Atlanta child murders

The Atlanta child murders, known locally simply as the "missing and murdered children case", were a series of murders committed in

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Atlanta, Georgia, beginning in 1979. Over a period of two years, twenty-nine African-American children were killed.

Related Topics:
Atlanta - Georgia - 1979 - African-American

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Wayne Bertram Williams was convicted by a Fulton County, Georgia jury of the murder of Jimmy Ray Payne and Nathaniel Cater and is currently (as of 2005) serving two life sentences. 22 of the cases were closed by the Atlanta police on their belief that Williams had committed them. Another five murders attributed to Williams occurred in neighboring DeKalb County, Georgia.

Related Topics:
Wayne Bertram Williams - Fulton County, Georgia - As of 2005 - Life sentence - Police - DeKalb County, Georgia

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On July 21, 1979, a 14-year old, Edward Smith, disappeared after leaving a skating rink at which he had spent the night with his girlfriend. On July 23, 13 year old Alfred Evans disappeared on the way to a movie. Their bodies were discovered on July 28 in a wooded lot off Nisey Lake Road. Smith had been shot with a 22 caliber gun; Evans died of strangulation.

Related Topics:
July 21 - July 23 - July 28 - Caliber - Gun - Strangulation

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On September 4, Milton Harvey disappeared, having taken his bicycle with him. The bicycle was found on September 11. His body was discovered in a landfill near the municipal airport two months later.

Related Topics:
September 4 - Bicycle - September 11 - Landfill - Airport

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On October 21, Yusef Bell failed to return from a shopping errand for a neighbor. His mother appeared on television praying to have the kidnapper release her son. On November 8, Bell's body was found in a abandoned school. He had been strangled.

Related Topics:
October 21 - November 8

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A pattern became apparent across the deaths of Smith, Evans, and Harvey. The murders attracted national attention, and there was a mass call for police action.

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On March 4, 1980 12 year old Angel Lenair disappeared and her body was discovered on March 10, tied to a tree with electrical cord around her neck and evidence of a sexual assault, although Lenair was not an abuse victim.

Related Topics:
March 4 - 1980 - March 10 - Sexual assault

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The next day 10 year old Jeffery Mathis disappeared.

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On May 18, Eric Middlebrooks disappeared along with his bike. Both were found on May 19. Eric had been bludgeoned to death. Chris Richardson lived in a nice middle class neighborhood. On June 9, 1980, Chris left to go swimming. He never got there.

Related Topics:
May 18 - May 19 - June 9 - 1980

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Two weeks later an amazing crime occurred. On June 22, 7 year old Latoyna Wilson was kidnapped from her home. A witness said she saw the suspect break into the home and snatch Latonya. A summer of death was just beginning. Shortly after a police task force was formed, 10 year old Aaron Wyche disappeared. On June 24, his body was found underneath a bridge, cause of death: asphyxiation. On July 6, Tony Carter vanished while playing Hide and Seek with a friend. The next day he was found stabbed to death. Police maintained the cases were unrelated. Three weeks later on July 30, Earl Terell disappeared after he was sent out of a swimming pool because of misbehavior. His aunt got a ransom call. The summer ended with the death of another child. On August 20, the body of Clifford Jones was found in a dumpster. He had been strangled. Witnesses said they saw him on the night of the murder. Now convinced that the deaths could be related, the police complied a list of victims.

Related Topics:
June 22 - June 24 - Asphyxiation - July 6 - July 30 - August 20

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On September 14, 1980, 10 year old Darren Glass disappeared after getting off a bus stop. Police ignored the case at first because on a few occasions, Darren would run away from home. Then patterns emerged during the investigations.

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On October 9, 1980, 12 year old Charles Stephens went missing. He was found suffocated on a hillside the next morning. On October 13, an explosion ripped through a day care center. It was thought to have been a racist attack. A faulty boiler was the real cause. On that same day searchers found the remains of Latonya Wilson who had been missing for four months.

