Wayne Williams Case Study The Use of Fiber Evidence
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The Use of Fiber Evidence Between 1979 and 1981 a series of brutal strangling of young black men terrorized communities in Atlanta. Twenty nine homicides were officially linked to the same killer, but police had little forensic evidence to track down the killer. Investigation of what became known as the “child murders” began on July 28, 1979 when a woman discovered the bodies of 2 young men concealed in the undergrowth alongside a road. By 1981, nearly 20 young black males had been murdered by strangulation or asphyxiation. Almost the only forensic evidence linking the killings were fibers found on the bodies and clothing of the victims. The yellow-green nylon fibers were unusual; coarse and tri-lobed in cross section the fibers appeared to be those used in rugs or carpets. However, police were unable to determine the manufacturer of the fibers. In February 1981, following newspaper accounts of the fiber analysis, the killer began dumping bodies in Chattahoochee River. The victims were now also nude, or nearly so. It appeared that the killer was monitoring media coverage of the killings, and modifying his methods to reduce fiber evidence on the victim’s bodies. Police began staking out bridges along the Chattahoochee River in an effort to catch the killer dumping a body. Early on the morning of May 22, 1981, a police patrol heard a splash. Police stopped a station wagon on the James Jackson Parkway Bridge. The driver was 23 year old Wayne Bertram Williams, a music promoter. He was questioned by police, but allowed to leave. Two days later, the body of Nathaniel Cater was recovered from the Chattahoochee River, a mile downstream of the James Jackson Parkway Bridge. Police obtained a search warrant for Williams’ house. Throughout his house, carpet similar to the yellow-green fibers found in the early victims. In order for this to be conclusive enough to tie Williams to the murders, police needed to demonstrate that these carpet fibers were not commonly found. Working with chemists at DuPont, the world’s largest producer of fibers, FBI analysts passed the fibers through a spinneret. This device stretches fibers giving it optical properties. This device allowed the FBI to trace the fibers to Wellman Inc., a Boston based textile company. Wellman had manufactured and sold these fibers to various carpet makers from 1967 to 1974. Because each carpet manufacturer uses its own dyes and weaving techniques, the fibers were traced to a carpet manufacturer in Dalton, Georgia. Over a single 12 month period, the factory had made just 16 397 square yards of carpet using that fiber in that color, English Olive. Police and FBI still needed to demonstrate that this fiber was extremely uncommon in houses in Atlanta. Police knew that 16,297 square yards of Luxaire English Olive carpet were produced and sold through retail outlets 10 southeastern carpets from 1970 to 1971. However, in 1979, DuPont estimated that 6.7 billion square yards of carpet were carpeted in residences in the United States. Police calculated that the probability of finding a room in a house in metropolitan Atlanta carpeted in that shade of carpet was 1 in 7792. Although the murderer was thought to be linked to 28 to 30 killings, police and prosecutors decided to focus on just 2 cases; Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne whose semi-nude body had been recovered from the Chattahoochee River on April 27, 1981. In the latter case, police had also found a fiber on the victim’s shorts similar to fibers found in the carpeting in Williams’ station wagon. Chevrolet provided details on the number of pre-1973 vehicles fitted with this carpet. Police determined that out of 2 million cars registered in the Atlanta metropolitan area in 1981 that only 680 vehicles with this carpeting were registered. Therefore, the odds of the victim coming into contact with this fiber from any other car than Williams’ was 1 in 3,828. Although these may not seem impressive enough to convict someone of murder, consider that the odds of both events happening (i.e. of Payne picking up the fiber from somewhere other than Williams’ car and of Cater picking up the fiber from somewhere other than Williams’ house) was 1 in 29,827,776. As a result of mainly the fiber evidence, a jury found Williams guilty of the murder of Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne, and Williams is currently serving 2 life terms in prison. References 1. Owen, David. (2000) Hidden Evidence: Forty true crimes and how forensic science helped solve them. Quintet Publishing. 2. Evans, Colin. (1996) The Casebook of forensic detection: How science solved 100 of the world’s most baffling crimes. John Wiley and Sons. Name _________________________________________ Date ____________________ Period _________ Read “Wayne Williams Case Study: The Use of Fiber Evidence” and then answer the following questions using complete sentences. 1. Describe the fiber evidence that linked Williams to his victims. 2. Why did Williams begin dumping his victim’s bodies with no clothes on in February 1981? 3. How did the police and the FBI trace the yellow-green carpet fibers to a manufacturer in Dalton, Georgia? 4. Why was it important to prove that the carpet fiber was extremely uncommon? 5. How did the police and the FBI demonstrate that the carpet fiber was extremely uncommon in houses in Atlanta? 6. How did police link the fiber found in Jimmy Ray Payne’s shorts to William’s station wagon? 7. In your opinion, are the 1 in 29,827,776 odds enough to convict Wayne Williams of two murders? Why or why not? 8. Why are fibers considered to be circumstantial (not direct) evidence? (hint: you might need to use your notes on fibers to answer this question) Directory: uploads uploads -> 587 Return function, r i(X) r i(0) r i(1) r i(2) r i(3) 1 0 2 4 6 Thermal Station, I 2 0 1 5 6 3 0 3 5 6 10 uploads -> Department of science and humanities department of mathematics part-a questions and answers uploads -> The Case Against the nypd’s Quota-Driven ‘Broken Windows’ Policing What Is It? uploads -> For want of a nail uploads -> Ownership Models There are two different types of ownership models uploads -> Police Militarization uploads -> City of rising star regular meting thursday, july 14, 2016 uploads -> Township of winfield uploads -> Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014 uploads -> The Black Panther Party’s Ten-Point Program What We Want Now! Download 10.21 Kb. Share with your friends:
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