Both seasons of Mindhunter are available to stream and download on Netflix now. The second season follows Holden Ford (played by Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) as they try to profile and find the unknown killer who they believe is responsible for a number of deaths across Atlanta, Georgia. Their profile fitted Wayne Bertram Williams (Christopher Livingston) who was arrested for the crimes.
Who was Wayne Bertram Williams?
Between July 1979 and May 1981, at least 28 children, teenagers and adults were killed in Atlanta, Georgia.
Most of the victims were young boys and all of the victims were African American.
In January 1981, FBI Agent John Douglas, who Mindhunter’s Holden Ford is based on, arrived in Atlanta to help identify the murderer responsible.
Douglas strongly believed the killer was African American.
In her case study, Former FBI agent Susan E Lloyd explained Douglas believed to the perpetrator as “under the presumption that a white person could not easily travel in black neighbourhoods without creating a great deal of suspicion.
“This element was part of the profile despite the fact that a serial killer who was African American would be unusual.”
However, many people at the time believed the Ku Klux Klan to be behind the killings.
In 1982, 23-year-old Wayne Williams was stopped and questioned by police after the was spotted driving over a bridge, where previous bodies had been dumped, in the early hours of the morning.
Williams was captured driving a Chevrolet station wagon across the bridge soon after officers heard a splash beneath the same bridge.
When stopped by police, Williams, posing as a talent agent, told them that he was on his way to check on the address of young singer Cheryl Johnson in a neighbouring town ahead of her audition the following morning.
However, the phone number and Cheryl Johnson turned out to be entirely fake.
Two days later, the body of Nathaniel Carter was found floating down the river a few miles from the bridge Williams was seen driving over.
After days of surveillance and questioning, Williams staged a press conference outside his home to proclaim his innocence.
On June 21, 1981, he was arrested for the murders.
In January 1982, was tried for the deaths of 27-year-old Nathaniel Cater and 21-year-old Jimmy Ray Payne and found guilty but he continues to maintain his innocence.
He is currently serving two life terms in prison.
William was not charged with the other 26 deaths and till this day, no-one else has ever been caught.
In March 2019, the new mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms reopened the case.
With the arrival of new technology, Bottoms and Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields wanted to retest the evidence in the case, hoping it would lead to new convictions.
Shields told The New York Times: “This is about being able to look these families in the eye and say, ‘We did everything we could possibly do to bring closure to your case’.
“We are going to make some headway, but I am not sure how much.“
Mindhunter seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Netflix now
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