Atlanta Child Murders

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From the summer of 1979 to the summer of 1981, at least twenty-eight people were abducted and killed during a murder spree in Atlanta, Georgia; these killings would come to be known as the Atlanta Child Murders. While the victims of the killings were people of all races and genders, most of the victims of the Atlanta Child Murders were young African-American males. These murders created great racial tension in the city of Atlanta, with its black population believing the murders to be the work of a white supremacist group. (Bardsley & Bell, n.d., p. l) However, when police finally apprehended a suspect in the case, they found it was neither a white supremacy group, nor a white person at all; it was a 23 year-old African-American man named Wayne Williams. (“What are”, n.d.) Wayne Williams was born in Atlanta on May 27, 1958, to school teachers Homer and Faye Williams; Williams’ parents were overly supportive of him to the point of coddling, having reportedly “spent every cent they had supporting his entrepreneurial ventures.” (Bardsley & Bell, n.d., p. 22). Williams graduated high school with an honors degree and attended college for a year before dropping out (Bardsley & Bell, n.d., p. 22). After leaving school Williams would become a talent scout and producer for local Atlanta artists, although he never achieved much success in this endeavor. Williams developed a reputation for being a pathological liar, did not have many friends, and was known to impersonate a police officer, eventually being arrested for doing so (Bardsley & Bell, n.d., p. 23). Williams eventually emerged as a suspect after police officers that were staking out a bridge near where previous bodies had been found heard a splash in the water and stopped his veh... ... middle of paper ... ...c business, and that the stress from these factors along with his antisocial personality made him want to kill people so he could have some feeling of control. I believe Williams targeted mostly young African-Americans in his killing due to feelings of resentment towards his peer group and those that had failed to make his business successful. Works Cited Bardsley, M., & Bell, R. (n.d.). The Atlanta Child Murders. Famous Atlanta Child Murders and Wayne Williams — Setting the Stage — Crime Library on truTV.com. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/williams/index_1.html What are the Atlanta Child Murders?. (n.d.). Atlanta Child Murders. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://cases.laws.com/atlanta-child-murders Siegel, L. J. (2011). Criminology: The Core (4th ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

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