GA GA - Wayne Williams - Atlanta Child Murders & more - 1979-1981

[JeannieC]

Wayne William attended Fredrick Douglas High School, Atlanta, Ga
Both of his parents were school teachers.
Williams dropped out of Georgia State University.

 

[JeannieC]

The Atlanta Murders

Born 27 Mat 1958, Williams lived with his parents in the Dixie Hills section of Atlanta. He had dropped out of Georgia State University to pursue his dream of a career in the entertainment field. He called himself a talent recruiter and freelance photographer, and cut demo tapes for local artists. Williams claimed he was looking for the address of a female singer he wanted to audition the night he was stopped by the police. His story didn't check out, and two days later the nude body of Nathaniel Cater, 27, was found in the Chattahoochee. The FBI brought Williams in for questioning. Search warrants were issued for his car and residence. Fiber evidence found on Cater's body matched samples taken from the Williams home. In addition, dog hair found on the body matched that of Williams' german shepherd, Sheba.

http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id326.htm

 

[gogrannypop]

I grew up in the area and I remember this very well.

Honestly, I've never believed he killed all of those young men.

Young African Americans were still being killed. They just never tied them to Williams.

Tensions were high in Atlanta.

JMO< MOO< IMO

 

[JeannieC]

Wednesday, June 27, 2007
DNA tests back DA&#8217;s case against Williams
Paul Howard: The testing settles the debate over Williams&#8217; guilt in child murders
By R. Robin McDonald, Staff Reporter

DNA TESTS ON SEVEN dog hairs that were part of the forensic case against Wayne Williams strengthen the evidence that prosecutors used to tie Williams to 12 murders at his 1982 trial, Fulton County District Attorney L. Paul Howard Jr. said Tuesday.

But a Williams lawyer who attended Howard&#8217;s news conference insisted that while the results don&#8217;t help his client, neither do they provide a conclusive link to Williams.

The tests were conducted at the request of Williams&#8217; defense team by the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California-Davis&#8212;one of the foremost forensic veterinary labs in the world.

http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/forensics/WayneBWilliams.php

 

[stilettos]

I was living in San Francisco during the trial. being from ATL it was interesting to me...I still do not believe that he killed them all. There was no evidence on the other children, IIRC.

 

[JeannieC]

I grew up in the area and I remember this very well.

Honestly, I've never believed he killed all of those young men.

Young African Americans were still being killed. They just never tied them to Williams.

Tensions were high in Atlanta.

JMO< MOO< IMO

You're right. I just posted an article and the debate as to his guilt or innocence is still on. The DNA testing of dog hair didn't prove his guilt as far as can see. My limited understanding of DNA puts me at a disadvantage.

From what I read it only proved Williams' dog Sheba could not be excluded. It didn't prove that it was Sheba's hair. Big difference in my mind.

He was actually only tried for the murders of 2 adult men but LE and the DA claim he is guilty of many more. Very confusing. Why hasn't he been tried if they are so sure he did the deed??

 

[JeannieC]

JUSTICE
DNA test strengthens Atlanta child killings case
By Jim Polk, CNN | June 9, 2010

And new results have implicated Williams in the death of at least one 11-year-old victim. When Patrick Baltazar's body was found dumped down a wooded slope behind an office park on February 13, 1981, a forensic scientist discovered two human scalp hairs inside the boy's shirt.

This DNA testing links Williams to the murder of 11 year old Patrick Baltazar.

http://articles.cnn.com/keyword/wayne-williams

 

[JeannieC]

These are the names and ages of the victims and their case standings.

JUSTICE
Victims linked to Atlanta serial killings
May 31, 2010

Below is a list of murder victims whom authorities linked to a string of killings in the Atlanta, Georgia, area from 1979 to 1981. A jury found Wayne Williams guilty of murdering: Nathaniel Cater, 28 Jimmy Ray Payne, 21

Police attributed these deaths to Williams closed cases
Alfred Evans, 13
Yusef Bell, 9
Eric Middlebrooks, 14
Christopher Richardson, 12
Aaron Wyche, 10
Anthony Carter, 9
Earl Terrell, 11
Clifford Jones, 13
Charles Stephens, 12
Aaron Jackson, 9
Patrick Rogers, 16
Lubie Geter, 14
Terry Pue, 15
Patrick Baltazar, 11
Curtis Walker, 13
Jo Jo Bell, 15
Timothy Hill, 13
Eddie Duncan, 21
Larry Rogers, 20
Michael McIntosh, 23
John Porter, 28
William Barrett, 17

These cases remain open:
Edward Smith, 14
Milton Harvey, 14
Jefferey Mathis, 10

Missing person whose body was never found:
Darron Glass, 10

Deaths were initially part of the official investigation, but police found insufficient evidence to link to a serial killer or anyone else:

Angel Lanier, 12
LaTonya Wilson, 7

Source: Homicide Task Force

http://articles.cnn.com/keyword/wayne-williams

 

[JeannieC]

Greetings!!!

