All language subtitles for The Atlanta Child Murders Part 2 (1985 mini-series)_avi_auto_standardbalanced

Music Sticks

and stones will break my bone

Our ways will be true

And when your mom's dead and

gone I'll sing this lullaby just for

you Word becomes

of all the little words

Who never come there

They lined up all around the

block On the nickel over

there You better

bring a bucket

They throw in the pail

If you don't get my letter

Then you'll know that I'm in jail

Word becomes of all the little boys

Who never save their breath

Sleeping like a baby On

the nickel over

there Music

On June 28, 1979, Dr.

Nathan Sack of Columbus, Ohio, a well-known
surgeon and his wife, had

come to Atlanta for the annual convention of
the Association of Nuclear Medicine.

They were to be part of Atlanta's 131st
homicide of 1979.

Give me your hand back.

Hurry up.

Music Dr. Sack's murder was

on the front page of the Atlanta Daily
Newspapers and prominent in newspapers all

over the country.

But a short time later, a crime happened
that barely was mentioned in one of

Atlanta's newspapers.

In all likelihood, the boy was already dead
when he was brought to this spot.

He was 14 years old.

The second boy was last seen on his way to a
skating rink.

He too was 14 years old.

This was the beginning of a case that was to
be one of the most baffling

and the crime annals of the United States.

And before the ordeal had ended, a city
would go crazy.

And no one who touched the case in any way
would ever be the same again.

The Atlanta Child Murders had begun.

Do you realize the increase in homicides
this year?

No, I'm afraid I don't, but I'm quite sure
you do.

We have had 231 homicides, a 61% increase
over 1978.

I hope you realize that when you print
stories like that, how much you hurt

Atlanta. One of our main sources of revenue
is the convention trade.

The city is 66% black and we are going to
have a proportionate number of

black officers, whether you like it or not.

Somebody got it!

Somebody come out!

Would you like to play?

Well, I don't have any money.

Well, I'll take this.

Gee, thanks, sir.

Another boy was found.

His name was Leroy Millard James.

He was 14.

How long has he been gone?

He left you about four or thirty.

All right, I'll go look for him.

Don't worry.

He just went to do an errand and he
disappeared.

And somebody must know something.

A young boy just doesn't drop off the face
of the earth.

How are you?

Is he turning out of the field?

You have a great deal of Atlanta out there.

They want to know your feelings.

Thank you. I can't help wondering if they're
working as hard as they

would if it were a white child from a middle
class background.

Would there have been a better chance of
saving him if he'd done something right

away? I don't know.

This is a place where black babies are
hunted down and killed.

Like animals.

There are kids being murdered all over the
streets of Atlanta.

But they don't matter because the department
doesn't make any points if it

solves their murders, does it?

One more word like that, Mike, and I'm going
to ask you for your badge.

Go ask him back.

Rather turn him on, badge.

Jake, somebody's got to stop these crimes
against children.

Oh, there's no telling where we'll end.

And what are you saying to the police force?

I am advising them.

I am pleading with them to concentrate their
efforts on this geographic pattern

and to put stakeouts here, here, here, and
here in order to help prevent the next

murder. It was the morning of Latonya
Wilson's seventh birthday.

As unbelievable as it may seem, somebody
actually removed the window pane closest to

the lock, reached through, opened the lock,
then opened the

door and stepped in.

That person picked her out of her bed where
she was sleeping next to her sister,

then walked past her brother who was
sleeping in the next bed and took

her out of the house.

You want us to make a statement that there's
a jacked-the-ripper killing the

poor black children of Atlanta, but I don't
believe that.

We got ourselves a black mayor.

We got ourselves a black commissioner of
public safety.

Black councilmen. We got everything black
from top to bottom.

We got everything but protection for our
black children.

If you want to kill off of Reese, the first
thing you must do is kill

the sea. Now, the whole thing here in
Atlanta is the first step in a plan

toward genocide. No, my baby.

My baby. My baby.

My baby has disappeared.

It's a green carpet fiber.

It's very unusual because the cross-section
of the fiber shows a trilobular design with

one short leg.

Trilobular design.

That's right. Come on, Mark.

Come over here.

Well, I'll still settle for a fingerprints
motive.

Old-fashioned things like that.

What do you want to bet when we find the
murder?

He's got a green carpet in his house.

The eight-year-old boy has been identified
by dental records as Christopher

Richardson, son of Selena Cobb, who lives in
2624.

I'm so sorry, Miss Cobb.

Could you tell us how you feel?

Get out.

Get out. You don't have no more heart than
the captain you brought in here.

What should I do?

Now what I'm like in my heart is I'm just
trying to find out what's happening.

Get out! Get out of my house!

Come on, get out of here!

Get out of here!

Help! Help!

Help! By mid

-March, the pattern of deaths changed again.

The bodies were being dumped into the river.

The body was clad in red, bathing type
shorts.

Could have been drowning.

But I think we have to mark this mechanism
unknown.

What am I charged with, man?

You're a suspect in the case of the missing
and murdered children, chair.

You guys are so desperate for a suspect that
it's affecting your faculties.

And if I wasn't a veteran of 18 years on the
police force, I'd be scared

as hell right now.

