The Atlanta Monster: Who is Wayne Williams?
Who was the Atlanta Monster? Was it Wayne Williams, convicted of killing two teenage boys? Or is it merely a coincidence? Between 1979 and 1981, at least 28 children and young adults were murdered in Atlanta and Wayne Williams was the main suspect.
This article will look at the man convicted of murder and the speculation surrounding The Atlanta Child Murders.
Who is Wayne Williams?
Born in Atlanta on 27th May 1958, Wayne Bertram Williams was the only child of two schoolteachers. He was a bright young student who excelled in class. Some of Williams’ peers even went on to describe him as having 'genius-like' tendencies, often exhibiting ambitious spirit during his later school years.
He started a radio station in his parents’ basement and was featured in Jet magazine. The future looked bright for Williams.
After graduating from Douglass High School, Williams went on to study at Georgia State University but only lasted a year before he eventually quit. His promising start had began to go downward. When he turned 23, he seemed lost professionally, going from job to job.
Williams eventually filed for bankruptcy after trying his hand at freelance photography, costing his parents to help fund their son’s ambitions.
From bad to worse
Neighbours of Williams described how many people thought he started acting strange and out of character a while before the killings. He said: 'Many of them thought he started acting crazy two to three years ago… he would approach kids in official-looking vehicles, telling them to get off the street or he would lock them up.'
But things started to go downhill in the Spring of 1981 when Williams was stopped by patrolling police officers on a bridge over the Chattahoochee River. Although he was allowed to go, the officers would eventually return after discovering 27-year-old Nathanial Cater’s body downstream.
After the incident on the bridge, Williams was linked to several murders across the city.
The Atlanta child murders
Many murders around Atlanta were terrorizing the city around this time, the first victims being 13 and 14-year-old boys. The victims disappeared within days of each other and were found dead on the side of the road.
After this incident on 28th July 1979, the murder count in Atlanta started to pile up and at least six bodies were found.
Although local authorities found the bodies, they did not have any leads or suspects. This is when FBI profiler John Douglas – known for his work on ‘The Son of Sam’ David Berkowitz case – got involved and proceeded to create a potential profile.
Douglas’ suspect profile stated: 'He believed the murderer was someone black and not white. He theorised that to have access to black children, the Atlanta killer would need access to the black community without arousing suspicion.'
As well as Douglas’ profile, authorities linked together the location of the bodies – the Chattahoochee River. This is where they found Williams, who was close to one of the bodies that had been discovered.
The arrest
Police were not able to arrest Williams until a month after the bodies had been found in the river. Mounting evidence against him also started to surface as forensics discovered fibres from his car and dogs which were the same fibres found on two of the bodies.
As well as the evidence found in Williams’ car, Douglas also added a motive to his suspect profile noting that: 'Williams was thirsty for the limelight as he displayed signs of enjoying the attention brought on by the murder case. Like many serial killers, Douglas noted, Williams didn’t think he would ever go down for his crimes.'
Wayne Williams was arrested in February 1982, receiving two life sentences for killing Jimmy Ray Payne and Nathanial Cater.
Was Wayne Williams the Atlanta Child Killer?
The murders seemed to stop after his arrest. However, there was still a lack of evidence linking him to the other murders, leading people to wonder whether Williams was actually the Atlanta Child Killer.
It isn’t just Williams who pleads his innocence, but friends and families of the victims too: 'The families of the victims are the ones saying they don’t think he did it. They don’t feel like their child was ever actually given justice.'
The Atlanta police department preserves its case against Williams and continues to believe that he was responsible for the killings.
