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1
00:01:06,136 --> 00:01:08,928
The Atlanta child murders
from 40 years ago
2
00:01:09,011 --> 00:01:10,219
are back in the headlines
3
00:01:10,303 --> 00:01:13,511
as investigators now plan
to reexamine the evidence.
4
00:01:13,595 --> 00:01:15,720
The man detectives believe
is responsible
5
00:01:15,803 --> 00:01:17,720
is serving two life sentences,
6
00:01:17,803 --> 00:01:20,720
but he was never tried
on any of the child murders.
7
00:01:22,637 --> 00:01:24,720
The bodies were linked
to his vehicles,
8
00:01:24,803 --> 00:01:26,762
his environment, his house.
9
00:01:26,845 --> 00:01:30,386
The fiber evidence, I think,
was the most important
10
00:01:30,470 --> 00:01:33,261
because it basically put
a lot of dead bodies
11
00:01:33,345 --> 00:01:36,053
in his environment.
12
00:01:36,136 --> 00:01:39,303
We can prove emphatically
13
00:01:39,386 --> 00:01:42,511
that Wayne was a pr...
Was a homosexual.
14
00:01:42,595 --> 00:01:44,303
He's gone all the time at night.
15
00:01:44,386 --> 00:01:46,219
He driving all these cars.
16
00:01:46,303 --> 00:01:49,928
And even... he got in a fight
with his daddy
17
00:01:50,011 --> 00:01:53,762
where, I believe,
Homer pulled a shotgun on him.
18
00:01:53,845 --> 00:01:57,470
So stuff like that
made Wayne out to be violent.
19
00:01:59,845 --> 00:02:01,428
Only people I think
that can snatch
20
00:02:01,511 --> 00:02:03,887
some black children
is white people.
21
00:02:03,969 --> 00:02:06,428
It was kind of crazy
how all those kids
22
00:02:06,511 --> 00:02:08,720
end up missing
in broad daylight.
23
00:02:08,803 --> 00:02:11,762
You go to a black neighborhood
and snatch up a child
24
00:02:11,845 --> 00:02:14,094
in broad daylight,
and a black person did it,
25
00:02:14,178 --> 00:02:15,928
they would know who did it,
26
00:02:16,011 --> 00:02:18,845
because we know black people.
27
00:02:18,928 --> 00:02:20,888
It was numerous people
that was doing the killing,
28
00:02:20,928 --> 00:02:23,136
a bunch of people
that knew each other
29
00:02:23,219 --> 00:02:24,845
and was getting away with it.
30
00:02:27,428 --> 00:02:30,720
When you look at 30 murders
over 23 months,
31
00:02:30,803 --> 00:02:31,969
that's a big deal.
32
00:02:32,053 --> 00:02:34,219
For Atlanta to be able
to move forward,
33
00:02:34,303 --> 00:02:37,094
you gotta get rid of this stain.
34
00:02:37,178 --> 00:02:39,553
This stain is still here.
35
00:02:44,386 --> 00:02:45,303
Good afternoon,
36
00:02:45,386 --> 00:02:47,928
and thank you all
for being here today.
37
00:02:48,345 --> 00:02:50,136
In 1979,
38
00:02:50,219 --> 00:02:53,303
I was nine years old.
39
00:02:53,386 --> 00:02:55,720
I was the daughter
40
00:02:55,803 --> 00:02:59,303
of a single mother
working two jobs,
41
00:02:59,386 --> 00:03:02,428
and my story
42
00:03:02,511 --> 00:03:04,803
was the story of many children
43
00:03:04,887 --> 00:03:07,386
across this city.
44
00:03:07,470 --> 00:03:09,678
In the backdrop of that story
45
00:03:09,762 --> 00:03:14,386
is something that has stayed
with me my entire life,
46
00:03:14,470 --> 00:03:15,845
and that was the era
47
00:03:15,928 --> 00:03:20,386
of Atlanta's missing
and murdered children.
48
00:03:20,470 --> 00:03:23,178
And for those of us
who grew up in that era,
49
00:03:23,261 --> 00:03:26,386
in so many ways,
it shaped our childhood.
50
00:03:26,470 --> 00:03:29,720
It robbed us of our innocence,
51
00:03:29,803 --> 00:03:33,011
and it reminded us all
52
00:03:33,094 --> 00:03:35,845
that evil was real.
53
00:03:35,928 --> 00:03:39,511
There is something sick
about people
54
00:03:39,595 --> 00:03:43,720
who would snatch out the lives
55
00:03:43,803 --> 00:03:45,219
of little children.
56
00:03:45,303 --> 00:03:49,219
Certainly afflicted
by a fiendish illness
57
00:03:49,303 --> 00:03:52,053
that is beyond
our comprehension.
58
00:03:52,136 --> 00:03:55,762
A lot has changed
in our world since 1981,
59
00:03:55,845 --> 00:03:59,595
when there was a conviction
for two of these murders.
60
00:03:59,678 --> 00:04:02,720
A conviction of Wayne Williams.
61
00:04:02,803 --> 00:04:04,553
Wayne Williams?
62
00:04:04,637 --> 00:04:05,845
Who?
Are you serious?
63
00:04:05,928 --> 00:04:08,261
Wayne?
All these kids?
64
00:04:08,345 --> 00:04:11,553
I mean, half these kids
were his size.
65
00:04:11,637 --> 00:04:16,386
Now, I don't know
how that little guy
66
00:04:16,470 --> 00:04:19,928
killed 29 people.
67
00:04:20,011 --> 00:04:21,720
29?
68
00:04:21,803 --> 00:04:22,803
We have to understand
69
00:04:22,845 --> 00:04:24,553
there's evil in the world, man.
70
00:04:24,637 --> 00:04:26,553
I mean, nobody wants
to look at evil and say,
71
00:04:26,637 --> 00:04:29,261
"Oh, why'd he do it?"
He liked murdering people.
72
00:04:29,345 --> 00:04:32,219
Wayne liked killing people.
73
00:04:32,303 --> 00:04:33,762
Wayne was a killer,
74
00:04:33,845 --> 00:04:36,428
'cause think, you have to be
a killer to kill a kid.
75
00:04:36,511 --> 00:04:38,386
You have to be a killer
76
00:04:38,470 --> 00:04:40,762
to choke the life
out of a child.
77
00:04:40,845 --> 00:04:42,637
He wanted to kill them.
He killed them
78
00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:44,720
because he enjoyed
killing people,
79
00:04:44,803 --> 00:04:46,762
and we have to accept that.
80
00:04:46,845 --> 00:04:48,219
And those are kids.
81
00:04:48,303 --> 00:04:50,720
How can you do that to a child?
82
00:04:52,845 --> 00:04:54,887
Are you human?
83
00:04:54,969 --> 00:04:57,553
Are you beast?
What are you?
84
00:04:57,637 --> 00:04:59,428
And this case is a case
of politics...
85
00:04:59,511 --> 00:05:02,219
I say politics, greed, racism,
and oh, yeah, murder.
86
00:05:02,303 --> 00:05:03,511
And they shut the cases down
87
00:05:03,595 --> 00:05:05,678
two days after Wayne
was convicted and said,
88
00:05:05,762 --> 00:05:07,195
"Yeah, he's probably done
all the rest of them,
89
00:05:07,219 --> 00:05:09,139
but we're not gonna waste
anymore time or money."
90
00:05:09,219 --> 00:05:11,553
Okay, thank you, goodbye.
Closed the cases.
91
00:05:11,637 --> 00:05:13,178
That was it.
Amen, goodbye.
92
00:05:13,261 --> 00:05:16,136
The families never had
any closure.
93
00:05:16,219 --> 00:05:17,511
I commend the mayor
94
00:05:17,595 --> 00:05:19,154
for coming in and saying,
"You know what?
95
00:05:19,178 --> 00:05:20,969
"This is a really ugly,
dark chapter,
96
00:05:21,053 --> 00:05:22,428
but we need to own it."
97
00:05:22,511 --> 00:05:23,928
The Atlanta Police Department
98
00:05:24,011 --> 00:05:26,595
has numerous boxes of evidence.
99
00:05:26,678 --> 00:05:28,511
We already have begun
the process
100
00:05:28,595 --> 00:05:30,261
of going through these boxes
101
00:05:30,345 --> 00:05:33,136
to see if there's anything
that was never tested.
102
00:05:33,219 --> 00:05:36,011
Do I think that
in some of the cases,
103
00:05:36,094 --> 00:05:38,470
there will be
a different suspect?
104
00:05:38,553 --> 00:05:39,428
Yes.
105
00:05:39,511 --> 00:05:41,428
Lieutenant Danny Agan here...
106
00:05:41,511 --> 00:05:43,303
He was a key investigator,
107
00:05:43,386 --> 00:05:47,345
along with Detective Buffington
on the original investigation,
108
00:05:47,428 --> 00:05:50,136
and we spoke with him
ahead of time,
109
00:05:50,219 --> 00:05:52,386
and he agreed that it's prudent
to review the case.
110
00:05:52,470 --> 00:05:55,178
So I appreciate you
being here, Lieutenant.
111
00:05:55,261 --> 00:05:57,887
Some people
will refuse to believe
112
00:05:57,969 --> 00:05:59,613
whatever evidence
you throw in front of them,
113
00:05:59,637 --> 00:06:01,303
and I'm convinced right now
114
00:06:01,386 --> 00:06:03,470
that if Wayne Williams
confessed today
115
00:06:03,553 --> 00:06:07,511
and says, "Okay,
I'ma tell you all, I did it,"
116
00:06:07,595 --> 00:06:08,904
there would be people
that would say,
117
00:06:08,928 --> 00:06:11,762
"Oh, no.
It's not even possible.
118
00:06:11,845 --> 00:06:14,011
You know, I've been asked
a lot of times,
119
00:06:14,094 --> 00:06:15,845
was he guilty?
120
00:06:15,928 --> 00:06:18,011
Did he act guilty?
121
00:06:18,094 --> 00:06:20,511
And I have to say,
122
00:06:20,595 --> 00:06:23,219
he was a lot of things,
123
00:06:23,303 --> 00:06:28,219
and sometimes he made me...
124
00:06:28,303 --> 00:06:31,762
Perhaps it's unladylike,
but he made me pissing angry,
125
00:06:31,845 --> 00:06:34,845
because he was difficult,
126
00:06:34,928 --> 00:06:37,053
but while he was
a lot of things,
127
00:06:37,136 --> 00:06:39,053
I never saw a killer.
128
00:06:39,136 --> 00:06:41,261
We don't know what we'll find,
129
00:06:41,345 --> 00:06:43,053
but what we do know is,
130
00:06:43,136 --> 00:06:45,928
we have an obligation
to these families
131
00:06:46,011 --> 00:06:49,928
to ensure that every imaginable
investigative lead
132
00:06:50,011 --> 00:06:51,219
was followed.
133
00:06:51,303 --> 00:06:53,887
Doubt.
There's always doubt.
134
00:06:53,969 --> 00:06:55,720
And if there's doubt
135
00:06:55,803 --> 00:06:57,887
that Wayne didn't kill my child,
136
00:06:57,969 --> 00:07:00,094
then who did?
137
00:07:00,178 --> 00:07:02,762
How could you not
support the mothers?
138
00:07:02,845 --> 00:07:06,428
Obviously, somebody killed
their children.
139
00:07:06,511 --> 00:07:11,219
And I can't stand here today
and not call their names.
140
00:07:12,803 --> 00:07:15,928
They were Edward Smith, age 14,
141
00:07:16,011 --> 00:07:17,446
Alfred Evans...
142
00:07:17,470 --> 00:07:20,762
Age 13, Milton Harvey, age 14,
143
00:07:20,845 --> 00:07:23,637
Yusuf Bell, age 9,
144
00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,762
Angel Lanier, age 12.
145
00:07:26,845 --> 00:07:29,303
Jeffery Mathis, age 10,
146
00:07:29,386 --> 00:07:31,969
Eric Middlebrooks, age 14,
147
00:07:32,053 --> 00:07:34,136
Chris Richardson, age 12,
148
00:07:34,219 --> 00:07:36,928
LaTonya Wilson, age 7,
149
00:07:37,011 --> 00:07:39,428
Anthony Carter, age 9,
150
00:07:39,511 --> 00:07:41,595
Earl Terrell, age 10,
151
00:07:41,678 --> 00:07:43,595
Clifford Jones, 13,
152
00:07:43,678 --> 00:07:47,553
Darron Glass, 10,
153
00:07:47,637 --> 00:07:51,136
Charles Stevens, 12,
Aaron Jackson, 9
154
00:07:51,219 --> 00:07:52,969
Patrick Rogers, 16,
155
00:07:53,053 --> 00:07:54,762
Lubie Geter, 14,
156
00:07:54,845 --> 00:07:57,969
Terry Pue, 15,
157
00:07:58,053 --> 00:08:00,928
Patrick... Baltazar, 11.
158
00:08:01,011 --> 00:08:02,428
11 years old.
159
00:08:02,511 --> 00:08:04,136
Joseph Bell, 15,
160
00:08:04,219 --> 00:08:07,428
Timothy Hill, 13.
161
00:08:07,511 --> 00:08:10,637
Clifford Jones, 13 years old.
162
00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,053
Curtis Walker, 13 years old.
163
00:08:16,428 --> 00:08:19,803
William Barrett, 17.