Because I know how easily a case can be made
to work if there's a need

for it. Look, I'm just warning you, chair.

You just stay out of our way.

Get on out the case.

We have staked our bridges into Cald, Fulton
and Cobb counties.

I heard a splash.

A loud splash.

Is that a car on the bridge?

I can't see it from where I'm at.

That splash was to change the course of the
Atlanta murders and perhaps

American jurisprudence forever.

Let's see your identification.

Wayne Williams. That's right.

Did you throw a body into the river?

Are you crazy?

Would you get out of the car, please?

Come on. Get up.

What is it?

Come on. Step back here, will you, please?

Would you move back there?

Had we come to the end of what we were
looking for for two years, was

this the man who choked the life out of,
shot, bludgeoned and drowned 28

human beings? Or was it someone caught in
the net of hysteria and

the need to bring an end to Atlanta's
nightmare?

You heard a splash.

I could have been a beaver.

There are a lot of beavers around here.

They splash their tails in the water.

It could sound like a body.

I know the difference between a beaver
splashing its tail and the sound of a body.

You do. How?

Like it's to be a lifeguard.

This little incident on the bridge here is
going to be the talk of the town.

The talk of the country.

I just hope we're not starting an avalanche
of something we can't stop based on a

splash. Somebody throwing a body off a
bridge that nobody has seen and the

murderer getting back into a station wagon
that nobody saw stopped.

Come on, Johnny!

You got that after a minute, man.

I don't know anything about it.

That's nothing, buddy.

I don't know anything about it.

I'm going to be back before you get to work.

I'm sorry.

Wayne! I

have a warrant for your arrest.

Mr. Slayton,

just eight days ago, you said you had
insufficient evidence to arrest Wayne

Woodson. I did.

What made you change your mind?

I finally found out I couldn't corroborate
William's story that he

had crossed the bridge at three in the
morning to visit a woman who he was

going to interview for a musical audition.

But now in your own words, you said you
might have a good case for lying,

but not for murder.

Yes, sir. What about me?

Now, I've gone over the fiber evidence with
the Georgia Bureau of Investigation

and Larry Peterson and I found it's much
more substantial than I

had believed. And that's something else.

There's a great possibility if we don't move
on this, Williams may leave the

country. Mr. Slayton, I hate to ask this
question.

I think you're one of the finest officials
this state's ever had.

But there are persistent reports of that
pressure to prosecute Wayne Williams was

brought on you at a meeting at the Capitol.

Yes, sir. You got me on out there, sir.

I've been in office for eight years.

If I had visited the governor's mansion
there would not have been any such pressure

that I would have recognized.

There were no threats.

There were no ultimatums.

No deadlines. All right, sir.

Al Binder joined the defense for Wayne
Williams.

He was one of the best criminal lawyers in
the South.

In the courtroom, he sometimes affected the
talk and dress of a hick.

But Al Binder is no hick.

I want you to join a defense team in an
advisory capacity.

I understand you know more about the Atlanta
murder than anybody else.

What are you paying?

Nothing. That's an attractive offer.

Well, what the hell do you think I'm
getting?

I can imagine.

The one thing that makes it almost
irresistible is what the expression on the

faces of the Atlanta police force might be
if they discover that Dettinger is part of

the Wayne Williams defense team.

Thank you. I have a problem though.

I'm not so sure Wayne Williams is innocent.

I could be a dangerous man to have around.

And while I'm investigating the case, I
could come up with evidence that says he's

killed it.

Chance I'll take.

May I ask why you're taking the case?

Well, I'm a strange specimen.

Not only am I a missus of a Jew, but I've
become accepted by the good

old boys as one of their own.

Things are going too smoothly for me at the
moment.

I'm accepted. I'm making money.

I miss the good old days when the Clucke
clan was burning my house and shooting

at my car.

Now you know what Wayne Williams is up
against?

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Georgia
Bureau of Investigation, Atlanta police

force, newspapers. And who has he got to
protect?

Me. That isn't enough to make the old
adrenaline go and feel alive again.

Nothing is.

They were indicting him for Jimi Ray Payne
too.

That's what it says.

But you and I were at the on-toxic.

We were there when the medical examiner said
death was caused by an undetermined

mechanism. The medical examiner changed
their mind.

It's been known to happen before.

Take, take.

I have gone over this child's background
almost from the day he was born.

I've talked to the kids in his class.

I've talked to his friends.

I have checked his record.

There's no evidence of violence there.

What does somebody do?

Wake up one morning with no previous record
and go out and kill all these people?

Ben, you know Slayton.

He's one of the few men of the previous
administration we can trust.

You think he would have allowed this boy to
be arrested if he knew he could

be innocent? Do you think there's a
conspiracy?

No, I don't.

But this town needs to put these murders
behind it if he wants to survive.

So it desperately wants to believe that
Wayne is guilty.

Ben. I mean, even some very nice people are
saying that maybe he's not guilty.

But we ought to convict him anyway.

Ben, it's not our business to decide whether
or not he's guilty.

It's Slayton's and it's that jury's and it's
the state court and the supreme court.

Here you go.

Keep change. The prosecution and defense
teams in the Wayne Williams case

interviewed nearly 900 prospective jurors.

