Running head: ATLANTA CASE 1

Annotated Bibliography of the Wayne Williams Atlanta Case

Alison Vazquez

CRJ627: Advanced Forensic Science

Prof. Kurt Lofland

September 23, 2019

ATLANTA CASE 2

Annotated Bibliography of the Wayne Williams Atlanta Case

Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (2018). Atlanta Killings: Why 5 Child Murder Cases Aren’t

Solved: One Victims Mom Becomes Soldier for all the Slain Children. Retrieved from

https://bi-gale-com.proxy-

library.ashford.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA555147559/1037f59c858096e7ee966c351

ed17526?u=ashford

The Atlanta Journal discusses different aspect of the Wayne Williams case. The purpose

of the article is to grasp the emotional state and the strength of one mother who lost her

13-year-old son and how she has been a soldier for all the kids killed in Atlanta. It also

discusses the different suspects they had in the case including members from the Ku Klux

Klan as well other individuals who were ruled out due to mental illness. Some relatives

of the victims do not believe Williams is the killer and they want the case reopened. The

state used technology that was new at that time to analyze carpet fibers and hair that was

found on the bodies. The author of this article is the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and it

will help with the final project by shedding light on witness testimonies in the case.

Biography. (2019). Wayne Williams. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/crime-

figure/wayne-williams

The Biography discusses the different victims in the case. All the victims were children

ranging from the age of 7 to 16. Law enforcement believed that there was only one killer

until the MO started to change. At first bodies were being discovered in the woods and

then they started showing up in the rivers. At this time the local police decided to call in

the FBI for help. All the children were African American and came from low housing
ATLANTA CASE 3

areas. This article discusses the relevance of the evidence that was used to convict

Williams. There was a 98% certainty that hair found on more than one victim belonged to

Williams however, the two percent was enough to create doubt on any further convictions.

Williams was never convicted of killing the children but rather two male adults. DNA

testing was done on the hair samples that ultimately linked Williams to a couple of the

killings. The author/authors of Biography are made from journalists who specialize in

journalism. This will help with the final project by discussing the different types of DNA,

hair and fibers that were recovered from both the victim and the suspect.

Blanco, J.I. (2017). Wayne Bertram Williams. Murderpedia. Retrieved from

https://murderpedia.org/male.W/w/williams-wayne.htm

Blanco is a Spanish journalists and criminologist. Blanco’s information pertains to

Williams history as he was growing up as well as the case against him. Williams was

found driving off a bridge at 3 am while police officers were conducting a stake out. The

officers saw somebody throw something off the bridge and they heard a splash. They

proceeded to follow Williams and pull him over. They eventually let him go because they

did not realize until the following day that a body was found at the end of the river and it

could have been what they saw thrown over the bridge the previous night. The article also

discusses different types of trace evidence found at the crime scenes as well as Williams

car and house. The polygraph test that Williams took made him look more suspicious

when he failed it. This will help with the final project because of the details regarding the

evidence.

FBI. (n.d.). Atlanta Child Murders. FBI Records: The Vault. Retrieved from

https://vault.fbi.gov/Atlanta%20Child%20Murders
ATLANTA CASE 4

This article was published by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. They refer to the

Atlanta Child Murders as the ATKID case. Once Williams was convicted on two counts

of murder for killing two adults more evidence was discovered that led law enforcement to

believe Williams was also the child killer and they proceeded to close the cases. This

article has all the information from the courts and what took place during the trial.

Williams attorney argued about the fiber and carpet evidence stating Williams was not the

only one in town with such materials. It will provide the information for the final project

pertaining to the evidence which includes eye-witness testimony, DNA, hair from a

human and dog, fibers and scratches on Williams body.

La-Keya Stinchcomb. (2019, March 22). APD re-testing evidence in Atlanta Child Murders case.