164
00:08:19,887 --> 00:08:22,261
Adults Eddie Duncan, 21,
165
00:08:22,345 --> 00:08:23,969
Larry Rogers, 20,
166
00:08:24,053 --> 00:08:26,845
Michael McIntosh, 23,
167
00:08:26,928 --> 00:08:28,845
Jimmy Ray Payne, 21,
168
00:08:28,928 --> 00:08:31,136
John Porter, 28,
169
00:08:31,219 --> 00:08:33,678
Nathaniel Cater, 27.
170
00:08:41,094 --> 00:08:43,678
There have been some
who've cautioned us
171
00:08:43,762 --> 00:08:46,637
not to touch it,
to leave it alone,
172
00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,553
which I find very interesting.
173
00:08:49,637 --> 00:08:52,845
You think about the attention
that's given now
174
00:08:52,928 --> 00:08:56,303
when a child disappears,
you think about the attention
175
00:08:56,386 --> 00:09:00,470
that's been given
to JonBenét Ramsey,
176
00:09:00,553 --> 00:09:05,303
and multiply that
by an extraordinary number
177
00:09:05,386 --> 00:09:07,803
of children.
178
00:09:07,887 --> 00:09:10,720
I don't think it's right
179
00:09:10,803 --> 00:09:13,511
for all these kids
to be killed in this city
180
00:09:13,595 --> 00:09:15,845
and nobody was concerned
about it.
181
00:09:15,928 --> 00:09:19,219
We loved our children,
182
00:09:19,303 --> 00:09:21,969
and it really hurt.
183
00:09:23,803 --> 00:09:26,969
I want to know
who killed Curtis.
184
00:09:27,053 --> 00:09:29,094
His case is still sitting
on the shelf
185
00:09:29,178 --> 00:09:31,094
getting dusty and rusty,
186
00:09:31,178 --> 00:09:33,762
and you can't see the page.
187
00:09:33,845 --> 00:09:35,595
Anybody hear the sound
of my voice,
188
00:09:35,678 --> 00:09:39,762
please, please help us,
189
00:09:39,845 --> 00:09:41,553
because I'm not gonna stop.
190
00:09:41,637 --> 00:09:42,945
'Cause you know why
I'm not gonna stop?
191
00:09:42,969 --> 00:09:44,386
Because I'm a warrior,
192
00:09:44,470 --> 00:09:45,969
and I'm a prayer warrior,
193
00:09:46,053 --> 00:09:47,928
and I'm not gonna stop
till I get it.
194
00:09:48,011 --> 00:09:51,094
A fiberglass stretcher
was sent to the bridge,
195
00:09:51,178 --> 00:09:53,553
and soon afterward, the body
was taken by ambulance
196
00:09:53,637 --> 00:09:55,762
to the DeKalb County
medical examiner's office
197
00:09:55,845 --> 00:09:57,094
for identification.
198
00:09:57,178 --> 00:09:58,511
On Friday afternoon,
199
00:09:58,595 --> 00:10:01,136
about 3:30 or 4:00,
200
00:10:01,219 --> 00:10:03,094
my chief investigator
notified me
201
00:10:03,178 --> 00:10:05,595
that they had found
what appeared to be the body
202
00:10:05,678 --> 00:10:07,803
of a black child in the river
203
00:10:07,887 --> 00:10:09,428
in the south part
of DeKalb County
204
00:10:09,511 --> 00:10:10,762
in Atlanta, Georgia.
205
00:10:10,845 --> 00:10:12,428
For hours,
reporters awaited word
206
00:10:12,511 --> 00:10:15,595
of who the young child
in the river might be.
207
00:10:15,678 --> 00:10:18,511
That was Curtis
they pulled out the water.
208
00:10:18,595 --> 00:10:21,470
Curtis Walker was 13 years old.
209
00:10:21,553 --> 00:10:23,511
He'd been suffocated.
210
00:10:25,011 --> 00:10:27,094
A lady two apartments from me...
211
00:10:27,178 --> 00:10:28,303
She called me on the phone.
212
00:10:28,386 --> 00:10:30,887
She said, "Catherine,
look at the news,
213
00:10:30,969 --> 00:10:32,428
"'cause I think that's Curtis
214
00:10:32,511 --> 00:10:34,386
that they pulling
out the water."
215
00:10:34,470 --> 00:10:37,219
So I ran upstairs
and cut the TV on
216
00:10:37,303 --> 00:10:40,094
and started looking at it
and sat on the edge of the bed,
217
00:10:40,178 --> 00:10:42,053
and I was looking at the news,
218
00:10:42,136 --> 00:10:43,536
and I seen them
when they pulled him
219
00:10:43,595 --> 00:10:45,345
out the water.
220
00:10:45,428 --> 00:10:46,487
Can you tell us anything?
221
00:10:46,511 --> 00:10:47,654
I haven't anything to tell you.
222
00:10:47,678 --> 00:10:49,029
I don't know anything.
I haven't been down there yet.
223
00:10:49,053 --> 00:10:49,969
Well, have you been
briefed at all?
224
00:10:50,053 --> 00:10:51,261
No.
Do you have a body
225
00:10:51,345 --> 00:10:53,303
down there?
I don't know.
226
00:10:53,386 --> 00:10:55,136
I just run out the house.
227
00:10:55,219 --> 00:10:57,011
They had to catch me.
228
00:10:57,094 --> 00:11:00,178
I just ran out the house
like a wild woman.
229
00:11:00,261 --> 00:11:02,762
I was screaming
and hollering so loud.
230
00:11:06,178 --> 00:11:08,386
I just knew that was him.
231
00:11:08,470 --> 00:11:09,928
I knew that was him.
232
00:11:10,011 --> 00:11:12,637
We need all the vehicles
moved off road...
233
00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:14,136
I was so crazy.
234
00:11:14,219 --> 00:11:16,595
They had to call
the fire department.
235
00:11:16,678 --> 00:11:19,011
Only thing I remember is,
236
00:11:19,094 --> 00:11:20,720
I'm laying down on the sofa
237
00:11:20,803 --> 00:11:25,011
with my boys sitting down
on each side of me.
238
00:11:25,094 --> 00:11:28,762
I mean, my mind had left me,
'cause I had a suicide spirit,
239
00:11:28,845 --> 00:11:31,386
and I wanted to cut my wrists
240
00:11:31,470 --> 00:11:34,845
because I felt like I didn't
have nothing to live for.
241
00:11:38,470 --> 00:11:39,845
I couldn't sleep at night.
242
00:11:39,928 --> 00:11:41,845
I couldn't eat.
243
00:11:41,928 --> 00:11:43,553
I couldn't do nothing.
244
00:11:48,762 --> 00:11:52,553
You know, I wanted to know
245
00:11:52,637 --> 00:11:55,345
who did that to my son.
246
00:11:55,428 --> 00:11:57,178
I wanted to know.
247
00:12:00,261 --> 00:12:01,845
There's no memorial.
248
00:12:01,928 --> 00:12:04,219
There's nothing in the city
249
00:12:04,303 --> 00:12:07,011
other than
institutional knowledge
250
00:12:07,094 --> 00:12:10,553
and your memory
251
00:12:10,637 --> 00:12:13,011
that tells you
about these young people
252
00:12:13,094 --> 00:12:14,845
who were murdered,
253
00:12:16,595 --> 00:12:18,595
And their cases
were never solved.
254
00:12:21,053 --> 00:12:22,720
Do what should've been done
255
00:12:22,803 --> 00:12:27,386
in 1979, 1980, and 1981.
256
00:12:27,470 --> 00:12:29,928
Do the police work.
257
00:12:30,011 --> 00:12:31,887
Solve the cases.
258
00:12:31,969 --> 00:12:34,219
If you can find bin Laden,
you can do anything.
259
00:12:34,303 --> 00:12:35,720
But my question is,
260
00:12:35,803 --> 00:12:37,553
do Atlanta want to pursue this?
261
00:12:37,637 --> 00:12:39,428
Because if they pursue this,
262
00:12:39,511 --> 00:12:41,720
it's gonna destroy
the Atlanta name for a while.
263
00:12:41,803 --> 00:12:44,720
It will turn Atlanta
into the real Atlanta.
264
00:12:44,803 --> 00:12:48,303
I understand why the city
265
00:12:48,386 --> 00:12:49,928
handled it the way they did
266
00:12:50,011 --> 00:12:51,762
and wanted it to go away,
267
00:12:51,845 --> 00:12:54,969
because the result
of how they handled it
268
00:12:55,053 --> 00:12:57,303
is this beautiful city
that we have today.
269
00:13:13,178 --> 00:13:16,553
Atlanta is the epitome
of success
270
00:13:16,637 --> 00:13:20,887
in all areas of the black
experience in America.
271
00:13:20,969 --> 00:13:23,428
Atlanta is a city that has
272
00:13:23,511 --> 00:13:25,678
four historically
black colleges,
273
00:13:25,762 --> 00:13:28,303
and they're all producing
great students
274
00:13:28,386 --> 00:13:31,303
that come out
into the workforce.
275
00:13:31,386 --> 00:13:33,345
The jobs are available here.
276
00:13:34,845 --> 00:13:37,053
From the African-American
perspective,
277
00:13:37,136 --> 00:13:39,261
Atlanta is Wakanda.
278
00:13:39,345 --> 00:13:40,845
Bye.
279
00:13:42,553 --> 00:13:44,637
There was a magnetism to Atlanta
280
00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:46,803
that's really existed
for a long time.
281
00:13:46,887 --> 00:13:50,386
Atlanta was what we would call
the crown jewel of the South.
282
00:13:50,470 --> 00:13:52,303
Well, you do feel
a kind of pride
283
00:13:52,386 --> 00:13:53,637
that's associated with
284
00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:55,195
some of the fancier things
about the city...
285
00:13:55,219 --> 00:13:58,345
For instance,
the black businesses here.
286
00:13:58,428 --> 00:13:59,470
This is the main
287
00:13:59,553 --> 00:14:00,969
business artery in my district.
288
00:14:01,053 --> 00:14:02,928
Most of the businesses
up and down here
289
00:14:03,011 --> 00:14:04,845
are owned and run
by black people.
290
00:14:04,928 --> 00:14:08,136
You could live in Atlanta
and be successful
291
00:14:08,219 --> 00:14:11,011
and not go downtown
to a white bank.
292
00:14:11,094 --> 00:14:13,720
There's a black hospital
right here
293
00:14:13,803 --> 00:14:15,345
with black doctors in it.
294
00:14:15,428 --> 00:14:18,345
There's a black movie,
there's a black...
295
00:14:18,428 --> 00:14:19,845
Obviously, a nightclub,
296
00:14:19,928 --> 00:14:21,678
There's a black street
297
00:14:21,762 --> 00:14:23,303
called Auburn Avenue.
298
00:14:25,303 --> 00:14:29,386
My ex-husband is in
the entertainment business,
299
00:14:29,470 --> 00:14:31,345
so we lived in Augusta,
300
00:14:31,428 --> 00:14:33,720
which is about 2 1/2 hours
east of here.
301
00:14:33,803 --> 00:14:37,511
And he brought me downtown.
I'll never forget it.
302
00:14:37,595 --> 00:14:41,011
I saw black people
with suits and ties
303
00:14:41,094 --> 00:14:44,053
and dressed so business-like,
304
00:14:44,136 --> 00:14:47,178
and I said,
"This is where I need to be.
305
00:14:47,261 --> 00:14:50,511
I am coming to live here."
306
00:14:52,595 --> 00:14:54,303
There was a lot of activists
307
00:14:54,386 --> 00:14:56,845
who had flooded into the city
of all kinds
308
00:14:56,928 --> 00:14:58,011
from the Nation of Islam
309
00:14:58,094 --> 00:14:59,720
to communist organizations
310
00:14:59,803 --> 00:15:02,511
to, you know,
civil rights organizations.
311
00:15:02,595 --> 00:15:04,720
Many of us
were involved in struggles
312
00:15:04,803 --> 00:15:05,720
and movements
313
00:15:05,803 --> 00:15:07,386
and going to jail and picketing
314
00:15:07,470 --> 00:15:08,762
and fighting the Klan.
315
00:15:08,845 --> 00:15:10,595
There were boycotts, clearly,
316
00:15:10,678 --> 00:15:13,553
but the real energy of protest
317
00:15:13,637 --> 00:15:15,887
did not happen
in the city of Atlanta.
318
00:15:15,969 --> 00:15:18,219
This is not a resistance city.
319
00:15:18,303 --> 00:15:19,928
This is the city
320
00:15:20,011 --> 00:15:21,553
of the middle class.
321
00:15:21,637 --> 00:15:23,446
This was the city
where the civil rights leaders
322
00:15:23,470 --> 00:15:26,887
come back to and have,
relatively, racial harmony
323
00:15:26,969 --> 00:15:29,053
because it was not politically...
324
00:15:29,136 --> 00:15:32,094
They wanted Atlanta to be
the city too busy to hate.
325
00:15:32,178 --> 00:15:35,094
That kind of description
of Atlanta
326
00:15:35,178 --> 00:15:37,303
continued through the '60s
327
00:15:37,386 --> 00:15:39,553
and the '70s,
but into the 1980s,
328
00:15:39,637 --> 00:15:42,428
and in fact, Atlanta
was one of the first cities
329
00:15:42,511 --> 00:15:44,969
to elect a black mayor.
330
00:15:45,053 --> 00:15:47,637
And Maynard Jackson
was a mayor in full.
