Fla. police close books on '81 Walsh killing

ABC News 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, police in Florida 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?" an emotional 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."

Walsh's wife, Reve, at one point placed a small photo of their son on the podium.

The suspect, Ottis Toole, had twice confessed to killing the child, 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.

Police said Toole was long the prime suspect in the case and that they had conclusively linked him the killing. They declined to be specific about their evidence and noted they had no DNA proof of the crime, but said an extensive review of the case file pointed only to Toole, as John Wash long contended.

"Our agency has devoted an inordinate amount of time seeking leads to other potential perpetrators rather than emphasizing Ottis Toole as our primary suspect," said Hollywood Police Chief Chadwick Wagner. "Ottis Toole has continued to be our only real suspect."

Wagner acknowledged numerous missteps in the investigation and apologized to the Walshes.

"I have no doubt," John Walsh said. "I've never had any doubt."

Many names have been mentioned in connection to the case in the years since the killing, including serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, but Toole's has persistently nagged detectives. John Walsh has long said he believed the drifter was responsible, saying investigators found at Toole's home in Jacksonville a pair of green shorts and a sandal similar to what Adam was wearing.

The Walshes long ago derided the investigation as botched. Still, he praised the Hollywood police department for closing the case.

"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.

What it also did, said Mount Holyoke College sociologist and criminologist Richard Moran, is make children and adults alike exponentially more afraid

"He ended up really producing a generation of cautious and afraid kids who view all adults and strangers as a threat to them and it made parents extremely paranoid about the safety of their children," Moran said.

Yes I saw that on the news today. A very sad press conference with John Walsh in tears. Toole was suspected from the beginning. I suppose they're just now closing it because he confessed to Adam's murder on his deathbed.

He confessed to this murder, true, but he's confessed to literally dozens of murders, and there is no physical evidence that ties him to this case.

I find it curious that they say this now, 12 years after Toole died. Why?

I've always loved that picture of Adam in his baseball cap. He was such a cute boy.

I hope that John Walsh has the proof he needs that it was without a doubt Toole.

They now say that physical evidence has recently turned up.

How the HECK did they managed to lose bloodstained car carpeting, ticked: let alone a whole CAR for crying out loud? :wallbang

They now say that physical evidence has recently turned up.

How the HECK did they managed to lose bloodstained car carpeting, ticked: let alone a whole CAR for crying out loud? :wallbang


I know, but it seems to happen all the time.

I don't know how this guy ended up dying, but let's hope it was rather slow and painful.

Rest in peace Adam. At least over 1000 people now have been arrested because of Adam's death and his legacy will continue.

Yes, the Walshes took a horrible tragedy and used it for good - to help others. God bless them!!

It's good to see the Walshes are still together. I had heard they were planning to divorce or actually had divorced twice and said the second time would be final.

Other than the shorts and sandal they found in Toole's possession that resembled something Adam had -- did Toole's confessions revealed significant details about Adam that weren't already provided by police? Toole and Lucas were murderers but were well known serial liars as well.

They now say that physical evidence has recently turned up.



Where does it say this? Link, please.

Yesterday was nothing more than a symbolic ending to the case. They could have done the exact same thing 25 years ago when Toole made his first confession and gave other details only the killer could know. I do firmly believe in Toole's guilt. I just don't think this is huge news. This could have been done decades ago or not at all.

I know, but it seems to happen all the time.

I don't know how this guy ended up dying, but let's hope it was rather slow and painful.

Rest in peace Adam. At least over 1000 people now have been arrested because of Adam's death and his legacy will continue.

Toole died of AIDS in prison. So it wasn't a pleasant death at the very least.

I must say I was surprised to see this on CNN yesterday. I was waiting to hear about some new evidence- although since the rest of his body has never turned up, I was wondering what that would be.

I am amazed the family are happy to go along with this & praise this Wagner guy, who seems to be out to make headlines & photo ops, what is easier than to close the case & pin it on a dead guy, who there was never enough evidence to charge in a case that will likely never be solved?

