The Atlanta child murders, known locally simply as the "missing and murdered children case", were a series of murders committed in Atlanta, Georgia from the summer of 1979 until the spring of 1981. Over the two year period, twenty-nine African-American children, adolescents and adults were killed. This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Languages Predominantly American English Religions Protestantism (chiefly Baptist and Methodist); Roman Catholicism; Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ...

The Murders

The murders of Tyieshia Young(11) and Alfred Evans(12), which were just two days apart, began the series of murders committed by the Atlanta Child Killer. The next murder victim, Milton Harvey (who was 14 years old at the time) disappeared on September 4, 1979 while traveling to the bank to pay a credit card bill for his mother.

Yusef Bell went to the store to buy snuff for a neighbor. A witness said she saw Yusef getting into a blue car before he disappeared. Still, the police did not make a link to the three recent killings. Snuff is a type of smokeless tobacco. ...

The next victim, 12-year-old Angel Lenair, was the first female victim of the Atlanta Child Killer. Within the next two weeks, Jeffery Mathis and Eric Middlebrooks had also disappeared.

Then on June 9, Chris Richardson went missing while on his way to a local pool. On June 22 and June 23, 7-year-old Latoyna Wilson and 10 year old Aaron Wyche went missing.

Two Atlanta Child murders occurred during July of 1980, those of Anthony Carter and Earl Terell.

Between August and November, five more killings took place. However, there were no known victims during the month of December.

The murders continued into 1981, and the first known victim in the new year was Lubie Geter, who disappeared on January 3. Geter's body was found in February. Lubie Geter's friend, Terry Pue, went missing in January also. An anonymous caller and told police where to find his body. [1]

There were two more murders in February, and March was the month which saw the most Atlanta Child murders (four in total, including the first adult victim, Eddie Duncan).

Larry Rogers was murdered in April, as well as an ex-convict named John Porter and Jimmy Ray Payne.

William Barrett went missing on May 16, 1981 and his body was found close to his home. The Atlanta Child Killer's last known victim was Nathaniel Cater, who was 27 years old.

After this, the investigation created a map about the victims' whereabouts. Despite their ages, the parameters were the same. They were connected to Memorial Drive and eleven major streets in the area.

Capturing the Suspect

Police staked out the James Jackson parkway/south Cobb drive bridge over the Chattahoochee river between Atlanta/Fulton county and suburban Cobb county to monitor any sign of suspicious activity in connection with the murders. On the last night of their stake-out, May 22, 1981, detectives got the first major break in the case when an officer heard a splash in the water beneath the bridge. Shortly thereafter a white 1970 Chevrolet station wagon was seen slowly driving away from the bridge. a Atlanta police patrol car and a second unmarked car carrying federal agents first followed and then stopped the station wagon about a half mile from the bridge.The driver was 22 year old Wayne Bertram Williams. During questioning, he said he was going to help a woman named Cheryl Johnson to audition to be a singer. Police found no record of Cheryl Johnson or Williams' apparent appointment with her. is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Wayne Williams (born May 27, 1958) was identified as the key suspect in the Atlanta Child Murders that occurred between 1979 and 1981, and in January, 1982 was found guilty of the murder of two adult men. ...

On May 24, the naked body of Nathaniel Cater was found in the river just a few miles from the bridge where Williams' car was stopped. Based on this evidence, including the splash, police believed Williams killed Cater and disposed of the body while police were there without his knowledge.

Several pieces of evidence finally made police consider Williams a prime suspect. Finally, on June 21, 1981 , they arrested and indicted Williams for first degree murder in the deaths of Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne. The trial date was set for early 1982.

Trial

Jury selection began on December 28, 1981 and lasted six days. When seated, the jury was composed of nine women and three men, with a racial breakdown of eight blacks and four whites.

The trial officially began on January 6, 1982 with Judge Clarence Cooper presiding. The most important evidence against Williams was the fiber analysis between victims and the 10 pattern murder cases.

On February 27, 1982 , Wayne Bertram Williams was found guilty of the two murders and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in the Georgia state prison at Reidsville.

On May 6, 2005, DeKalb County, Georgia Police Chief Louis Graham ordered the reopening of the murder cases of the four boys killed in DeKalb county between February and May 1981 that were attributed to Williams. Chief Graham believes that Williams may be innocent of all of the murders. However, the remaining cases are under the jurisdiction of Fulton County, Georgia and are still considered closed by the relevant authorities. DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. ... Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. ...

Recent Developments

Now 47 years old, Wayne Williams continues to maintain his innocence.

About six months after he became DeKalb chief, Graham reopened the investigation into the deaths of the five DeKalb victims: Aaron Wyche, 10; Curtis Walker, 13; Joseph Bell, 15; William Barrett, 17; and Patrick Baltazar, 11. Graham, one of the original investigators in the case, said he never believed Wayne Williams — the man convicted of two of the killings and blamed for 22 others — was guilty of any of them.

On August 6, 2005, it was revealed that Charles T. Sanders, a white supremacist affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan who had been investigated for a role in the Atlanta child killings, once praised the crimes in secretly recorded conversations. Although Sanders did not claim responsibility for any of the deaths, lawyers for Williams believe the evidence will help their bid for a new trial. Sanders told an informant for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in the 1981 recording that the killer had "wiped out a thousand future generations of niggers." Police dropped the probe into the KKK's possible involvement after seven weeks, when Sanders and two of his brothers passed lie detector tests. is the 218th day of the year (219th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Members of the second Ku Klux Klan at a rally during the 1920s. ... A polygraph or lie detector is a device which measures and records several physiological variables such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and skin conductivity while a series of questions is being asked, in an attempt to detect lies. ...

John E. Douglas, world famous criminal profiler, has stated that while he believes Williams committed many of the murders, he did not commit them all. He adds that he believes law enforcement has some idea of who the other killers are, cryptically adding "it isn't a single offender and the truth isn't pleasant."^[2] John E. Douglas (born June 18, 1945) is a former FBI agent and one of the first profilers. ...

On June 21, 2006 DeKalb County police dropped their reinvestigation of the Atlanta child murders. Graham resigned last month and was replaced by acting chief Nick Marinelli, who said, "We dredged up what we had, and nothing has panned out, so until something does or additional evidence comes our way, or there's forensic feedback from existing evidence, we will continue to pursue the [other] cold cases that are in our reach.". is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On January 29, 2007 lawyers for the state of Georgia agreed to allow DNA testing of dog hair that was used to convict Wayne Williams. The decision came in a response to a filing as part of Williams' efforts to appeal his conviction and life sentence. Williams' lawyer, Jack Martin, asked a Fulton County Superior Court judge to allow DNA tests on dog and human hair and blood that might help win Williams a new trial.

On June 26, 2007 the test results were released and found to be inconclusive.

Victims

Notes

1. ^[3] Mindhunter by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker

Further reading

• Keppel, Robert. The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer. New York, Pocket Books, 2004 (revised and updated). Contains a chapter on the Atlanta Child Murders and Keppel's participation as a consultant with the investigation.

Robert D. Keppel (born 1944) is a former Seattle, Washington police detective most known for his work tracking serial killers Ted Bundy and Gary Ridgway, also known as the Green River Killer. ...

External links

• FBI - Freedom of Information Act - Atlanta Child Murders
• Crime Library: The Atlanta Child Murders