331
00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,428
Now, you don't have
to be crazy to be mayor,
332
00:15:51,511 --> 00:15:53,511
you know, but it helps.
333
00:15:55,136 --> 00:15:56,803
Maynard was
the first black mayor
334
00:15:56,887 --> 00:15:58,386
of any major Southern city.
335
00:15:58,470 --> 00:16:00,261
Never...
Never.
336
00:16:00,345 --> 00:16:02,887
Never...
Never.
337
00:16:02,969 --> 00:16:04,762
Never...
all: Never!
338
00:16:04,845 --> 00:16:06,762
Never...
all: Never!
339
00:16:06,845 --> 00:16:09,428
Never...
all: Never!
340
00:16:09,511 --> 00:16:11,178
Never shall I let you down.
341
00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:13,803
It was euphoric.
342
00:16:13,887 --> 00:16:16,678
It was like, "Here's one of us
343
00:16:16,762 --> 00:16:20,303
getting to the seat of power,
finally."
344
00:16:20,386 --> 00:16:23,136
Maynard Jackson came in knowing
345
00:16:23,219 --> 00:16:26,637
that he had to do
at least two things.
346
00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,136
Number one is
that black businesses
347
00:16:29,219 --> 00:16:31,303
had been locked out
of city business,
348
00:16:31,386 --> 00:16:33,969
and the city was spending
tens of millions,
349
00:16:34,053 --> 00:16:35,511
hundreds of millions of dollars,
350
00:16:35,595 --> 00:16:39,136
and black businesses
were left to the crumbs,
351
00:16:39,219 --> 00:16:41,178
and he knew
he had to change that.
352
00:16:41,261 --> 00:16:42,637
The second thing he knew
353
00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:45,553
is that he had to get control
of the police department,
354
00:16:45,637 --> 00:16:48,136
and that they had to acknowledge
355
00:16:48,219 --> 00:16:50,178
that the people
that they were serving
356
00:16:50,261 --> 00:16:52,094
were mostly black people.
357
00:16:52,178 --> 00:16:55,219
Maynard Jackson
took over office in 1974,
358
00:16:55,303 --> 00:16:57,219
and one of the first things
he said was,
359
00:16:57,303 --> 00:16:59,637
"I want to make the police
department more brown."
360
00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:01,386
He wanted to integrate it.
361
00:17:01,470 --> 00:17:03,845
Well, if you were a
white officer in the APD then,
362
00:17:03,928 --> 00:17:05,553
what's the message you got?
363
00:17:05,637 --> 00:17:07,386
"There ain't room for me
anymore."
364
00:17:07,470 --> 00:17:10,136
So a lot of those who could,
retired.
365
00:17:10,637 --> 00:17:12,303
And Maynard was not playing
366
00:17:12,386 --> 00:17:14,845
about blacks getting
their piece of the pie.
367
00:17:14,928 --> 00:17:16,053
Mayor Jackson called this
368
00:17:16,136 --> 00:17:17,803
the most ambitious
all-black project...
369
00:17:17,887 --> 00:17:20,845
Made for some great stories
because it was new territory
370
00:17:20,928 --> 00:17:22,904
for both the white community
and the black community.
371
00:17:22,928 --> 00:17:24,345
It was like a tale of two cities
372
00:17:24,428 --> 00:17:26,178
coming together
for the first time.
373
00:17:26,261 --> 00:17:28,178
And there were stories
that abounded
374
00:17:28,261 --> 00:17:30,178
here in Atlanta
unlike anyplace else.
375
00:17:30,261 --> 00:17:32,011
It's time for us to understand,
376
00:17:32,094 --> 00:17:35,386
America is a sick,
racist nation.
377
00:17:35,470 --> 00:17:37,011
Hosea Williams,
378
00:17:37,094 --> 00:17:39,178
Julian Bond, John Lewis.
379
00:17:39,261 --> 00:17:41,303
I mean, just many
civil rights leaders,
380
00:17:41,386 --> 00:17:45,720
legends, tough folks
who did great things.
381
00:17:45,803 --> 00:17:46,845
But by the same token,
382
00:17:46,928 --> 00:17:49,219
it was not always that easy
to deal with
383
00:17:49,303 --> 00:17:51,720
the J.B. Stoners
of the world, KKK.
384
00:17:51,803 --> 00:17:53,720
Oh, we have
all of this propaganda
385
00:17:53,803 --> 00:17:55,386
directed against white people.
386
00:17:55,470 --> 00:17:56,945
I remember interviewing him
one time
387
00:17:56,969 --> 00:18:00,595
in Stone Mountain,
such a Southern KKK foothold.
388
00:18:00,678 --> 00:18:02,511
J.B. Stoner was holding
a rally there.
389
00:18:02,595 --> 00:18:04,470
Now, how I got
that assignment, I'm not sure.
390
00:18:04,553 --> 00:18:05,887
Maybe it was partly a joke.
391
00:18:05,969 --> 00:18:08,345
Maybe it was to see,
could I handle it?
392
00:18:08,428 --> 00:18:10,511
And I heard him
use the N word all the time.
393
00:18:10,595 --> 00:18:12,154
I remember asking him,
"Stoner," I said,
394
00:18:12,178 --> 00:18:14,154
"Man, you not gonna call me
that word, not on camera."
395
00:18:14,178 --> 00:18:16,969
And he's a little guy.
He didn't call me on camera.
396
00:18:17,053 --> 00:18:19,094
He said, "You finished now?"
I said, "Yeah."
397
00:18:19,178 --> 00:18:20,654
He said, "All right, nigger.
You can go."
398
00:18:20,678 --> 00:18:23,094
I have to put up with Jews
and niggers on television
399
00:18:23,178 --> 00:18:24,595
whether I like it or not.
400
00:18:24,678 --> 00:18:26,178
It was still the South.
401
00:18:27,511 --> 00:18:29,762
Atlanta was...
During that time,
402
00:18:29,845 --> 00:18:32,136
it was kind of like
you stay in your neighborhood,
403
00:18:32,219 --> 00:18:34,928
you stay in yours.
404
00:18:35,011 --> 00:18:38,595
Klan presence was a real thing.
405
00:18:38,678 --> 00:18:40,928
Atlanta as a city...
406
00:18:41,011 --> 00:18:43,428
You know, they'll tell you
when you come to Atlanta,
407
00:18:43,511 --> 00:18:45,928
Atlanta's the city
too busy to hate,
408
00:18:46,011 --> 00:18:48,720
but go 15 minutes
outside of Atlanta,
409
00:18:48,803 --> 00:18:51,595
and you will see,
especially back then,
410
00:18:51,678 --> 00:18:54,803
the Confederate flags
still flying,
411
00:18:54,887 --> 00:18:57,303
the Confederate symbols
still around,
412
00:18:57,386 --> 00:19:00,011
the streets
in the black communities
413
00:19:00,094 --> 00:19:03,720
being named
after Confederate soldiers.
414
00:19:03,803 --> 00:19:06,011
The reality is,
415
00:19:06,094 --> 00:19:07,637
it's the South,
416
00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,845
with old feelings and old ways.
417
00:19:12,553 --> 00:19:14,470
When Maynard was running
for mayor,
418
00:19:14,553 --> 00:19:17,136
the overall tone was,
419
00:19:17,219 --> 00:19:19,178
"You're not gonna take over
this city."
420
00:19:19,261 --> 00:19:22,470
We have reached the point
in our history
421
00:19:22,553 --> 00:19:24,803
where it is time black leaders
422
00:19:24,887 --> 00:19:28,136
tell black audiences
that for their own good,
423
00:19:28,219 --> 00:19:30,595
they must be able
to think white.
424
00:19:30,678 --> 00:19:32,136
You would read stuff
in the paper,
425
00:19:32,219 --> 00:19:34,470
and you would hear
the conversations,
426
00:19:34,553 --> 00:19:36,136
you know,
427
00:19:36,219 --> 00:19:39,470
and you would know that...
428
00:19:39,553 --> 00:19:42,553
if you were black,
you had to get back.
429
00:19:42,637 --> 00:19:45,386
It was all about growth
and development
430
00:19:45,470 --> 00:19:47,845
and more people coming,
more roads being built.
431
00:19:47,928 --> 00:19:51,053
We have to keep getting bigger,
432
00:19:51,136 --> 00:19:53,553
and it was the new South.
433
00:19:53,637 --> 00:19:55,720
This was supposed
to be the city where
434
00:19:55,803 --> 00:19:58,136
black folks had
all this opportunity,
435
00:19:58,219 --> 00:19:59,678
and there were
a lot of black folks
436
00:19:59,762 --> 00:20:02,178
who found a lot
of opportunity here,
437
00:20:02,261 --> 00:20:03,762
but in a lot of ways,
438
00:20:03,845 --> 00:20:06,303
for a lot of poor people
in poor communities,
439
00:20:06,386 --> 00:20:10,136
they were starting to see that
nothing was really changing.
440
00:20:10,219 --> 00:20:11,887
The schools weren't really
getting better.
441
00:20:11,969 --> 00:20:13,637
They weren't getting more jobs.
442
00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:16,553
The promises
of the civil rights movement
443
00:20:16,637 --> 00:20:19,470
were not being realized.
444
00:20:19,553 --> 00:20:21,053
The poorest families in Atlanta
445
00:20:21,136 --> 00:20:24,219
have a yearly income
just under $2,500.
446
00:20:24,303 --> 00:20:26,553
They live in areas
like Techwood Homes,
447
00:20:26,637 --> 00:20:28,053
Summerhill, and Mechanicsville.
448
00:20:28,136 --> 00:20:31,011
It's in stark contrast
to their fellow citizens
449
00:20:31,094 --> 00:20:33,011
in some northern communities
of the city,
450
00:20:33,094 --> 00:20:36,720
where average family income
is $22,000.
451
00:20:37,428 --> 00:20:39,386
'Cause I knew
the history of this city,
452
00:20:39,470 --> 00:20:41,261
I started thinking
about this issue of
453
00:20:41,345 --> 00:20:43,928
whether Atlanta was
a black mecca or not, right?
454
00:20:44,011 --> 00:20:46,720
And I thought that
if you were a poor kid
455
00:20:46,803 --> 00:20:49,720
in Vine City
or in English Avenue
456
00:20:49,803 --> 00:20:52,053
or Perry Homes,
457
00:20:52,136 --> 00:20:54,887
or any of the projects
here in Atlanta,
458
00:20:54,969 --> 00:20:57,928
the black mecca was
more myth than reality,
459
00:20:58,011 --> 00:21:00,595
that it did not ring true
460
00:21:00,678 --> 00:21:02,261
for everybody.
461
00:21:02,345 --> 00:21:03,928
In these communities,
462
00:21:04,011 --> 00:21:06,094
this was being poor
and black in Georgia,
463
00:21:06,178 --> 00:21:08,762
before Maynard Jackson.
464
00:21:08,845 --> 00:21:10,969
This is poor and black
in Georgia
465
00:21:11,053 --> 00:21:13,720
after Maynard Jackson.
466
00:21:13,803 --> 00:21:15,261
So in that sense, you know,
467
00:21:15,345 --> 00:21:17,094
there had been hope
that was crushed,
468
00:21:17,178 --> 00:21:19,053
but it was nothing new.
469
00:21:19,136 --> 00:21:21,969
The public housing projects
were utter poverty.
470
00:21:23,136 --> 00:21:24,887
It was just another
slice of Atlanta
471
00:21:24,969 --> 00:21:27,428
that many folks tried to avoid.
472
00:21:27,511 --> 00:21:29,178
It was almost a hidden Atlanta.
473
00:21:29,261 --> 00:21:30,637
White folks hardly saw it at all
474
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:32,120
because they lived
in the wealthier,
475
00:21:32,178 --> 00:21:33,428
northern parts of town.
476
00:21:33,511 --> 00:21:35,595
So there was
the black middle class
477
00:21:35,678 --> 00:21:37,595
and the black lower class,
and of course,
478
00:21:37,678 --> 00:21:38,904
you had working class families
as well,
479
00:21:38,928 --> 00:21:41,887
so it was like three divisions
of black folks,
480
00:21:41,969 --> 00:21:44,637
and they didn't
necessarily intermingle.
481
00:21:49,386 --> 00:21:52,261
Wayne Williams
was the only child of
482
00:21:52,345 --> 00:21:54,136
Homer and Faye Williams.
483
00:21:54,762 --> 00:21:59,136
I knew them
as a true Atlanta family.
484
00:21:59,219 --> 00:22:00,678
Homer and Faye Williams
485
00:22:00,762 --> 00:22:02,053
were great people.
486
00:22:03,219 --> 00:22:06,470
Homer Williams
was a photographer,
487
00:22:06,553 --> 00:22:10,303
and he freelanced
for the "Atlanta Daily World."
488
00:22:10,386 --> 00:22:13,969
Faye was a schoolteacher
for years.
489
00:22:14,053 --> 00:22:16,762
She taught some of the mothers
490
00:22:16,845 --> 00:22:18,762
of the missing
murdered children.
491
00:22:20,928 --> 00:22:24,178
Homer and Faye Williams
were very loyal to their son.
492
00:22:26,386 --> 00:22:29,511
They were very close.
They were very close.
493
00:22:29,595 --> 00:22:31,845
They just loved him
and adored him.
494
00:22:34,595 --> 00:22:35,803
His mom and dad,
495
00:22:35,887 --> 00:22:37,219
middle income folk,
496
00:22:37,303 --> 00:22:39,345
were considered
very good individuals
497
00:22:39,428 --> 00:22:41,219
in the black community.
