Wayne Williams Case Study

696 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Crime scene process

Wayne Williams, a born native of Atlanta, Georgia convicted of murdering two black male adults and listed as the prime suspect in the killing of more than 20 black youths from 1979 to 1981, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Biography, 2015) The key facts and critical issues in Wayne Williams’s case started with fibers evidence found on one of the victims that matched those found in Williams's car and home; therefore he was arrested. William was labeled the Atlanta Child Murderer, responsible for the deaths of more than 20 others as a result of convincing circumstantial and DNA evidence, Williams was not charged with the other twenty victims. (Biography, 2015)

On July 28, 1979, a woman came across two corpses hidden under bushes at the side of the road. …show more content…

A seven-year-old girl was reported missing; the FBI was called in to help local police. A major investigation started, and an FBI profiler worked on the case as well. The bodies of the victims were found in wooded areas; however, in April 1981, the killer changed his MO and started dumping the bodies in the Chattahoochee River. (Biography, 2015) The investigators were allowed to narrow their search, and they soon staked out fourteen bridges that surrounded the river in the Atlanta …show more content…

Also, witnesses testified that they had seen Williams with some of the victims. A criminalist, Larry Peterson of the Georgia State Crime Laboratory began to identify distinctive fibers found on the victims’ bodies. (Nickell, 2011) These fibers were yellowish-green nylon, and violet acetate, in all twenty-eight different fibers plus dog hairs were recovered. (Nickell, 2011) The investigator during the investigation found physical evidence of matching fibers on victims Cater’s personal and on Williams’s personal possessions. Williams was arrested, and on February 27, 1982, he was found guilty of the murders of Cater and another man, Jimmy Ray Payne, 21. (Biography, 2015) Williams was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. However, after Williams’s trial was over more investigations linked William’s DNA from his hairs found on different victims matched 98 percent certainty and hairs matching William’s German shepherd “Sheba” were found on the victims as well. (Edward, 2016) However, two percent doubt was not enough to convict Williams with the others deaths. After Williams’s conviction, the murders stopped. (Edward,

Show More
Related

  • Nathaniel Abraham

    419 Words  | 1 Pages

    Nathaniel Abraham was eleven years old when he committed the act of murder. Under a 1997 Michigan law a child of any age may be tried as an adult for severe crimes. Abraham was the first juvenile to be tried under this statute. Accused in the murder of Ronnie Lee Greene Jr., Abraham faced first degree murder charges. Now, at the age of fourteen, Nathaniel has been sentenced to a juvenile facility until the age of twenty-one. Oakland County Probate Judge Eugene Moore hopes that rehabilitation will put an end to Nathaniel’s criminal activity. Nathaniel, a black youth from the slums of Pontiac, Michigan, grew up with out a father, or a strong family unit. He, in turn, never learned the responsibility of his actions; he was not privy to an upbringing that reinforced positive ideals. Crime & Criminology describes, in depth, the relation between family and criminal activity in youths. Page 126 (chapter four) sited two relevant facts; 1) Blacks have much higher rates of illegitimacy and female headed house holds. 2) Blacks have a much higher rate of crime than their white counterparts. In Nathaniel’s case, it can be said that his lack of a positive role model, or father figure lead to his involvement in criminal activities. His mother, Gloria, was struggling to raise three children by herself. Nathaniel’s father had left when he was born, leaving her with no one to depend on. The family moved in with an older couple who offered to help them. With limited supervision Nathaniel was a constant source of aggravation for his mother. Police reported that Nathaniel was suspected in over 22 local crimes, ranging from assault to armed robbery. He, in fact, had been arrested five days before Greene’s murder on the charge of robbery. All this by the age of eleven. In families where there is no male role model a child is far more likely to become involved in crime. The data that exists suggests a direct correlation between youths raised without a father and criminal activity.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Murder In The Bayou