Surely in their minds the Walsh family must know there is a reasonable chance that he is not the killer & that the real killer could still be alive & living in freedom, or even somebody else deceased or incarcerated for other crimes. I find it incredible that somebody can just order a review & with nothing concrete, then just declare it solved & it seems the family & the media buy into it without asking any questions.:crazy:

I'm glad they've nailed down who did it and that this guy is gone. I've always thought of John Walsh as a hero and looked up to him. Like another poster said, over 1000 people have been taken off the streets because of him. He's done a great deal to society by taking his tragedy and getting justice to all these other victims. I hope they keep AMW going as it's proved to be a success.

I've always thought of John Walsh as a hero and looked up to him. Like another poster said, over 1000 people have been taken off the streets because of him. He's done a great deal to society by taking his tragedy and getting justice to all these other victims. I hope they keep AMW going as it's proved to be a success.

Anyone who turns a personal tragedy into something productive is a hero in my book. John Walsh's efforts have shown that his son didn't die in vain.

The Fox network deserves credit, not only for airing America's Most Wanted but also for their persistence in convincing Walsh to host the show. If it hadn't been for that persistence, Walsh would never have hosted the show.

Other people were approached about hosting AMW, including actress Theresa Saldana (who became a victims' rights advocate after a crazed fan nearly did her in). Also, according to series producer Lance Heflin, actors Treat Williams and Hal Holbrook were tested. But it probably goes without saying that John Walsh's credibility was too evident to ignore.

However, it was learning about a particular fugitive's brutal crimes that finalized John Walsh's decision to host AMW. The fugitive was an escaped convict named David James Roberts, who had killed four people, including two small children. Roberts was profiled on the first episode of AMW, and he became the show's first capture a few days later.

By the way, has anyone ever read Walsh's book, Tears of Rage? I have. It may be distressing to read at times, but I recommend the book.

In this book, he talked about a few people who were looked into as potential suspects in Adam's murder. Two in particular were family friends. One of those friends was Jimmy Campbell, and the other was Michael Monahan.

Early in the investigation, Jimmy Campbell (who was Adam's godfather) was vigorously questioned by police. At the time, there was too much focus on Campbell because he revealed that he'd had an affair with John's wife, Reve Walsh!

The other friend, Michael Monahan, piqued the interest of the cops because, around the time Adam went missing, Michael got into an argument with someone over a skateboard. He became so enraged that he wielded a machete! :eek: No one was hurt, though.

I must say I was surprised to see this on CNN yesterday. I was waiting to hear about some new evidence- although since the rest of his body has never turned up, I was wondering what that would be.

I am amazed the family are happy to go along with this & praise this Wagner guy, who seems to be out to make headlines & photo ops, what is easier than to close the case & pin it on a dead guy, who there was never enough evidence to charge in a case that will likely never be solved?

Surely in their minds the Walsh family must know there is a reasonable chance that he is not the killer & that the real killer could still be alive & living in freedom, or even somebody else deceased or incarcerated for other crimes. I find it incredible that somebody can just order a review & with nothing concrete, then just declare it solved & it seems the family & the media buy into it without asking any questions.:crazy:

Great post. This sums up my feelings about the "closure" of this case. I think Ottis Toole probably did it. However, there are a lot of sick people out there and it could have been someone else (I don't believe the Dahmer theory). I also don't believe Jimmy Campbell or Michael Monahan had anything to do with it.

I only question why a bumbling police department didn't push hard for an indictment on Toole back in 1983, even with the inconsistencies and doubts. The pressure to solve the case had to be enormous and here they had an ugly, deranged, ********, drooling, confessing serial killer on a silver platter.

I also don't believe Jimmy Campbell or Michael Monahan had anything to do with it.

Neither do I. But I can understand why they were questioned.

John Walsh's wife Reve had ended her affair with Jimmy Campbell shortly before Adam went missing. For this reason, the cops considered the theory that Campbell murdered Adam out of revenge against the Walsh family.

John had no knowledge of the affair until after Adam went missing. As you can imagine, John Walsh was already going through the agony of not knowing where Adam was. But with the discovery that his wife had been having an affair with a family friend, he then had to deal with two heartaches. :(

In his book Tears of Rage, John Walsh said that some stories made it sound as though Michael Monahan was a suspect. One reporter even insisted to a detective that Michael might have killed Adam as a favor for Campbell. However, according to the book, the police never considered Michael a serious suspect.