498
00:22:41,303 --> 00:22:42,678
Really a good family.
499
00:22:42,762 --> 00:22:44,678
You can tell the house
was a modest house
500
00:22:44,762 --> 00:22:47,136
that they had bought,
in a modest neighborhood,
501
00:22:47,219 --> 00:22:49,261
well-kept, with mowed lawns,
502
00:22:49,345 --> 00:22:50,845
manicured hedges.
503
00:22:50,928 --> 00:22:52,845
You know these were people
who kept their house
504
00:22:52,928 --> 00:22:54,720
very well.
505
00:22:54,803 --> 00:22:56,845
Wayne was an A student,
506
00:22:56,928 --> 00:22:58,720
very bright,
507
00:22:58,803 --> 00:23:01,845
very entrepreneurial.
508
00:23:01,928 --> 00:23:03,511
Wayne was a young man
509
00:23:03,595 --> 00:23:06,678
who had a very promising life
510
00:23:06,762 --> 00:23:10,845
but got short circuited.
511
00:23:12,887 --> 00:23:15,386
July 28th, 1979,
512
00:23:15,470 --> 00:23:17,553
police discover
the decomposed remains
513
00:23:17,637 --> 00:23:19,720
of two children in a wooded area
514
00:23:19,803 --> 00:23:21,887
in southwest Atlanta.
515
00:23:21,969 --> 00:23:23,678
Shift started at 4:00,
516
00:23:23,762 --> 00:23:26,219
and it wasn't long after 4:00
that the call came up.
517
00:23:26,303 --> 00:23:28,303
A body had been discovered
by someone
518
00:23:28,386 --> 00:23:30,428
who was scavenging the roadside,
519
00:23:30,511 --> 00:23:32,845
looking for cans or bottles,
520
00:23:32,928 --> 00:23:34,678
and in the process
of doing this,
521
00:23:34,762 --> 00:23:37,053
they came upon
a decomposing body
522
00:23:37,136 --> 00:23:38,845
of a human.
523
00:23:42,011 --> 00:23:44,261
I was a... what you call
a rookie homicide detective.
524
00:23:44,345 --> 00:23:45,595
I was still in training.
525
00:23:45,678 --> 00:23:47,112
I was still trying
to figure out, you know,
526
00:23:47,136 --> 00:23:49,094
what homicide detectives
were supposed to do
527
00:23:49,178 --> 00:23:51,261
and how they were supposed
to do it,
528
00:23:51,345 --> 00:23:53,928
and this body here is
529
00:23:54,011 --> 00:23:56,136
really in bad shape.
530
00:23:56,219 --> 00:23:58,470
Cause of death was not known.
531
00:23:58,553 --> 00:24:01,637
If you want to describe
a rural section of Atlanta,
532
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:02,928
this is it.
533
00:24:03,011 --> 00:24:04,094
It's wooded.
534
00:24:04,178 --> 00:24:07,428
It's a road
that's not heavily traveled.
535
00:24:07,511 --> 00:24:09,595
If you were gonna dump a body,
this is the place
536
00:24:09,678 --> 00:24:11,678
that you would want to go
dump a body.
537
00:24:11,762 --> 00:24:13,094
And somebody says,
538
00:24:13,178 --> 00:24:15,720
"Well, let's conduct
a concentric search
539
00:24:15,803 --> 00:24:17,083
"and make sure we're not missing
540
00:24:17,136 --> 00:24:19,762
any other evidence
that could be important."
541
00:24:19,845 --> 00:24:21,219
So everybody fans out,
542
00:24:21,303 --> 00:24:23,428
starts prowling around,
looking through the woods.
543
00:24:25,011 --> 00:24:26,470
Next thing you know,
544
00:24:26,553 --> 00:24:29,136
somebody walked upon
another body...
545
00:24:29,219 --> 00:24:31,969
Black male, fully clothed.
546
00:24:32,053 --> 00:24:34,637
And it's not as badly decomposed
547
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:36,928
as the previous body,
which made you think that
548
00:24:37,011 --> 00:24:40,345
the two bodies had been dumped
at different times.
549
00:24:40,428 --> 00:24:42,136
And they weren't
initially considered
550
00:24:42,219 --> 00:24:43,845
to be related homicides.
551
00:24:43,928 --> 00:24:45,637
One of them
is quickly identified
552
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:47,845
as 14-year-old
Edward Hope Smith,
553
00:24:47,928 --> 00:24:49,470
but the second body is in
554
00:24:49,553 --> 00:24:51,261
such an advanced state
of decomposition,
555
00:24:51,345 --> 00:24:53,136
it's impossible to say
who it is.
556
00:24:53,219 --> 00:24:54,428
Bodies are taken
557
00:24:54,511 --> 00:24:57,553
to the medical examiner's
office for examination,
558
00:24:57,637 --> 00:24:59,428
and then the determination
is made
559
00:24:59,511 --> 00:25:00,969
that one of them has been shot,
560
00:25:01,053 --> 00:25:02,404
and then the other one,
cause of death
561
00:25:02,428 --> 00:25:04,053
was determined as strangulation
562
00:25:04,136 --> 00:25:06,303
or maybe unknown, initially.
563
00:25:06,386 --> 00:25:08,029
Both of these boys,
by the way, are black,
564
00:25:08,053 --> 00:25:09,762
and they're both
about 15 years old.
565
00:25:09,845 --> 00:25:11,803
The examiner called my mom,
566
00:25:11,887 --> 00:25:14,011
saying that they had found
my brother.
567
00:25:14,094 --> 00:25:16,011
She said that wasn't my brother,
568
00:25:16,094 --> 00:25:17,887
'cause the body that was there...
569
00:25:17,969 --> 00:25:19,969
It didn't match
any of the clothing
570
00:25:20,053 --> 00:25:21,637
that my brother was wearing.
571
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:23,080
At the medical examiner's
office,
572
00:25:23,136 --> 00:25:24,678
Alfred's father and two brothers
573
00:25:24,762 --> 00:25:27,511
looked at the body and said
it wasn't the boy they knew.
574
00:25:27,595 --> 00:25:29,511
I went to the medical examiner
575
00:25:29,595 --> 00:25:31,553
two or three times,
576
00:25:31,637 --> 00:25:34,803
looked... had to look through
a little frosty window
577
00:25:34,887 --> 00:25:36,011
about that big.
578
00:25:36,094 --> 00:25:39,011
But they showed me
two or three different children
579
00:25:39,094 --> 00:25:42,261
that I had to look at.
580
00:25:42,345 --> 00:25:43,678
The body stayed in the morgue
581
00:25:43,762 --> 00:25:45,553
until August 7, 1980,
582
00:25:45,637 --> 00:25:47,845
when the boy was buried
in Crest Lawn Memorial Park
583
00:25:47,928 --> 00:25:50,470
as a pauper.
584
00:25:50,553 --> 00:25:52,637
In October 1980,
an Atlanta detective
585
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:54,511
discovered Alfred's
dental records.
586
00:25:54,595 --> 00:25:56,720
Associate medical examiner
John Fegel
587
00:25:56,803 --> 00:25:58,720
officially pronounced
the boy in Crest Lawn
588
00:25:58,803 --> 00:26:00,219
to be Alfred.
589
00:26:00,303 --> 00:26:03,845
He said his neck was broken,
590
00:26:03,928 --> 00:26:06,219
and that took the life
out of me then.
591
00:26:06,303 --> 00:26:09,094
Who would want
to break his neck?
592
00:26:09,178 --> 00:26:10,595
We put money together
593
00:26:10,678 --> 00:26:12,553
and gave it to him
for the bus fare.
594
00:26:12,637 --> 00:26:16,053
I say, "Now, this is
for your bus fare,
595
00:26:16,136 --> 00:26:17,720
"this is for your snack,
596
00:26:17,803 --> 00:26:20,261
and the movie fare."
597
00:26:20,345 --> 00:26:25,136
And I don't know if somebody
broke his neck for that.
598
00:26:25,219 --> 00:26:27,969
I just never understood that.
599
00:26:29,136 --> 00:26:30,928
I feel like somebody
knows something
600
00:26:31,011 --> 00:26:32,887
other than Wayne Williams.
601
00:26:34,969 --> 00:26:36,053
Reporting on the story
602
00:26:36,136 --> 00:26:37,595
of the missing and murdered
children,
603
00:26:37,678 --> 00:26:40,428
at first was a story...
604
00:26:40,511 --> 00:26:44,845
It's just two boys
who have been found,
605
00:26:44,928 --> 00:26:46,803
and maybe they were together.
606
00:26:46,887 --> 00:26:47,945
We don't know what happened,
607
00:26:47,969 --> 00:26:49,470
but it was just reported.
608
00:26:49,553 --> 00:26:51,386
Two young boys found dead,
609
00:26:51,470 --> 00:26:53,303
Niskey Lake Road.
610
00:26:53,386 --> 00:26:54,595
Period.
611
00:26:54,678 --> 00:26:56,345
Things started
612
00:26:56,428 --> 00:26:59,637
in the context
of a high homicide year,
613
00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:00,928
one of the highest in the...
614
00:27:01,011 --> 00:27:02,887
I think the highest
in the history of Atlanta.
615
00:27:04,595 --> 00:27:07,428
The first year I was in in '79,
616
00:27:07,511 --> 00:27:11,219
I believe we had
230, 240 murders,
617
00:27:11,303 --> 00:27:14,428
and we were balancing
two, three cases.
618
00:27:14,511 --> 00:27:16,928
Every officer was,
every detective.
619
00:27:18,345 --> 00:27:20,303
Most of the crime
that you were dealing with:
620
00:27:20,386 --> 00:27:22,511
black victims,
black perpetrators.
621
00:27:22,595 --> 00:27:25,094
The people being victimized
were the poorest people
622
00:27:25,178 --> 00:27:27,803
and the most vulnerable people
in the city.
623
00:27:27,887 --> 00:27:29,303
The initial reaction was,
624
00:27:29,386 --> 00:27:32,637
"These are the kinds of things
that happen every year.
625
00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:34,595
This is nothing extraordinary."
626
00:27:34,678 --> 00:27:36,303
So it was par for the course,
627
00:27:36,386 --> 00:27:39,428
just the usual,
what had happened before.
628
00:27:39,511 --> 00:27:41,178
The disappearance in September
629
00:27:41,261 --> 00:27:42,637
of another 14-year-old
630
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:44,678
also attracts
little public attention.
631
00:27:44,762 --> 00:27:48,303
Then nine-year-old
Yusuf Bell disappears.
632
00:27:48,386 --> 00:27:49,303
He wasn't the kind of little boy
633
00:27:49,386 --> 00:27:50,303
that would run away.
634
00:27:50,386 --> 00:27:51,637
He's involved in everything.
635
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:53,845
He's in the gifted program
at Dunbar.
636
00:27:53,928 --> 00:27:57,178
He's involved in boys' club.
637
00:27:57,261 --> 00:28:00,011
He's involved in a karate class.
638
00:28:00,094 --> 00:28:02,845
He's running for treasurer
of his school.
639
00:28:02,928 --> 00:28:06,011
He plays in the band.
He plays drum.
640
00:28:06,094 --> 00:28:08,470
The initial police who showed up
641
00:28:08,553 --> 00:28:11,887
had, in fact, seen him
going to the store,
642
00:28:11,969 --> 00:28:14,345
and we know
that he got to the store
643
00:28:14,428 --> 00:28:18,011
and we know
that he left the store, and...
644
00:28:18,094 --> 00:28:19,571
It's like he dropped off
the edge of the world
645
00:28:19,595 --> 00:28:21,219
at McDaniel and Glen,
646
00:28:21,303 --> 00:28:22,637
and nobody's seen him
since then.
647
00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:24,178
I was able to get
648
00:28:24,261 --> 00:28:26,011
a group of high school students
649
00:28:26,094 --> 00:28:27,678
that helped with the search,
650
00:28:27,762 --> 00:28:29,637
because at that point,
651
00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:31,345
missing persons consisted
652
00:28:31,428 --> 00:28:33,386
of a sergeant and two detectives
653
00:28:33,470 --> 00:28:35,345
for everything in Atlanta.
654
00:28:35,428 --> 00:28:37,112
Nine-year-old Yusuf Bell
has been missing since Sunday.
655
00:28:37,136 --> 00:28:40,011
The nine-year-old
is only one of about
656
00:28:40,094 --> 00:28:42,011
500 missing or runaways
657
00:28:42,094 --> 00:28:43,762
the squad handles each year.
658
00:28:43,845 --> 00:28:45,678
Okay, where was he last seen at?
659
00:28:45,762 --> 00:28:49,345
And so, of course,
we weren't a priority.
660
00:28:49,428 --> 00:28:50,345
Just send him home.
661
00:28:50,428 --> 00:28:52,720
Just let him go
and let him call us.
662
00:28:52,803 --> 00:28:53,928
We'll come pick him up.
663
00:28:54,011 --> 00:28:55,553
They don't have to even
bring him back.
664
00:28:55,637 --> 00:28:57,887
Just turn him loose
where he can get to a phone.
665
00:28:57,969 --> 00:28:59,511
Just send him home.
666
00:28:59,595 --> 00:29:04,261
For a child to be missing
and for it to be important,
667
00:29:04,345 --> 00:29:06,386
they had to be somebody's child.
