Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children

This documentary is about the murders of some of Atlanta's youth from 1979 to 1981, allegedly by Wayne Williams who was convicted of two adult murders unrelated to the kidnapping and murders of 29 children. Atlanta was the first major city in America to have an African American elected official, he hired an African American police commissioner during this time to ensure fairness to the African American community. Watching this mini-series you will learn all the other information that was withheld from the public for the last four decades. This miniseries is a must-watch, regardless of what some people may saying in their reviews, this documentary has nothing to do with racism or the African American community for blaming white people for the loses of the black children, but the opportunity for 29 cold cases to be solved.

An important story and very detailed but the amount of crime scene and autopsy photos diminish rather than add to the storytelling. The victims were mainly children and that these photos were used and used so much it is as if it they were murdered again.

You know, it's really sad how some people have to turn everything into a race war without sensibly processing truth, reality and more importantly context. This is not a docu-series made to condemn or bash Whites. It is literally an actual account of what happened, and the effect it had on the Black community of Atlanta in the late 70s, early 80s. It is not some biased twisted narrative that the filmmakers are trying to use to pit one race against the other.

Sadly of course this will fall on (some) deaf ears but my experience was extremely positive. It really gave me a sense of the climate in ATL during that time. It's poignant, eye-opening and yes, at times angering because it presents to the viewer objectively what actually occurred and the fact that it took 9 murders before it was even taken seriously.

Very very well done ! The next episode can't come soon enough.

"HBO" has once again done it with an eye opening real investigative doc that ask new questions and challenges old answers, as with this "Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children" it examines in blunt brash detail the murders and apparent serial killings of young black children from 1979 to 1981. The footage is gripping and tough seeing the crime scene photos and news footage of young bloody black boys in the woods and along riverbanks. Interviews are given with family members of the deceased like mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and grandparents, as you the viewer see their pain and emotion as they still search for answers over 40 years later. Plus interviews are given with the Atlanta police detectives, and F.B.I. investigators and both sides of the legal teams the prosecution and defense. As you get to hear both sides story and see the evidence for yourself. And these murder cases all tied into poverty, and race as clearly these murders put a stain on the rising city of the South. Also the theory and possibility of the Klan being involved in the murders is highlighted and spotlighted plus you ask the question was the federal government playing a game of race against Mr. Williams. Overall you call it and be the judge, was he guilty or not? Were their other serial killers who knows, overall well done in depth blunt eye opening brash investigative doc that still asks and searches for answers.

Unlike some others who have commented here, I think they kept most of their political biases out of this documentary for the first 4 episodes. But then came Episode 5, the final episode, which was as slanted an episode on the Atlanta Child Murders as could possibly be done. The last episode was almost completely shown through the prism of the defense, with maybe a minute or two of the prosecution side saying a few things. I wasn't living in the South at the time, but I was following this case when it was happening, and it's certainly a fascinating and very sad story. I said to my wife when this series started that if they want to prove that Wayne Williams didn't do all the murders, I could go along with that. But episode 5 tried to make the case that not only didn't Wayne Williams do any of these murders, but that it was most likely white people who killed all those black kids. Well, that just showed to me how this series was pure propaganda. I won't spend the time detailing this case in this review, but there are many, many reasons why Williams was convicted. And all these conspiracy theories about trying to prevent a race war and/or keeping Atlanta's image clean and wholesome were just ridiculous. Do the people who subscribe to these theories still think that OJ didn't do it too?