Please provide a link to the article the quote is taken from ... :tyou:

I'm sorry. That was an oversite. I did an edit an added the link and I've added it here also. The page has several articles from CNN. Its the one on the right side of the page. Jun 9, 2010

http://articles.cnn.com/keyword/wayne-williams

 

[JeannieC]

JUSTICE
Cold-case squad to probe decades-old Atlanta murders
May 7, 2005

DeKalb County Police Chief Louis Graham said. "I don't think he did anything. I made up my mind with that 20 years ago, and I still feel that way. "

http://articles.cnn.com/keyword/wayne-williams

 

[JeannieC]

This is a very long article concerning the trial, witnesses, etc.

The State vs. Wayne Williams
Posted June 2006

Just from an obvious view point of the case, as well as from testimony of medical examiners during the trial - the killings stopped when Williams became a suspect. Consider the fact that victims were being &#8216;dumped&#8217; into the Chattahoochee River at intervals of every few weeks (during the latter part of the two-year span), long miles from their homes in the inter-city with no vehicle of their own, clothing missing, no obvious motive for their disappearance and murder and in many cases not readily missed. Upon each of these individuals, trace evidence (hair and distinctive fibers) were found. Had these type murders continued, would not the medical examiners and crime laboratory personnel be aware of the continuing backlog of unsolved murders; bodies with the same trace evidence under the same circumstances? And, would not there be a &#8216;hue and cry&#8217; for those victims to be included on a task force investigation to find the killer? The answer is clear as the light of day; the killer is serving two life sentences.

Jack Mallard, Esq.
Retired Prosecutor after more than 35 years."

http://www.cobbda.com/JackMallard/YouDontKnowJack.htm

 

[JeannieC]

Am I understanding the above article correctly..........it states the bodies &#8216;dumped&#8217; into the Chattahoochee River (from a bridge) and their clothing was missing. I'm not sure it if meant all their clothing but that is what I thought it meant.

So my question is how can this be: "Upon each of these individuals, trace evidence (hair and distinctive fibers) were found."

 

[JeannieC]

Another thing that makes me go HUH is the age spread. Most serial killers have a type and an age range. Not all but most. A "spree killer" might not but that doesn't seem to be the case here. I think this was over too long a period to be a spree killer.

I would love to know the date and time each victim disappeared and the date the body was located.

It would also be nice to know where each one disappeared from, where they went to school and other personal information on the victims.

How can a case be "Closed" if no one was ever tried or conficted of the murder? Just because LE has determined according to the evidence that a certain person is the perp doesn't mean they are guilty. What happened to trial by jury?

 

[CarlK90245]

These are the names and ages of the victims and their case standings.

Below is a list of murder victims whom authorities linked to a string of killings in the Atlanta, Georgia, area from 1979 to 1981. A jury found Wayne Williams guilty of murdering: Nathaniel Cater, 28 Jimmy Ray Payne, 21

Police attributed these deaths to Williams closed cases
Alfred Evans, 13
Yusef Bell, 9
Eric Middlebrooks, 14
Christopher Richardson, 12
Aaron Wyche, 10
Anthony Carter, 9
Earl Terrell, 11
Clifford Jones, 13
Charles Stephens, 12
Aaron Jackson, 9
Patrick Rogers, 16
Lubie Geter, 14
Terry Pue, 15
Patrick Baltazar, 11
Curtis Walker, 13
Jo Jo Bell, 15
Timothy Hill, 13
Eddie Duncan, 21
Larry Rogers, 20
Michael McIntosh, 23
John Porter, 28
William Barrett, 17

These cases remain open:
Edward Smith, 14
Milton Harvey, 14
Jefferey Mathis, 10

Missing person whose body was never found:
Darron Glass, 10

Deaths were initially part of the official investigation, but police found insufficient evidence to link to a serial killer or anyone else:

Angel Lanier, 12
LaTonya Wilson, 7

Source: Homicide Task Force

http://articles.cnn.com/keyword/wayne-williams

The list of Williams' victims includes one victim who is still missing, but there is no mention of any UID's.

