Who Was Candace Mossler

[spikey2]

Someone on a recent tread mentioned the name Candace Mossler. I vaguely remembered the name from when I was a little kid. I did a goggle search and all kinds of things popped up. This was one notorious Houstonian back in the 1960"s. Do any one know where that old mansion in River Oaks is located where she and her boy friend plotted her rich old husband's murder.

[sevfiv]

http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murd...sler/index.html

Mossler was not merely slain. He was murdered with a vengeance. Often, such passionate overkill indicates an emotional or sexual connection between the attacker and victim. Naturally, suspicion fell on his wife and her lover.

Mossler left a record of the affair in his own diary, and he clearly understood the stakes. He wrote of Candy and Mel, ''If they don't kill me first, I'll have to kill them.''

[Earlydays]

http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murd...sler/index.html

My wife and I met Melvin Lane Powers at a party in the early 70's....and he definitely had a "sinister" look about him......

[spikey2]

Found these great pictures of Candace Mossler and her nephew. She was beautiful. The pictures was taken during her trail in Florida for murder.

[little frau]

My wife and I met Melvin Lane Powers at a party in the early 70's....and he definitely had a "sinister" look about him......

I attended a funeral at Heights Funeral Home this week and while looking on their web site I noticed that a Mel Powers had recently passed away. I read his obit and some of the signatures in the guest book and I came to the conclusion that it was indeed Melvin Lane Powers.

The photo of him that was in the obituary was a few decades old and it did have a certain "look" to it.

[mkultra25]

I attended a funeral at Heights Funeral Home this week and while looking on their web site I noticed that a Mel Powers had recently passed away. I read his obit and some of the signatures in the guest book and I came to the conclusion that it was indeed Melvin Lane Powers.

The photo of him that was in the obituary was a few decades old and it did have a certain "look" to it.

Developer who gained notoriety in 1964 murder case dies

[little frau]

I was in high school when this happened and being a teen in the 60's, this was juicy stuff!!

Percy Foreman was a real showman.

[Urban Commando]

Didn't Percy Foreman get laid out with a right hook in the Harris County Courthouse by Sheriff Buster Kern one time?

Seem to remember this story from somewhere...can't remember the details except it was Sheriff Kern.

[dbigtex56]

Never knew about the spectacular murder case with which he was connected.

My recollection was that when he went bankrupt in the 80's he claimed that the penthouse he occupied on top of an office building was covered under the homestead exemption, and by some stretch, so was the entire building.

His testicles should be bronzed and placed in a museum.

[Urban Commando]

Never knew about the spectacular murder case with which he was connected.

My recollection was that when he went bankrupt in the 80's he claimed that the penthouse he occupied on top of an office building was covered under the homestead exemption, and by some stretch, so was the entire building.

His testicles should be bronzed and placed in a museum.

The penthouse in question is at the top of Arena Towers at the Southwest Freeway and Fondren.

[silverartfox]

Didn't Percy Foreman get laid out with a right hook in the Harris County Courthouse by Sheriff Buster Kern one time?

Seem to remember this story from somewhere...can't remember the details except it was Sheriff Kern.

Percy Foreman was a legend in his time. Each year there are fewer and fewer people around who knew him personally. I can remember walking down Main Street and seeing him weave his way south along the sidewalk, fresh from a drinking session with his cronies at the old Rice Hotel. If I hadn't stepped aside, he would have run into me.

[nm5k]

Didn't Percy Foreman get laid out with a right hook in the Harris County Courthouse by Sheriff Buster Kern one time?

Seem to remember this story from somewhere...can't remember the details except it was Sheriff Kern.

That was in 1952, and involved both Kern, and Texas Ranger Johnny Klevenhagen

after the Diego Carleno murder trial in which Carleno, an alleged gangland hit

man, was acquitted. Foreman had accused Kern and Klevenhagen of beating a

confession out of Carleno. When Carleno was announced not guilty, both jumped

over the railing and proceeded to beat the snot out of Foreman.