On January 5th, 1982, they finally agreed on
the 12th people that

would be acceptable.

And the jury were nine women and three men,
eight black and four white.

The jury foreman was signed by the court.

Vicki Lamber, a county clerk from Georgia
Power.

Lonnie Brown, long haul truck driver.

Ruby Hidd, seamstress.

Dorothy Rucker, a worker at Grady Hospital.

Walter Brown Jr., research technician for
state transportation department.

Clarice Jones, manager for Southern Bell.

JoLynn Willingham, state public health
auditor.

Julia M. Wing, a retired bank clerk.

Gail Thomas Jones, manager for Southern
Bell.

Will everyone please rise?

Court is now in session.

The Honorable Clarence Cooper, Judge
Preside.

Sitting on the bench was 40-year-old Judge
Clarence Cooper.

Please be seated.

Slayton. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Lewis
Slayton,

district attorney for Fulton County.

This case is going to be to you like a
jigsaw puzzle, with

a whole lot of pieces fitted in.

At the conclusion, there'll be enough pieces
so you'll be able to see the big

picture. The witnesses which will be
presented to you are not

willing witnesses.

They're reluctant.

They're nervous.

They know that Mr.

Byron is a good man.

The judge here has a reputation for being an
expert in cross-examination.

And they know that whatever they testify to
might be twisted around where

it may seem like they're not too small.

I want you to sit back and enjoy yourselves
the best you can.

We'll try to make it interesting enough for
you so that we'll keep you keenly alert

throughout the whole trial.

And at the conclusion, I believe you'll be
satisfied with the result.

Thank you.

May it please the court?

Your Honor?

Ladies and gentlemen, I was born in
Mississippi.

I've been in this town for nine days.

And all the folks I met have been very kind
and courteous

to me.

I was in awe last night about this trial.

Before I went to sleep, I asked God's
blessing on His court.

I asked God's orders on you and myself

to see that justice is done.

I want to introduce you to the defendant.

Wayne, I want you to stand up and look at
the jury.

It's Wayne Williams, the defendant.

Sit down, son.

Wayne was born late in life to Fay and
Homer, who

were school teachers in this community for
years.

They owned a modest home,

and they lavished all their love, money, and
attention on their young

son, their only child ahead.

At approximately 3 a.m.

on May 26, 1981,

a recruits named Mr.

Campbell heard his play.

Officers saw the headlights of Wayne
Williams' station wagon.

They stopped him, asked him to be thrown off
the bridge.

He denied it.

Now, the authorities did not detain him.

They searched his car and let him go.

Two days later, the body of an adult black
male by the name of Nathaniel

Cater, 28 years old, was found in the river.

Nathaniel Cater was what was known as a
streetwise person.

He sold his blood for money.

And he sold his body for money.

Wayne is also accused of another murder, of
a 21-year-old

man, Jimmy Ray Payne.

Life wasn't too kind for Mr.

Payne, either. Payne spent most of his
juvenile and adult days in institutions.

On two occasions, he attempted suicide.

For one month,

law enforcement personnel haunted Wayne up

and down the streets of Atlanta like a dog.

Now, the only thing that Wayne Williams said
regarding that indictment, outside of

the fact that he wasn't guilty,

was that the only thing I've killed is a
roach in

myself. I'm

going to ask you, if you sit in judgment of
this man,

that you search for the truth.

We're going to ask you to apply to the
accused the same treatment that you want

for yourself.

And I thank you, Your Honor.

Well, knowing my heart whether or not he's
guilty.

Well, it's not so easy to tell always.

We may never know.

Don't say that.

There ain't nothing they can do to save him,
even if they got that smart Jewish

lord of Mississippi.

Oh, we'll be the judge and jury.

He won't serve a life sentence in no jade.

It'll be six feet under in a box.

Same as the kids he killed.

What is your name, sir?

My name is Salah Zaki.

Dr. Zaki, what is your position?

I'm the associate medical examiner for
Fulton County.

Dr. Zaki, did you perform an autopsy on
Jimmy Ray Payne?

Yes, I did.

What was your conclusion, doctor, as to the
cause of death?

The cause of death was asphyxia.

Thank you. Your way, please.

Mr. Binder.

I want to talk to you about your death
certificate.

You signed this first was June 16, 1981,
didn't you?

Yes. It's got Jimmy Ray Payne, death
undetermined.

That's correct. Now, would you go along with
me in the medical profession that this

is a solemn instrument, is it not?

Yes. Now you've got another report.

Instead of undetermined, it's now homicide.

That is correct.

That was after the defendant Wayne Williams
was indicted for the murder of Jimmy Ray

Payne. I mean, you knew that, didn't you?

Yes. Did you not tell Inspector Will
Shorted, Atlanta police that

if it had not been for other killings, that
in all probability you would have ruled

Payne's death an accidental drowning?

No. No, I don't believe I said that.

Well, did you not tell an officer of the FBI
that the death of Jimmy Ray

Payne could well be that of drowning?

Well, I didn't exclude drowning.

Would you please answer yes or no?

I can't just answer yes or no on a
statement.

State yes or no?

Well, it could be yes, as I said.

