Benjamin Atkins

Benjamin Thomas Atkins (August 26, 1968 – September 17, 1997), also known as The Woodward Corridor Killer, was an American serial killer and rapist who raped and tortured 12 women, murdering 11 of them in Highland Park and Detroit, Michigan, during a period of eight months between December 1991 and August 1992. Atkins was apprehended by police with the assistance of his sole surviving victim, who rode with officers around the area and was able to identify Atkins as her attacker. After he was arrested for rape charges connected to her case, Atkins confessed the crimes he had committed to officers. Atkins was found guilty and given several life sentences in April 1994. He died from AIDS in 1997.

Early life Benjamin "Tony" Atkins was born on August 26, 1968, in Detroit, the younger of two sons. His family lived in a poor neighborhood, and both of his parents were drug addicts and alcoholics. His father left the family shortly after Atkins's birth. In 1970, Atkins was abandoned by his mother and placed in an orphanage, where he spent his childhood. In the orphanage, Atkins was physically assaulted by other children. An employee of the orphanage sexually molested and raped Atkins at the age of 10 and was subjected to sexual harassment by other boys for the 5 years he remained in the orphanage. At the age of 15, Atkins ran away and reunited with his mother and older brother. Atkins's mother worked as a prostitute and Atkins and his brother witnessed her have sex with clients on several occasions in their home and in her car. Additionally, Atkins stated that he was sexually assaulted in his mother's home by a man.

Victims Atkins mainly chose young destitute women as victims, while he also targeted one middle-aged woman (Vicki Beasley-Brown); his victims were often prostitutes or drug addicts. He would lure them to abandoned buildings where he sexually assaulted them. After strangling his victims, he would leave the bodies at the crime scenes, with some of them discovered months after their deaths

In or around October 1991, Darlene Saunders (age 35) had seen Atkins around the neighborhood so when he offered payment for sex, she accepted. Upon entering a vacant restaurant on Woodward Avenue in Highland Park, Saunders was made to lay on broken glass and trash. Afterwards, Atkins attacked Saunders putting her in a chokehold. As the two struggled, someone on the street noticed and Atkins stopped. On April 9, 1992, the body of Brenda Mitchell (age 38) was found in an abandoned house at Woodard and Grand in Highland Park, four days after she left her mother's home in Detroit on April 5, 1992, and never returned. Authorities had previously classified as a drug overdose. On August 21, 1992, the body of Ocinena Waymer (age 22) was found in Highland Park. While in custody, Atkins gave information as to where her remains could be found. Contrary to the official version of the investigation, Atkins revealed that the first victim he killed had actually been Patricia George, in the fall of 1991.

On September 23, 1992, Saunders, who had helped police in identifying Atkins, was arrested by Detroit Police and was held in custody for 16 days. Prosecutors had feared that she would not appear at Atkin's preliminary hearing. Saunders stated that she "always intended to appear to testify against Atkins". During cross examination, by Atkins' defense attorney, Jeffrey Edison, Saunders admitted that she was a former prostitute and was high on crack cocaine at the time of her attack however according to the Detroit Free Press, Saunders "didn't flinch" and "refused to budge from her basic account". At one of the hearings, Atkins confessed to the murders, but claimed to be insane. For the majority of the trial, he did not react in any way to what was happening and appeared to be isolating himself from the proceedings. His lawyer asked for leniency towards his client, on the grounds that Atkins had been abused as a child. According to the lawyer, the psychological trauma, coupled with drug addiction, eventually led to his mental, emotional and behavioral problems.

Evidence included Atkins palm print found at one crime scene along with semen and blood stains found at another, both of which matched the Atkins. One jury decided the three of the Detroit murder cases while a second jury decided the eight murders and one count of sexual assault that occurred in Highland Park. After a four-month trial and three days of deliberations, and in April of that year, Atkins was guilty of 22 counts of first degree murder and 1 count of first degree criminal sexual conduct. On May 11, 1994, Atkins was sentenced to life in prison for each conviction.

In media Television Woodcut Media and Sky TV (UK) produced an episode of "World's Most Evil Killers" on the Atkins case, releasing in December 2025 in the UK and May 2026 in the U.S. IMDb

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