Wayne Williams Research Paper

Serial Killer or Pathological Liar or Both?

The Atlanta Child Murders was a gruesome time for the black community and families of

Fulton County in Atlanta, Georgia. Wayne Williams was sentenced to two consecutive life terms on February 27, 1982 for the murder of Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne. Out of the 28-30 victims only two victims were linked with Williams, Nathaniel Cater, a convicted felon, and

Jimmy Ray Payne, an ex-convict. Jimmy, missing for days, was found dead by suffocation in the

Chattahoochee River semi-nude. Wayne Williams car was spotted at Chattahoochee River after a loud splash had been heard by a stake out team. Wayne was pulled over, telling police he was on his way to audition a local singer. His alibi later was found false because

As stated in the name of the murder, the killings were mostly of children except for two of the murders. All the killings had a pattern, each murder was consistent with the pattern except for the age. Investigators believed the crimes were unrelated because Nathaniel and Jimmy were both above the age of twenty, not fitting the serial killers pattern of killing young children.

Over the two year killing spree police filed a list of victims. The list of victims was only made up of the killings that were believed to be connected to the Atlanta Child Murders.

Although, the police did not include some victims, who they believed at the time were not

connected to the killings. As I said serial killers are organized with a specific pattern of killing.

The prosecution during the trail created a pattern based on the victim’s characteristics. The pattern was a black male, missing clothing, no car, poor families, no evidence of abduction, coming from a broken home, no motive for disappearance, Williams had no contact with victims, cause of death was asphyxia, no valuables, the body was found near the expressway ramp,