prosecute him for the murders in the two other counties as well. During the trial, the prosecutor presented circumstantial evidence from three laboratory technicians with the Texas Department of Public Safety that three hairs found in Corwin's pickup truck were consistent with hairs from Ewing and Risinger, while a fourth indicated that one other hair also linked him to the Martin murder. In addition, multiple witnesses indicated unusual occurrences surrounding the dates of the murders, such as one employer of Corwin noticing that he had a strange cut on his finger; when asked, Corwin claimed that he had cut himself while attempting to open a jar. Prison psychologist Lou Davis testified that Corwin was initially hesitant to talk about the crime out of fear of being labeled a "serial killer", but eventually opened up about the crimes, claiming that he felt guilty and wanted to tell somebody.

On March 17, 1990, Corwin was convicted of the capital murders of Martin and Risinger, making him the first person to be convicted under Texas' serial killer statute. His lawyer objected to the conviction, claiming that he denied access to an attorney despite asking for one on at least two occasions. Four days later, after less than 35 minutes of deliberation, the jury recommended that Corwin be sentenced to death.

Imprisonment and execution After spending eight years on death row, Corwin was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit on December 7, 1998. "

In the media His case was shown on Forensic Files II. The episode, titled "Portrait of a Serial Killer," originally aired on HLN on March 15, 2020.