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    The book Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?, written by independent journalist and private investigator Ethan Brown, tells the horrific true story of the bayou town of Jennings, Louisiana located in the heart of the Jefferson Davis parish. During the four year duration between 2005 and 2009, the town of Jennings was on edge after the discovery of the bodies of eight murdered women were found in the filthy canals and swamps. The victims became known as the “Jeff Davis 8.” For years, local law enforcement suspected a serial killer, and solely investigated the murders based on that theory alone. The victims were murdered in varying manors, but when alive they all shared many commonalities and were connected to

    Read More

  • negroes with guns

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    -     on June 23, Williams was driving when a heavy car came up from behind him and tried to force his car off the embankment and over a cliff with a 75 ft. drop off. The bumpers of the two cars were stuck and the cars had to pass right by a highway patrol station, which was a 35 mile and hour zone, but the car was pushing his at 70 miles per hour. Williams started blowing his horn hoping to attract the attention of the patrolmen, but when they saw they just lifted their hands and laughed. He was finally able to rock loose from the other car’s bumper and make a sharp turn into a ditch. He went to the police about it, but they would not do anything because he was black. The police in Monroe never did anything to help blacks

    Read More

  • Elizabeth Short - The Black Dahlia

    1555 Words  | 4 Pages

    Two detectives were assigned to the case: Harry Hanson and Finis Brown. [2] When they and the police arrived at the crime scene, it was already swarming with people, gawkers and reporters. The entire situation was out of hand and crowded, everyone trampling all over any hopes for good evidence. [2] One thing they did report finding was a nearby cement block with watery blood on it, tire tracks and a heel print on the ground. There was dew under the body so they knew it had been set there just after 2 a.m. when temperatures dropped to 38 degrees.

    Read More

  • The Atlanta Missing And Murdered Children Case

    1764 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Atlanta missing and murdered children case is a series of murder cases which took place in Atlanta, Georgia between the periods of 1979-1981 during which 29 African- American children were murdered as well as young adults. The victims, mostly black Americans were found asphyxiated; some were believed to have been sexually abused. This terrifying string of murders left the city of Atlanta astonished and on high alert. Newspapers and TV reports about the case rattled the nation and reminded parents to keep a close eye over their children. Green ribbons, “symbolizing life” and green-lettered buttons reading, “SAVE THE CHILDREN,” appeared everywhere. Celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Muhammad Ali, James Baldwin, and Burt Reynolds came from all over the country to show support and donate money. President Ronald Reagan enabled a $1.5 million grants to help fund the investigation. Over the three years when victims started disappearing and later found murdered, the police questioned suspects without success. With leads in the case dwindling and no arrest in sight, Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson enforced a 7pm curfew on the city of Atlanta’s children. The murderer at that time was referred to as “the child killer”. Most people believed the killings were conducted by racial hate groups such as the KKK. It was not until 21 June 1981 when a 23 year old, black man was charged for the first degree murder of two adults, 27 year old Nathaniel Cater and 22 year old Jimmy Ray Payne. Wayne B Williams was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment as he was also linked to the murder of the other victims (Nickell and Fischer 1999). The evidence against him was strong and it was used to link him to be the suspected perpetrator of the other At...

    Read More

  • Ethics of Oates' Landfill

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    The sad story is still mostly a mystery because of the ongoing investigation, and both the police and autopsy report were withheld from the public. What is known, is that a nineteen-year-old freshman at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) named John Fiocco Jr. was reported missing from his dormitory on March 25th 2006 after drinking. Police reported finding blood (that was later identified as belonging to Fiocco) around a dumpster outside of his dormitory. It was never made clear if it had any connection to the trash chute above, but his body was recovered at the Bucks County landfill in Pennsylvania. (Landfill Isn't About Fiocco)

    Read More

  • jack the ripper

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    The next victim that shows the same modus operandi is Annie Chapman. On September 8, 1888 Chapman’s body was found on a walkway leading to a stable yard. Chapman was between the ages of 45-47, was a widow, and a prostitute. She was found to have tuberculos...

