Will Atlanta Child Murders Ever be Solved? Those Close to Case Fear Answer is 'No'

Anthony Terrell is grateful that HBO's "Atlanta's Murdered and Missing: The Lost Children" has brought a new spotlight to the terror which gripped black residents of Atlanta in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when dozens of children and young adults were murdered or disappeared without a trace.

Terrell is also thankful that the five-part documentary, which concluded Sunday, allowed him to discuss the pain and trauma he has suffered all his life as the survivor of one of the victims of the brutal crime wave -- his 10-year-old brother, Earl, was murdered after going to a neighborhood swimming pool.

But in the end, the 49-year-old worries it is not enough.

Although Atlanta native Wayne Williams was prosecuted for two of the crimes, the remainder of the cases were closed without being thoroughly investigated. Painful questions have lingered for many of the survivors, who maintain that the real truth behind the murders has never been uncovered. Both the nonfiction "Atlanta Monster" podcast and Season 2 of Netflix's "Mindhunter" have renewed public interest in the case in recent years.

"Atlanta's Murdered and Missing" concluded Sunday with strong evidence that the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists belonging to the National States' Rights Party may have been involved in the killings and the disappearances. Also prominent were emotional interviews with Terrell, survivors and others who recall the era as one of Atlanta's darkest chapters.

The city's Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced last year that she is reopening the investigation into the murders. But Terrell is concerned.