Did you not tell Inspector Robbie Hamrick
that in your opinion the

death of Jimmy Ray Payne could well be that
of drowning?

And that you based your opinion on the fact
that the body was clad in what

seemed to be red, bathe-type shorts, and the
signs of asphyxiation

were not present?

Again, it can't be within this context.

Well, just answer yes or no, whether you did
or not.

I don't remember.

Did you ever say to officers of the law that
the height and weight of the

victim was underestimated by someone and
that you thought it was done diabolically?

Yes. It was a suspicion I had.

I told them Jimmy Payne was 5' 6 or 7.

They put down 5' 2.

I feel that they put that down so he would
seem smaller, smaller and more like

the other victims.

How did you come to your attention that
Jimmy Ray Payne sold blood in this

community rather frequently?

No. No one told me he sold blood.

Well, would you tell the jury if a person
sells blood frequently that it reduces

his blood level?

It can cause anemia.

And if he sells it frequently, would you go
along with me to say that it

would reduce his platelets and that he could
hemorrhage easily?

That's a difficult question to answer.

Yeah, but it happens, don't it?

Yes, it sometimes does.

Dr. Zackie, do you know how Jimmy Ray Payne
died?

How he died?

Yes. I

have not been able to establish an exact
mechanism for it.

Thank you, Dr.

Zackie. My

name is David Rufus Stingel.

Howdy. Hi, Chair Delage.

Hi. He's employed by the National Weather
Service.

He's a service hydrologist.

Would you tell Mr.

Bindo why you're here?

I was called on to perform research
specifically in relation to Jimmy Ray

Payne. My way.

I made a study about the path of the body in
the river and where it

was found. Would you tell Mr.

Bindo what happened to your study?

They changed it.

Changed it? Jimmy Ray Payne was supposed to
have been dropped off the right bank of

the river and found on the left side.

It was my job to find out how that could
happen.

And how could it have happened?

There are only two ways that an object can
move from one side of the river

to the other.

If it's carried by the currents or if
there's some other external force moving

it. Go on.

I looked at the wind and the water currents
and in neither case was there any

evidence of any mechanism that would move an
object from one side of the river to

the other. What did you find?

I found that there was nothing in the wind
or the currents that indicated that.

That's what they wanted me to change.

How do you feel about all this, Mr.

Dangle? I don't feel that things are being
dealt with squarely.

Would you tell Mr.

Bindo what you asked permission to do?

I wanted to construct a floating dummy of
the approximate size and weight of Jimmy

Ray Payne. So that we could monitor how an
actual human body would move in the

river along the river bottom.

What did they tell you?

They said they didn't need me to do the
research at this time and wouldn't give

me any expenses for it.

Supposing we paid your expenses to make
these tests?

I don't know how it will come out.

There's always the possibility that my
research may end up being damaging to your

case. Go ahead and make your experiments,
Mr.

Dangle. Now

you're sure this approximates Payne's body?

Uh-huh. We're using the water for weight.

I was very careful to make sure the specific
gravities were the same.

I call them Ferdinand.

Where'd you get it?

From the Fiz Ed Department, the local
college.

They use them for first aid.

Should we lower them in there?

Yeah. They roll them over on the face down.

Alright, now push them out.

The floating dummy was released at the same
point below the bridge on the right-hand

side where Wayne Williams was supposed to
have thrown Jimmy Ray Payne's body.

Dangle tracked it as it moved downstream
with the current.

The first five times, the dummy only
traveled a short distance before it hit a

bend in the Chateau G.

on the right bank, and was snagged and held
by branches and debris underneath the

surface. But Dangle released Ferdinand
anyway and followed its path

down to the point where Payne's body was
found.

Dangle would later testify that not only was
it a good idea to have a good

idea of the potential for the next
experiment, but not once in the dozen times

that Ferdinand was sent on his voyage.

Did he ever end up on the left side of the
bank where Payne's body was

found? You want to take that detail when
Wayne Williams

was arrested? Yes, sir.

You were the first one that heard his
pledge?

Yes, sir. Are you familiar?

Was the body sitting in the water?

Yes, sir, I am.

Would you tell us how?

I was a swimmer on my high school team for
three years, and I've life-gotted

for three years.

Would you tell us the sound you heard was
that similar to anything that you've heard

before? Very similar to a body hitting the
water.

Thank you.

Now, would you agree with me that along
about three o'clock in the morning, it

gets pretty dark outside?

Yes, sir. I remember I had a Boy Scout troop
once.

Do you have a Boy Scout?

Yes, sir. We used to camp out a lot.

You camp out a lot?

Yes, sir. When you wake up in the middle of
the night, the slightest noise sounds

loud, doesn't it?

Yes, sir, when you wake up at night.

Sure it does.

Was it difficult for you to stay awake all
the time?

Frankly, I was totally uncomfortable down
there with all the animals and the noises.

I wasn't going to let any of them animals
get to me.

The first night I was there, a beaver got
very close to me.

Did it scare you?

Yes, sir, at the time, I didn't know it was
a beaver.

You just don't like meeting them in the
dark, do you?

I didn't like meeting anything in the dark
under that bridge.

How many did you see?

30 to 50.

Well, the beavers always stay on the land,
or they jump in the water now, then.

