River Currents Examined in 'Atlanta Child Murders' Trial of Accused
Wayne Williams
https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=47791
General Information
Source:
Creator:
Event Date:
Air/Publish Date:
NBC Today Show
Jane Pauley/Kenley
Jones
02/11/1982
02/11/1982
Resource Type:
Copyright:
Copyright Date:
Clip Length
Video News Report
NBCUniversal Media,
LLC.
1982
00:01:29
Description
At the 1982 trial of accused 'Atlanta Child Murders' killer Wayne Williams, the defense calls a
hydrologist to testify that his experiments with mannequins in the Chattahoochee River "prove" Williams
could not have dumped a body into the river on one side and have it drift to the opposite bank, as the
prosecution contends.
Keywords
Wayne Williams, Accused, Atlanta Child Murders, Murder, Trial, Testimony, Body, Dump, Recover,
Recovery, Recovery Site, Victim, Nathaniel Cater, River, Current, Cross-Current, Riverbank, Bank, East,
West, Downstream, Experiment, Simulate, Simulation, Test, Mannequin, Submerge, Float, Surface,
Afloat, Entry Point, Flow, Shift, Water, Witness, Defense, Results, Findings, Proof, Cross-Examine,
Cross-Examination, Prosecution, USGS, U.S. Geological Survey, National Weather Service, David
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Page 1 of 3
Dingel, Atlanta, Georgia, Body Examination, Geology, Hydrology, Hydrologist, Forensics, Forensic
Science, Crime
Citation
MLA
"River Currents Examined in 'Atlanta Child Murders' Trial of Accused Wayne Williams ." Kenley Jones,
correspondent. NBC Today Show. NBCUniversal Media. 11 Feb. 1982. NBC Learn. Web. 18 March 2015
APA
Jones, K. (Reporter), & Pauley, J. (Anchor). 1982, February 11. River Currents Examined in 'Atlanta
Child Murders' Trial of Accused Wayne Williams . [Television series episode]. NBC Today Show.
Retrieved from https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=47791
CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE
"River Currents Examined in 'Atlanta Child Murders' Trial of Accused Wayne Williams " NBC Today
Show, New York, NY: NBC Universal, 02/11/1982. Accessed Wed Mar 18 2015 from NBC Learn:
https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=47791
Transcript
River Currents Examined in 'Atlanta Child Murders' Trial of Accused Wayne Williams
JANE PAULEY, anchor:
There is a new controversy in the Wayne Williams trial in Atlanta and it concerns the currents of the
Chattahoochee River. Kenley Jones has a report.
KENLEY JONES, reporting:
If Wayne Williams defense lawyers can cast doubt on the prosecution’s contention that Williams dumped
the body of Nathaniel Cater from this Chattahoochee River bridge, the state’s case against Williams will
suffer. David Dingel, who works as a hydrologist for the National Weather Service, said he conducted
experiments on the river, which disproved the prosecution’s contention. Dingel said he used mannequins
to simulate bodies and observed their reaction to river currents both when they were submerged and when
floating on the surface. He said the mannequins invariably moved downstream on the same side of the
river in which they entered the water. He concluded it would have been impossible for Cater’s body to
have been dumped on the west bank of the river, as the prosecution contends, and have wound up on the
east bank where it was recovered. Prosecutor Wallace Speed asked Dingel is he is familiar with the U.S.
Geological Survey Report, which shows there is a shift of the river current from west to east just above
the spot where Cater’s body was found. Dingel said he is not aware of the report, but that it does not
change his opinion. The defense has asked judge Clarence Cooper to allow the jury to go to the
Chattahoochee River bridge to see for itself the site of the alleged dumping. Judge Cooper has not yet
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ruled on the motion. Kenley Jones, NBC News, Atlanta.
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 3 of 3