Tom Williams

Serial Killer

Tom Williams: The Moultrie Killer

A Deadly Crime Spree in Colquitt County

Tom Williams was a Georgia murderer whose crimes culminated in one of the most notorious homicide investigations in the history of Moultrie and Colquitt County. Williams had previously been convicted of murder, released on parole through the efforts of a former prison official, and within a few years was accused of carrying out a series of brutal attacks that left four people dead and two others seriously wounded over the course of two days in May 1954. The killings shocked the rural south Georgia community and triggered an intense manhunt that ended only after Williams surrendered as bloodhounds closed in on his hiding place.

The First Murder Conviction

Williams' violent history began years before the Moultrie killings. In 1940, he was convicted of murdering Pete Merritt in neighboring Miller County, Georgia, for a homicide committed in 1939. He received a life sentence and was sent to prison. While serving that sentence, Williams came to know W. C. Rowland, who served as Colquitt County prison warden. Shortly before Rowland retired in 1949, he personally appeared before the Georgia Prison Board to recommend that Williams be paroled. After Williams was released, Rowland and his wife, Gladys, took him into their home, gave him employment on their farm, and attempted to help him establish a new life. ...

Confirmed Victims: (5)

Pete Merritt , Date of Death: 1940-04-24

Survivors:

Lucian Norman , Date of Attack: 1954-05-15

John Bailey , Date of Attack: 1954-05-15