I also can understand why they were grilled so hard. Everyone has to be a suspect in a murder case, even family members. However, what was done to Adam is worse than murder. He was mutilated and his head discarded like trash. In my mind, it takes an Ottis Toole-type psychopath to do something like that. While many seemingly normal people are capable of murder, it takes the worst of the worst to do something like what was done to Adam. I would tend to think (and hope) that those people are extremely rare in our society. Jimmy Campbell and Michael Monahan were not capable of this kind of crime, in my opinion.

Also, for any of you conspiracy theorists out there who think that John had business dealings with organized crime (which, by the way, there is absolutely no evidence of) and mobsters killed Adam, that idea is ridiculous. That is not how the Mafia operates. They would have gone after John directly and left Adam and Reve alone. Not to mention, after 27 years of the Feds taking down organized crime through RICO statutes, someone would have talked.

December 17, 2008 - Adam Walsh Case

I am very happy to hear of the recent resolution on Adam Walsh's case. I understand how frustrating it is for parents of a missing child to not have closure. John Walsh has been very vocal about the mistakes made in the investigation by the Hollywood, Fl. Police Dept. In the end, they decided to review the evidence in the case and determined that Ottis Toole was indeed guilty of murdering Adam.

I urge the police in West Des Moines and Des Moines Iowa to do the same. To review all the evidence on the following cases and work together to bring resolution:

Johnny Gosch kidnapped 9/5/82
Eugene Martin kidnapped 8/84
Marc Allen kidnapped 3/86.

These three boys were all close to the same age and kidnapped from the Des Moines/West Des Moines , Iowa area. To date there has been no resolution on any of the cases by authorities. Why?

Noreen N. Gosch

I'm just glad the Walsh family has some peace now. May O'Toole burn in hell.

Also, for any of you conspiracy theorists out there who think that John had business dealings with organized crime (which, by the way, there is absolutely no evidence of) and mobsters killed Adam, that idea is ridiculous. That is not how the Mafia operates. They would have gone after John directly and left Adam and Reve alone. Not to mention, after 27 years of the Feds taking down organized crime through RICO statutes, someone would have talked.

I myself have heard about the organized crime theory in the case, but I never bought that theory. I still don't. I don't see any legitimate evidence that supports it.

I have to admit that when it comes to conspiracy theorists in general, I tend to be very suspicious of them (especially the celebrity ones). They often strike me as opportunistic and caring more about promoting their theories than finding the facts. Nevertheless, conspiracy theorists are just like the rest of us: they have a right to their own opinions, but not to their own facts.

I dont know on this one. I find it mighty strange that the Hollywood Police would close this case all of a sudden without any new evidence or anything. Toole may have done this but they (the Hollywood PD) lost both Toole's car and the bloody carpet from it. Even if Toole did do it, he (in my opinion) did not kill nearly as many people as what people tend to want to believe. I mean, the guy confessed to over 300 hundred murders at one point and put so many people through false hope and cops took the bait from Toole just for the sake of closing cases and clearing case files. Sad. Rest in Peace Adam Walsh and Rot in Hell Ottis Toole.

I myself have heard about the organized crime theory in the case, but I never bought that theory. I still don't. I don't see any legitimate evidence that supports it.

I have to admit that when it comes to conspiracy theorists in general, I tend to be very suspicious of them (especially the celebrity ones). They often strike me as opportunistic and caring more about promoting their theories than finding the facts. Nevertheless, conspiracy theorists are just like the rest of us: they have a right to their own opinions, but not to their own facts.

I'm not big on conspiracy theories either. Usually they fall apart because people can't shut up. You know a conspiracy usually very quickly. If there's tons of people involved, the chances of all of them keeping silent is very slim.

Anyone who turns a personal tragedy into something productive is a hero in my book. John Walsh's efforts have shown that his son didn't die in vain.

The Fox network deserves credit, not only for airing America's Most Wanted but also for their persistence in convincing Walsh to host the show. If it hadn't been for that persistence, Walsh would never have hosted the show.

Other people were approached about hosting AMW, including actress Theresa Saldana (who became a victims' rights advocate after a crazed fan nearly did her in). Also, according to series producer Lance Heflin, actors Treat Williams and Hal Holbrook were tested. But it probably goes without saying that John Walsh's credibility was too evident to ignore.

Agreed wholeheartedly.

I just found out that Arthur Richard Jackson, the crazed fan who attacked Theresa Saldana, was the 'inspiration' for Robert John Bardo's attack on Rebecca Schaeffer.

