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Killer Comparisons: Benjamin ("Tony") Atkins and Stewart Weldon

Both are serial killers targeting prostitutes, drug addicts who lured females with the promise of drugs. Both are black men who suffered trauma in childhood. One is a more modern serial, however, taking his first life in 2017 and convicted in 2021, and while the other is from another era, having killed in 1991 and 1992. So in our study of serials in this continuing "Killer Comparisons" series, how else can we compare and contrast Benjamin Atkins and Stewart Weldon?

Atkins, above, and
Weldon, below. See
copyright notes below.

The two men were born nine years apart, Atkins in 1968 and Weldon in 1977. Atkins spent his life in Detroit and Highland Park, Michigan, while Weldon spent the earlier part of his childhood in the Jamaican area of Queens, New York, then moved with his mom to New Jersey, then later to western Massachusetts. Weldon lost his dad as a teen, while Atkins never really knew his dad. Weldon's childhood was reportedly marked by sexual abuse and an early introduction to porn and drugs. Atkins was also exposed to sexual abuse / assault and an early addiction to drugs. Both of these kids showed issues with learning in school -- Weldon with severe ADHD and dyslexia, while Atkins skipped school a lot after a home for boys had assessed him with mild learning difficulties. But whereas Atkins didn't really come on police radar until his early 20s (beyond a couple instances of B&E and theft as a juvie), Weldon built his law enforcement record with prison time at a young age. He earned convictions for sexual assault, weapons charges and burglary in his late teens / early 20s, then racked up more charges like assault with a deadly weapon in his later 20s.


Both of these serials targeted drug addicts and prostitutes, with Weldon choosing a mix of types / ethnicities but Atkins sticking to just one -- black, female, drug-addicted prostitutes like his mom. Both men used drugs as a lure. In the case of Weldon, though, his horrific actions went further than Atkins' own. Weldon kept women prisoner in the basement of his house -- a home he shared with his mother -- applying torture to them. By the time he was arrested in 2018, he had killed three women and abducted one other who survived, but then after his arrest more assault victims were discovered. Weldon had committed several rapes that had not been reported. It was for that very reason that police surmised Weldon targeted women at risk on the street -- the lesser likelihood that they would go to authorities. The same could be argued for Atkins. Or maybe it was just an added benefit of his hunt for his particular type.

In the area of mommy issues, which does tend to come up for male serials, Atkins' mother was largely absent through his life, representing someone he longed for and loved but could never seem to be with, while for Weldon, his mother was said to spoil and over-indulge him. 

The approach for both of these killers in court would be an insanity defense, fed at least in part by rumblings of a demonic motivation (though for Atkins it was more about hearing voices or alternate personalities telling him to do the crimes, and he lent a demonic flair to them in his letters). Psychiatric evaluations for both men, however, determined that they were not insane.

Above photos:
- Benjamin Atkins, from Detroit Police files, image obtained by FOIA. See this blog post for more on this photo and the confusion over photos of Atkins.
- Stewart Weldon photo from Springfield Police.

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