Michael D. Terry

Overview

Michael D. Terry was convicted of murdering Richard Williams and Curtis Brown. He was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment without parole on February 22, 1987.

Timeline

• December 1985 — Curtis Brown left his home in Atlanta, Georgia, to purchase a package of cigarettes.
• Five hours later (December 1985) — An unidentified corpse was discovered in Dean Rusk Park.
• December 1985 (four days later) — Curtis Brown’s body was identified after his girlfriend filed a missing person report with police.
• October 5, 1986 — Daryl Williams was last seen alive in a bar.
• October 10, 1986 (mid-October 1986) — The decomposing body of Daryl Williams was discovered in an abandoned building.
• October 5, 1986 (next day) — George Willingham was found in an alley after leaving his home on an errand on October 5, and he never returned.
• February 22, 1987 — Michael Terry was convicted of murdering Richard Williams and Curtis Brown and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Background

In the period leading up to Terry’s arrest, Atlanta was described as having “the title of America’s murder capital,” with the nation’s highest per capita homicide rate. From 1980 to 1984, three serial-murder outbreaks had captured national attention, and police workload was described as overburdened with many “ordinary” slayings. Ten months were said to have elapsed before authorities resigned themselves to “yet another monster” in their midst.

The offence

Curtis Brown

In December 1985, Curtis Brown, a 21-year-old black man, left his home in Atlanta, Georgia, to purchase a package of cigarettes. Five hours later, when an unidentified corpse was discovered in Dean Rusk Park, no connection was initially made. The victim was stripped of I.D., with his pants pulled down. He was shot several times in the head, and .38-caliber bullets were recovered in fair shape for ballistic identification. His body was not identified until four days later, when his girlfriend filed a missing person report with police.

After identification, detectives examined Curtis Brown’s final hours and traced him as far as a neighborhood tavern. Employees remembered him there on the night of his death and thought he had left with another black customer known as “Big Mike,” described in relation to his size (for the sake of his 300 pounds).

Daryl Williams

In mid-October 1986, the decomposing body of a young black man was discovered in an abandoned building. He had been shot several times in the back of the head, and the body had been left with pants pulled down around his knees. Several days passed before the victim was identified as Daryl Williams, a 21-year-old drifter from Ohio. He had been last seen alive in a bar on October 5, and there was no trace of his movements from that night on.

George Willingham

Ballistics tests confirmed a link between the Williams murder weapon and George Willingham, a local family man who left his home on an errand on October 5 and never returned. The next day, Willingham’s body was found in an alley. He had been shot in the back of the head, “execution style,” with the same pistol used on Daryl Williams.

Richard Williams

The connection between the Williams murder and other unsolved cases led detectives to compile a list of further victims, including Richard Williams. Richard Williams was described as one of two unrelated victims named Williams, with the first and last killed in abandoned buildings a short distance apart. Richard Williams was among the two victims Terry was convicted of murdering, and he had been shot with the same pistol as Curtis Brown, but not the pistol used to kill Daryl Williams and George Willingham. Richard Williams had also suffered post-mortem wounds from a short, sharp blade.

Other victims linked by similarities

Detectives compiled a list of further victims and added Curtis Brown based on the killer’s M.O., along with:

• Richard Williams, of South Carolina
• Alvin George, 31, from Columbus, Ohio
• 18-year-old Jason McColley, a native of Atlanta

Alvin George and Jason McColley were described as street hustlers or male prostitutes. Richard Williams and Curtis Brown were also among the victims referenced in connection with the shared methods and weapon links. George and McColley were described as having been murdered execution-style with a pistol or knife during the past year, with George and McColley murdered a month apart but in the same alley. Each was stabbed in the neck with a similar knife.

Jason McColley was described as having been last seen in connection with an event in which a witness recalled seeing McColley with a hulk matching “Big Mike’s” description on the night he died.

Investigation

Ballistics tests and investigative comparisons tied multiple murders together. The cases were said to include similarities such as victims being found with their pants down, apparently after sex. George and McColley were described as having been murdered a month apart in the same alley, each stabbed in the neck with a similar knife. The two unrelated victims named Williams were described as having been killed in abandoned buildings a short distance apart. Curtis Brown and Richard Williams were described as having been shot with the same pistol, but not the pistol used to kill Daryl Williams and George Willingham. Curtis Brown and Richard Williams were described as each having suffered post-mortem wounds from a short, sharp blade.

After renewed investigation, detectives returned to the rooming house where Michael Terry had lived for the past year. Terry was described as collecting numerous guns and pawning a few when he ran short of cash.

Arrest

Michael Terry was arrested at work in a tire-capping shop. He was relieved of a hidden .357 magnum and hauled in for questioning.

Confession

Terry stated that he met his several victims in saloons, adjourned to other sites for homosexual relations, and that the smaller men allegedly had threatened him with robbery or worse. Terry alleged that the killings were simply self-defense.

Terry insisted:

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Terry insisted, “but they took advantage of me.”

Trial

A jury convicted Michael Terry. The conviction was for murdering Richard Williams and Curtis Brown.

Sentencing

On February 22, 1987, Michael Terry was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment without parole. The source also stated that four other cases were held in reserve against the possibility his sentence might be shortened on appeal.

Outcome

Michael Terry was convicted of murdering Richard Williams and Curtis Brown and received a life imprisonment without parole sentence on February 22, 1987.

Other details

• Bullets recovered at the Dean Rusk Park discovery were .38-caliber and were recovered in fair shape for ballistic identification.
• Curtis Brown was described as a 21-year-old black man.
• Daryl Williams was described as a 21-year-old drifter from Ohio.
• Alvin George was described as 31 and from Columbus, Ohio.
• Jason McColley was described as 18-year-old and a native of Atlanta.
• The killings were described as execution-style, with victims shot in the head and some victims found with pants pulled down.
• Terry was described as having collected numerous guns and pawning a few when he ran short of cash.