On a July afternoon in 1980, Mr. Terrells relatives invited the boys to go swimming, but he stayed behind to care for his two younger brothers. [5] The Chevrolet wagon belonged to his parents. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. According to investigators, the cord looked similar to ligature marks found on Cater and other victims, but the cord was never taken into evidence for analysis. The book grew out of an assignment to write about the murders for Playboy, commissioned by then-editor Walter Lowe. Beginning in the summer of 1979, a series of horrific, unsolved child murders terrorize black families across Atlanta. [2] Additional fibers from the Williams's home, vehicles, and pet dog were later matched to fibers discovered on other victims. DISCOVERY: Georgia State Honors College Undergraduate Research Journal Volume 1 DISCOVERY - Georgia State University Honors College Undergraduate Research Trimier and Evans, Atlanta Metropolitan Funeral Services Inc. The best Instagram photos from 2014, After IVF shock, mom gives birth to two sets of identical twins, Inside North Korea: Water park, sacred birth site and some minders, Patrick Baltazar, 11, was found dead in '81 with scalp hairs in his shirt, New DNA test: High likelihood that hairs on Baltazar were from Wayne Williams, Williams denied he killed Baltazar, or ever met the boy, Police blame Williams in at least 24 killings in Atlanta; he was convicted of two. He then took them to Rose Hill Cemetery and proceeded to bury them all alive. How many cases would be reviewed? } He never returned home. another brother Herman and a sister Alice. Forty years ago, Atlanta was terrorized by a serial killer. Wayne was a failed music producer, freelance photographer, and alleged homosexual. When police forced their way into the home, they found five family . Verdicts: For the murder of Jimmy Ray Payne: Guilty For the murder of Nathaniel Cater: Guilty Between July 1979 and May 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia at least 28 children, teenagers and young adults were kidnapped and killed. For the 1985 miniseries, see, Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 21:45, The Moronic Inferno: And Other Visits to America, List of fugitives from justice who disappeared, Postcivil rights era in African-American history, "DNA Extracted In The Decades-Old Atlanta Child Murders Case", "The Atlanta Youth Murders and the Politics of Race", "Famous Atlanta Child Murders & Wayne Williams", Walter Isaacson; Anne Constable, "A Web of Fiber and Fact", "Homer Williams and Mrs. Faye Williams, Plaintiffs-appellants, v. City of Atlanta, et al., Defendants-appellees, 794 F.2d 624 (11th Cir. . Under a bridge. However, another theory was that all industrial wastes from factories such as Wellman were disposed of in water bodies. ushered in a new era in the city and. The story revolved around a serial killer who targeted minority children in the fictional town of Pineboro, Arkansas, who is revealed to be a demon who had possessed TV host "Uncle Barney" (a thinly veiled parody of Fred Rogers). Nineteen children were already missing or killed by the time that Curtis Walker, a seventh grader, walked into his home one afternoon in the winter of 1981. He taught me how to do everything. . Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs . My God, Ms. Leach cried, reliving that moment 38 years ago. From 1979 through 1981, a wave of kidnappings and murders terrorized Atlanta's economically marginalized African American population. The menacing drumbeat of child abductions, mostly of young African-American boys, shook a city that was emerging at the time as a progressive black mecca. When Patrick Baltazar's body was found dumped down a wooded slope behind an office park on February 13, 1981, a forensic scientist discovered two human scalp hairs inside the boy's shirt. He was a fighter, which is why I dont understand how anyone could have snatched him.. Yet despite the citys economic growth, many of its Black residents were poor. Although never tried for the additional murders, he is also believed to be responsible for at least 24 of the 30 Atlanta murders of 1979-1981, also known as the Atlanta Child Murders. The Atlanta Child Murders claimed the lives of 28 young victims from 1979 to 1981, mostly male and all African American. Then came a call from a neighbor: Turn on the news. For two weeks, Ms. Leach, now 70, waited for news about Curtis, the second oldest of her four boys, the one who had promised to score big in Hollywood, maybe as an illustrator because he drew animals so well. Have tortured and murdered a minimum of 28 boys. Earl Terell. pg.acq.push(function() { Chief Shields said the new investigation began with three questions: Where is all the evidence? Charles T. Sanders, a narcotics dealer and recruiter for the group, was said to have told a criminal informant he intended to kill Geter several weeks before his body was found. hitType: 'event', Months later, Earls skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area. At the same time, the judge decided to allow those two hairs found on Baltazar to be sent to the FBI's DNA laboratory at Quantico, Virginia. His two accomplice's names were David Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley. A thorough investigation of his home lead to the discovery of fibers from his carpets and bedsheets. He said Jamie Brooks kidnapped Clifford, held him captive in a laundromat where he worked, raped him and beaten him all day long. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. Wayne Williams is a serial killer, a predator, and he did the bulk of these murders.. Series premiere. Lee Gooch lived next door. [23], The first national media coverage of the case was in 1980, when a team from ABC News 20/20, Stanhope Gould and Bill Lichtenstein, producer Steve Tello, and correspondent Bob Sirkin from the ABC Atlanta bureau looked into the case. At the beginning of the trial, when Williams took the stand and was prosecuted, he remembered being scared and repeatedly stating that he did not know any of the victims when he was asked about his relationship with them. ga('create', 'UA-67136960-15', 'auto', 'ads'); ADVERTISEMENT Edward Hope Smith 14 year old Edward Hope "Teddy" Smith (5'4", 125lbs) lived in the Kimberly Court housing projects at 4191 Cape St. Terry Pue once lived in this very apartment. Following the trial, the law enforcement. While the demon is ultimately vanquished, the story ends on an ominous note criticizing the social inequalities that made the non-white children such attractive targets, as well as children's television shows that encourage blind trust of strangers.