The Story
Its 1979, and Atlanta is a city on the rise. It finds itself neck-and-neck with Birmingham as the hub of the New South. It’s been branded, “the city too busy to hate.” But in the summer of ’79, two kids go missing: 14-year-old Edward Hope and 13-year-old Alfred Evans. Both male. Both black. They would later be found dead. Murdered.
For the next two years, the city of Atlanta lives in fear. African American children, adolescents and young adults go missing, one by one, only to be found later, their bodies disposed of in remote areas. There was a real-life boogeyman on the prowl. Parents demand more attention and effort from law enforcement, as racial tensions rise. There are no leads. There are no suspects. But there is pressure to close these cases, and preserve Atlanta’s status as a thriving metropolis.
As the list of missing and murdered rises to more than 25, the “Atlanta Monster” is seized. 22 years old. Black. Wayne Williams. He is convicted only of two adult murders, but authorities close the majority of the child killings, attributing them to Williams. The city returns to business as usual for most, but did law enforcement get the right man? Questions still linger today. This is the story of fear, a grieving city, and a search for justice: 40 years ago, and today.
Atlanta’s Darkest Secret
Listen
Also Available from:
The Podcast
Tenderfoot TV and iHeart Media present Atlanta Monster. This true crime podcast tells the story of a city’s darkest secret, Atlanta’s missing and murdered children, also know as The Atlanta Child Murders. Forty years after these horrific crimes, one man sits in prison, but true justice has never been served, and closure for the victims families has never been found. The disappearance and murder of over 25 African American children and young adults shaped the city of Atlanta, and still haunts a generation. Atlanta Monster aims to find truth and open dialogue around a tragedy that can no longer be ignored.
The host
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Payne Lindsey ventured into the field of podcasting in 2016, propelling a decade-old cold case into the spot light with his debut podcast Up and Vanished. The project has garnered over 300 million downloads to date, but more importantly, resulted in two arrests. Now this citizen sleuth aims to tell the story of his one of hometown’s darkest secrets, one he grew up knowing nothing about. The story of Atlanta’s missing and murdered children.
In Memoriam
Get to know the 29 victims of the Atlanta Child Murders. Learn about their too-short lives as well as the circumstances of their disappearances and their deaths.
FEATURED IN
ALSO AVAILABLE
MONSTER SEASON 2
THE ZODIAC KILLER
Dives into one of the most notorious, unsolved serial killing sprees in history. Despite sketches, cyphers and taunting letters to the press, the question still remains: who is the Zodiac?