[Specwriter]

That was in 1952, and involved both Kern, and Texas Ranger Johnny Klevenhagen

after the Diego Carleno murder trial in which Carleno, an alleged gangland hit

man, was acquitted. Foreman had accused Kern and Klevenhagen of beating a

confession out of Carleno. When Carleno was announced not guilty, both jumped

over the railing and proceeded to beat the snot out of Foreman.

I wouldn't be surprise to learn that Foreman thought the publicity was well worth the discomfort of the beating. He was a character to be sure.

Was Texas Ranger Klevenhagen, who died in 1958, the father of the Harris County Sheriff (served in that capacity from 1985-1995) of the same name?

[JJVilla]

Yes it seems: http://www.findagrav...gr&GRid=6816164

Johnny Klevenhagen, was named for his legendary Texas Ranger father. He joined the Harris County Sheriff's Department in 1961 at the age of twenty-one.

In 1984, Klevenhagen decided to run against Jack Heard in the Sheriff's race. Sheriff Klevenhagen served during perhaps the most difficult, yet challenging, period of the Department's history.

[devonhart]

Found a photo of Ms. Mossler.

[dualref]

The Mossler mansion in River Oaks was at 3699 Willowick. But last year the city was petitioned by an unknown individual to change the address to 3711 Willowick. Too much notoriety I guess. This house was next door to Bob Lanier's home. Interestingly enough this house is only a couple of blocks away from the Joan Robinson Hill house.

She carried on for awhile with her nephew Melvin Lane Powers, then married a young electrician. She divorced him and ended up dying at the Fountainbleu Hotel on Miami beach due to a overdose of sleeping pills. Her autopsy showed that she had been addicted to sleeping pills and demerol for years and that contributed to her death as well. In fact the week before she OD'd in Miami she had been treated at Methodist Hospital for another overdose. They pumped her stomach and released her. She then went to Miami to attend a banking board meeting and od'd again this time fatal.

Candy was worth $33 million at the time she died and disinherited three of her four adopted kids for being "lazy". I wonder who got that money?

Has anyone ever learned what killed Melvin Lane Powers? I've searched but the best I could find is "Harris County Medical Examiner has not released the cause of death". It's been almost two years now. The news reports at the time indicated that it could have been a "mysterious" end.

With Melvin's death all of the principles from the Jaques Mossler case are gone. I wonder if they'll ever make a movie out of this saga?

[austintennis2006]

i remember back in the early 80's my uncle had a marina on lake travis (briarcliff) and this 'sinister' looking gentleman would occasionally pull his 40' cigarette type boat in for fuel... i was made aware that it was mr melvin powers as my uncle had also been from houston in the 60s. powers was an interesting looking character..about 6'3 or so well built and tanned wearing just a speedo type swimshuit with long stringy hair... he was always with a couple of very beautiful blonde stripper types.

[austintennis2006]

a

[msteele6]

If I am not much mistaken the dark haired man that Candace Mossler is smiling at in post #15 above is Mel Powers.

 

It's also interesting that the building that Mr. Foreman was allegedly trying to homestead (post #10) is in the Arena Towers, a developement that was owned by Mr. Powers.

 

I heard that Mr. Powers got into a rather heated dispute with a local steel erector about one of his projects and as he banged on the table the erector grabbed his tie thus restraining him.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   It's also interesting that Mr. Powers project was located right next to the Dean Goss dinner theater. Mr. Goss had some interesting incidents in his life that revolved around mysterious murders (two of his wives if memory serves).

[Earlydays]

...it is Powers   (as I mentioned in an earlier post, my wife and I met him in the early 70's)

[msteele6]

With regard to the proximity of Mr. Goss' and Mr. Powers' projects I've heard that ornithological specimens displaying identical plumage congregate homogeneously.

[austintennis2006]

ya some interesting times back in the early 80's at that marina..my uncle was an associate of mr john osorio who was involved in the sharpstown bank scandal and osorio lived there at the marina...one time dennis hopper was staying there and i met him