This UID case is for a young black male, age 18-30, dumped off a bridge in the Sandy Creek on 13-Jul-1979. Sandy Creek is about 8 miles from where Wayne Williams lived, and very close to the Chattahoochee River, where WW dumped several of his victims.

http://www.doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase937.html
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/638

The disappearance of WW's first known victim (14 year-old Edward Smith) occurred on 21-Jul-1979. The above mentioned UID was found 8 days prior to Edward Smith's disappearance.

I would hope that they have looked into this guy as another possible victim of WW.

 

[raine1212]

This is one case I will never forget. It also has been an interest of mine from the beginning

 

[Sweatpantssleuth]

Theory 1: What if Nathaniel Cater jumped in the river? The medical examiner ruled he had died of "probable" asphyxia, but never specifically said he had been strangled. Police theorized that Williams had killed Cater, and that his body was the source of the "loud splash" they heard as his car crossed the bridge.

Theory 2: How are we certain that the carpet fibers found on the bodies are from Williams’ carpet? The main prosecution evidence against Williams was tiny fibers found on the bodies and matched to rugs and other fabrics in the home and cars of Williams parents. The court filing says the fibers weren’t identical to those in Williams home, and theres no direct connection between him and the bodies. Williams sought a retrial in 2004 based on the scientific unreliability of the fibers, but a federal judge rejected the request for retrial. How can we be certain that the carpet fibers, the main damning evidence, wasn’t from someone else’s carpet?

Keep in mind I am not making a statement for or against Wayne Williams. These are questions that I have and I would love to know more on these two subjects, perhaps these questions have already been answered.

 

[ddav]

Cater was residing in downtown Atlanta and the bridge was a considerable distance away. Since he had no means of transportation it seems a very unlikely way for him to choose to commit suicide by walking miles to such a remote location. Also it strains credulity to that by coincidence hes found dead downriver right after Williams was arrested.
The significance of the carpet fibers were their rarity. Also hairs from Williams were found on two of the victims were matched by DNA to Williams, and hairs from Williams dog were found on several of the bodies. In addition blood from 2 individuals was found in Williams car, and the blood types were not from Williams but happened to be the same (A and B if my memory is correct), blood type as the only two victims who were stabbed. Add to that the testimony of several witnesses who saw Williams with the victims, and the alibi he had for being on the bridge was clearly a lie the evidence seems to me overwhelming. One should keep in mind that most of WWs advocates are people who desperately want to believe the killer was white, against all evidence, and could not be convinced to the contrary.

 

[Sweatpantssleuth]

Cater was residing in downtown Atlanta and the bridge was a considerable distance away. Since he had no means of transportation it seems a very unlikely way for him to choose to commit suicide by walking miles to such a remote location. Also it strains credulity to that by coincidence hes found dead downriver right after Williams was arrested.
The significance of the carpet fibers were their rarity. Also hairs from Williams were found on two of the victims were matched by DNA to Williams, and hairs from Williams dog were found on several of the bodies. In addition blood from 2 individuals was found in Williams car, and the blood types were not from Williams but happened to be the same (A and B if my memory is correct), blood type as the only two victims who were stabbed. Add to that the testimony of several witnesses who saw Williams with the victims, and the alibi he had for being on the bridge was clearly a lie the evidence seems to me overwhelming. One should keep in mind that most of WWs advocates are people who desperately want to believe the killer was white, against all evidence, and could not be convinced to the contrary.

Thank you so much for the incredibly detailed response! Do you have any files/links to the reports on the blood/particulates?

 

[ddav]

Thank you so much for the incredibly detailed response! Do you have any files/links to the reports on the blood/particulates?

I would check out two books "the Atlanta Child Murders" by Jack Mallard, the prosecutor in the case, (not terrifically well-written but good for the information about the case with extensive info on the fiber and dna evidence.) Also "Child Killer" by Jack Rosewood a brief but good overview and the author provides a lot of biographical info on Williams himself.

 

[Sweatpantssleuth]

I would check out two books "the Atlanta Child Murders" by Jack Mallard, the prosecutor in the case, (not terrifically well-written but good for the information about the case with extensive info on the fiber and dna evidence.) Also "Child Killer" by Jack Rosewood a brief but good overview and the author provides a lot of biographical info on Williams himself.

I will check these out! Again, thank you very much for taking the time to help me out!