The “Atlanta Monster” podcast scrutinizes the belief that Wayne Williams, an aspiring music producer, killed nearly 30 young African-Americans from 1979 to 1981. The podcast’s co-creators, Payne Lindsey and Donald Albright, say that they’ve gone back and forth on his guilt or innocence — just like many of their listeners.
“He lied to me about some very crucial things,” Lindsey, who hosts “Atlanta Monster,” told TheWrap’s “Shoot This Now” podcast in an interview you can hear on Apple or right here:
Because Williams was convicted in the murders of two adult men — and sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars — prosecutors saw no need to charge him with the additional killings. But police also stopped searching for other suspects, since they said the killings stopped after his arrest.
Williams denies killing anyone, and some victims’ families don’t believe he killed their lost loved ones. But Lindsey and Albright, who had no personal ties to the case before starting the podcast, have reached some conclusions.
“We go back and forth all the time,” said Lindsey. “In the beginning, I was like, he did it. In the middle, I was like, he didn’t do it. Almost to the end, I was like, he still didn’t do it. Then I was like, maybe he did it. Full disclosure: I think he definitely killed some kids… The fiber evidence, to me, is damning.”
Albright also changed his mind repeatedly, before ultimately deciding: “He’s hiding something… If you’re in jail for two murders, serving life, after 37 years, you wouldn’t be hiding anything anymore. So if you are still lying, you’re lying about something that’s probably murder.”
The Atlanta based-Lindsey and Albright, co-founders of Tenderfoot TV, are looking into a TV adaptation of “Atlanta Monster.” Their previous hit podcast, “Up and Vanished,” is in the works at the Oxygen network.
In the “Shoot This Now” interview, they start off discussing how Williams’ gift for talking without saying much sometimes made it hard for them to hit deadlines. At the end, they assessed whether Williams could have made it as a music producer if he hadn’t been sentenced to life in prison.
They also explain why they don’t buy the theory that the CIA framed Williams for the killings after trying to recruit him: “If Wayne Williams was a threat, why is he still alive and talking on a podcast in 2018?” asked Albright.