6- Unit Minorities and Serial
Homicide
CLJ 121
Spring 12
The Atlanta Child Murders
Wayne Bertram Williams- convicted of two
of the murders
Suspected of committing the other 28 (?)
murders
Map
List of Victims
The Beginning
July 28, 1979
Two bodies were found near one another
in a wooded area in southwest Atlanta
Victims were young black males
Victim #1 (14)- cause of death was a
gunshot wound
Victim #2 (13)- cause of death was
asphyxia
Two more victims found
Victim #3 (14) found November 5, 1979
Cause of death was difficult to discern
Victim #4 (9) found November 8, 1979
Cause of death asphyxia
Anger Bubbles to the Surface
Four young African American victims
Anger at the police
Were these crimes motivated by race?
Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s
The City Too Busy to Hate?
Progressive city
Rapidly increasing African American
population
Anger as a result?
Letter from the Killer?
The suspect?
Killings Continue
Victim #5 (10) disappeared March 11,
1980
Cause of death was difficult to discern
Victim #6 (14) found May 19, 1980
Cause of death was blunt trauma to the
head
Fiber- #2, #13
Summer and Fall, 1980- Fear in
Atlanta
Public service announcements
Psychics brought in
Citywide curfew
Children in Atlanta became sick with fear
Just the child victims
Fear Continues
February, 1981
Police officers posed as decoys
Police were ordered to stop all vehicles with
young black males
Surveillance at all shopping malls in Atlanta
Victims became older
1981
More Pictures
New Investigative Technique
Perpetrator had started dumping the
bodies in the rivers surrounding Atlanta
(easily accessible via interstate)
April, 1981- bridge surveillance was
instituted
Four or five person teams
Concealed chase car(s) in case a suspect
was spotted
Bridge Stakeout
May 22, 1981
Surveillance team stationed at the James
Jackson Parkway Bridge (Chattahoochee
River)
Around 3 a.m., an officer heard a loud
splash
Saw a car turn on headlights on the bridge
Radioed for backup
The Suspect
Driver was Wayne Bertram Williams
I know. Its about those boys, isnt it?
Williams consented to a search of the
vehicle
Officers found a few bags of clothing, a
flashlight, a pair of gloves, and nylon cord
about two feet in length
Decision was made to permit Williams to
proceed without an arrest or seizure of the
vehicle
Probable Cause
Probable Cause: Reasonable grounds to
believe the existence of facts warranting
certain actions, such as the search or
arrest of a person
Under these circumstances, probable cause
was not yet present to support a
warrantless arrest of Williams
****TAKE AWAY POINT #1
May 24, 1981
Body of Nathaniel Cater was found 1.2
miles downstream from where Williams
had been and stopped questioned
June 3, 1981- Williams given a polygraph
test- showed signs of deception
Admissibility of Polygraphs
Are the results of polygraph examinations
admissible in a court of law?
Answer
Some state courts refuse to admit the
results in either civil or criminal
proceedings
In other states there are exceptions- when
the admissibility is agreed to by both the
prosecution and defense
Still, major questions exist about the
reliability of polygraph examinations
****TAKE AWAY POINT #2
How did Williams Lure his
Victims?
Williams business was locating young
kids for the show business or
entertainment industry
Appealing ruse for young kids
(See Advertisement)
June 3, 1981
Williams home and car were searched
Investigators took samples of carpet,
fibers, and other items from the home
Fibers were microscopically identical to
fibers found on the bodies of the victims
Hairs from Williams dog Sheba also were
consistent with hair found on the victims
June 23, 1981
Williams was arrested on a single count of
murder in the death of Nathaniel Cater
Key pieces of evidence:
Fiber and dog hair evidence
The river incident on May 22 (loud splash)
July 17, 1981
Fulton County Grand Jury returned a two
count indictment against Wayne Williams
for the murders of Jimmy Ray Payne and
Nathaniel Cater
Williams entered a plea of not guilty
The Trial
Prosecution
Motive
Contempt toward lower class black
children
Racial cleansing
Homosexuality
Based on this limited information, what type
of serial killer was Wayne Williams?
The Trial
Defense
Williams on the Stand
Maintained his innocence
Denied throwing anything off of the bridge
Cross-examination of Williams
Became edgy and flustered with crossexamination
Williams called the prosecutor a drop
shot and a fool and FBI agents goons
Did not play well with the jury
What is a Drop Shot?
From The Story of Georgia and the Georgia
People (1901, p. 350)
A large plantation was a little kingdom. The
overseer was in charge, a black driver was
under him, there were hoe-hands, plowmen,
quartermasters, cooks, gardeners,
blacksmiths, carpenters, shoe-makers, a
midwife, nurses, dairy maids, spinners,
weavers, seamstresses, chicken and turkey
raisers, and even a gang of little negroes,
called the drop-shot gang, who carried
water and food to the hands in the field.
The Verdict
After 11 hours of deliberation, the jury
found Williams guilty of both counts of
murder
Williams was sentenced to two life
sentences
Postscript
Mothers of the other victims experienced
mixed emotions
Other cases were closed after Williams
was convicted
Postscript (2)
Is Williams innocent?
Many still believe in his innocence
Williams himself denies any involvement