For three years from 1979 to 1981, Atlanta, Georgia, became infamous as 29 children and adults disappeared, their bodies (except for one) found months later. All 29 had been violently attacked, most asphyxiated. Citizens pointed fingers at the Ku Klux Klan, the police, and the CIA; conspiracy theories abounded. The first boy disappeared in July of 1979 and the last victim disappeared in April of 1981; the FBI arrested Wayne Bertram Williams in June of 1981.

Though Atlanta had changed with the election and reelection of its first black mayor and the local government's structural change, the power and money still lay in white hands. Homicide, rape, robbery, and assault rates had increased, most being black-on-black crimes. The black teenager unemployment rate stayed above 30 percent, making unemployed teens easy prey for the promise of money.

Of the 29, five had an undetermined death, 18 were strangled, and one, Darron Glass, has remained missing. The FBI entered the...