The Atlanta Child Murders - Georgia 1979-1981
The Atlanta Child Murders were a series of at least 28 killings of African-American children, teenagers, and young adults that occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1979 and 1981. Wayne Williams was convicted of two adult murders in 1982 and linked to 20 others, leading authorities to close many of the cases. Williams maintains his innocence and is currently serving consecutive life sentences. In 2019, Atlanta officials reopened the cases for re-examination with modern DNA technology, but as of November 2025, no new results have been made public.
Timeline
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Track this story2026
1 update
2026
1 updateWayne Williams has once again been denied parole by the Georgia parole board. Families of the victims are still awaiting DNA results in the Atlanta Child Murders case.
2025
1 update
2025
1 updateRelatives and advocates of victims of the Atlanta Child Murders held a press conference to seek updates on DNA testing. Catherine Leach, mother of victim Curtis Walker, expressed doubt that Wayne Williams killed her child.
2024
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2024
1 updateIn June 2023, the city of Atlanta dedicated the 'Eternal Flame' memorial to the victims of the Atlanta Child Murders, featuring a 52-foot wall with victims' names and a shelf for tributes.
2023
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2023
1 updateThe search for victims led to the discovery of two more bodies, increasing the number of known dead to 15.
via youtube.com
2022
2 updates
2022
2 updatesAs of November 2022, no report had been issued by the Utah lab a year after DNA samples were sent for retesting. In December 2022, families of victims publicly demanded the release of DNA testing results, expressing frustration over the lack of updates.
Wayne Williams' new attorney, Janis Mann, met with him in prison and is seeking answers regarding two DNA samples sent to a specialized testing facility in Utah in 2021 as part of the reopened investigation.
via youtube.com
2021
3 updates
2021
3 updatesThe Atlanta Police Department sent over 40-year-old evidence from the Atlanta child murders to a private lab in Utah for DNA retesting in October 2021. This retesting utilizes new technology unavailable during Wayne Williams' 1982 trial.
via wabe.org
In July 2021, then-Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced that DNA had been identified and sampled in two cases related to the Atlanta Child Murders and sent to a private lab for further analysis. Investigators had reviewed approximately 40% of the collected evidence at that time.
via youtube.com
Atlanta police announced in June 2021 that they secured funding to retest DNA evidence in the Atlanta Child Murders cases. This development followed the 2019 reopening of the inquiry into the unsolved cases.
via youtube.com
2020
1 update
2020
1 updateThe documentary highlights concerns that the cases of murdered young people were never solved and suggests the case involves politics, greed, racism, and murder. Critics argue the hasty resolution, pinning the crimes on one African American man, served to maintain the status quo and deny the impact of race and class.
2019
3 updates
2019
3 updatesThe Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied parole for Wayne Williams in November 2019, stating he had served an insufficient amount of time given the nature of his offenses.
via 11alive.com
Wayne Williams was denied parole in November 2019 and is scheduled to be next eligible for parole in November 2027.
via en.wikipedia.org
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced that the city would reopen the cases of the Atlanta Missing and Murdered Children to re-examine evidence with new DNA technology.
via album.atlantahistorycenter.com·vault.fbi.gov·personal.lse.ac.uk·en.wikipedia.org·ebsco.com
2005
1 update
2005
1 updateDeKalb County Police Chief Louis Graham reopened investigations into the deaths of five victims from that county, expressing doubts about Williams' guilt in all attributed cases. The re-investigation was dropped in June 2006.
via album.atlantahistorycenter.com·vault.fbi.gov·personal.lse.ac.uk·en.wikipedia.org·ebsco.com
1982
2 updates
1982
2 updatesFollowing Williams' conviction, law enforcement officials linked him to 20 additional Atlanta Child Murders cases, effectively closing them.
via album.atlantahistorycenter.com·vault.fbi.gov·personal.lse.ac.uk·en.wikipedia.org·ebsco.com
After an 11-hour deliberation, a jury found Wayne Williams guilty of the murders of Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
via album.atlantahistorycenter.com·vault.fbi.gov·personal.lse.ac.uk·en.wikipedia.org·ebsco.com
1981
2 updates
1981
2 updatesWayne Williams was arrested for the murders of Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne.
via album.atlantahistorycenter.com·vault.fbi.gov·personal.lse.ac.uk·en.wikipedia.org·ebsco.com
Wayne Williams first became a suspect after being stopped by police near a bridge over the Chattahoochee River where a splash was heard. The body of Nathaniel Cater was found downstream two days later.
via album.atlantahistorycenter.com·vault.fbi.gov·personal.lse.ac.uk·en.wikipedia.org·ebsco.com
1980
2 updates
1980
2 updatesThe FBI launched a major case investigation, dedicating over two dozen agents to the Atlanta Child Murders task force.
via album.atlantahistorycenter.com·vault.fbi.gov·personal.lse.ac.uk·en.wikipedia.org·ebsco.com
As the number of missing and slain children grew, parents like Camille Bell formed the Committee to Stop Children's Murders, suspecting a connection between the deaths.
via album.atlantahistorycenter.com·vault.fbi.gov·personal.lse.ac.uk·en.wikipedia.org·ebsco.com
1979
1 update
1979
1 updateThe bodies of 14-year-old Edward Hope Smith and 13-year-old Alfred Evans, both African American, were discovered in a vacant lot, marking the beginning of the Atlanta Child Murders.
via album.atlantahistorycenter.com·vault.fbi.gov·personal.lse.ac.uk·en.wikipedia.org·ebsco.com
Story began · 47 years, 3 mo ago