Saldana admirably founded the Victims for Victims organization. She might have died had it not been for a delivery man in her apartment complex who heard the commotion and subdued Jackson. Thankfully, Jackson was imprisoned and is now dead.

I still don't think it was O'Toole who committed the murder. I think O'Toole probably liked to toy with Jon Walsh, but I don't think he did it. Personally I think Dahmer is still a more justifiable suspect than anyone else. Dahmer lived 20 miles away from where the kidnapping took place and witnesses had reported that Dahmer had shoved a little boy in a blue delivery van. Jeffrey had access to a blue delivery van from the company he worked for. The company has also stated that it was not uncommon for drivers to take the van home and keep it for personal use. O'Toole has recanted his confession quite a few times and I don't think his deathbed confession can be taken at face value. But that's just my opinion.

I haven't been able to rule out Jeffrey Dahmer in my own mind, although I think it's unlikely he's responsible. For one, Adam didn't fit the age of all of his other victims.

I wonder about Henry Lee Lucas, who was said to be Otis Toole's accomplice in many of their alleged crimes. I know he was in Florida at one point. I wonder if he could have played a hand in this thing.

I haven't been able to rule out Jeffrey Dahmer in my own mind, although I think it's unlikely he's responsible. For one, Adam didn't fit the age of all of his other victims.

I wonder about Henry Lee Lucas, who was said to be Otis Toole's accomplice in many of their alleged crimes. I know he was in Florida at one point. I wonder if he could have played a hand in this thing.

The biggest damning piece of evidence against Dahmer is the decapitation of Adam's head. Jeff decapitated all of his victims in Milwaukee. Dahmer had lived a strange life, I won't go into to much detail but I will say this. Jeffrey was investigated for a series of murders in Germany when he was in the Army. Apparently he showed up at the gates to the barracks in bloody clothes which were never recovered.

As for Lucas. Only time I hear his name come up in the case is when O'Toole confessed to the murders. I've never seen Lucas as a viable suspect, but I will say this. Lucas and O'Toole shared a lot of stories together and it would not surprise me if O'Toole tried to take the credit for Adam's murder if Lucas had spilled some of the more lesser known details of the case.

In my opinion I think Jon and law enforcement wanted it so bad to be O'Toole they tried to point every single piece of circumstantial evidence against O'Toole. Even with all the evidence against Dahmer, Jon for some reason was never convinced that Dahmer could have had a hand in the murder.

One of the challenges in considering Dahmer as a strong suspect is that while he did go after "young-looking men", he wasn't a "pedophilic predator" per se, as he was targeting young men with clearly developed secondary sexual characteristics, which would at best, place him in a "pederast" categorization. Adam's age would probably preclude him from being a victim of Dahmer as it doesn't match his paraphilias.

That's not to say it couldn't have happened, a crime of opportunity facing Dahmer is a possibility, and he was prone to "losing control" when drunk and committed incredibly reckless crimes that could've easily brought him down sooner than when he was caught.......however given what is known about Dahmer and the typology of his crimes, I doubt he was the liable party here.

Managed to catch part of an episode of Cold Blood, and was somewhat surprised to find this case profiled on there. Just in the little bit I saw, there were several things I didn't know, as well as quite a few pics I hadn't seen.

-John and Reve left a blanket, pillow and toys in the car as well as a note on the windshield in case Adam tried to make it back there. Reve left the car parked there overnight. Virtually everyone thought Adam would turn up safely.

-John initially thought Adam was kidnapped by a woman desperate for a child, and that he might have been flown out of state. He made tons of posters, and handed them out at airports and asked people to post them once they landed (great thinking on John's part).

Managed to catch part of an episode of Cold Blood, and was somewhat surprised to find this case profiled on there. Just in the little bit I saw, there were several things I didn't know, as well as quite a few pics I hadn't seen.

-John and Reve left a blanket, pillow and toys in the car as well as a note on the windshield in case Adam tried to make it back there. Reve left the car parked there overnight. Virtually everyone thought Adam would turn up safely.

-John initially thought Adam was kidnapped by a woman desperate for a child, and that he might have been flown out of state. He made tons of posters, and handed them out at airports and asked people to post them once they landed (great thinking on John's part).

