Between July 1979 and May 1981, at least 28 African-American children, adolescents, and adults were killed in Atlanta, Georgia. Wayne Williams was arrested in 1981 and convicted in 1982 of murdering two adult victims; police attributed many of the other killings to him, but he was never charged in those cases and has consistently maintained his innocence.
Atlanta murders geographical analysis negative exponential ring 2 — Credit: Merikanto · CC BY-SA 4.0
Between July 1979 and May 1981, at least 28 African-American children, adolescents, and adults were murdered in Atlanta, Georgia, in a series of killings that became known as the Atlanta child murders. Victims ranged widely in age, from children as young as 7 to adults in their late twenties, and many were reported missing while running errands or moving through their own neighborhoods before their bodies were later discovered in wooded areas, rivers, or abandoned buildings. The killings prompted the city to impose curfews, and many parents in Atlanta removed their children from school and restricted them from playing outside.
Early victims in 1979 and 1980 included Edward "Teddy" Smith, Alfred Evans, Milton Harvey, Yusuf Bell, Angel Lenair, Jeffery Mathis, Eric Middlebrooks, Christopher Richardson, LaTonya Wilson, Aaron Wyche, Anthony Carter, Earl Terrell, Clifford Jones, Darron Glass, Charles Stephens, Aaron Jackson, and Patrick Rogers. The killings continued into 1981 with victims including Lubie Geter, Terry Pue, Eddie Duncan (the first adult victim), Larry Rogers, John Porter, Jimmy Ray Payne, William Barrett, and Nathaniel Cater, the last reported victim.
More than 100 federal agents worked on the investigation at points during the killings. In May 1981, following a surveillance operation on bridges over the Chattahoochee River intended to catch a suspect disposing of a body, police stopped a station wagon driven by 23-year-old Wayne Bertram Williams near a bridge shortly after officers heard a splash in the water below. Two days later, the body of Nathaniel Cater was recovered from the river downstream. Investigators cited fiber evidence linking carpet and other materials from Williams's home, vehicles, and dog to fibers found on victims, along with witness testimony placing Williams with Cater on the night of his death. Williams was arrested on June 21, 1981, and indicted for the murders of Cater and Payne.
Williams's trial began on January 6, 1982, before Judge Clarence Cooper. The prosecution's fiber-comparison evidence, along with testimony from FBI agents characterizing contact between Williams and the victims as "virtually impossible" to have not occurred, was later criticized by a Georgia Supreme Court justice as insufficiently supported. On February 27, 1982, Williams was convicted of the two murders and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
Police subsequently attributed a number of the other killings to Williams, though he was never charged in those cases. Subsequent DNA testing in 2007 of hair and dog-hair evidence produced results described by researchers as not conclusively identifying the source, though they did not exclude Williams or his dog. Investigations into possible Ku Klux Klan involvement in some killings were reported in 1986 and examined again at a 1991 hearing on Williams's request for a new trial. In March 2019, Atlanta officials announced plans to retest evidence using newer technology; as of the most recent reporting, no new results had been made public.
Clifford Jones, Aaron Wyche, William "Billy Star" Barrett, Larry Rogers, Eric Middlebrooks, Nathaniel Cater, Eddie Duncan, John Porter, Yusuf Bell, LaTonya Wilson, Terry Pue, Jeffery Mathis, Alfred Evans, Lubie Geter, Anthony Carter, Earl Terrell, Jimmy Ray Payne, Christopher Richardson, Angel Lenair, Edward "Teddy" Smith, Darron Glass, Aaron Jackson, Patrick Rogers, Charles Stephens, Milton Harvey
Date
1979
Location
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Case status
solved
Case timeline
1979-07
Edward "Teddy" Smith and Alfred Evans disappear; their bodies are found on July 28 in a wooded area.
1979-09-04
Milton Harvey disappears while running an errand; his body is recovered in November.
1979-10-21
Yusuf Bell disappears; his body is found November 8 in an abandoned school building.
1980-03-04
Angel Lenair, the first female victim, disappears; her body is found six days later.
1980-03-11
Jeffery Mathis disappears; his body is found roughly 11 months later.
1980-05-18
Eric Middlebrooks disappears and is found dead the next day.
1980-06-09
Christopher Richardson goes missing; his body is found the following January.
1980-06-22
LaTonya Wilson disappears from her family's apartment; her skeletal remains are found October 18.
1980-06-23
Aaron Wyche disappears and is found dead the next day under a bridge.
1980-07
Anthony Carter and Earl Terrell are murdered.
1980-08-20
Clifford Jones disappears; his body is found August 21.
1980-09-14
Darron Glass is reported missing; his body has never been recovered.
1980-10-09
Charles Stephens is reported missing; his body is found the next day.
1980-11-01
Aaron Jackson goes missing and is found dead the next day.
1980-11-30
Patrick Rogers disappears; his body is found December 7 in the Chattahoochee River.
1981-01-03
Lubie Geter disappears; his body is found February 5.