CNN Wire. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-

library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=BAQ4affiliatewire-

5c94ed9d9ef417e9f27c3bcf&site=eds-live&scope=site

There were over 28 murders that are considered cold cases even though Williams was

accused but not convicted or charged for them. Law enforcement say’s Williams was

linked to over 10 of the murder but no charges were ever brought against him. Since the

case of Williams was in 1981 ADP Chief Erica Shields, the district attorney’s office and

Keisha Lance-Bottoms the Mayor of Atlanta commented that new DNA technology and

forensic testing will be used for these cases. They are also looking into new evidence that

may be present. However, the evidence found at the adult killings are like the evidence

found in some of the child murders. This will help the final project regarding to the

forensic testing and legal issues in the case.

ATLANTA CASE 5

Mclaughlin, E.C. (2019). Unsolved Atlanta child murders are back under the microscope. CNN.

Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/21/us/atlanta-child-murders-wayne-

williams-mayor-bottoms/index.html

The author is a journalist, producer, editor and worked as a Southwest Bureau Liaison.

Atlanta Mayor states she is going to open a task force for the cold case files on the

children that were killed in Atlanta. The Atlanta public believes that because the children

are black and a part of a low-income family their cases have not been pursued to the

fullest. The Dekalb County’s Chief of Police states he believes that Williams is innocent

and there is still a killer out there. The Mayor states that once the evidence is reexamined

with new technology they are hoping for a breakthrough in the case. The public knowing

a murderer is still in Atlanta it is causing panic in the area. Harold Deadman the FBI

scientist states that the hair that was examined in the original case is the strongest finding

in the case. This will help with the final project in processing evidence and scientific

techniques.

Deadman, H.A. (1984). Fiber Evidence and the Wayne Williams Trial (Conclusion). FBI Law

Enforcement Bulletin Volume:53 Issue:5 p. 10-19. Retrieved from

https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=94475

The article discusses forensic evidence in this case. The fibers were a big part of the

prosecution’s case. Before Williams was a suspect The Georgia State Crime Lab found a

few pieces of violet acetate and yellowish-green nylon fibers on some of the victim’s

bodies. Investigators discovered the manufacture of the fibers. They then had to find out

how much had been sold in that area. The traced fiber only had been sold to a limited

amount of people. There was a numeric probability from the data the company provided
ATLANTA CASE 6

the odds of randomly finding a house with this type of carpet was approximately one in 7,

700. The fiber evidence was overwhelming to a forensic examiner who specializes in

fiber evidence. This will help evaluate what scientific techniques will be considered and

the processing of the evidence in the final project.

Nickell, J., & Fischer, J.F. (1999) Crime Science: Methods of Forensic Detection. Retrieved

from

https://books.google.com/books?id=MHBHAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA83&lpg=PA83&dq=(Fid

o+1993,+283&source=bl&ots=N9loD3BNZ1&sig=ACfU3U1hcQcZj0O-

jyAg57ukks3IrRATcg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKy5-B2-

zkAhUKP6wKHaLTDaAQ6AEwAnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Atlanta%20&f=false

The author Joe Nickell was an investigator of paranormal as well as a decorated author for

many crime books. Nickell discusses Larry Peterson a criminalist who say’s there was

more than one killer in Atlanta. Criminalist concluded that the yellow-green fibers were

course, lobed, and cross-sectional came from a carpet or a rug but no manufacture could

be identified. Even though the fibers were distributed amongst chemists and

photomicrograph a manufacture could not be determined. The fibers were to be kept quiet

so not to tip off who was committing the crimes. The book will be useful for the final

project in understanding the scientific techniques that will be used as well as ethical issues

in the storage and collection of the evidence.

