He was given two consecutive life sentences, although authorities believe he is responsible for at least 23 of the other killings. In 1982, Williams was found guilty of the murders of 27-year-old Nathaniel Cater and 21-year-old Jimmy Ray Payne. Two days later, the body of a 27-year-old man was found in the river and Williams was arrested.Īmong the items seized from his home after his arrest were "a king-sized bedspread from Williams’ bed, containing light violet acetate fibers consistent with those found on eighteen of the victims white dog hairs with black tips from the family dog similar to those hairs found on nine victims and coarse yellowish-green carpet fibers from the wall-to-wall carpeting which had the same characteristics as those found on thirteen of the victims," according to Lloyd's case study. Williams denied dropping anything in the water. On May 22, 1981, Williams was stopped by police on a bridge after they heard a loud splash in the river below. Wayne Williams on the way to the courthouse. The killer probably had frequent changes in employment or was self-employed and able to follow media coverage of the murders closely.
Atlanta serial killer serial#
This element was part of the profile despite the fact that a serial killer who was African American would be unusual," according to Lloyd.ĭouglas also believed the killer was of average or above average intelligence who presented himself as an authority figure. He was followed some months later by FBI profiler John Douglas who arrived in Atlanta in early January 1981 to develop a formal profile of the person or persons responsible for the child murders."ĭouglas believed the serial killer was likely African American, "under the presumption that a white person could not easily travel in black neighborhoods without creating a great deal of suspicion. According to Lloyd's case study, "FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood from the Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico flew to Atlanta in mid-1980 to consult on the murders to date. On November 6, 1980, the FBI opened a preliminary investigation into the Atlanta Child Murder case. The children were mostly killed via strangulation and asphyxiation, although several were bludgeoned to death and one child was shot to death.īettmann // Getty Images How did the FBI connect Williams to the murders? In 1980, 12 more children were murdered, and the following year, seven more bodies were discovered. His body was found later that same day in a vacant school the cause of death was strangulation. The next victim was Yusef Ali Bell, age nine, who was last seen on October 21, 1979.
An autopsy report concluded his was an undetermined cause of death (UCD). Milton Harvey, age fourteen, was last seen riding a yellow bicycle on September 4, 1979. He had last been seen three days before, and had been strangled. On that same day, the body of a 13-year-old, Alfred James Evans, was found near Smith’s body. Lloyd wrote in a case study: Fourteen-year-old Edward Hope Smith had been missing for one week when his body was found on Jin a vacant lot in southeast Atlanta.
The first murder associated with the Atlanta Child Murders case occurred in July 1979.
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