- Then reading became a developed form where it became shade. Shade is I don't tell you you're ugly but I don't have to tell you
because you know you're ugly and that's shade. - In 1993, Dorian Corey, a legend in the New York
drag scene, died from AIDS. Two months after her death, her caregiver Lois Taylor was looking through Dorian's closet
for Halloween costumes. Dorian's wardrobe was legendary. She'd once constructed and
then wore a golden cape that covered an entire ballroom floor. Costumes are so silly. Adults need to grow up. Taylor, who was also a
celebrated drag performer, told New York Magazine "It's
what Dorian told me to do, "take the costumes I
wanted and sell the rest." But as Taylor and two more
friends shopped Corey's closet, they found more than they bargained for in the form of a green plaid garment bag slumped on the floor. Unable to find the zipper or lift the surprisingly heavy bag, Taylor found some scissors so
they could cut the bag open. An unmistakable stench was released. Taylor immediately called the police. When asked if she stuck around
to see what was in the bag, she gave a resounding no. Quote, "You look at
something like that, honey, "that's something you won't get over "for the rest of your life." That's right, deathlings,
it was a Cadaver Crime. (dramatic music) I first saw Dorian Corey in the 1990 Jennie Livingston
documentary "Paris Is Burning" about the black Latinx
LGBTQ ball subculture of New York in the 1980s. The movie is funny and colorful but it also shines a
light on the inequality, oppression, and talent
running through this scene. "Paris Is Burning" introduced
voguing to a larger audience and caused words like shade and realness to be adopted and appropriated
by mainstream culture. Dorian Corey is one of
the standouts in the film. At the end of the documentary, she sits at her mirror applying her makeup and speaking about living,
fame, and being remembered. - I always had hopes of being a big star. Then I look, as you get
older, you aim a little lower. And I just say well, yeah, I just still might make an impression. Everybody wants to leave
something behind them. Some impression, some mark upon the world. Then you think you left
a mark on the world if you just get through it. - While the documentary was being shot, the contents of the green
garment bag in Dorian's closet were probably already in there. And what were those contents exactly? This is a cadaver crime. You know perfectly well what
was in that garment bag. It was a corpse curled
in a fetal position, bullet hole in the head,
wrapped in Naugahyde, which is a kind of fake
leather, and plastic bags. The corpse's formerly
brown skin was shades of purple and yellow. A somewhat unusual detail
that would turn out to be pretty telling later on
were the number of pull tabs from old flip-top beer cans
that fell out of the plastic when the body was unwrapped. We'll get to that in a moment. Detective Raul Figueroa in
the missing-persons squad of the medical examiner's
office described the body as partially mummified,
partially decomposed. Essentially the body had
been shielded from air by the plastic and Naugahyde but it still decayed, releasing liquid. So as Figueroa had described it, for some time it had been
floating in its own soup. The skin of the partial mummy
had become very delicate like old fabric and it would
fall apart at the touch. So Figueroa treated the body using what he called a
personally invented trade secret, hardening the skin enough
to take fingerprints. And for the 40th time on this channel, we meet a man ridiculously protective over their secret corpse solution. My kingdom for a guy who's just like "Oh, my secret corpse solution? "Yeah, it's vinegar and cat litter." (cat meows) Because of her persona, people speculated if Corey had intentionally gone for a campy Egyptian vibe when
she wrapped up the corpse. But Figueroa dismissed
this as sensationalism, offering some insight into
how people hide corpses that suddenly come into their possession. Said Figueroa, "People just wrap a body "in whatever's available. "It's just spontaneous. "You wrap it up. "Then you put it in a suitcase. "Then you put it in the closet. "Then you just look at it periodically "and wish it would go away." I would listen to a true crime
podcast hosted by this guy. Through fingerprints courtesy
of the secret corpse solution, the body was identified as
Bobby Worley, alias Bobby Wells. Worley didn't have a great track record. He had been arrested
and incarcerated in 1963 for rape and assault and hadn't been seen since the late 60s. And remember those pull
tabs on the beer cans? Those came from the 60s and 70s, which led investigators to the conclusion that Worley, the corpse
in Dorian Corey's closet, had been dead for 20 years. But how did Worley's corpse
get in Corey's closet? Unfortunately there are a lot of theories and no conclusive answers. Here are the most likely scenarios. One would be that Worley
and Corey had a relationship that turned violent. Worley lived a secretive life but he did attempt to talk to his brother about his lifestyle choices. The brother's words, not mine. And about a relationship he had with someone in the trans community. A relationship that challenged his ideas of machismo, masculinity, and sexuality. Worley's brother confirmed that Dorian was the
name of Worley's friend who he had fought with. His brother was quoted as saying, "I'm pretty sure he acted
out his violence with her, "but I have no firsthand knowledge." At some point, Corey wrote a short story about a trans woman whose lover forces her into sexual reassignment surgery
and then kills that lover. So it's possible that Worley was violent or abusive towards her
and Corey shot Worley in the heat of an argument. There's also the theory that Worley broke into Corey's apartment and she shot him in self-defense. Supposedly a note existed, found pinned to Worley's corpse that reads "This poor
man broke into my home "and was trying to rob me." The theory seems plausible
since at the time, Corey's Harlem neighborhood
was rife with crime. But why would Corey keep
the corpse of her assailant if she was merely acting in self-defense? As a black drag performer,
a trans woman in Harlem in the 60s and 70s, it's highly unlikely that the police would have
been totally understanding about the situation. So it's speculated in an act of self-preservation
and survival, she just wrapped up the body, hid it, and tried to forget about it.
And if you think about it, whether Corey knew Worley or not, her reasons for not reporting the death are likely to be the same. However, the corpse in
Dorian Corey's closet doesn't take away from her
legacy as a drag mother, a mentor, as well as the
queen of the house of Corey. A cadaver crime absent
clear murderous intent is not her claim to fame. - And a few people remember your name. Then you left a mark. - No video next week, deathlings, unless you're a patron on Patreon, where I'll be releasing
an additional video, the fourth in the prophecy,
a casual sit-down chat, just you and I about body donation crime. Medical schools and broken rules. Also this week is our
last week to order a shirt from the Good Death store
that supports Trans Lifeline. It's a Santa Muerte design
from artist Sonya Lazo. More information on how
to do that linked below. When Caitlin is here,
criminals run in fear. (bubbles popping) This video was made
with generous donations from death enthusiasts just like you. Just filmed the first half of this with the air conditioner
on but that's fine. Fine, we're all fine. Nobody's upset about that. Okay, this is just me
giving up on this hat. I'll have to do some other funny things. I'll try and work in
some other funny things. Problem is I'm not very funny. I'm just gonna burn it! Burn it! The feeling when you've
had it with your hat. What, I seem to say? It has a hole which makes it look like you could blow bubbles
but there's no hole here. All right, bye. Bye.