1981-01
Terry Pue goes missing; his body is located after an anonymous tip.
1981-04
Larry Rogers, John Porter, and Jimmy Ray Payne are murdered.
1981-05-12
FBI agents find the body of William "Billy Star" Barrett near his home.
1981-05-22
Police stakeout on a bridge over the Chattahoochee River leads to the stopping of Wayne Williams's vehicle after a splash is heard.
1981-05-24
The body of Nathaniel Cater, the last reported victim, is found in the river.
1981-06-21
Wayne Williams is arrested and indicted for the murders of Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne.
1981-12-28
Jury selection begins in Williams's trial.
1982-01-06
Trial of Wayne Williams begins before Judge Clarence Cooper.
1982-02-27
Williams is convicted of two murders and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
1986-09
Spin magazine reports on a secret Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe into possible Ku Klux Klan involvement in some of the killings.
1991
Hearing held on Williams's request for a new trial, at which GBI investigation details are examined.
2004-05
DeKalb County Police Chief Louis Graham reopens investigation into five DeKalb County victims.
2006-06-21
DeKalb County Police drop their reinvestigation of the murders.
2007-01-29
State of Georgia agrees to allow DNA testing of dog hair evidence used in Williams's conviction.
2007-06-26
DNA test results on dog hair are announced, described as not conclusive.
2019-03-21
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Police Chief Erika Shields announce plans to retest evidence in the case.
2021-07
Bottoms announces DNA identified and sampled in two cases for additional private-lab analysis.
2022-12
No results from the 2021 retesting have been made public, as of this date.
Best coverage
Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
VIDEO
Brooke Makenna / 42 min
SOLVED? THE ATLANTA CHILD MURDERS
VIDEO
The Casual Criminalist / 1 hr 7 min
Unsolved: The Atlanta Ripper
People
Clifford Jones
VICTIM
Killed by strangulation in August 1980.
Aaron Wyche
VICTIM
Died June 1980 of asphyxiation from a broken neck suffered in a fall.
William "Billy Star" Barrett
VICTIM
Body found by FBI agents in May 1981.
Larry Rogers
VICTIM
Murdered in April 1981.
Eric Middlebrooks
VICTIM
Killed by blunt force trauma in May 1980.
Nathaniel Cater
VICTIM
Last reported victim; body recovered from the Chattahoochee River in May 1981; one of the two victims for whom Wayne Williams was tried and convicted.
Eddie Duncan
VICTIM
First adult victim, found in early 1981.
John Porter
VICTIM
Murdered in April 1981; recently released ex-convict.
Yusuf Bell
VICTIM
Disappeared October 1979; found dead by strangulation in November 1979.
Wayne Williams
CONVICTED
Convicted in February 1982 of the murders of Jimmy Ray Payne and Nathaniel Cater; sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Not charged in the other killings and maintains his innocence.
LaTonya Wilson
VICTIM
Abducted from her family's apartment in June 1980; skeletal remains found in October 1980.
Terry Pue
VICTIM
Went missing in January 1981; body found after anonymous tip.
Jeffery Mathis
VICTIM
Disappeared March 1980; body found nearly a year later.
Alfred Evans
VICTIM
Killed in 1979, believed to be among the first victims of the killings.
Lubie Geter
VICTIM
Disappeared January 1981; body found in February 1981.
Anthony Carter
VICTIM
Murdered in July 1980.
Earl Terrell
VICTIM
Murdered in July 1980; body found alongside that of Christopher Richardson.
Jimmy Ray Payne
VICTIM
Murdered in April 1981; one of the two victims for whom Wayne Williams was tried and convicted.
Christopher Richardson
VICTIM
Disappeared June 1980; body found the following January.
Angel Lenair
VICTIM
First female victim, killed by strangulation in March 1980.
Edward "Teddy" Smith
VICTIM
Killed in 1979, believed to be among the first victims of the killings.
Darron Glass
VICTIM
Reported missing September 1980; body never recovered.
Aaron Jackson
VICTIM
Killed by strangulation in November 1980.
Patrick Rogers
VICTIM
Disappeared November 1980; body found in the Chattahoochee River in December 1980.
Charles Stephens
VICTIM
Died of asphyxiation in October 1980; his case was considered a 'pattern case' in Williams's trial.
Milton Harvey
VICTIM
Disappeared September 1979 while running an errand; body recovered later that year.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
other document
Atlanta murders 1979 1981 williams geographical analysis normal distribition ring 1 1 1 1
Between July 1979 and May 1981, at least 28 African-American children, adolescents, and adults were killed in Atlanta, Georgia. Wayne Williams was arrested in 1981 and convicted in 1982 of murdering two adult victims; police attributed many of the other killings to him, but he was never charged in those cases and has consistently maintained his innocence.
Where did the murders happen?
Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
Who was convicted?
Wayne Williams (Convicted in February 1982 of the murders of Jimmy Ray Payne and Nathaniel Cater; sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Not charged in the other killings and maintains his innocence.).
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