Sharpe, J. (2019, April 2). AJC Continuing Coverage Atlanta Child Murders: Williams offers

help to uncover 'truth': Convicted murderer has said he's innocent in child killings

case. Atlanta Journal-Constitution [Atlanta, GA], p. B1. Retrieved from https://bi-gale-

com.proxy-
ATLANTA CASE 7

library.ashford.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA580923956/703217046417485259ca4710a

4dfe9d1?u=ashford

Williams states he is pleased to know that after all these years investigators will be

looking at the old evidence found in the killings. Williams still claims his innocents and

says he will cooperate to the fullest in the new investigation. Through out the years

Williams would send cards and letters to the families proclaiming his innocents. Keisha

Bottoms Mayor of Atlanta states there will be new technologies used for the old evidence

of fibers and DNA originally collected. At the time of the murder’s fiber analysis was

frowned upon because it was a new technology, but the authorities relied upon it just as

they did to the eyewitness testimonies. This will be helpful in the final by applying all the

eyewitness testimonies that were submitted into evidence.

YouTube. (2019). Convicted killer Wayne Williams discusses the Atlanta children murders.

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs9WIGj7PCQ

This is a documentary where Williams discusses the cases that are about to reopen.

Williams talks about how he was friends with a lot of the victim’s families for a long time

and how he believes they need closure. He continues to thank the commentators for

letting him speak. Williams states it is unfair that the families have been lied to for all

these years and they deserve the truth. Williams claims that the people of Atlanta need to

demand justice. There were many other suspects that were ruled out without even being

ruled in because they determined early on that Williams was the killer. Williams also

states they have leads on the individuals who did the killings and there was more than one.

This will help with the final project for investigation purposes pertaining to evidence that

has been recorded but never released to the public.

ATLANTA CASE 8

References

Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (2018). Atlanta Killings: Why 5 Child Murder Cases Aren’t

Solved: One Victims Mom Becomes Soldier for all the Slain Children. Retrieved

from https://bi-gale-com.proxy-

library.ashford.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA555147559/1037f59c858096e7ee966

c351ed17526?u=ashford

Biography. (2019). Wayne Williams. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/crime-

figure/wayne-williams

Blanco, J.I. (2017). Wayne Bertram Williams. Murderpedia. Retrieved from

https://murderpedia.org/male.W/w/williams-wayne.htm

FBI. (n.d.). Atlanta Child Murders. FBI Records: The Vault. Retrieved from

https://vault.fbi.gov/Atlanta%20Child%20Murders

La-Keya Stinchcomb. (2019, March 22). APD re-testing evidence in Atlanta Child Murders

case. CNN Wire. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-

library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=BAQ4affiliatewire-

5c94ed9d9ef417e9f27c3bcf&site=eds-live&scope=site

Mclaughlin, E.C. (2019). Unsolved Atlanta child murders are back under the microscope. CNN.

Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/21/us/atlanta-child-murders-wayne-

williams-mayor-bottoms/index.html
ATLANTA CASE 9

Deadman, H.A. (1984). Fiber Evidence and the Wayne Williams Trial (Conclusion). FBI Law

Enforcement Bulletin Volume:53 Issue:5 p. 10-19. Retrieved from

https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=94475

Nickell, J., & Fischer, J.F. (1999) Crime Science: Methods of Forensic Detection. Retrieved

from

https://books.google.com/books?id=MHBHAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA83&lpg=PA83&dq

=(Fido+1993,+283&source=bl&ots=N9loD3BNZ1&sig=ACfU3U1hcQcZj0O-

jyAg57ukks3IrRATcg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKy5-B2-

zkAhUKP6wKHaLTDaAQ6AEwAnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Atlanta%20&f=fa

lse

Sharpe, J. (2019, April 2). AJC Continuing Coverage Atlanta Child Murders: Williams offers

help to uncover 'truth': Convicted murderer has said he's innocent in child killings

case. Atlanta Journal-Constitution [Atlanta, GA], p. B1. Retrieved from https://bi-

gale-com.proxy-

library.ashford.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA580923956/703217046417485259ca4

710a4dfe9d1?u=ashford

YouTube. (2019). Convicted killer Wayne Williams discusses the Atlanta children murders.

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs9WIGj7PCQ