Atlanta murders of 1979–1981
The Atlanta murders of 1979–1981, sometimes called the Atlanta child murders, are a series of murders committed in Atlanta, Georgia, between July 1979 and May 1981. Over the two-year period, at least 28 children, adolescents, and adults were killed. Wayne Williams, an Atlanta native who was 23 years old at the time of the last murder, was arrested, tried, and convicted of two of the adult murders and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
| Atlanta murders of 1979–1981 | |
|---|---|
| Location | City of Atlanta, Fulton County, DeKalb County, Cobb County, Douglas County |
| Date | July 21, 1979 – May 21, 1981 |
| Target | Children and young adults in the Atlanta metropolitan area |
Attack type | Serial killing, kidnapping |
| Deaths | 30 |
Police subsequently have attributed a number of the child murders to Williams, although he has not been charged in any of those cases, and Williams himself maintains his innocence, notwithstanding the fact that the specific style and manner of the killings, which was by chokehold-strangulation, ceased after his arrest.
In March 2019, the Atlanta police, under the order of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, reopened the cases in hopes that new technology will lead to a conviction for the murders that were never resolved. As of December 2022, no results have been made public.