Was aware of that first bit of information. John wrote about it in "Tears of Rage." Although I knew they had hoped he had been kidnapped by someone who wanted a child, I DID NOT know about the missing posters. That is incredibly good thinking...

Tears of Rage is a wonderful read, for any of you that may be interested. Obviously, very tough subject matter, but a very poignant read. I literally read it in one sitting.

Another tidbit was that when John and Reve left Florida for New York City, John got a call in his hotel room at 3 a.m. the day of their Good Morning America appearance from a friend back home asking for Adam's dental records because they found a skull. The friend reassured John it wouldn't be Adam because "who decapitates a child?" John and Reve did the show and had high hopes and expected Adam would be returned to them. The same friend had the unenviable task of calling them at lunchtime with the news that the skull belonged to Adam. John trashed the hotel room so bad they had to give him a shot of something to calm him down.

The biggest damning piece of evidence against Dahmer is the decapitation of Adam's head. Jeff decapitated all of his victims in Milwaukee. Dahmer had lived a strange life, I won't go into to much detail but I will say this. Jeffrey was investigated for a series of murders in Germany when he was in the Army. Apparently he showed up at the gates to the barracks in bloody clothes which were never recovered.

As for Lucas. Only time I hear his name come up in the case is when O'Toole confessed to the murders. I've never seen Lucas as a viable suspect, but I will say this. Lucas and O'Toole shared a lot of stories together and it would not surprise me if O'Toole tried to take the credit for Adam's murder if Lucas had spilled some of the more lesser known details of the case.

In my opinion I think Jon and law enforcement wanted it so bad to be O'Toole they tried to point every single piece of circumstantial evidence against O'Toole. Even with all the evidence against Dahmer, Jon for some reason was never convinced that Dahmer could have had a hand in the murder.

Jeffery Dahmer was more interested in teenage boys and young men in their twenties not children. Most of his victims were young men, so it's easy to rule out Dahmer didn't do it.

Jeffery Dahmer was more interested in teenage boys and young men in their twenties not children. Most of his victims were young men, so it's easy to rule out Dahmer didn't do it.
I don't think Dahmer was guilty of Adam's murder, killing kids was not his MO. I believe Otis O'Toole is guilty of the murder by the evidence, not so much his confession, because he often confessed to murders he did not commit. I think he may have killed Eva De Breuhl in 1977, too.

What evidence? This was nothing more than a now powerful celebrity who believed Toole did it from day one & wasn't interested in any other outcome putting pressure on the force to close the case & got his way.

There was zero physical evidence, nothing new came from the report this was based on-which the chief later pretty much laughed at saying the guy was a nuisance etc under oath.

Toole confessed to hundreds of crimes he never did because he was in other parts of the country at the time, in this case as in many others involving him & Lucas officers fed him details, he said him & Lucas did it together at one point-although Lucas was in jail at the time.

He said he was driving around with the head for days because he forgot it was there? Yeah sure-it must be easy to forget you have the severed head of a child in your vehicle-considering it was summer in Florida I would imagine the stench of a severed body part would have been unbearable, unless maybe he killed so many people & left them in there that was normal to him. Not very likely behaviour for a criminal though in case the cops pull you over, or you park your car & somebody wonders why you have a head on display.

An unverified deathbed confession to his niece as told to Walsh? Great evidence. Not that deathbed confessions to anybody mean much-especially coming from somebody who would confess to any crime going.

http://www.floridabulldog.org/2011/01/hollywood-police-chief-should-explain-why-he-thinks-ottis-toole-murdered-adam-walsh/

What evidence? This was nothing more than a now powerful celebrity who believed Toole did it from day one & wasn't interested in any other outcome putting pressure on the force to close the case & got his way.

There was zero physical evidence, nothing new came from the report this was based on-which the chief later pretty much laughed at saying the guy was a nuisance etc under oath.

Toole confessed to hundreds of crimes he never did because he was in other parts of the country at the time, in this case as in many others involving him & Lucas officers fed him details, he said him & Lucas did it together at one point-although Lucas was in jail at the time.

He said he was driving around with the head for days because he forgot it was there? Yeah sure-it must be easy to forget you have the severed head of a child in your vehicle-considering it was summer in Florida I would imagine the stench of a severed body part would have been unbearable, unless maybe he killed so many people & left them in there that was normal to him. Not very likely behaviour for a criminal though in case the cops pull you over, or you park your car & somebody wonders why you have a head on display.