668
00:29:06,470 --> 00:29:08,178
We did not know
669
00:29:08,261 --> 00:29:10,553
that other children were missing
670
00:29:10,637 --> 00:29:13,053
until they found a body,
671
00:29:13,136 --> 00:29:16,678
and they thought it might
have been Yusuf's body,
672
00:29:16,762 --> 00:29:20,553
and it was, in fact,
Milton Harvey's body.
673
00:29:20,637 --> 00:29:23,470
There were also two other boys
674
00:29:23,553 --> 00:29:25,720
that were missing,
675
00:29:25,803 --> 00:29:27,637
but we didn't know that.
676
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:28,928
It took people a minute
677
00:29:29,011 --> 00:29:31,136
to really grasp
the gravity of this,
678
00:29:31,219 --> 00:29:33,019
'cause black children
get killed all the time.
679
00:29:33,053 --> 00:29:34,362
You know, they go missing
all the time,
680
00:29:34,386 --> 00:29:35,928
and so I think it took a minute
681
00:29:36,011 --> 00:29:38,928
even for the black community
to grasp the gravity
682
00:29:39,011 --> 00:29:40,094
of children missing
683
00:29:40,178 --> 00:29:41,928
over a relatively short
period of time.
684
00:29:42,011 --> 00:29:44,053
Yusuf Bell, nine years old,
685
00:29:44,136 --> 00:29:45,654
missing from his home
for almost a month
686
00:29:45,678 --> 00:29:48,261
then found strangled
in an abandoned school.
687
00:29:48,345 --> 00:29:49,553
He had been strangled,
688
00:29:49,637 --> 00:29:51,803
and his body was put into
the shaft in the floor.
689
00:29:51,887 --> 00:29:54,345
The sergeant of
the missing persons unit
690
00:29:54,428 --> 00:29:57,136
and someone else
came over together
691
00:29:57,219 --> 00:30:01,053
to let me know
that they had found Yusuf.
692
00:30:05,762 --> 00:30:09,136
I was angry.
I was hurt.
693
00:30:09,219 --> 00:30:12,678
I was relieved.
694
00:30:12,762 --> 00:30:15,803
And I know relieved
sounds weird, but...
695
00:30:15,887 --> 00:30:19,928
Up until that point, in my head,
696
00:30:20,011 --> 00:30:22,053
someone has stolen my little boy
697
00:30:22,136 --> 00:30:25,428
and he's alive someplace,
and they're torturing him,
698
00:30:25,511 --> 00:30:28,386
and at least I know
that's not happening.
699
00:30:30,053 --> 00:30:33,261
It is my hope
at this particular point
700
00:30:33,345 --> 00:30:35,136
that the conscience
of this city,
701
00:30:35,219 --> 00:30:37,845
the conscience of this nation,
will be penetrated
702
00:30:37,928 --> 00:30:39,595
by the life and by the death
703
00:30:39,678 --> 00:30:41,720
of this young man.
704
00:30:43,678 --> 00:30:46,595
Women like Camille Bell
know the reality too well.
705
00:30:46,678 --> 00:30:48,345
After her son was murdered,
706
00:30:48,428 --> 00:30:51,178
she created the Committee
to Stop Children's Murders.
707
00:30:51,261 --> 00:30:53,511
One of the things
that happened fairly quickly:
708
00:30:53,595 --> 00:30:56,053
Camille Bell,
she started the committee
709
00:30:56,136 --> 00:30:58,386
to protect children,
and the camera loved her.
710
00:30:58,470 --> 00:30:59,386
Yusuf's dead.
711
00:30:59,470 --> 00:31:01,887
We can't do anything about that.
712
00:31:01,969 --> 00:31:04,969
But the citizens of Atlanta
713
00:31:05,053 --> 00:31:07,345
and the citizens
of the surrounding area
714
00:31:07,428 --> 00:31:10,803
are going to have to take
our community back.
715
00:31:10,887 --> 00:31:13,011
And she was the real firebrand
716
00:31:13,094 --> 00:31:15,011
and organizer,
and she was very smart,
717
00:31:15,094 --> 00:31:16,386
media-savvy,
718
00:31:16,470 --> 00:31:19,553
so she was able
to attract attention
719
00:31:19,637 --> 00:31:20,845
to this issue.
720
00:31:20,928 --> 00:31:22,637
How many children
do we have to lose
721
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:23,887
in our neighborhoods
722
00:31:23,969 --> 00:31:26,511
before the police department
says,
723
00:31:26,595 --> 00:31:28,928
"Hey, we've got a problem"?
724
00:31:29,011 --> 00:31:30,928
The reason there was an us
at that point
725
00:31:31,011 --> 00:31:33,053
as a group was because A,
726
00:31:33,136 --> 00:31:34,720
we were being supportive
of each other,
727
00:31:34,803 --> 00:31:38,595
but B, we were trying to...
Since the mayor would not
728
00:31:38,678 --> 00:31:42,386
notify the city of Atlanta
that something was going on,
729
00:31:42,470 --> 00:31:44,261
we were trying to notify them.
730
00:31:44,345 --> 00:31:48,887
Yusuf was last seen here,
731
00:31:48,969 --> 00:31:50,053
and he was found here.
732
00:31:50,136 --> 00:31:52,386
They did a good job,
a great job, in fact,
733
00:31:52,470 --> 00:31:54,303
of creating an organization
734
00:31:54,386 --> 00:31:55,720
and then keeping
that organization
735
00:31:55,803 --> 00:31:58,678
in the public eye
as this calamity progressed.
736
00:31:58,762 --> 00:31:59,803
I know my son and all.
737
00:31:59,887 --> 00:32:01,887
You know there was a boy
killed in his apartment.
738
00:32:01,969 --> 00:32:03,762
There's one guy
I'm interested in.
739
00:32:03,845 --> 00:32:05,386
Camille Bell.
740
00:32:05,470 --> 00:32:07,178
Of all the mothers,
741
00:32:07,261 --> 00:32:10,553
she was not taking it.
742
00:32:10,637 --> 00:32:12,928
And she kept asking the mayor
743
00:32:13,011 --> 00:32:14,637
and asking the police chief
744
00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:16,928
and applying pressure
745
00:32:17,011 --> 00:32:19,219
to the point of where
746
00:32:19,303 --> 00:32:21,928
people started
not taking her seriously.
747
00:32:22,011 --> 00:32:23,720
You know, she's just
a grieving mother.
748
00:32:23,803 --> 00:32:25,529
And with us this morning
in our Atlanta bureau
749
00:32:25,553 --> 00:32:27,553
to talk about all of this
is Mrs. Camille Bell.
750
00:32:27,637 --> 00:32:31,136
She has a special feeling
because her nine-year-old son,
751
00:32:31,219 --> 00:32:34,428
Yusuf, disappeared
on October 21st, 1979.
752
00:32:34,511 --> 00:32:36,303
Mrs. Bell is chairman
of a new organization
753
00:32:36,386 --> 00:32:38,261
trying to deal with all of this,
754
00:32:38,345 --> 00:32:41,428
a committee called Stop
the Murders of the Children.
755
00:32:41,511 --> 00:32:42,696
Is that the correct name,
Ms. Bell?
756
00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:44,219
No, it isn't,
the correct name is
757
00:32:44,303 --> 00:32:45,928
the Committee to Stop
Children's Murders.
758
00:32:46,011 --> 00:32:48,553
She would just show up
and demand to see the mayor,
759
00:32:48,637 --> 00:32:49,696
whether he was there or not.
760
00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:51,470
She'd show up
at city council meetings,
761
00:32:51,553 --> 00:32:55,178
and from the time
that she came on the scene,
762
00:32:55,261 --> 00:32:58,386
every time that another child
was found dead,
763
00:32:58,470 --> 00:33:00,470
she would be the headliner,
764
00:33:00,553 --> 00:33:03,762
the constant,
constant pounding on it.
765
00:33:05,428 --> 00:33:07,637
The body of 14-year-old
Eric Middlebrooks
766
00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:10,303
was found about 7:00
this morning behind a bar
767
00:33:10,386 --> 00:33:12,511
in the 200 block
of Flat Shoals Road
768
00:33:12,595 --> 00:33:13,720
near Memorial.
769
00:33:14,887 --> 00:33:16,178
We got a call.
770
00:33:16,261 --> 00:33:18,470
I think it was
6:00 in the morning.
771
00:33:18,553 --> 00:33:21,178
It was not quite daylight.
It was still dark out.
772
00:33:21,261 --> 00:33:24,637
And Danny Agan
was working with me.
773
00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:26,762
And this was a body
774
00:33:26,845 --> 00:33:28,136
that was dumped by the dumpster.
775
00:33:28,219 --> 00:33:30,303
When we got out there,
776
00:33:30,386 --> 00:33:32,261
we saw that it was a child.
777
00:33:33,928 --> 00:33:35,237
His mother said
he left his house
778
00:33:35,261 --> 00:33:38,511
at 345 Howell Drive
just a couple of blocks away
779
00:33:38,595 --> 00:33:40,511
about 10:30 last night.
780
00:33:40,595 --> 00:33:43,345
Police say he was killed
soon after that.
781
00:33:43,428 --> 00:33:45,011
When you work a case like that,
782
00:33:45,094 --> 00:33:46,428
you walk onto a scene,
783
00:33:46,511 --> 00:33:48,178
and you got nothing.
784
00:33:48,261 --> 00:33:50,386
You got a body
785
00:33:50,470 --> 00:33:53,803
and any evidence
that you can hopefully find.
786
00:33:53,887 --> 00:33:57,178
Of course, we didn't have
a lot of technology back then.
787
00:33:57,261 --> 00:33:59,011
It was a pad and a pen,
788
00:33:59,094 --> 00:34:00,720
and, you know,
roll out a tape measure
789
00:34:00,803 --> 00:34:03,386
and take measurements,
take photographs.
790
00:34:03,470 --> 00:34:06,386
And he had no identification,
791
00:34:06,470 --> 00:34:08,219
nothing.
792
00:34:08,303 --> 00:34:10,887
And then his pockets
were turned outside,
793
00:34:10,969 --> 00:34:13,511
like a robbery.
794
00:34:13,595 --> 00:34:16,678
There were four
small puncture wounds
795
00:34:16,762 --> 00:34:18,762
to the breastplate,
796
00:34:18,845 --> 00:34:21,136
and I felt that
was pretty significant,
797
00:34:21,219 --> 00:34:23,261
because it was not
a cause of death
798
00:34:23,345 --> 00:34:24,720
and it was postmortem.
799
00:34:24,803 --> 00:34:26,386
There was no bleeding.
800
00:34:26,470 --> 00:34:28,094
He was hit
on the back of the head
801
00:34:28,178 --> 00:34:30,053
with some kind
of blunt instrument.
802
00:34:30,136 --> 00:34:32,094
So while we're stooped
over the body,
803
00:34:32,178 --> 00:34:34,261
Bob notices
804
00:34:34,345 --> 00:34:37,762
a fiber attached
to this boy's shoe.
805
00:34:37,845 --> 00:34:41,053
And it was a tuft of
806
00:34:41,136 --> 00:34:42,928
sort of a reddish fiber.
807
00:34:45,345 --> 00:34:46,762
And so I was preparing it
808
00:34:46,845 --> 00:34:50,053
to go take it to the GBI lab,
809
00:34:50,136 --> 00:34:53,053
and so my lieutenant,
BL Nikirk...
810
00:34:53,136 --> 00:34:54,261
He walked over and he said,
811
00:34:54,345 --> 00:34:56,386
"Well, what are you doing,
Buffington?"
812
00:34:56,470 --> 00:34:59,094
And I tried to explain
that we think that
813
00:34:59,178 --> 00:35:01,428
it can be something significant,
814
00:35:01,511 --> 00:35:03,637
and he was...
815
00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:05,887
He didn't care about it,
and he said to the guys.
816
00:35:05,969 --> 00:35:08,470
He said, "Yeah, well,
Buffington's gonna go home
817
00:35:08,553 --> 00:35:11,094
"with me, and we're gonna
clean out my dryer,
818
00:35:11,178 --> 00:35:13,969
and we'll solve all the murders
in Atlanta,"
819
00:35:14,053 --> 00:35:15,803
and they all laughed,
ha, ha, ha.
820
00:35:15,887 --> 00:35:17,053
Real funny.
821
00:35:17,136 --> 00:35:19,178
We haven't uncovered
anything now
822
00:35:19,261 --> 00:35:20,470
that would lead us to believe
823
00:35:20,553 --> 00:35:22,428
that there's any connection
at all
824
00:35:22,511 --> 00:35:25,261
between this and any other
of the homicides
825
00:35:25,345 --> 00:35:27,386
that we've had of
the young people in the city.
826
00:35:27,470 --> 00:35:30,261
At that time, of course,
there was no DNA.
827
00:35:30,345 --> 00:35:33,094
The only thing we could have
is, if you had blood,
828
00:35:33,178 --> 00:35:36,595
then you could trace it back,
male, female, black, white.
829
00:35:36,678 --> 00:35:39,637
Hair, you could do
the same thing.
830
00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:41,637
Fingerprints, of course.
831
00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:43,511
So there wasn't
a whole lot to work with.
832
00:35:43,595 --> 00:35:45,969
It was all work the street,
833
00:35:46,053 --> 00:35:47,345
talk to people,
834
00:35:47,428 --> 00:35:49,637
find out what the person did,
835
00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:51,345
if he had any enemies.
