From July of 1979 to May of 1981, the city of Atlanta, Georgia, was subjected to a state of terror by a relentless and sadistic serial killer who preyed primarily on black boys and young black men and by the time their domination ended, 28 children and young adults were dead, leaving not only the people of Atlanta, but the American public in general terrorized. 

The case in question became officially known by law enforcement and legal experts as “The Atlanta Murders of 1979 to 81” but referred to more colloquially as “The Atlanta Child Murders” as 22 of the victims of the 28 were under 18 at the time of their murder. 

This case is argued as having some of the most poorly maintained forensic evidence; so much so that according to the Daily Beast: “countless samples, in possibly thousands of cases, were likely compromised, and the federal agency admitted in 2015 that a majority of its microscopic hair analysts had “provided either testimony with erroneous statements or submitted laboratory reports with erroneous statements.” 

Sources: 
Child Killer: The True Story of the Atlanta Child Murders - Jack Rosewood
The Evidence of Things not Seen - James Baldwin

Last episode we covered the brutal murders of the Moore family along with Lina and Ina Stillinger, who were having a sleepover and discussed Frank Jones’ past pretty extensively and today we are going to try to wrap up all of the suspects, there are SO MANY, it’s kind of ridiculous: there is Andrew Sawyer (transient), George Kelly, Frank Jones (we talked extensively about him on ep 1), William Mansfield, Henry Lee Moore, Sam Moyer (Josiah’s sister’s husband) and Paul Mueller, we will be also talking about the extensive trials and finally the theories.  

Sources: 

The Man From the Train: Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James
Villiscamovie.com : Edgar V. Epperly

June 9th, 1912, was a night described by a reporter as “The Darkest Night in Villisca’s History” :

Joe Moore, wife Sarah attended church with their 4 children and after church, two preteen girls, friends of their daughter, accompanied the Moore family to their home. The next morning, everyone was found dead, victims of a brutal axe murder that baffled authorities then and remains unsolved today. 

Sources: 
Villisca, Roy Marshall
The Man from the Train, Bill James and  Rachel McCarthy James