Both. Now, you were up there on the bank,
and you heard a splash.

Would you tell the court majority whether or
not the moon was shining, do you

remember? At the time, I don't believe it
was.

Where was your flashlight?

Next to me.

Did you shine it on the water after you
heard the splash?

Yes. See anything?

No. Now, when you joined the police force,
didn't they tell you there were times

when policemen risked their lives for
citizens?

I guess so.

You were a life guy.

You have to take some tests.

Did you qualify for that?

Yes, sir. And they teach you how to save
people from drowning, don't they?

Yes, sir. And there are times when a man has
got to take his life and

expose it to danger, doesn't he?

Yes, sir. Now, tell his court nurse, jury,
did you dive in the water and try

to save the body?

You heard fall in the water that night.

No, sir. You didn't use the training you had
to go

in there and try to save that which you
thought was a body in the river?

No, sir.

You just failed the Boy Scout test.

They didn't in the trial.

The defense introduced another recruit who
had been on the bridge detail.

Now, what if anything unusual?

Did you ever hear Mr.

Jacobson on the radio?

The most unusual thing we heard probably
from anyone on all the bridges was

the ghost stories.

Well, what did he say in that regard?

He said he saw someone standing by the
river's edge and he thought that maybe they

might be throwing a body into the river.

And a SWAT team was called in to investigate
down into the woods and they

came back on the radio and said that he had
only seen a ghost.

What sorts of noises do people make at
night, if you know?

Well, if light is shined on them or they're
scared, they make us splash

the noise with their tail on the water.

I wouldn't give anything that Mr.

Campbell ever tell you concerning Mr.

Jacobs' fear of the dark.

Well, he said he was afraid to even go out
into the woods to urinate by

himself. Well,

you ever told, along with other recruits,
that your status as a civilian employee

rather than as a regular police officer
might result in any kind of

enrichment for you?

Lieutenant Dick Weber told him, you guys
know you'll be able to collect a reward,

don't you?

Campbell turned around and said, that's
okay, I'm going to split it with everybody.

Under what circumstances was that
information given to all the recruits?

Because of the fact that the public was
getting mad at the police department

because they couldn't find the child
murderer.

Did you ever get assigned the job of going
and collecting any type of animal here?

Well, yes, sir.

We were taken from the task force to go over
to the Humane Society to check

records for owners of specific types of
dogs.

What kind of dog here did they tell you to
collect, Mr.

Lawson? Siberian Husky, Afghan Hound,

Russian Wolf Hound, and Malamute.

Did they ask you to get in a German Shepherd
Head?

No. Do you know the type of person with
regards to size

and physical prowess the task force was
looking for?

We were told numerous times, you know, we
were looking for an extremely large, strong

person. Did they have any suspects that you
knew of at the time?

We had composite drawings of about 12 or 15.

They were hanging on the wall there at the
task force.

Did any of them look like Wayne Williams?

No, sir, I don't recall any of them even
looking close to Wayne Williams.

Do you know the defendant Wayne Williams on
trial here today?

Yes. Would you point him out?

That's him.

I'd like to, if you will, refresh your
memory and go back to the first time

you had an occasion to see him.

Would you tell us about that?

Well, I was in this record store downtown
and I picked up this flyer.

A young lady at work down there, she gave it
to me.

I said this guy was in the music business.

So I said, yeah, I'll give him a call
because I'm trying to sell some of

my own music productions.

As a result, did you meet Mr.

Williams? Yes, I did.

Now, did you have occasion to see Wayne
Williams at the Atlanta studios?

Yes, I did.

Now, did you ever have any conversation with
Mr.

Williams? That seems strange to you?

Well, I talked to him about the murders
once.

I said, what a shame it was that those
children were getting killed now.

Well, how did the conversation go?

Well, I asked him what did he think about
it.

You know, he just kind of said point blank.

I think they ought to keep the damn asses at
home.

Now, anything else occur with regard to a
note?

He was sitting down in the studio once and
he gave me this note.

I think Carla Bailey snatched it out of my
hand and threw it away or whatever.

Tyllis, as best you recall, what that note
said and

your reaction to it.

Please, Jack, your honor, unless you can
produce it.

His memory, your honor, he can testify as to
what he recalls.

He's subject to cross-examination.

Okay. I'm going to let it in.

Thank you, your honor.

Now, what did that note say so far as you
recall?

It could be a mayor.

It could be a president.

Or it could even be a killer.

And what was Wayne Williams' reaction to
your reading that note?

I asked him, I said, who would do something
like this?

And he just started laughing.

He started laughing?

Thank you, Mr.

Heisman. Did you know Nathaniel, Kater?

I did. When was the last time you saw him?

It was the Friday before he disappeared, May
15th.

Now, would you tell us about that?

I was headed for another neighbor's house,
and I saw Nat sitting on a bench in

the park with another fellow.

What was Nathaniel doing in that
neighborhood?

He lived with his mother and father, and
they lived a few blocks away from the

park. Was there anybody with Nathaniel that
day?

Yes, there was.

I remember quite well.

Why do you remember him?

The reason I noticed him was that he was a
well-dressed man, and I had

never seen Nat sitting with a man that was
dressed like that.

