A new HBO documentary called Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children will premiere on April 5, and the five-part series will offer an unprecedented look at the murder case. However, the perpetrator of the murders is believed to be Wayne Williamswho's currently in jailleading fans to wonder why the tragic case has been reopened.
Why has the Atlanta Child Murders case been reopened?
The Atlanta Child Murders were a series of murders that were committed from 1979 until 1981. While there were some adults killed during that time, a majority of the 28+ victims were between the ages of 7 and 17.
Mayor Lance Bottoms wants to re-test evidence with the new technology that's been created since then, and there are some pieces of evidence that have never been tested at all .
However, some of the cases from the child murders always held the status of "unresolved." Five of the murders were committed in DeKalb County, and in May 2005, DeKalb County Police Chief Louis Graham reopened those cases . He resigned from his position a year later, and the cases were again closed. Graham had previously expressed doubts that Williams was responsible for the murders.
Did Wayne Williams commit the Atlanta Child Murders?
While Williams is said to be the killer behind the child murders, there's also a shadow of doubt around his conviction. Williams was actually convicted of the murders of two adults, and only after that trial was he declared responsible for 20-22 other deaths. So, technically, no one has ever stood trial for the child murders, and there are still a number of murders that aren't officially attributed to Williams.
Witnesses during Williams' 1981 trial testified that they saw Williams with the victims, and fibers from his carpet were found to be a match to fibers found on two of the victims. However, much of the other evidence connecting Williams to many of the victims is circumstantial. He was seen near the bridge where 27-year-old Nathaniel Cater's body was later found, but there's no concrete evidence that he dropped Cater's body into the water.
Additionally, in 2007, hairs from Williams' dog were tested against dog hairs found on some of the victims. Results showed the hairs contained the same DNA sequence as Williams' dog...but that DNA sequence also matches about 1 in 100 other dogs.
Former FBI profiler John E. Douglas wrote the book that Mindhunter is based on, and he's also expressed doubt that Williams was the sole killer. Williams has always maintained his innocence, and he released a statement when Mayor Lance Bottoms announced the re-opening of the case.
However, the new investigation into the case isn't about exonerating Williams. Mayor Lance Bottoms says that she believes that much of the previous evidence links Williams to many of the murdered children, and the re-opening is more about finding out if there's another suspect.