Related Topics:
October 9 - October 13

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On November 2, 1980 , the body of 9 year old Aaron Jackson was found beneath a bridge in the South River. The cause was listed as probable asphyxia. On November 10 , Aaron's friend and neighbor, 16 year old Patrick Rogers disappeared. Like Darron Glass, he too was thought to have ran away. 4 days before Christmas, Patrick's body was found in the Chattahoochee River. He died of blunt force truama to the head.

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On January 3, 1981, 14 year old Lubie Geter disappeared. One month later his decomposed body was found in a wooded area. Cause of death: manual strangulation. That same month, 15 year old Terry Pue went missing. His body was found on Sigman road near Interstate 20.

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After the murder of 11 year old Patrick Baltazar, police focused on what evidence could be found since other victims were dumped in rivers.

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On February 13, 1981, police found the remains of Jeffrey Mathis, missing for almost a year. Cause of death: undetermined, suggesting possible homicide.

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On February 19, six days after the remains of Jeffrey Mathis were discovered, 15 year old Curtis Walker disappeared. His body was found on March 6 in the South River. Walker died of asphyxiation.

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On March 2, 1981, four days before Curtis Walker's body was found, 15 year old Joseph Bell went missing. His mother repeatedly called police but she was too late. On April 19, his body was also found in the South River. He too died of asphyxia. Joseph was linked to several other victims both on and off the infamous list.

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On March 12, Bell's friend, 13 year old Timothy Hill vanished. His friends and family spread evidence of sexual conduct between Timothy and neighbor Tom Terell. Timothy was found strangled on March 30, 1981 in the Chattahoochee River. He was the last child victim added to the list.

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Soon after a revolt at the Techwood Homes project, the first adult was added to the list. On March 20, 21 year old Eddie Duncan disappeared. He was found in the Chattahoochee River on April 8, dead of possible asphyxiation. His murder was linked to the case of Patrick Rogers.

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Immense amounts of money was offered as a reward to help find the killers. Many famous figures raised and donated it.

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20 year old Larry Rogers was next. In April, his body was found in an abandoned apartment. Rogers, mentally retarded, had been missing for over 2 weeks. He died of strangulation. Soon afterward, the body of 23 year old ex-convict Michael McIntosh was pulled from the Chattahoochee River. He died of possible aspyxiation.

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After that, another ex-con, John Porter was found dead in an empty lot. He was stabbed six times but would not be linked until the trial. He disappeared after being kicked out of his grandmother's home for fondling a 2 year old baby she was caring for.

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On April 22, 21 year old Jimmy Ray Payne vanished after leaving for a coin shop. Five days later, he was found dead, stripped to his underwear, in the Chattahoochee River. The cause was unknown.

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Two and a half weeks later, on May 16, 17 year old delinquent William Barrett dissapeared after leaving to pay a bill for his mother. The next day, he was found strangled and stabbed in a wooded area. He was victim number 28.

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Soon after, 27 year old Nathaniel Cater disappeared. He lived in the same apartment complex with victim Latonya Wilson. He would be the last victim.

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Afte 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.

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Police staked out the James Johnson bridge to monitor any sign of suspicious activity. On the last day, May 22, 1981, they got the first major break in the case when an officer heard a splash. Soon after a white 1970 Chevorlet station wagon was slowly driving in the vicinity of 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 for Cheryl Johnson.

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

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Several pieces of evidence finally made police go after Williams. 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.

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The jury selection began on December 28, 1981 and lasted six days. The jury is composed of nine women and three men, eight black and four white.

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The trial kicked off on January 6, 1982. Clarence Cooper was the judge. The most important piece of evidence against Williams was the fiber analysis between victims and the 10 pattern murder cases.

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

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On May 6, 2005, DeKalb County, Georgia Police Chief Louis Graham ordered the re-opening of the murder

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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.

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Now 47 years old, Wayne Williams continues to maintain that he is innocent.

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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.

Related Topics:
August 6 - 2005 - Charles T. Sanders - Ku Klux Klan - Lie-detector tests

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