    Read More

  • R V Williams Case Study

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    An aboriginal by the name of Victor Daniel Williams, was charged in the year 1993 with the robbery of a pizza parlour. He was elected a trial by judge and jury where he pleaded not guilty to the crime. His defence was one of mistaken identity. Nevertheless the jury convicted him of robbery . At his first trial, Williams applied to question potential jurors for racial bias under s. 638 of the Code. In support of his application, he filed materials alleging widespread racism against aboriginal people in Canadian society and an affidavit which stated, in part, “[I] hope that the 12 people that try me

    Read More

  • Atlanta Child Murders

    1547 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.)

    Read More

  • Revisiting Racism: Post-Segregation Tensions in America

    1606 Words  | 4 Pages

    “I have a dream that one day right here in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” –Martin Luther King Jr. (Atkinson). Racism is believed to be a part of the past. In many circumstances it is, such as the desegregation of the army and schools. In light of this fact, tensions between whites and blacks have been increasingly seen in the recent shootings of unarmed black boys. This is determined in many different scenarios such as: George Zimmerman shooting unarmed Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old playing with a toy gun being shot by a city police officer, and one of the most recent and controversial, Michael Brown being shot down by a

    Read More

  • Essay On Jeffrey Dahmer

    1690 Words  | 4 Pages

    He later pulverised the bones with a sledge hammer and scattered the bones around the [his grandmother’s] property. The flesh was put into bags and buried in a crawlspace under the house. It wasn't until 3yrs later that police and forensics found the remains.” (Blanco) His second murder was not until 1987.

    Read More

  • Mr Jones Case Study Essay

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mr. Jones is 45 years old with a daughter who is 23 years old. Mr. Jones is divorced and is currently living with his parents and daughter. He is working for a construction company for nearly a year, according to him, he has an excellent relationship with his boss and his coworkers. He has some education, such as, finishing high school and knowledge and skill about trade work, but he never went to college. Over the years, he has used different type of drugs at various amounts, some example of drugs that he has used includes but not limited to cannabis , alcohol, crack and cocaine. He was recently involved with the criminal justice system, when a woman accused him of trying to rob her, however, the judge threw the case out because of lack of

    Read More

  • The Confession Tapes

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the national registration of exoneration, 2111 people being released for a crime they didn't commit. Out of the 2111 people, 985 were black and the other 1126 were a combination of caucasian, hispanic and others. The statistics shows that, almost half of the people exonerated were innocent black people. A black person that is convicted of murdering a white victim is 50% more likely to be innocent of that crime. The law enforcement targeting black males, as caused society to see black males in a dangerous point of view. The story Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old boy who was gunned down because his killer George zimmerman chose to not listen to the police instruction. On his way home after buying a bag of skittles and a can of iced tea from 7-eleven Trayvon was approached by Zimmerman. Zimmerman confronted Trayvon because he suspected him of doing something, which resulted in both men fighting on the floor. Tayvion was killed during this altercation by Zimmerman’s gun, and zimmerman was arrested for it. Even after ignoring the police instruction of not to approach Trayvon, he was released on the plea of self defense. According to Blow (2012), “One other point:Trayvon is black Zimmerman is not.” In making this case, Blow acknowledge the theory of how the death of black males are not taken seriously by law

    Read More

  • Daniel Jones Case Study

    293 Words  | 1 Pages

    Daniel Jones is a young Chinese American man with dark hair. He is straight out of college, but already has a job as an investigative journalist who who writes online articles for Apogee Daily News.Having just arrived in the company Daniel has not made a name for himself as a reporter, and does not have a significant role in the organization. However, he is confident that he’ll gain a more prominent position in the organization if he he can find a juicy enough story for his employers.

    Read More

  • Case Analysis: The Lipstick Killer

    1823 Words  | 4 Pages

    Have you ever been accused of a crime you didn’t do? Hopefully not. William George Heirens is believed to be an American serial killer who confessed to three murders in 1946. Heirens has also been called The Lipstick Killer due to a scandalous message written in lipstick at one of the three crime scene.

    Read More

More about Wayne Williams Case Study

Open Document