836
00:35:51,428 --> 00:35:52,969
He was identified
by some of the kids
837
00:35:53,053 --> 00:35:55,303
who went to school with him
at Roosevelt High School.
838
00:35:55,386 --> 00:35:57,303
We went to the address
that was listed
839
00:35:57,386 --> 00:35:58,969
for Eric Middlebrooks
840
00:35:59,053 --> 00:36:01,345
and spoke
with his foster mother.
841
00:36:01,428 --> 00:36:05,595
Danny and I stayed out
on the front stoop,
842
00:36:05,678 --> 00:36:08,511
and she talked to us
through the screen door.
843
00:36:08,595 --> 00:36:10,345
It's a lot like in the movies.
844
00:36:10,428 --> 00:36:12,303
When you go
into the neighborhood,
845
00:36:12,386 --> 00:36:15,303
a lot of people
just don't want to talk to you,
846
00:36:15,386 --> 00:36:18,011
and so that's...
That's what we were faced with
847
00:36:18,094 --> 00:36:19,845
most of the time.
848
00:36:19,928 --> 00:36:22,887
Really, the first murder
is just a murder.
849
00:36:22,969 --> 00:36:25,011
The second murder,
in retrospect,
850
00:36:25,094 --> 00:36:26,094
is part of a pattern,
851
00:36:26,136 --> 00:36:28,345
but the fact is,
852
00:36:28,428 --> 00:36:33,678
in any large city
in 1979, '80, '81,
853
00:36:33,762 --> 00:36:36,303
there was
a fair amount of crime,
854
00:36:36,386 --> 00:36:38,845
and every large city newspaper
855
00:36:38,928 --> 00:36:43,011
and the local TV station
has to figure out
856
00:36:43,094 --> 00:36:45,678
how to cover that best
for its public.
857
00:36:45,762 --> 00:36:47,678
You had kids who were
a second...
858
00:36:47,762 --> 00:36:48,762
Who were afterthought,
859
00:36:48,845 --> 00:36:50,053
You had the media.
860
00:36:50,136 --> 00:36:53,345
They were kind of late
getting on board.
861
00:36:53,428 --> 00:36:55,720
And by the media being late,
862
00:36:55,803 --> 00:36:57,762
law enforcement
could take their time
863
00:36:57,845 --> 00:36:59,887
'cause nobody's really
looking at them,
864
00:36:59,969 --> 00:37:02,178
so you have, like,
a perfect storm going on,
865
00:37:02,261 --> 00:37:05,887
and so that allowed it to...
To fester.
866
00:37:05,969 --> 00:37:08,386
LaTonya Wilson, seven years old,
867
00:37:08,470 --> 00:37:09,945
kidnapped from the bedroom
of her home
868
00:37:09,969 --> 00:37:11,887
on Verbena Street Southwest,
869
00:37:11,969 --> 00:37:14,386
missing since June 22nd.
870
00:37:14,470 --> 00:37:16,969
I just want my little girl
found safely
871
00:37:17,053 --> 00:37:18,553
and brought home.
872
00:37:18,637 --> 00:37:20,887
I miss her, and I love her.
873
00:37:20,969 --> 00:37:23,386
I want her...
874
00:37:23,470 --> 00:37:25,053
All together, nine children
875
00:37:25,136 --> 00:37:26,720
between the ages of 7 and 14
876
00:37:26,803 --> 00:37:28,887
have disappeared
in the last year.
877
00:37:28,969 --> 00:37:30,720
Five were later found dead.
878
00:37:30,803 --> 00:37:32,762
The other four
are still missing.
879
00:37:34,637 --> 00:37:39,219
There is something wrong
with the heart of Atlanta.
880
00:37:39,303 --> 00:37:42,428
There is something wrong
with the spirit of Atlanta.
881
00:37:42,511 --> 00:37:46,094
There was
an image maintenance problem.
882
00:37:46,178 --> 00:37:48,762
Atlanta was trying
to establish that
883
00:37:48,845 --> 00:37:51,386
it was a good place to invest,
884
00:37:51,470 --> 00:37:53,261
a good place
for conventions to come.
885
00:37:53,345 --> 00:37:56,386
They opened the new
Atlanta airport terminal,
886
00:37:56,470 --> 00:37:58,887
which at that time
was a big deal.
887
00:37:58,969 --> 00:38:02,428
It was very important
to keep money and...
888
00:38:02,511 --> 00:38:03,762
white folks, primarily,
889
00:38:03,845 --> 00:38:05,762
coming to Atlanta
and feeling safe here
890
00:38:05,845 --> 00:38:08,470
and feeling safe investing here.
891
00:38:08,553 --> 00:38:10,887
Then I see our leadership,
892
00:38:10,969 --> 00:38:12,637
and only words that I have
for it,
893
00:38:12,720 --> 00:38:14,928
because sometimes
my vocabulary gets limited,
894
00:38:15,011 --> 00:38:17,219
is shucking and jiving.
895
00:38:17,303 --> 00:38:19,928
Camille Bell
and the mothers committee
896
00:38:20,011 --> 00:38:22,595
provided a great public service.
897
00:38:22,678 --> 00:38:24,470
I'm not sure that
that would've been
898
00:38:24,553 --> 00:38:27,845
the first reaction of
the Atlanta Police Department,
899
00:38:27,928 --> 00:38:32,136
you know, which also was under
the command of Lee Brown,
900
00:38:32,219 --> 00:38:34,637
a black commissioner,
901
00:38:34,720 --> 00:38:38,303
and so there was at first
a bit of astonishment
902
00:38:38,386 --> 00:38:41,094
that the police department
was being accused
903
00:38:41,178 --> 00:38:44,637
of ignoring murders
of black children,
904
00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:47,803
you know, because that
would be the last thing
905
00:38:47,887 --> 00:38:50,011
that Maynard Jackson
or Lee Brown
906
00:38:50,094 --> 00:38:53,845
or any of the people working
for them would've wanted.
907
00:38:53,928 --> 00:38:55,321
Atlanta Public
Safety Commissioner
908
00:38:55,345 --> 00:38:57,136
Lee P. Brown is standing by.
Go right ahead.
909
00:38:57,219 --> 00:38:58,362
You're on
"Sunday Evening Live."
910
00:38:58,386 --> 00:38:59,803
I would like to know
911
00:38:59,887 --> 00:39:02,178
why so many black kids
912
00:39:02,261 --> 00:39:04,011
have, you know, had to die
913
00:39:04,094 --> 00:39:06,178
before anyone got
really interested in,
914
00:39:06,261 --> 00:39:08,219
you know, solving... you know,
915
00:39:08,303 --> 00:39:10,345
wondering what happened
to them, you know?
916
00:39:10,428 --> 00:39:12,219
I mean, a bunch of them died
917
00:39:12,303 --> 00:39:14,303
before anyone got interested,
you know?
918
00:39:14,386 --> 00:39:16,345
Just 'cause they black kids.
919
00:39:16,428 --> 00:39:18,678
From our perspective,
we became concerned
920
00:39:18,762 --> 00:39:20,887
when we had the death
of the first black child.
921
00:39:20,969 --> 00:39:23,386
We all were saying
to the administration,
922
00:39:23,470 --> 00:39:25,219
'cause I had been
the city hall reporter,
923
00:39:25,303 --> 00:39:28,678
"Why aren't we putting
more resources
924
00:39:28,762 --> 00:39:30,845
into finding out
who's doing this?"
925
00:39:30,928 --> 00:39:34,969
It didn't become the story
it should have been
926
00:39:35,053 --> 00:39:36,637
until, I think,
927
00:39:36,720 --> 00:39:39,511
there were nine young people
who were dead,
928
00:39:39,595 --> 00:39:41,969
and that's when they formed
the task force.
929
00:39:42,053 --> 00:39:43,904
Investigation of the
murdered and missing children
930
00:39:43,928 --> 00:39:45,345
is under a special task force
931
00:39:45,428 --> 00:39:46,845
of the Atlanta Police Department
932
00:39:46,928 --> 00:39:48,011
with assistance
933
00:39:48,094 --> 00:39:49,571
from the Georgia Bureau
of Investigation.
934
00:39:49,595 --> 00:39:50,887
When the task force was formed,
935
00:39:50,969 --> 00:39:52,386
the Georgia Bureau
of Investigation,
936
00:39:52,470 --> 00:39:54,595
Atlanta PD, the Fulton County
Sheriff's Office,
937
00:39:54,678 --> 00:39:55,887
everybody was involved.
938
00:39:55,969 --> 00:39:58,386
The head the task force
is Major W.J. Taylor,
939
00:39:58,470 --> 00:39:59,887
whose background
includes traffic,
940
00:39:59,969 --> 00:40:01,845
the SWAT team,
and community affairs,
941
00:40:01,928 --> 00:40:04,053
but no investigative duties.
942
00:40:04,136 --> 00:40:05,720
To my surprise,
943
00:40:05,803 --> 00:40:08,011
I was called into
the commissioner's office
944
00:40:08,094 --> 00:40:09,928
and told that
I was going to become
945
00:40:10,011 --> 00:40:11,386
the commander
of that task force.
946
00:40:11,470 --> 00:40:14,553
I was absolutely shocked
at the time,
947
00:40:14,637 --> 00:40:16,386
because prior to that time,
948
00:40:16,470 --> 00:40:19,553
I had not worked
any homicide cases.
949
00:40:19,637 --> 00:40:21,219
It was sort of comical.
950
00:40:21,303 --> 00:40:23,386
The homicide commander
at that time
951
00:40:23,470 --> 00:40:25,053
made a joke about it, he said,
952
00:40:25,136 --> 00:40:26,237
"Taylor wouldn't know
a dead body
953
00:40:26,261 --> 00:40:27,511
if he walked...
Fell over it."
954
00:40:27,595 --> 00:40:29,553
If you have any information,
955
00:40:29,637 --> 00:40:31,969
please call the Special
Task Force on Children
956
00:40:32,053 --> 00:40:33,595
at 658-68...
957
00:40:33,678 --> 00:40:36,136
We were getting
thousands of leads and tips
958
00:40:36,219 --> 00:40:37,887
into the task force.
959
00:40:37,969 --> 00:40:39,553
It was overwhelming.
960
00:40:39,637 --> 00:40:42,261
We're not gonna leave
any stone unturned.
961
00:40:42,345 --> 00:40:45,969
And I suppose one
of the biggest frustrations
962
00:40:46,053 --> 00:40:48,011
that we had:
we invited to...
963
00:40:48,094 --> 00:40:51,428
The commissioner invited...
Well, I won't say he invited.
964
00:40:51,511 --> 00:40:53,261
He was almost forced.
965
00:40:53,345 --> 00:40:56,720
Dorothy Allison, which is a...
I guess she was a psychic
966
00:40:56,803 --> 00:40:58,219
contacted the media,
967
00:40:58,303 --> 00:41:00,428
and told the media
that she had information
968
00:41:00,511 --> 00:41:02,887
regarding who was killing
the kids.
969
00:41:02,969 --> 00:41:04,237
Are you confident you'll be able
970
00:41:04,261 --> 00:41:05,279
to solve this crime?
I'm positive.
971
00:41:05,303 --> 00:41:06,637
I'm not confident.
972
00:41:06,720 --> 00:41:08,362
There won't be any more dead.
I'm here now.
973
00:41:08,386 --> 00:41:11,053
So we get the psychic coming in.
974
00:41:11,136 --> 00:41:12,845
We have to chauffeur her around
975
00:41:12,969 --> 00:41:14,969
to the various crime sites.
976
00:41:15,053 --> 00:41:16,345
A visit by Dorothy Allison
977
00:41:16,428 --> 00:41:18,678
has all the trappings
of a visit by a celebrity.
978
00:41:18,762 --> 00:41:20,637
Her two-car caravan is filled
979
00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:22,637
with investigators
and companions.
980
00:41:22,720 --> 00:41:25,094
They pour into the house
and hover over the psychic
981
00:41:25,178 --> 00:41:26,678
until she gets
what she is after,
982
00:41:26,762 --> 00:41:28,219
and what she is after
983
00:41:28,303 --> 00:41:30,136
is a feeling, an impression,
984
00:41:30,219 --> 00:41:32,845
a mental image which will lead
police to a solution.
985
00:41:32,928 --> 00:41:36,845
And today, Dorothy Allison
feels she will have answers.
986
00:41:36,928 --> 00:41:39,637
And as a result
of that one psychic,
987
00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:42,094
I think every psychic
in the country
988
00:41:42,178 --> 00:41:44,803
decided they had information
that we needed.
989
00:41:44,887 --> 00:41:46,637
There.
Oh, God.
990
00:41:50,887 --> 00:41:53,845
This is... bad.
991
00:41:53,969 --> 00:41:56,553
Bad.
992
00:41:56,637 --> 00:41:57,553
And then it's like...
993
00:41:57,637 --> 00:41:59,178
And you sit there,
and you're like,
994
00:41:59,261 --> 00:42:00,720
"What?
What just happened?"
995
00:42:00,803 --> 00:42:03,678
That's the kind of crazy
that was going on in Atlanta.
996
00:42:03,762 --> 00:42:06,011
Dressed in red berets
and insignia T-shirts,
997
00:42:06,094 --> 00:42:07,803
New York's Guardian Angels
came to teach
998
00:42:07,887 --> 00:42:10,219
Atlanta's children
how to protect themselves.
999
00:42:10,887 --> 00:42:13,803
There's no doubt that in
the public housing projects,
1000
00:42:13,887 --> 00:42:16,887
people had pretty much
lost faith in law enforcement.
