The killings began in 1979, just two years after the infamous Son of Sam murders in New York had commanded the nation’s attention.
In the end, 29 victims, including 22 children, had been killed.
Two victims were girls, six were adult men, and 21 were boys.
All of them were Black, nearly all were from low-income families, and each was beaten and strangled.
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
More than 40 years ago, the Atlanta Child Murders case rocked the nation, bringing the city to a scary standstill.
The killings began in 1979, just two years after the infamous Son of Sam murders in New York had commanded the nation’s attention.
In the end, 29 victims, including 22 children, had been killed.
Two victims were girls, six were adult men, and 21 were boys.
All of them were Black, nearly all were from low-income families, and each was beaten and strangled.
Wayne Williams, a freelance photographer, has served 41 years after being convicted of murdering two of the adult victims.
Authorities closed the case with a strong belief that Williams killed all 29.
Last year, former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms ordered authorities to reopen the case, and the city’s police department extracted two DNA samples which they sent to a facility in Utah for testing.
The results still haven’t been released, and Williams’ new attorney, Janis Mann, said answers are hard to achieve.
“We have absolutely no evidence as to what has been uncovered,” she told an Atlanta television station.
“I asked the city, Atlanta Police, and the District Attorney’s office about the samples, and they told me so far, no official report is available.”
And while Williams and the victims’ families await word, former U.S. Ambassador and ex-Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young offered some observations.
Young served as mayor for two terms beginning on Jan. 4, 1982.
His swearing-in occurred just eight months after the final victim, 27-year-old Nathaniel Cater, was killed and…
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