An unverified deathbed confession to his niece as told to Walsh? Great evidence. Not that deathbed confessions to anybody mean much-especially coming from somebody who would confess to any crime going.

http://www.floridabulldog.org/2011/01/hollywood-police-chief-should-explain-why-he-thinks-ottis-toole-murdered-adam-walsh/
Adam's head was outlined in luminal on the floor mats of O'Toole's car. Witnesses at the Sears store where Adam disappeared, identified O'Toole as being there that day. The machete believed to be the one to dismember the body was found. I agree, not much at all for evidence. As for the head in the car in the Florida heat, well, O'Toole wasn't going to win the College Bowl anytime soon. Maybe he confessesed and wrote the letter to John Walsh in an attempt to extort some money.

Adam's head was outlined in luminal on the floor mats of O'Toole's car. Witnesses at the Sears store where Adam disappeared, identified O'Toole as being there that day. The machete believed to be the one to dismember the body was found. I agree, not much at all for evidence. As for the head in the car in the Florida heat, well, O'Toole wasn't going to win the College Bowl anytime soon. Maybe he confessesed and wrote the letter to John Walsh in an attempt to extort some money.

1. Nope-the investigator said that is what he sees. Seeing the photo it is hardly clear. Can Luminol even show a face? I have never heard of this in any other case. Like photos of ghosts & UFO'S, is Jaz Amy Bradley etc it isn't evidence, just perception.

2. We all know the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Cops name a suspect & plaster his face in the media & suddenly everybody in the world remembers seeing him that day, go to the store & wave the persons photo in peoples faces & they often feel compelled to help catch the murderer & start retrofitting. Most shops are incredibly busy-the chances of store clerks or people remembering some random person is unlikely & unsafe. Now if somebody had thought the person suspicious & took down a number plate, taken a photo etc.

3. Was the machete ever matched? Were there human blood traces on it? What did the tests show? Considering he was never charged it seems not. The link I provided says this-

The FDLE has said “an insufficient amount of blood” was found in Toole’s car to test for DNA. So there’s no proof that the head that Matthews sees is Adam’s. That Luminol-outline could be someone else’s head, given that Toole confessed to more than 100 murders.

Additionally, FDLE separately tested hairs found in Toole’s car and compared them to hair samples taken from the found head declared to be Adam. They did not match.

Matthews also writes that Toole told police “crime scene details only the killer could have known.” But that wasn’t the opinion of the Hollywood detectives who actually interviewed him.

Transcripts of those interviews show that everything Toole “knew” came from what those detectives had told or showed him – in hopes it would prompt him to recall something new or true in the case.

The result? Toole never gave them anything valuable that could be confirmed.

Toole went as far to say that his partner Henry Lee Lucas, also a convicted murder who he travelled with, had actually killed the child – but a quick check proved that Lucas was in jail in Maryland on the day Adam was taken. Toole then “confessed” to the killing.

4. Sure the guy had problems but come on-how bad is your vehicle going to reek in the middle of a Florida summer with a body part sitting there? How could you forget it when you are smelling it whenever you get into the car? You would have to have all your windows open so the stench would be pouring out wherever you went, nobody noticed a human head in the back of his car for days? Why would you dispose of the rest of the body, yet keep the head as some kind of important trophy & then just forget about it?

5. Murderers often get off on taunting their victims families & even other victims who they had nothing to do with. Some people enjoy confessing to crimes-him & Lucas were confessing to pretty much every unsolved crime the cops asked them about, even when they were in other states or incarcerated.

1. No, the luminol showed the outline of a head. When compared to Adam, it seemed to be a match. Photos are in the book, Bringing Adam Home.
2. O'Toole was pretty scary looking, if you seen him, you'd likely have his face burned in your memory. He wasn't someone who blended in with a crowd. He had approached a little girl in the store earlier that day, her mother scared him off.
3. No, the machete was never positively identified as the murder weapon, but did contain blood traces. If these were conclusive with Adam, I don't know.
4. I agree, any body part would reek in a hot vehicle. Then again, Calcutta in July would probably smell better than O' Toole himself. Why he hung on to the head for awhile is anybody's guess. Maybe Edmund Kemper would know!
5. Yes, the pair of them confessed to many crimes that they probably did not commit. Probably didn't confess to some they did commit. We also don't know if they knew specific details about Adam's murder that were never released to the media. O' Toole also had an IQ that hovered around the 80 mark at best. Law enforcement/justice department doesn't tell the public everything. There is a lot more to this case that the public is not privy to.