1001
00:42:16,969 --> 00:42:19,887
If a serious crime is being
committed on this corner,
1002
00:42:19,969 --> 00:42:21,595
we're not just gonna
run to a telephone
1003
00:42:21,678 --> 00:42:22,845
and call the police.
1004
00:42:22,928 --> 00:42:25,136
We are going to utilize
our constitutional power
1005
00:42:25,219 --> 00:42:26,379
of making a citizen's arrest.
1006
00:42:26,428 --> 00:42:29,011
We're gonna pursue
that individual, detain him.
1007
00:42:29,094 --> 00:42:30,237
There's a lot of people
that say,
1008
00:42:30,261 --> 00:42:32,029
"We just don't see cops
anywhere, we don't see it."
1009
00:42:32,053 --> 00:42:34,428
I brought that
to the attention of Lee Brown,
1010
00:42:34,511 --> 00:42:35,928
who was
the public safety director.
1011
00:42:36,011 --> 00:42:38,094
He said, "Well, we have
budgetary issues."
1012
00:42:38,178 --> 00:42:39,887
I said, "You might have
budgetary issues,
1013
00:42:39,969 --> 00:42:42,553
"but you need to get cops
out there in uniform,
1014
00:42:42,637 --> 00:42:44,678
showing people
that you dare to care."
1015
00:42:45,595 --> 00:42:47,511
Everything you could think of,
1016
00:42:47,595 --> 00:42:51,094
from psychics to dogs
to profilers...
1017
00:42:51,178 --> 00:42:54,845
They were just throwing stuff
up against the wall
1018
00:42:54,928 --> 00:42:57,845
rather than getting back
to basic police work.
1019
00:42:57,928 --> 00:43:00,428
But, Lord, I really hope
they find out who's doing this
1020
00:43:00,511 --> 00:43:02,053
and get them stopped,
1021
00:43:02,136 --> 00:43:04,345
because this city can't handle
1022
00:43:04,428 --> 00:43:06,303
losing many more children.
1023
00:43:06,386 --> 00:43:08,720
Christopher Richardson, age 11.
1024
00:43:08,803 --> 00:43:11,428
He vanished while playing
near his home June 9th
1025
00:43:11,511 --> 00:43:13,053
and is still missing.
1026
00:43:13,136 --> 00:43:14,720
We're just so upset.
1027
00:43:14,803 --> 00:43:18,762
We are concerned about our boy.
1028
00:43:18,845 --> 00:43:20,261
And all I want is just tell him
1029
00:43:20,345 --> 00:43:22,261
"Your mom's here."
1030
00:43:22,345 --> 00:43:23,654
He used to play
with a little boy
1031
00:43:23,678 --> 00:43:25,261
down the street.
1032
00:43:25,720 --> 00:43:29,345
They just disappeared
from the neighborhood.
1033
00:43:30,053 --> 00:43:32,720
I called the police.
1034
00:43:32,803 --> 00:43:36,261
They told me that they
couldn't do anything
1035
00:43:36,345 --> 00:43:39,595
because it was...
1036
00:43:39,678 --> 00:43:41,969
I don't know
how they handled it.
1037
00:43:42,053 --> 00:43:44,261
It wasn't the way
I thought it would be.
1038
00:43:44,345 --> 00:43:46,553
I thought they would
come, you know,
1039
00:43:46,637 --> 00:43:49,094
sit down and talk to me
and explain
1040
00:43:49,178 --> 00:43:50,762
some of this stuff
that was going on,
1041
00:43:50,845 --> 00:43:53,762
but I didn't get a chance...
1042
00:43:53,845 --> 00:43:56,511
Or they didn't get a chance
to talk with me about it.
1043
00:43:57,845 --> 00:43:59,969
Just, I don't understand
1044
00:44:00,053 --> 00:44:03,845
how people can just
take your child like that.
1045
00:44:03,928 --> 00:44:08,094
We looked everywhere
we knew to look,
1046
00:44:08,178 --> 00:44:10,261
but I couldn't find my baby.
1047
00:44:11,845 --> 00:44:13,969
Anthony Carter, age nine,
1048
00:44:14,053 --> 00:44:16,637
found stabbed to death July 7th,
1049
00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:18,969
and Earl Lee Terrell,
1050
00:44:19,053 --> 00:44:20,803
last seen on July 30th,
1051
00:44:20,887 --> 00:44:22,595
still missing.
1052
00:44:22,678 --> 00:44:24,178
Earl Lee Terrell was my brother.
1053
00:44:24,261 --> 00:44:26,511
We was two years apart.
He was the oldest.
1054
00:44:30,887 --> 00:44:32,637
I remember how we used
1055
00:44:32,720 --> 00:44:34,136
to play here
all over this place.
1056
00:44:34,219 --> 00:44:36,470
All the kids
used to be out here.
1057
00:44:36,553 --> 00:44:39,303
Whole bunch of kids out here.
1058
00:44:39,386 --> 00:44:41,219
That day,
my brother Earl was like,
1059
00:44:41,303 --> 00:44:43,595
"I want to go
to the swimming pool."
1060
00:44:43,678 --> 00:44:45,404
My brother didn't have
no clean swimming trunks,
1061
00:44:45,428 --> 00:44:46,446
so I gave him
my swimming trunks,
1062
00:44:46,470 --> 00:44:47,720
and I gave him my money,
1063
00:44:47,803 --> 00:44:49,553
and 20 minutes later,
1064
00:44:49,637 --> 00:44:51,845
start walking...
They came to the pool.
1065
00:44:51,928 --> 00:44:54,136
That's when it all started.
1066
00:44:54,219 --> 00:44:56,011
Terrell was last seen in July,
1067
00:44:56,094 --> 00:44:58,261
sitting outside a pool
at South Bend Park.
1068
00:44:58,345 --> 00:45:01,261
Then he mysteriously
disappeared.
1069
00:45:01,345 --> 00:45:03,178
It wasn't unusual
for him to walk home.
1070
00:45:03,261 --> 00:45:05,178
He knew to go straight home.
1071
00:45:05,261 --> 00:45:06,637
So that's why I was kind of...
1072
00:45:06,720 --> 00:45:08,887
It's kind of crazy to me,
like...
1073
00:45:10,094 --> 00:45:11,637
How?
1074
00:45:12,803 --> 00:45:14,178
We went looking for him,
1075
00:45:14,261 --> 00:45:16,678
went all over the neighborhood
where we always hang out at,
1076
00:45:16,762 --> 00:45:18,720
and never found him.
1077
00:45:20,595 --> 00:45:22,136
We were asking Maynard Jackson
1078
00:45:22,219 --> 00:45:26,178
to warn the city
that something was going on.
1079
00:45:26,261 --> 00:45:28,553
He told us
he didn't want to alarm
1080
00:45:28,637 --> 00:45:30,553
people in the city of Atlanta.
1081
00:45:30,637 --> 00:45:33,928
His own workers
1082
00:45:34,011 --> 00:45:37,720
put Earl Terrell
out of that swimming pool
1083
00:45:37,803 --> 00:45:41,053
because they didn't know
it was so unsafe out there,
1084
00:45:41,136 --> 00:45:43,386
and that would've been fine
1085
00:45:43,470 --> 00:45:46,345
if it had been 1978 in Atlanta,
1086
00:45:46,428 --> 00:45:48,219
but it was 1980,
1087
00:45:48,303 --> 00:45:50,178
and children
were being murdered.
1088
00:45:50,261 --> 00:45:54,261
Clifford Jones became
victim number 12.
1089
00:45:54,345 --> 00:45:56,053
His body was found
behind a dumpster
1090
00:45:56,136 --> 00:45:58,094
at the Hollywood Plaza
shopping center.
1091
00:45:58,178 --> 00:46:01,595
Around September of '78,
1092
00:46:01,678 --> 00:46:04,678
we moved to Atlanta
from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
1093
00:46:04,762 --> 00:46:07,553
My nephew Clifford
came in town to visit us,
1094
00:46:07,637 --> 00:46:08,863
him and his sisters
and his brother
1095
00:46:08,887 --> 00:46:10,303
and his mother.
1096
00:46:10,386 --> 00:46:14,219
I was 13, the day
before my 14th birthday.
1097
00:46:15,553 --> 00:46:17,887
I asked my older sister
to bake me a birthday cake.
1098
00:46:17,969 --> 00:46:20,470
And we ran out of sugar,
1099
00:46:20,553 --> 00:46:23,637
we didn't have no Kool-Aid,
1100
00:46:23,720 --> 00:46:25,428
and I needed some salt,
1101
00:46:25,511 --> 00:46:27,470
'cause I'm making
a homemade cake.
1102
00:46:27,553 --> 00:46:31,094
And I sent them to the store.
1103
00:46:31,178 --> 00:46:32,928
So we walked up Hollywood Road
1104
00:46:33,011 --> 00:46:35,136
to the store called Big Star.
1105
00:46:36,553 --> 00:46:38,553
Clifford asked,
could he stay outside
1106
00:46:38,637 --> 00:46:41,261
to help people put groceries
and stuff in they car,
1107
00:46:41,345 --> 00:46:42,428
so I just told Clifford
1108
00:46:42,511 --> 00:46:44,428
just stay in front of the store.
1109
00:46:44,511 --> 00:46:46,011
We got the stuff.
1110
00:46:46,094 --> 00:46:47,487
We was in there probably
about 15 minutes,
1111
00:46:47,511 --> 00:46:49,803
and while I was in the line
paying for the stuff,
1112
00:46:49,887 --> 00:46:52,303
I asked Emmanuel
to go let his brother know
1113
00:46:52,386 --> 00:46:54,969
we finna get ready to go,
and he came back into the store
1114
00:46:55,053 --> 00:46:56,845
and he said
he didn't see him nowhere.
1115
00:46:56,928 --> 00:46:59,470
So I thought
maybe he was in the store,
1116
00:46:59,553 --> 00:47:02,011
so we looked around for him
for a few minutes,
1117
00:47:02,094 --> 00:47:03,928
and then we went back outside
looking for him,
1118
00:47:04,011 --> 00:47:05,291
but we couldn't
find him nowhere,
1119
00:47:05,345 --> 00:47:08,136
so we started to walk home.
1120
00:47:08,219 --> 00:47:09,928
When they came back in the door,
1121
00:47:10,011 --> 00:47:12,136
there's no Clifford.
1122
00:47:12,219 --> 00:47:15,011
And I looked up the street,
I just didn't see him.
1123
00:47:16,720 --> 00:47:19,762
And so we walked back
to the Big Star store,
1124
00:47:19,845 --> 00:47:22,303
and we were asking everybody
as we pass people
1125
00:47:22,386 --> 00:47:23,803
did they see a little boy.
1126
00:47:27,219 --> 00:47:30,303
It was about 10:00,
almost 11:00.
1127
00:47:31,762 --> 00:47:33,845
They knocked on the door.
1128
00:47:33,928 --> 00:47:35,738
They were trying to get me
to look at the picture,
1129
00:47:35,762 --> 00:47:37,011
and I didn't want to look at it
1130
00:47:37,094 --> 00:47:39,011
'cause I didn't want it
to be Clifford.
1131
00:47:46,428 --> 00:47:48,803
And I just fell to the floor,
1132
00:47:48,887 --> 00:47:50,845
and I guess
I must've passed out,
1133
00:47:50,928 --> 00:47:53,511
'cause my brother Ricky
was the one
1134
00:47:53,595 --> 00:47:56,345
who had to identify
Clifford's body.
1135
00:47:56,428 --> 00:47:59,178
And when he came back
in the door, he told me...
1136
00:47:59,261 --> 00:48:02,553
Told me that it was him,
1137
00:48:02,637 --> 00:48:05,553
said he's laying down there
like he asleep.
1138
00:48:08,637 --> 00:48:10,511
I'm just so sorry.
1139
00:48:10,595 --> 00:48:11,928
I was just so excited
1140
00:48:12,011 --> 00:48:14,887
that I was gonna get
that birthday cake, and...
1141
00:48:14,969 --> 00:48:17,553
That I took the...
Went to that store
1142
00:48:17,637 --> 00:48:19,720
and he didn't come back with me.
1143
00:48:19,803 --> 00:48:21,553
I'm sorry.
1144
00:48:21,637 --> 00:48:23,553
But you don't have
no reason to be sorry.
1145
00:48:23,637 --> 00:48:26,928
You didn't do... you didn't
have nothing to do with it.
1146
00:48:27,011 --> 00:48:30,178
No, you did not
cause that to happen.
1147
00:48:31,470 --> 00:48:34,428
I'm gonna always be
big sister, no matter what.
1148
00:48:34,511 --> 00:48:36,553
I know.
1149
00:48:36,637 --> 00:48:38,678
I love you, big sister.
1150
00:48:50,261 --> 00:48:52,386
He was victim number 14,
1151
00:48:52,470 --> 00:48:54,094
the latest to die.
1152
00:48:54,178 --> 00:48:56,053
12-year-old Charles Stephens,
1153
00:48:56,136 --> 00:48:57,428
smothered to death.
1154
00:48:57,511 --> 00:49:00,762
In the face
of all of our tragedies,
1155
00:49:00,845 --> 00:49:02,969
we wonder sometimes,
1156
00:49:03,053 --> 00:49:05,219
"Where is God?"
1157
00:49:05,303 --> 00:49:06,654
What is happening
in the black community?
