• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

FBI Studies

  • Home
  • Ray Batvinis
    • Speaking
    • Research
  • Agent Link
    • Praise
    • Chapter One
    • Book interviews
  • Hoover’s Secret War
    • Praise
    • Chapter 1
    • Book Reviews
    • Book Lecture Video
  • Origins of FBI CI
    • Praise
    • Book Review
    • Introduction
    • Chapter One
    • CSPAN Video
  • Blog
    • Videos
  • Resources
    • Videos
    • History News
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Blog / ATKID: The Atlanta Child Murders Case

March 13, 2019 By Raymond J. Batvinis, PhD

ATKID: The Atlanta Child Murders Case

This article regarding the Wayne Williams, the Atlanta child killer, was written by my dear friend, Susan Lloyd (FBI 1979-2004). I hope you enjoy it. It appeared in the January/February 2019 FBI Grapevine published by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI.

ATKID: The Atlanta Child Murders Case (pdf)

When the first murder associated with the Atlanta Child Murders case occurred in July 1979, it made little impact on the news cycle of the bustling city known as the Hub of the South. By the time the body of the last victim was found in late May 1981, news about the case dominated not only local headlines but international headlines as well. Someone was killing Atlanta’s African American youth. . . .

. . . . The growing number of unsolved child murders prompted the Atlanta Police Department (APD) to form a task force in early summer 1980 with Agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and detectives from other area police departments. In response to requests from city officials, Atlanta SAC John D. Glover offered whatever assistance the Bureau could provide, but stopped short of opening a federal case without a strong indication of a federal violation. Two FBI Special Agents were appointed to serve as liaison between the task force and the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, the FBI Laboratory and for out-of-state investigative leads. . . . .

. . . .Several pieces of evidence from the crime scenes were common denominators. Green nylon carpet fibers and dog hairs were found on many of the bodies that had been found on dry land. At some point, presumably in October 1980, information about the carpet fibers and dog hairs was “leaked” to the Atlanta Journal Constitution which wasted no time in publishing it. Soon the pattern of disposal changed, and bodies were instead dumped unceremoniously near or into either the Chattahoochee River or the South River.

On November 6, 1980, two days after the presidential election which Georgia native Jimmy Carter lost, Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti directed the FBI to open a preliminary investigation. At that point, four African American children were still missing. On November 17, the major case investigation known as “ATKID” was officially opened. The Bureau mandate was to conduct an independent investigation, while simultaneously assisting the local task force with manpower, guidance and technical assistance. First Office Special Agents in Atlanta were given an option to delay transfer to their second office assignment, and veteran Agents from eastern field offices, particularly those with homicide investigative backgrounds, were brought in on temporary duty to assist in the investigation. . . . (read the rest)

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Related

Filed Under: Blog

Primary Sidebar

Books by Dr. Ray Batvinis

Origins of FBI Counterintelligence

Hoovers Secret War Against Axis Spies book cover

Recent Posts

  • “Agent Link” Book Event at the International Spy Museum
  • The Forgotten Soviet Spy: AGENT LINK
  • Spy Valley: An Engineer’s Nuclear Betrayal
  • Radio Cloak and Dagger
  • A Response To The Fourth Man by Robert Baer – By Richard Rita
  • The Ghost of Angleton – By Paul Redmond
  • Sometimes the story is about the spies who aren’t there
  • Former CIA Counterintelligence Chiefs Weigh in on The Fourth Man
  • The Charles McGonigal Case
  • The Ghost of Angleton — Review of The Fourth Man
  • Spycraft 101 Podcast Interview
  • Message from Director Wray Regarding Search at Mar-a-Lago, Florida
  • World War II House of Secrets
  • Walking a Tightrope: FBI’s John Cimperman and the ULTRA Secret
  • Watergate: Competing Fond Memories

Watch Videos

videopixCheck out all the videos on FBI Studies related to FBI history and espionage. Video Page

Most Viewed Posts

  • Significant Anniversaries in FBI History
  • The Ghost of Angleton - By Paul Redmond
  • The Manhunt and Capture of Vincent Loonsfoot in the North Woods of Michigan
  • The Paul Rico Case
  • Was Roger Hollis a British patriot or Soviet spy?
  • Words of Wisdom from Sherlock Holmes
  • The FBI’s Fake Russian Agent
  • Review of book in Michigan War Studies Review
  • Sherlock Holmes Joke
  • A Response To The Fourth Man by Robert Baer - By Richard Rita

Footer

About

Historical FBI Studies by Raymond J. Batvinis, PhD, author of "The Origins of FBI Counterintelligence" and "Hoover's Secret War Against Axis Spies: FBI Counterintelligence During World War II."

 

A retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent, Ray is now a historian and educator specializing in the discipline of counterintelligence as a function of statecraft.

Copyright 2024 Raymond J. Batvinis, PhD | Website by CJKCREATIVE.COM

 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.