Eternal flame unveiled for Atlanta Child Murders victims to make sure they are never forgotten
In a special ceremony on Tuesday, the City of Atlanta unveiled a memorial for the victims of the Atlanta Child Murders.
From 1979 to 1981, nearly 30 Black children and teenagers, mostly boys, were reported missing from the Atlanta area and later found dead.
“It’s still kind of fresh, you’ll never forget…I don’t ever forget,” June Thompson said.
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Thompson now has a place to come and remember her brother Darron Glass, who was one of Atlanta Child Murders victims.
“It does bring back sad memories, however I can say I truly thank God for this eternal flame.”
In the ceremony on the grounds of Atlanta City Hall, the unveiling Tuesday morning included the artist.
“People tend to forget things over time…that’s what a memorial is for, so we don’t forget,” Gordon Huether said.
Huether wants the memorial to be a place to honor and celebrate the victims and a place for their families and community to remember and reflect.
“Shape of, like you’re being embraced, like you’re being hugged…this place works for one person by themselves of works for a gathering.”
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A task force established by former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms came up with the flame and memorial in 2019. Bottoms ended the ceremony with the reading of the names.
The reading acknowledged the lives cut short as well as gratitude for all those who helped in searches, recovery efforts and eventual healing in the community.
“I’m so honored to have played a part in making sure this memorial will be here for an eternity. So that every single person that passes the grounds of Atlanta city hall remembers that those children mattered to us then, they matter to us now, and they will matter to us for generations,” Bottoms said.
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Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced March 21, 2019, that state and local authorities would take a fresh look at evidence in the cases of Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered Children.
Eddie Duncan, 21, was the first of the adult victims to go missing. He disappeared March 20, 1981, and was strangled to death.
Patrick Rogers, 16, went missing November 10, 1980. He was bludgeoned to death.
Milton Harvey, 14, vanished September 4, 1979. His cause of death is listed as being undetermined and his case status is unresolved.
Eric
Middlebrooks, 14, disappeared May 18, 1980, and was found bludgeoned to death." height="1231" width="800"/>
Aaron
Wyche, 10, vanished June 23, 1980. His cause of death was asphyxiation." height="1188" width="800"/>
Nathaniel Cater, 27, is the second man Williams was found guilty of murdering. He vanished May 22, 1981, and was later found asphyxiated. Cater’s is the last case listed as being associated with the Atlanta Child Murders.
Earl Terrell, 11, went missing July 6, 1980. He
died from asphyxiation." height="1127" width="800"/>
Yusef Bell, 9, was the first non-teenaged victim listed among the Atlanta child killer’s victims. He vanished October 21, 1979, and was found dead of strangulation." height="1137" width="800"/>
Anthony Carter, 9, disappeared July 6, 1980. He was found dead of multiple stab wounds.
Larry Rogers, 20, is among the adults believed slain by the Atlanta child killer. He went missing March 22, 1981, and was later found strangled.
Joseph Bell, 15, vanished March 2, 1981, and was later found dead. Asphyxiation was listed as the cause.
Alfred Evans, 13, disappeared July 25, 1979. He was killed by strangulation.
John Porter, 28, went missing in April 1981 and was found dead of multiple stab wounds. His is one of two cases never officially listed as being part of the original crimes, although his death has been discussed in connection with the killings.
Patrick
Baltazar, 11, disappeared February 6, 1981. He died of strangulation." height="1148" width="800"/>
Terry
Pue, 15, went missing January 22, 1981, and was later found dead of strangulation." height="1143" width="800"/>
Jimmy Ray Payne, 21, is one of two men whom Wayne Williams was convicted of murdering. Payne vanished April 23, 1981, and was killed by asphyxiation.
Edward Smith, 14, vanished July 21, 1979, and was found dead of a gunshot wound to the upper back in a wooded area near the body of Alfred Evans.
Darron Glass, 10, vanished September 14, 1980, and has never been found. His case has been discussed in connection with the child murders, but it remains unresolved." height="992" width="800"/>
Christopher Richardson, 12, went missing June 9, 1980. He was later found strangled.
Timothy Hill, 13, vanished March 13, 1981, and was later found dead from asphyxiation.
Angel
Lenair, 12, is one of only two girls listed among Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered Children. She disappeared March 4, 1980, and later was found dead of asphyxiation." height="1154" width="800"/>
Curtis Walker, 15, disappeared February 19, 1981, and was later found dead of asphyxiation.
Michael McIntosh, 23, another of the adult victims, went missing March 25, 1981. He was later found dead, asphyxiated.
Clifford Jones, 13, went missing August 20, 1980. He was found dead of strangulation.
William Barrett, 17, is the last listed child or teen victim. He vanished May 11, 1981, and was killed by strangulation.
Lubie Geter, 14, vanished January 3, 1981. He was later found dead from asphyxiation." height="1171" width="800"/>
The second girl listed among the Missing and Murdered Children, Latonya Wilson, was 7 when she disappeared on June 22, 1980. Her cause of death was listed as undetermined and her case is among those remaining unresolved.
Charles Stephens, 12, vanished October 9, 1980. He was found suffocated.
Aaron Jackson, 9, went missing November 1, 1980. His cause of death is listed as asphyxiation.
Jeffery Mathis, 10, disappeared March 11, 1980. His cause of death was listed as “undetermined.”