1. No, the luminol showed the outline of a head. When compared to Adam, it seemed to be a match. Photos are in the book, Bringing Adam Home.
2. O'Toole was pretty scary looking, if you seen him, you'd likely have his face burned in your memory. He wasn't someone who blended in with a crowd. He had approached a little girl in the store earlier that day, her mother scared him off.
3. No, the machete was never positively identified as the murder weapon, but did contain blood traces. If these were conclusive with Adam, I don't know.
4. I agree, any body part would reek in a hot vehicle. Then again, Calcutta in July would probably smell better than O' Toole himself. Why he hung on to the head for awhile is anybody's guess. Maybe Edmund Kemper would know!
5. Yes, the pair of them confessed to many crimes that they probably did not commit. Probably didn't confess to some they did commit. We also don't know if they knew specific details about Adam's murder that were never released to the media. O' Toole also had an IQ that hovered around the 80 mark at best. Law enforcement/justice department doesn't tell the public everything. There is a lot more to this case that the public is not privy to.

1. They are online as well-somebody else who thinks Dahlmer did it thinks it looks like a footprint. My dad used to think he saw alien faces on walls, to me I could see nothing or sometimes it could be a rabbit or whatever, my brother would see something different as well. Again it isn't evidence but just an opinion.

2. From searching what limited info is out there it appears that this girl & her mother came forward after his image had been splashed all over the media & were inconsistent on what day it happened & the description of his vehicle. There are plenty of odd looking people around that you might want to avoid.

3. We don't even know if they were human blood traces or animal. It is just as relevant as this-In May 1995, a series of articles in an Alabama newspaper posited a new theory: A family friend named Michael Monahan could have murdered Adam as a favor for buddy Jim Campbell, the spurned lover of Revé Walsh.

There was no evidence tying Monahan to the crime, just an odd coincidence: Three days after the Adam Walsh abduction, Monahan had slashed through a door with a machete in Oakland Park in a dispute over a skateboard.

Monahan, speaking publicly about the incident for the first time, said the allegations are nonsense.

``If you really do your homework, if you're serious about finding out the truth, you'll realize I have nothing to do with this case,'' Monahan said.

Police, prompted by the news reports, tested the machete from the skateboard incident. Results were inconclusive.

4. Doesn't really address how it would go unnoticed though, or why police were unable to locate the remains where he said they would be, or why he was unable to tell them what clothing Adam was wearing or what his hair was like-which surely if you are carrying their head around for days you would recall.

5. The cops told him things about the case which he then repeated, cops did this with him & Lucas repeatedly in an attempt to get unsolved crimes off of their books-however when they cannot recall information they haven't been fed, are found to be elsewhere in the country at the time etc it means they are lying.

It took a psychopath to do what was done to Adam. My gut feeling is O'Toole is responsible, but it is interesting as always to read other opinions. The case is closed. LE and the Walsh's must have had their reasons far beyond what I brought up. May Adam rest in peace, and the perp burn in Hell.

Agree 100% & it could be Toole, although I find it unlikely based on all the points I have made here. I am just uneasy that they could never have taken this to a court & got a conviction if he was still alive, yet are happy to just say it is him & case closed because he is deceased.

Although it is incredibly unlikely the case could ever be solved-in large part due to the incompetence of the police to lose a car, a potential murder weapon & a potential piece of upholstery that could hold clues I still find it worrying that potentially a murderer could still be out there & the case is closed.

Agree 100% & it could be Toole, although I find it unlikely based on all the points I have made here. I am just uneasy that they could never have taken this to a court & got a conviction if he was still alive, yet are happy to just say it is him & case closed because he is deceased.

Although it is incredibly unlikely the case could ever be solved-in large part due to the incompetence of the police to lose a car, a potential murder weapon & a potential piece of upholstery that could hold clues I still find it worrying that potentially a murderer could still be out there & the case is closed.
Yes, I agree. Losing a car especially disturbs me!