[25]. Police did not find any record of her or the appointment. Through it all, the parents, gutted and grief stricken, have been searching for answers. However, the forensics ruled out that none of the fibers on the pillowcases matched those retrieved from Williams' house. The only child of two schoolteachers, he graduated from Douglass High School in 1976 and enrolled in Georgia State University but quit after one year. Over the two-year period, at least 28 children, adolescents, and adults were killed. Ms. On the flip side, some families of the victims remain convinced Williams is the culprit. " [Jenelle said] she wished that Bill and Billie Jean and that damn baby would die. Williams' dog was a brown German Shepherd, but the reports had been changed to display 'light brown' in place of 'white' after Williams emerged as a suspect. On June 10, 2010, CNN broadcast a documentary, The Atlanta Child Murders, with interviews by Soledad O'Brien with some of the people involved, including Wayne Williams. Although there was no evidence that Williams had committed the murders, the evidence did pointed to the victims being in his premises at some point before their bodies were found. By age 23, he had bounced from career to. Two days later, on May 24, the nude body of Nathaniel Cater, 27, was found floating downriver a few miles from the bridge where police had seen the suspicious station wagon. --Harold Deadman, retired top DNA scientist for FBI, Fine art from an iPhone? After a series of negotiations, CBS executives agreed to insert a disclaimer alerting viewers that the film is based on fact but contains fictional elements. The other while returning from a movie. The trial officially began on January 6, 1982, with Judge Clarence Cooper presiding. Jamie Cullum at Seattle Tickets and view the schedule at Box Office Ticket Sales. All Rights Reserved. Baltazar's body had been found just over the line in the DeKalb County portion of Atlanta, and trying to include his death among the Fulton County charges would have raised legal issues. In a news conference, Mayor Bottoms said, "It may be there is nothing left to be tested. Till this day, no person has been tried for these murders and the killer has never been confirmed. He was only described as a school teacher married to Wayne's mom forever. [according to whom?] Williams was convicted on two counts of murder based on circumstantial evidence for the deaths of Payne and Carter, and sentenced to life for each count. Wayne Williams is now 60 years old. When the news of Williams's arrest was officially released (his status as a suspect had previously been leaked to the media), FBI Agent John E. Douglas stated that, if it was Williams, then he was "looking pretty good for a good percentage of the killings." When Wayne was taken into custody, police performed three separate polygraph tests, all of which indicated that he was being deceptive in his answers. } But I do think history will judge us by our actions and we will be able to say we tried. }); Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs . ), Emanuel Williams, Actor Robert Crayton killed his family in a murder-suicide. Curtis, 13, left anyway, headed to make extra money by carrying groceries for seniors. Some took their children out of school. Body discovered: Jan 9, 1981. Investigators established a 15-year window ending in 1985, in which the team would review crimes that might be linked to the Atlanta child murders but werent identified as such at the time. However, when these questions persisted and the prosecution tried to rile him up to display some kind of emotion, they succeeded. Episodes ( 5) 1. The mitochondrial DNA sequence in the hairs would eliminate 98% of African American persons by not matching their DNA. I just knew that was him.. The Atlanta Child Murders tormented parents for two years. Buy Tickets for Jamie Lissow Thu, Apr 27, 2023 7:30 pm at Comedy Works South in CO. 100% Money-Back Guarantee. pg.acq.push(function() { Scientists considered the hair and fiber evidence in the Baltazar murder to be among the strongest of their cases. The laboratory report found the scalp hairs had the same type of DNA sequence as did Wayne Williams' own hair. throughout the South. For years, a group of parents, led by Ms. Leach, had asked the city to find a permanent way to remember the children. From 1979 to 1981, at least 30 African-American youths were found murdered in Atlanta, Georgia. The black community believed the. Several pieces of evidence led investigators to the 23-year-old suspect. The Atlanta Child Murders Investigators found the body of Nathaniel Cater, who was one of the two victims for whose murders Williams was convicted. Two police cars later stopped the suspect station wagon about a half-mile from the bridge. It was a stakeout in May 1981, near the Chattahoochee River, that led the police to Mr. Williams. [PRUGH - reacts to Dekalb County police Chief Louis Graham's decision to reopen the case; talks about mistakes in the murder investigations, outlined in his book, "The List"; comments on racial issues connected to the murders; relates eyewitness accounts indicating a man named Jamie Brooks killed 12-year-old Clifford Jones; mentions Brady . Was Wayne Williams the Atlanta Child Murderer? Some parents argue that the city, eager to quiet the blistering headlines, yielded to political pressure and closed the books after Mr. Williamss trial as a matter of convenience. The Cook County medical examiner's office on Thursday night identified the victims as Richard A. Wetterholm, 85, of Wheeling and Mary A. Gulbranson, 78, of Barrington. Now it is. The two-hour documentary invited viewers to weigh the evidence presented and then go to CNN.com to cast votes on whether Williams was guilty, whether he was innocent, or if the case was "not proven."