What did you have on?

Grey trousers and a grey long-sleeve shirt.

Did you notice any animals around?

That was a dog, a German shepherd.

Do you see the man in court that you saw on
the park bench with Nathaniel,

Kater? Yes. Would you point him out?

He's sitting between the lady and the man,
right there in the blue.

She's with you.

You know Wayne Williams before he saw him on
TV?

I didn't. Do you remember saying on a
newscast, you saw Wayne Williams

with Nathaniel Kater on Memorial Day?

Three days after Wayne Williams was supposed
to have thrown Nathaniel Kater

off the bridge?

No, I do not.

Did you ever tell him about the death of a
man?

You saw Miss Epstein, you saw Miss Twain in
the shirt with two hands printed on

the material? Two hands hugging the woman's
body.

But you said it was a well-dressed man
wearing grey trousers and a grey long

-sleeve shirt. Well, it's still the grey
shirt that got the palm of the woman's hand

hugging the body.

You said that Mr.

Kater lived with his mother and father when
he last saw

her. Yes. Now, little lady, didn't you know
that Mrs.

Kater died in 1973?

Well, I had no idea of that.

But you said you knew him very well.

Well, yes, I knew him well.

Now, tell me about that dog.

Do you like dogs?

Yes, I have a dog.

Oh, what kind do you got?

I have a German Shepherd.

You like that dog?

I love him.

Was that other dog pretty frisky?

Yeah, frisky. He was a real playing dog.

Playing dog?

Later in the trial, Binder introduced a most
unusual witness.

Your Honor, there's been a great deal of
speculation about my next witness.

There have been rumors that they've had to
build an electric fence around the Williams

home to protect people from it.

He's been characterized by newspapers and by
witnesses being ferocious, frisky,

and a dangerous ally, Mr.

Williams. Ladies and gentlemen, including

members of the jury,

I want everybody to be absolutely quiet
during this demonstration.

The dog in question is going to be brought
in the court, and we don't want

to unnecessarily excite the dog.

Proceed, Mr. Binder.

Let the record reflect that the dog in
question was brought into the courtroom.

The jury has had an opportunity to observe
the dog, to

determine whether or not the dog is frisky.

I'm going to go to the court.

Mr. Slayton, how do you think the trial is
going?

How do you think it's going?

We tend to think that your apprehension is
about Mr.

Binder, that he might make the witness not
too smart.

Is this happening?

Well, I enjoy watching Mr.

Binder work. He's a brilliant attorney.

But still, earlier in the trial, some of the
fiber evidence, for instance, I believe

the jury will find overwhelming.

But there's some feeling that fiber
evidence, without further corroboration, is

not sufficient to convict a man.

If you excuse me, I better get back to my
law books, as you can see.

I have to do my homework to keep up with Mr.

Binder. Whoops. Sorry.

Come on in, Chuck.

I'm a diabetic.

If you want to have to give me a shot, I'll
have all sorts of strange

things happen to me.

I just want to tell you, I think you're
doing a terrific job.

Thank you. The most important place coming
up tomorrow, though, the fibers.

Yeah, I know.

More travesty of justice than true justice.

It's perpetrated by trace evidence in the
courtroom.

Jury's like it when a district attorney
parades a lot of scientific paraphernalia

in front of them.

It gives a mental image of a white smock
stainless steel gloves, a glass of

porcelain. And they put gray credence in
scientific showmanship, yup.

He had a heart attack last year, too.

I'm not an invalid yet.

Keep looking at the mothers in the courtroom
and wondering what they're

thinking. Do they think I'm trying to get
the murderer of their sons off?

They keep looking at Wayne.

Wonder what they're thinking about.

These fibers are taken from the green carpet
found in Wayne Williams' bedroom.

And ones that were taken from the bodies of
Jimmy Payne and Nathaniel Cater.

Can you explain the shape of the green
carpet fiber found in Williams'

home? The appearance of this fiber shows a
tri

-lobal-like carpet fiber.

It is uncommon because of the unusual design
used by the Wellman Company.

Miss Payson, could you look over here,
exhibit 638?

These represent two fibers which I recovered
from the shorts of Jimmy Payne.

The bedspread that was found in the
Williams' house seemed to be darker in

appearance than the fibers which I recovered
from the shorts of Jimmy Payne.

I subjected the bedspread to a three-day
period in water obtained

from the Chattahoochee River and allowed it
to sit on a window sill.

To see if that might change the physical
appearance of the fibers.

There was a bleaching effect.

What are these other fibers over here, sir?

637. Now these are eight other fibers that
were found from Wayne Williams' environment

on the bodies of the victim.

Thank you, Miss Payson.

Would you take the stand again, please?

Did you have occasion to make comparisons of
the animal hair

you recovered from Mr.

Payne with the animal hair that you
recovered from the Williams doll?

Yes, I did.

What is your conclusion?

I found that they were consistent.

Based on your examination of the fibers and
hairs found upon

Jimmy Payne and Nathaniel Cater and the
comparison of the

fibers and hairs found in the home of
defendant Wayne Williams, do

you have an opinion as to the significance
of these comparisons?

