The murders totally changed the small town feel of metro Atlanta during a time when my child, even though white, was the 'right' age to be in danger - and at the time it wasn't known for sure that it was only black boys/young men.  Our daughter was 6-8 years old at the time of the murders - we lived in Clarkston and Stone Mountain, GA during the murder timeline, but her grandparents lived less than 3 miles of one of the sites where a body was found in Decatur.  Since so many were found along the I-20 corridor, we were EXTREMELY careful about watching her every move all the time.  Even after Williams was arrested and sentenced, we still kept a close eye on her; we knew (and still know) he was the murderer but there could be copycats out there.  We never understood why many parents at the time still let their kids out of the house without supervision - we'd see it all the time at our apartments, where even though the playground was directly in front of our windows, we were ALWAYS there with her, on guard.  The murders affected us profoundly in that we always demanded to know where she was, who she was with, when there was a change of plans, and when she was to be home, even until she grew older and left home.  Being short and looking much younger than in my early twenties at the time, I also had to make sure my husband knew where I was all the time.  Our family will never forget.