I am from Atlanta and I had not heard of this crime spree.

You are correct that before blood typing, DNA and general forensics, crime solving was eyewitness identification and circumstantial evidence. I think it's safe to say that the Atlanta Ripper was at least one black male who worked with the railroad somehow and may not have lived in Atlanta. We will likely never know who he was, just as we will likely never know the true identity of Jack the Ripper with absolute certainty.

I think it's unfortunate that in many cases, especially those with high victim counts, we know more about the perpetrator than the victims. Just sad.

Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Alexis!