In my opinion, the combination of these
fibers found on one or more of

the victims make it almost impossible for
them to have come from any environment

other than Wayne Williams'.

Thank you, Mr.

Payson. You may as well.

Do you have a list of the policemen that
handled the bodies of Payne Cater before

you abandoned them?

I have no knowledge of them.

Yes or no?

No, I have no such list.

Have you determined whether any of these
people left fibers on the bodies

of Payne Cater?

In my opinion, there would have been a
direct physical contact with the victim.

Any question that provides for a yes or no
answer, would you please answer?

Now, have you determined that none of the
people that handled the bodies contributed

to the transfer of the fibers to the body of
Payne or Cater, yes or

no? No.

Did you ascertain whether some of the fibers
could have come from the debris of

the river?

I did examine a sample of water obtained
from the Cater which had a later date.

I determined that there were none.

Had a later date?

Would you tell the jury what that date was?

September 14th. You know, I pretended to
tell the jury that on September the 14th,

the composition of the water was exactly the
same as the day that the deceased body

was found four months earlier, are you?

I don't know what the difference may have
been in the composition of the water.

What was the total number of fibers you
removed from Mr.

Payne? I don't know the exact number.

Hundreds? Yes, hundreds.

You looked at those fibers and as you didn't
find none of them would match in

a Williams home, you didn't look no further,
did you?

I compared the fibers.

Answer, yes or no?

I don't believe I could answer that with a
yes or no answer.

What I am asking you is a scientist and an
expert.

Just tell the jury.

Honestly, did you or did you not go any
further?

Yes, I did, consider them further.

Oh, we're down to the homes of Payne and
Cater and

see if any of those fibers were the same
types that could be associated with

living environment?

No. You go to the place where Payne stayed a
hundred years?

I have no personal knowledge of where Mr.

Payne and Mr.

Kate Frick were.

So the answer is no.

That's correct.

You're down to the Falcon Hotel and go in
the room and do a search for

Dog Hair yourself?

I did that myself, no.

Can you specifically state that Dog Hair was
necessarily from the breed of a German

Shepherd? Not specifically, no.

Well, prior to Wayne Williams coming to your
knowledge, you all were looking

for Malamute or Husky Dog Hair, weren't you?

I had made the subjective evaluation to
determine that a Husky

or a Malamute may be involved.

Yes or no?

Yes. Now, isn't it true, when you found that
dog down

there at the William's home, Malamute and
Husky went out the window and the fibers on

the body became that of a German Shepherd?

The hairs, which I examined, were consistent
with that type breed, not to the

exclusion of others.

You can't tell, Mike, by a dog hair, can
you?

Now, those fibers from the shorts and those

you found from the bedspread as a scientist,
chemist

or expert, those light fibers, they bothered
you, didn't they?

Couldn't get them at you, looking for, could
you?

When the comparison was first made against
the

American Shepherd, fibers pulled directly
from the bedspread as against the question

fibers, the difference was significant in
the mind.

Yes. And you started with spare men and you
never could get it the right color,

could you?

Well, I managed to get them very close,

but not exactly the same.

The answer is

no. Would

you tell the jury whether or not you made
this observation?

And as a scientist, forensics,

a relatively new kid on the block and you
never know what a jury is going

to do, but I'm optimistic about our case.

Did you make that statement?

Yes, sir. Now, when you make a statement
like that about this case, aren't

you departing from that detached house where
the scientist lives and

becoming a member of the prosecution team?

No, sir. I don't think so.

Al, I'm afraid that what we feared all along

is going to happen.

I have heard that they're going to try to
introduce ten other cases with a

justification of pattern.

Other cases now?

Yes, ma'am.

I guess they can see their case against
Williams as an entirely substantial.

So they want to introduce other murders to
the trial with a justification that there

was similar pattern in those cases.

What is that?

Well, if you can say the kids were
bludgeoned, strangled, suffocated, stabbed,

left on land in the water in the front of
buildings and in the woods as

a pattern, there's pattern.

Your Honor, may I approach the bench to
that?

Yes, you may.

Thank you.

The state is prepared to present at this
time an evidence of the

murders which will tend to prove planned
scheme pattern bent

to mind and identity.

Your Honor, the introduction of other
murders

would be so inflammatory that my client
would not possibly receive

a fair trial.

Either they indict him for the murders they
want to bring in or they let it

go. Under the authority of state versus
Johnson and Vass, others,

it is the obligation and responsibility to
introduce Adam.

I will hear arguments.

Thank you.

The jury may be excused.

Slave. Thank

you. The first case where

there is a pattern is the case of Alfred
Evans.

We are dealing with a victim, black, male,
comes from a

situation of poverty, a broken home, a
street, hustler.

Vulnerable to be in picked up.

There's no evidence of forced abduction.

There is a method of body disposal which is

quite unique. People apparently are killed
and dumped.

There are fibers from the bedspread of the
defendant, carpet fibers, dog

hairs, various other fibers.

Next case,

Eric Middlebrooks,

street hustler.

The gear disappears and then he's found,
dumped, laid out

on his back.

Pat Baltazar, gear in the street hustler.

May it please the court, Johnna.

I don't think he should refer to these
deceased as street hustlers.

The only thing these poor children had in
common was that they were poor.

