Police Re-open Some Of Notorious Atlanta Child Killing Cases

By Harry R. WeberAssociated Press Writer ATLANTA (AP) – Police have reopened the investigation into the deaths of four young boys who were among more than two dozen blacks killed during the notorious Atlanta-area child slayings of a quarter-century ago. The police chief in DeKalb County said Friday he may also look into a fifth death, but has not yet decided. Police Chief Louis Graham said his decision to assign five officers to the cases was driven solely by his belief in the innocence of Wayne Williams, the man convicted in two of the deaths and suspected in most of the others. “After Wayne Williams was arrested, there was this decision by some people to close the cases and I have never been one to espouse that kind of investigation or paint that kind of broad brush,” Graham told The Associated Press. “I have never believed that he did anything.” Graham said the decision to reopen the cases was his, adding that he has only spoken to Williams once, about five years ago during a prison visit. Graham, who was an assistant police chief in neighboring Fulton County when Williams went to trial, became chief in DeKalb County last year. He said that in December he was looking through some old news clippings that jogged his memory that some of the killings occurred in his jurisdiction, so he decided to take a fresh look. “There has never been, in my estimation, any definite closure as far as suspects, so the cases were just sitting there collecting dust,” Graham said. The chief said the cases are among a group of cold cases his department has decided to reopen, but he decided to look at the child killings first. Williams, now 47, is serving a life sentence for the murders of Nathaniel Cater, 27, and Jimmy Ray Payne, 21. They were among 29 blacks, mostly boys, whose slayings between 1979 and 1981 led to one of the most intensive investigations of the century. Williams, then a 23-year-old freelance cameraman, was blamed for 24 of the murders, and evidence of a pattern of conduct in 12 of the murders was used against him at his trial. The state Supreme Court upheld his conviction in 1984 and later rejected an appeal for a new trial. Williams, who is black, has contended that he was framed and that Atlanta officials covered up evidence that the KKK was involved in the killings to avoid a race war in the city. He also has argued that his attorneys at the time failed to effectively represent him during his 1982 trial. The man who prosecuted Williams at trial, Joseph Drolet, said he welcomes the DeKalb police investigation. At the same time, Drolet stood by Williams’ convictions. He said that when Williams was arrested, “the murders stopped and there has been nothing since.” “There was evidence Wayne had great contempt for poor black males who he professed brought down his race and so forth,” Drolet said. “That was closest to a motive that there was.” One of Williams’ defense lawyers, Michael Jackson of Buffalo, N.Y., broke the news to Williams during a telephone call to him in prison Friday. “A couple of them that they are reopening are pattern cases,” Jackson said. “To the extent that they are in possession of evidence that shows that other people committed these murders obviously further undermines the case that the state presented against Wayne, a case we always believed was a shabbily built house of cards.” Evidence against Williams included tiny fibers found on some of the bodies that were matched to rugs and other fabrics in the home and cars of Williams’ parents. Drolet, the prosecutor, noted that when the fiber evidence was disclosed to the public, some of the later victims were dumped in rivers to try to prevent the killer from being detected. But Jackson said Williams, who has spent most of his adult life in prison, maintains his innocence. “There’s no question this is a significant development, and we look forward to learning all of the facts concerning re-examination of these murders,” Jackson said. The deaths that DeKalb County police are looking into are those of 11-year-old Patrick Baltazar, found Feb. 13, 1981; 13-year-old Curtis Walker, found March 6, 1981; 15-year-old Joseph Bell, found April 19, 1981; and 17-year-old William Barrett, found May 12, 1981. Graham, the police chief, said he may also reopen the investigation into the death of another boy, Aaron Wyche, whose age he did not know. The chief is asking families of the victims to contact police.