Sign up for notifications from Insider! Many journalists and community leaders also have their doubts, and wonder why other leads werent pursued. This line of investigation does not appear to have ever been sufficiently pursued. Then the killings changed. Forty years later, with the official re-opening of the case by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the series tells the inside story of this shocking tragedy, shedding new light on the horrific killings through exclusive archival material as well as interviews with those closest to the children and investigation. In May: William Barrett (17). Between 1979 and 1981 29 African American children went missing and were found dead in Atlanta. Are We Finally Ready to See One of the 90s Most Acclaimed Bands for What It Really Was? Police subsequently have attributed a number of the child murders to Williams, although he has not been charged in any of those cases, and Williams himself maintains his innocence. The public struggles with the question of Williams's guilt. Agents arrested Williams on June 21, 1981. By the end of the finale, a man named Wayne Williams was charged with two murders and subsequently blamed for over 20 others. The murders ended following the arrest of Wayne Williams. However, both the phone number he gave police and Cheryl Johnson turned out to be fictitious. Till this day, no person has been tried for these murders and the killer has never been confirmed.Between 1979 and 1981 29 African American children went missing and were found dead in Atlanta. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Shes not alone. We flashback to heartbreaking news footage and still photos of so many victims, so many funeral services, so many children left dead in alleys, in the woods, dumped in rivers. There were all these questions. February: Patrick Baltazar (12) and Curtis Walker (13). The Atlanta Child Murders were the main focus of Mindhunter's second season, and last year, a three-hour documentary called The Atlanta Child Murders premiered on Investigation Discovery. We walked into this project thinking Wayne was the killer, Pollard said. The scene ends quickly, and no added attention is given to Williams at the time, but viewers who were already familiar with the Atlanta Child Murders and Wayne Williams likely recognized the convicted man before any of the characters on "Mindhunter" did. Fiber experts testified, stating that the probability of finding that exact carpet in a random home was approximately 1 in 7,792. When the press reports about possible fiber matches that could help identify the killer, the monster starts dumping bodies in the river, to wash away evidence and eliminate a crime scene. The documentary series also points to alternate suspects and details the biases and unexplored leads that may have tainted the original investigation. Originally posted Thursday, March 21, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio &. He was convicted with two life imprisonment sentences. Wayne Williams is known for Another Level: I Want You for Myself (1999), Another Level: Be Alone No More (1998) and Another Level: Guess I Was a Fool (1998). The HBO series presents one of the strongest alternative scenariosthat a local man with a record of sexual assaults raped and killed one victim, Clifford Jonesa story dismissed by the police because the eyewitness who claimed to have observed the crime was intellectually disabled. I think theres a lot of folks around the country that this would be new to them.. A special task force is created. [10] His trial began on January 6, 1982, in Fulton County. The anonymous former friend went on to say that, "Once it was pinned on Wayne Williams, they were through. You Can Stream Every 'Rocky' Movie Right Now, 'WoF' Fans Say This Is the 'Biggest Choke' on Show, Daisy Jones & the Six Is a Rock Epic in 10 Parts, See Mariska Hargitays Emotional Tribute on IG. Wayne Williams stood trial for the slaying of two young African-Americans. (Williams wardrobe, they discovered, was composed of primarily drab brown colors.). For over a month, the FBI set up surveillance along the rivers bridges. See full bio More at IMDbPro Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro Known For Another Level: I Want You for Myself Wayne Williams (1999) Born in 1958, Wayne Williams was an aspiring music producer who grew up in Dixie Hills, Atlanta. They radioed teams above, who immediately stopped a light-colored station wagon making its way across the bridge toward the highway entrance. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. I didnt hear one thing about it, said Legend, an executive producer of the project with Mike Jackson through their film company Get Lifted, in association with Roc Nation. Its often the last among us who need the most protection.. 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[20], On May 6, 2005, DeKalb County Police Chief Louis Graham ordered the reopening of the murder cases of four boys killed in that county between February and May 1981, whose deaths had been attributed to Williams. The 61-year-old Williams says in the documentary that he never killed anyone. Evans had been strangled. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Despite its dramatic structure, anyone familiar with the Atlanta child murders wont find anything new in Atlantas Missing and Murdered, although it does make for a much better introduction to the case than Atlanta Monster. [33], DNA testing was performed in 2010 on scalp hairs found on the body of 11-year-old victim Patrick Baltazar. Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland, The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. And then, in January 1981: Lubie Geter (14) and Terry Pue (15). If they got home five minutes late, their parents would be in tears and ask,Where the hell have you been?. After his conviction, the Atlanta police declared an additional 23 of the 29 child murders solved. He is the only child to humble and respectable parents. With Atlantas mayor pushing to reopen in the case, the five-part series that airs Sunday will explore if Williams or anyone else was truly behind the killing spree. They also found carpet fibers consistent with those identified on 13 victims. Let us be focused on something else. Netflix's drama series "Mindhunter" is based on the real events of FBI investigations in the 1970s and 80s, and the newest season ends with the arrest of a man named Wayne Williams. However, the director of the laboratory, Elizabeth Wictum, said that, while the results were "fairly significant", they were not conclusive. However, the HBO documentary series main focus is on the re-opening of the case by Atlantas mayor, Keisha Lance Bottom. 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