But if that is justification for pattern in
America, the

courts would be filled with requests like
this.

Overruled. Proceed.

Lupigida, young,

black, poor family,

street hustler,

strangled. And you can say the same thing in
these five

other cases.

That's Charles Stevens, Jojo Bell,

Lear Rogers, John Porter, William Barrett.

All murdered in the same way.

All vulnerable to be in picked up.

No forced abduction.

Unusual method of disposal in the body.

Killed and dumped.

As in many cases,

they are fibers in which there is a match.

Thank you.

Mr. Binder.

Your Honor, Your Honor, there is no pattern
here.

Pattern would lead you to believe they all
died the same way, but they didn't.

Asphyxiation. Strangulation by an object.

You heard the doctor.

Plunt trauma to the head, stab wounds.

Where is the pattern?

If there is a pattern, it is in the minds of
those who indicted

the defendant. Nowhere else.

Slate. Connections run through these cases
unmistakably.

The pattern is obvious that it has caught
the attention of the entire western world.

The western world is obsessed with child
murders.

But the fact is my client is charged with
killing one man of

21 and another of 28.

Your Honor, the public confidence depends on
facts

in a courtroom being developed within the
rules of evidence.

It is imperative that evidence be excluded,
which may

unduly prejudice the defendant based on
uncharged crimes.

The court will take this matter under
submission.

Mr. Hatch, your Honor, there is no question.

Where the hell have you been?

I'm looking all over the place for you.

You all right?

Chet, whoops.

They're gonna introduce pattern.

I just heard.

I really didn't believe they would.

It wasn't enough.

I had two murders against Wayne.

I have so many documents and witnesses to
interview that I haven't had time for.

Now they want me to defend them against 10
more murders.

Now look, my friend, you already had one
heart attack six months ago.

Let's put this out and get you upstairs.

Yeah. You good for this?

Yeah. Okay, let's go.

Shit, I'm trying to say something nice to
me.

If you want to hear something right here,
I'll go see you.

Parents are here again.

Tell them I'm busy.

Look, why won't you see us, ma'am?

Did you hear them in the courtroom?

Did you hear what they're saying?

They're calling our kids street hustlers.

But Yusuf was nine years old when he died.

What kind of street hustler comes from a
nine-year-old child who was an honor

student of his class?

Who was only out after dark if he was doing
some errand for some old person

who couldn't get out of the store?

When a white kid go out and earn a dollar
washing cars or running errands, that's

just enterprise. But when one of our kids do
the same thing, he ain't nothing but

a low-down dirty street hustler.

Why do they have to lie about him?

Look, people, you've come to the wrong
place.

Go to Slayton, go to Mayor Jackson, go to
Lee Brown.

I'm nothing here.

I'm just an errand boy.

They're the ones who run the city.

If you've got a complaint, go to them.

They won't talk to us.

You know that.

Every night I see my baby in my dreams.

I had hoped that I would see some kind of
meaning to their death, but there

isn't going to be, is there?

Look, I'm not God.

I don't have a pipeline into Wayne Williams'
mind.

Do you care that much about that damn badge?

How much do you need that money?

How much do you need that money?

They're right.

They're no better than the others.

You're not the prosecutor, you're not the
judge.

So what do they want from you?

You know something?

Walker said those same words to me.

Murders never would have reached these
proportions if people had stopped worrying

about trying to protect their own positions.

Well, what can you do?

I can tell them about the witnesses that are
coming up.

Come in. You listen to me.

I've seen you leave this house, what with
fear, to go out into the street into

some scene where you could get the life
blown out of you.

I've seen you get up and answer a call when
you were so tired that every

inch of you ate.

You can't lose everything you have?

For what?

What if he isn't guilty of the murders?

You know and I know they're going to find
Wayne Williams guilty no matter what you

do or no matter what anybody does.

They talk about pain in Cade and that
courtroom.

You could be out and trying to sell blood
tomorrow to pay for the grocery bills.

That's how close we are to the edge.

What are you doing?

This is Ben.

Meet me at the Three Dooses.

Never mind what for, just meet me there.

Who is that?

That is Demetra.

What are you going to do?

You're not going to tell them anything you
shouldn't are you?

You're not going to put yourself in
jeopardy.

You're not going to put all of us in
jeopardy are you?

Why this cloaking diagram meeting you afraid
it may ensay in my company?

I'm going to give you some information.

Why? There are some things I think the
defense should know.

It's the case like that.

Listen Ben, if I were not disturbed, we'd
rather not tell everything I knew to the

press than resign.

You can do that though, would you?

I'm not that big a fool.

Why would I be being a fool?

What impact would it have?

Another cops opinion?

You resigned, how much good did it do?

I resigned because I felt I had to.

Right, now you're on the outside.

This way I at least have access to
information.

I can use the labs.

I have some influence.

Outside I'm just another loner like you.

Scouting around, finding whatever, without
resources that might have been available to

me. Yeah, well I've been saying the same
thing all over again, so save the lecture.

Just tell me why I'm here.

I want to tell you about a witness named
Darrell Davis.

Another one who calls himself Cool Breeze.

I'm listening.

I'm listening.

I'm listening.

I'm listening.