1158
00:49:06,678 --> 00:49:08,428
There's all this violence
directed at us.
1159
00:49:08,511 --> 00:49:10,386
Nobody was really sure
what was happening.
1160
00:49:10,470 --> 00:49:14,928
You know, a couple kids...
That's just a murder.
1161
00:49:15,011 --> 00:49:16,637
Five kids?
Wait a minute.
1162
00:49:16,720 --> 00:49:17,762
Ten kids?
1163
00:49:17,845 --> 00:49:19,428
12 kids?
1164
00:49:19,511 --> 00:49:20,887
As it built,
1165
00:49:20,969 --> 00:49:23,928
you could feel the anxiety
building with people because
1166
00:49:24,011 --> 00:49:27,637
this constant in the life
of black people vulnerability,
1167
00:49:27,720 --> 00:49:30,136
that at any moment,
you could be stolen.
1168
00:49:32,386 --> 00:49:34,219
That's deep in our psyche,
1169
00:49:34,303 --> 00:49:36,470
that we come from stolen people.
1170
00:49:36,553 --> 00:49:37,863
We know people
who have been stolen
1171
00:49:37,887 --> 00:49:39,678
in our family legacy.
1172
00:49:39,762 --> 00:49:42,345
And so the thought
of children being stolen
1173
00:49:42,428 --> 00:49:45,011
right in front of their house,
right in their own community,
1174
00:49:45,094 --> 00:49:46,094
walking home from school,
1175
00:49:46,178 --> 00:49:47,428
from this neighborhood store...
1176
00:49:50,053 --> 00:49:53,470
It was hard
to even process emotionally,
1177
00:49:53,553 --> 00:49:56,303
you know,
in the black mecca city
1178
00:49:56,386 --> 00:49:57,637
of Atlanta.
1179
00:49:57,720 --> 00:50:00,178
In the community,
there was a lot of frustration
1180
00:50:00,261 --> 00:50:02,136
around the child murders,
1181
00:50:02,219 --> 00:50:03,928
and it really came to a head
1182
00:50:04,011 --> 00:50:06,845
with the October 1980 explosion
1183
00:50:06,928 --> 00:50:09,136
at the daycare center
in Bowen Homes.
1184
00:50:09,219 --> 00:50:11,762
10:22 on October 13th,
1185
00:50:11,845 --> 00:50:15,678
an explosion with the force
of 75 sticks of dynamite
1186
00:50:15,762 --> 00:50:18,470
ripped the roof
off the daycare center.
1187
00:50:18,553 --> 00:50:19,993
Sir, do you have
children in there?
1188
00:50:20,053 --> 00:50:21,386
Yeah.
Who?
1189
00:50:21,470 --> 00:50:22,845
Uh, my little... I got nieces.
1190
00:50:22,928 --> 00:50:24,678
I got about nine nieces
in there.
1191
00:50:24,762 --> 00:50:26,511
The Bowen Home explosion.
1192
00:50:26,595 --> 00:50:29,345
I was laying in my bed,
1193
00:50:29,428 --> 00:50:32,178
and this is the daycare,
and this is my apartment.
1194
00:50:32,261 --> 00:50:34,345
So it shook my whole bed.
1195
00:50:34,428 --> 00:50:36,011
It shook the whole apartment.
1196
00:50:36,094 --> 00:50:37,845
There were five people dead,
1197
00:50:37,928 --> 00:50:40,345
four of them children,
1198
00:50:40,428 --> 00:50:42,261
the fifth being a teacher.
1199
00:50:42,345 --> 00:50:43,720
The first ambulance to arrive
1200
00:50:43,803 --> 00:50:45,511
held six-year-old
Vermika Moreland,
1201
00:50:45,595 --> 00:50:47,355
critically injured
with a depression fracture
1202
00:50:47,428 --> 00:50:48,511
in her skull.
1203
00:50:48,595 --> 00:50:50,678
From then, it was
a horrifying parade
1204
00:50:50,762 --> 00:50:52,178
of small, injured children.
1205
00:50:52,261 --> 00:50:53,969
The black community
was panicked.
1206
00:50:54,053 --> 00:50:56,553
Nine children in Atlanta
were already murdered.
1207
00:50:56,637 --> 00:50:57,887
Now this.
1208
00:50:57,969 --> 00:50:59,428
My baby!
1209
00:50:59,511 --> 00:51:01,470
There was a sense
that the community
1210
00:51:01,553 --> 00:51:03,094
was under attack.
1211
00:51:03,178 --> 00:51:05,511
Listen to me.
Listen to me.
1212
00:51:05,595 --> 00:51:07,235
Can you confirm
how many were dead, sir?
1213
00:51:07,303 --> 00:51:09,511
There are five confirmed dead.
1214
00:51:11,345 --> 00:51:12,887
How does this happen?
1215
00:51:12,969 --> 00:51:15,928
People felt someone
had planted a bomb.
1216
00:51:16,011 --> 00:51:19,136
Other people thought
the Klan had come in.
1217
00:51:20,345 --> 00:51:24,011
Everyone assumed
that there was a plot
1218
00:51:24,094 --> 00:51:27,637
to kill mass numbers
of black children.
1219
00:51:27,720 --> 00:51:30,219
There was a group of people,
very angry,
1220
00:51:30,303 --> 00:51:32,553
who insisted
this was deliberate.
1221
00:51:34,011 --> 00:51:35,595
I called the mayor, and he came.
1222
00:51:37,303 --> 00:51:41,637
There was still smoke coming
from the daycare center...
1223
00:51:41,720 --> 00:51:44,094
What was left of it...
Debris scattered around.
1224
00:51:44,178 --> 00:51:47,094
You had all of these mothers
1225
00:51:47,178 --> 00:51:48,762
and relatives...
1226
00:51:48,845 --> 00:51:50,386
Annie May?
Annie May Barber.
1227
00:51:50,470 --> 00:51:52,303
Of these children who attended
1228
00:51:52,386 --> 00:51:53,470
the daycare center,
1229
00:51:53,553 --> 00:51:55,928
and in the middle of all this,
1230
00:51:56,011 --> 00:51:59,011
Maynard Jackson with a megaphone
1231
00:51:59,094 --> 00:52:02,053
trying to quell this crowd.
1232
00:52:10,887 --> 00:52:12,553
We want...
1233
00:52:12,637 --> 00:52:14,094
Do you have another megaphone?
1234
00:52:14,178 --> 00:52:17,428
Maynard Jackson
had no answers at the time
1235
00:52:17,511 --> 00:52:19,428
other than to say that
1236
00:52:19,511 --> 00:52:20,803
they could count on the fact
1237
00:52:20,887 --> 00:52:23,303
that there would be
more investigation.
1238
00:52:23,386 --> 00:52:26,511
I want you to know
we will not rest
1239
00:52:26,595 --> 00:52:28,928
until we turn every stone
1240
00:52:29,011 --> 00:52:31,969
to find the reason for this,
1241
00:52:32,053 --> 00:52:36,637
which at this point,
appears to be an accident.
1242
00:52:36,720 --> 00:52:38,803
What else do we have?
1243
00:52:38,887 --> 00:52:41,303
There was a sense of questioning
1244
00:52:41,386 --> 00:52:42,762
whether there was... you know,
1245
00:52:42,845 --> 00:52:45,511
the competence of the people
who were in charge.
1246
00:52:45,595 --> 00:52:50,053
Our fire and police officials
have told us
1247
00:52:50,136 --> 00:52:52,261
the only evidence we have
at this time
1248
00:52:52,345 --> 00:52:55,470
indicates
that this was an accident.
1249
00:52:55,553 --> 00:52:57,303
Just a minute.
1250
00:52:57,386 --> 00:52:58,803
Just a minute.
1251
00:52:58,887 --> 00:53:00,928
Everyone was so hysterical,
1252
00:53:01,011 --> 00:53:03,136
so that when Maynard came...
1253
00:53:05,386 --> 00:53:06,720
It was almost as if
1254
00:53:06,803 --> 00:53:09,345
a sea of people
wanted to attack him...
1255
00:53:09,428 --> 00:53:10,969
I know the frustration you feel.
1256
00:53:11,053 --> 00:53:12,887
I feel the same frustration.
1257
00:53:12,969 --> 00:53:14,154
Just a minute!
1258
00:53:14,178 --> 00:53:15,845
Just a minute!
Don't get mad at us!
1259
00:53:15,928 --> 00:53:18,928
That's the God's truth!
1260
00:53:19,011 --> 00:53:22,303
To blame him
for what had happened.
1261
00:53:22,386 --> 00:53:25,345
I tell you, I want...
I want to do some volunteer...
1262
00:53:25,428 --> 00:53:26,613
I don't want
no kind of publicity.
1263
00:53:26,637 --> 00:53:27,678
I wanna do some volunteer.
1264
00:53:27,762 --> 00:53:28,945
I wanna be the volunteer work.
1265
00:53:28,969 --> 00:53:31,136
I wanna go out there
and find out why it happened
1266
00:53:31,219 --> 00:53:33,053
and what it happened with
and who did it.
1267
00:53:33,136 --> 00:53:34,738
That's what I want
to find out... who did it...
1268
00:53:34,762 --> 00:53:36,178
Because he didn't do it
on his own.
1269
00:53:36,261 --> 00:53:37,887
Somebody had to have a key.
1270
00:53:37,969 --> 00:53:39,136
The door was open!
1271
00:53:39,219 --> 00:53:43,219
This could have turned
into a riot,
1272
00:53:43,303 --> 00:53:45,595
because people were that angry.
1273
00:53:50,136 --> 00:53:52,053
See you on TV,
we don't want to see you
1274
00:53:52,136 --> 00:53:53,845
at voting time,
we want to see you now
1275
00:53:53,928 --> 00:53:55,279
about our children.
Damn straight!
1276
00:53:55,303 --> 00:53:57,219
The mayor was painted
1277
00:53:57,303 --> 00:53:58,887
with a broad brush
1278
00:53:58,969 --> 00:54:03,219
as caring more for the city
and its image
1279
00:54:03,303 --> 00:54:05,720
than caring about
the black children.
1280
00:54:05,803 --> 00:54:08,386
And I know you in a bad spot,
1281
00:54:08,470 --> 00:54:11,553
but that's the price you pay
when you're on the other side.
1282
00:54:14,637 --> 00:54:17,762
The Bowen Homes thing
was the landmark
1283
00:54:17,845 --> 00:54:20,428
in this struggle, because...
1284
00:54:20,511 --> 00:54:22,386
it really showed the divide
1285
00:54:22,470 --> 00:54:24,219
between the community
1286
00:54:24,303 --> 00:54:26,136
and the political leadership,
1287
00:54:26,219 --> 00:54:27,595
the elected
political leadership.
1288
00:54:27,678 --> 00:54:29,428
The blood of those babies
1289
00:54:29,511 --> 00:54:31,261
are on the hands of this system
1290
00:54:31,345 --> 00:54:33,094
that forces us
to live like dogs.
1291
00:54:38,345 --> 00:54:40,637
I don't know exactly
what happened at Bowen Homes.
1292
00:54:40,720 --> 00:54:42,094
They said a boiler blew up,
1293
00:54:42,178 --> 00:54:44,094
but Bowen Homes
and the explosion
1294
00:54:44,178 --> 00:54:46,553
at the daycare center there
really acted as a catalyst
1295
00:54:46,637 --> 00:54:50,136
because all of a sudden,
it brought together
1296
00:54:50,219 --> 00:54:51,739
the message
of the child murders being,
1297
00:54:51,803 --> 00:54:52,928
"you are powerless."
1298
00:54:53,011 --> 00:54:54,303
Who runs the Klan?
1299
00:54:54,386 --> 00:54:56,762
It's those rich dogs
that wanna...
1300
00:54:59,553 --> 00:55:02,428
It is, "you are powerless
when these young people
1301
00:55:02,511 --> 00:55:05,261
"are being abducted
one by one and taken out,
1302
00:55:05,345 --> 00:55:07,136
"and now, look,
we can just come in
1303
00:55:07,219 --> 00:55:08,678
and blow up your babies."
1304
00:55:08,762 --> 00:55:11,136
Darn right, I'm emotional!
That's right.
1305
00:55:11,219 --> 00:55:12,969
When the Bowen Homes
thing happened,
1306
00:55:13,053 --> 00:55:14,428
that's the closest it got to,
1307
00:55:14,511 --> 00:55:16,178
"Okay, now this
is gonna get bad."
1308
00:55:16,261 --> 00:55:19,845
City too busy to hate?
1309
00:55:19,928 --> 00:55:21,386
It's a slogan.
1310
00:56:03,762 --> 00:56:04,678
KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS:
The number is staggering.
1311
00:56:04,762 --> 00:56:05,762
Thirty murders?
1312
00:56:05,928 --> 00:56:07,404
We don't know
if there was something else
1313
00:56:07,428 --> 00:56:09,720
that we still haven't
pieced together.
1314
00:56:10,428 --> 00:56:13,219
Somebody knows
who's doing this series
1315
00:56:13,303 --> 00:56:14,386
of attacks on our children.
1316
00:56:14,803 --> 00:56:18,428
He was the connection
between all of these victims.
1317
00:56:18,969 --> 00:56:21,928
Did Wayne Williams kill
any of these children?
1318
00:56:22,011 --> 00:56:23,345
No.
1319
00:56:23,678 --> 00:56:24,720
After 40 years,
1320
00:56:24,803 --> 00:56:26,553
we're still searching
for answers.
97070