The Siege Of Atlanta

By Ellie McGrath

New concern for the children

In Atlanta last week dread turned to relief for a change when two young black boys, each missing for about 24 hours, were found unharmed. Termal Heard, 14, was located at a friend's house, where he had spent the night without telling his mother. Dempster Williams, 10, was discovered at a gym on the city's southwest side after running away from home. The boy told the police his mother had beaten him with an extension cord for breaking a lamp.

At the same time, however, the name of Patrick Rogers, 17, was added to the list of black Atlanta children murdered since July 1979, bringing the number to 19 (two other children remain missing). Rogers' body was found last December in Cobb County's Chattahoochee River, northwest of the city. Authorities have now decided that Rogers had key traits in common with other victims. He came from a poor, broken home and spent much of his time hustling for odd jobs. Rogers enjoyed partying and had won local talent shows for blues singing. His favorite hobby was karate. Said his sister: "He could more than protect himself." Like some of the others, he had brushes with the police. At the time of his disappearance, he was wanted for questioning in connection with a burglary. Those who knew him described him as "a very streetwise boy" who often hung around the Moreland Shopping Center trying to make money by carrying shoppers' groceries to their cars.

In fact, the Moreland Avenue area in southeast Atlanta seems to be connected with many of the murders. Aaron Jackson Jr., 9, was last seen Nov. 1 at the same shopping center, and the body of Aaron Wyche, 10, was discovered last June near a railroad bridge off Moreland Avenue. Five other victims lived within a three-mile radius of the shopping center, and Rogers knew at least four of them. After Wyche's death, Rogers had remarked to his mother that the killings were getting "close to home."

A special 35-member police task force continued its investigation into the murders. Mayor Maynard Jackson, who says the effort is costing the city an extra $150,000 a week, has asked for a $1.5 million package of federal aid to cover part of the expense for the first ten months of 1981. The Justice Department has responded with an offer of more than $200,000, though at least 26 FBI agents have been assigned to the investigation. Donations from numerous citizens, including Eastern Airlines Chief Frank Borman and Actor Burt Reynolds, have topped $60,000. Another $100,000 is expected from the March 10 benefit organized by Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra.

The walls of the task force office on West Peachtree Street are covered with maps showing where the victims have been found and charts suggesting elements common to some of the murders. During much of last week, investigators watched television news tapes taken where bodies were found or at marches or vigils, hoping to spot anyone who appeared repeatedly at the gatherings. Authorities made their own video tape at the funeral of Patrick Baltazar, 11, who was strangled last month. After reviewing the footage, police began looking for two men, one white and one black, who seemed to behave suspiciously. Says Cobb County Police Captain Penn Jones: "The murderers are probably people who are right in the middle of all the activity."

The Atlanta City Council last week took another step to keep its young people out of harm's way. In addition to a four-month-old curfew, the council's public safety committee recommended approval of an ordinance banning children under 15 from selling merchandise on the streets or in public places. Assuming that many of the victims were lured by the killer's promise of a job, plainclothes policemen cruising in unmarked cars have been observing black children as they play. Says Public Safety Commissioner Lee Brown: "These kids are different from white people in that they frequently have to do more for their families. They are out more, working or running errands." Counters Councilwoman Carolyn Banks, who sponsored the ordinance: "We're at the point now where a person's life, a child's life, is more important than a couple of dollars."

In a gesture reminiscent of the Iranian hostage crisis, people throughout the nation are starting to wear ribbons of various colors as a symbol of their concern for Atlanta's children. In Cincinnati, for example, the Ohio Black Women's Leadership Caucus is urging citizens to wear green armbands (to signify life). At week's end, the Atlanta office of the N.A.A.C.P. called for a 24-hour prayer vigil for people of all denominations at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip. Coretta Scott King, widow of the slain civil rights leader, last week called for a series of "moratorium on murder" marches around the country, starting with one last weekend from the Georgia state capitol to the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel at Atlanta's Morehouse College. Said King: "We are determined to project an assertive, nonviolent alternative to the fear and despair which has gripped our community." Still, a higher priority obviously remains: catching the source of that fear and despair before the toll climbs higher.

--By Ellie McGrath

Reported by Joseph N. Boyce/Atlanta

With reporting by Joseph N. Boyce

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