Missy Posted December 16, 2008 Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 Police say Fla. boy's 1981 murder is solved HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – A serial killer who died more than a decade ago is the person who decapitated the 6-year-old son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh in 1981, Florida police said Tuesday. The announcement brought to a close a case that has vexed the Walsh family for more than two decades, launched the television show about the nation's most notorious criminals and inspired changes in how authorities search for missing children. "Who could take a 6-year-old and murder and decapitate him? Who?" John Walsh said at Tuesday's news conference. "We needed to know. We needed to know. And today we know. The not knowing has been a torture, but that journey's over." The suspect, Ottis Toole, had twice confessed to the killing, but later recanted. He claimed responsibility for hundreds of murders, but police determined most of the confessions were lies. Toole's niece told the boy's father, John Walsh, her uncle confessed on his deathbed in prison that he killed Adam. The Walshes long ago derided the investigation as botched, and John Walsh has said he believed Toole killed his son. Still, he praised the Hollywood police department for closing the case, and said it was not a day to place blame. "This is not to look back and point fingers, but it is to let it rest," he said. Adam Walsh went missing from a Hollywood mall on July 27, 1981. Fishermen discovered his severed head in a canal 120 miles away two weeks later. The rest of his body was never found. Authorities made a series of crucial errors, losing the bloodstained carpeting in Toole's car — preventing DNA testing — and the car itself. It was a week after the boy's disappearance before the FBI got involved. "So many mistakes were made," John Walsh said in 1997, upon the release of his book "Tears of Rage," which harshly criticized the Hollywood Police Department's work on the case. "It was shocking, inexcusable and heartbreaking." For all that went wrong in the probe, the case contributed to massive advances in police searches for missing youngsters and a notable shift in the view parents and children hold of the world. Adam's death, and his father's subsequent activism on his behalf, helped put faces on milk cartons, shopping bags and mailbox flyers, started fingerprinting programs and increased security at schools and stores. It spurred the creation of missing persons units at every large police department. It also prompted national legislation to create a national center, database and toll-free line devoted to missing children, and led to the start of "America's Most Wanted," which brought those cases into millions of homes. Source: AP I'm glad John and his family can finally stop wondering if the killer is still out there. For the uninformed, Ottis Toole was the inspiration for Otis in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted December 16, 2008 Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 That is a horrible ordeal for that family to have to have gone through. Thank God they finally have some answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Posted December 16, 2008 Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 Wow. That's chilling. Though, the world is a better place for everything John Walsh did as a result. He's a great example of someone who turns a personal tragedy into something the world should thank them for. I don't even want to think about what he has gone through. Hopefully now he can have some closure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxPower Posted December 16, 2008 Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 Wow, I had no idea the background behind the show. It's amazing how one thing can be the catalyst so many pivotal break through's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted December 16, 2008 Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 Thank god they finally have some piece of mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted December 16, 2008 Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 I didn't think they would ever find out for sure who did it. I can't imagine going through that for this long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venneh Posted December 16, 2008 Report Share Posted December 16, 2008 I hope the Walshes are finally able to find peace of some sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DCAUFan1051 Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 I echo the sentiments of everyone else and hope that the walsh's find some peace of mind and heart slightly ot: does anyone know where I can get the Adam movie? is it on DVD? I know there was a VHS release Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 I echo the sentiments of everyone else and hope that the walsh's find some peace of mind and heart slightly ot: does anyone know where I can get the Adam movie? is it on DVD? I know there was a VHS release It was never released on DVD. The VHS version sells on Amazon for around 20-30 bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistah J Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 Thank God for all of that. The truth has come out and now we have peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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