Police say Fla. boy's 1981 murder (Adam Walsh) is solved

[WoodysGirl]

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Authorities in South Florida say they've finally solved the 1981 killing of a boy whose father later gained fame as the host of "America's Most Wanted."

Hollywood police said Tuesday that a man long considered the lead suspect in 6-year-old Adam Walsh's death has finally been named as the man responsible for the crime. But he won't be tried: Serial killer Ottis Toole (AH'-tis TOOL) died in prison more than a decade ago.

Toole had confessed to the killing, but later recanted. He claimed hundreds of murders, but police determined most of the confessions were lies. Toole's niece told the boy's father, John Walsh, her uncle gave a deathbed confession.

John Walsh has said he believed Toole killed his son. He says not knowing was torture, but "that journey's over."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081216/ap_on_re_us/adam_walsh

 

[TellerMorrow34]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081216/ap_on_re_us/adam_walsh

I was just about to post this as well, I was posting it at another forum and I'll share here what I said there.



Since 1981 the Walsh family has waited for the day when they could officially say they knew, without a doubt, who killed their son and his case was closed.



I'm happy for them that they've finally recieved that closure on such a horrific event.



But I also hope that people realise how much of a hero John Walsh is for the way he took that terrible tragedy and used it to help create some wonderful programs, and to better the work done on finding missing children.



I can not even imagine, as a parent myself, the pain and torture that one would have to endure not only from losing their child but losing their child in such a violent and unexplainable way but then to top that all off to go this long, 27 years, without knowing for certain who killed your kid?



That could, and likely has, cripple a person mentally. What John Walsh did in reaction to that is the stuff that shows true character.

 

[vta]

I never believed that fools recanting of his original confession.
Toole was a real disturbing head case and the world is better off with him and that clown Lucas gone.

 

[CowboyWay]

These stories were always disturbing even before I had kids. But once you have kids, and you hear of this type of stuff, it literally sends chills down your spine.

As a parent, there is nothing on earth more horrifying than something like this happening to your own children. Its painful just thinking about it.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

These stories were always disturbing even before I had kids. But once you have kids, and you hear of this type of stuff, it literally sends chills down your spine.

As a parent, there is nothing on earth more horrifying than something like this happening to your own children. Its painful just thinking about it.

I can't even begin to imagine it. I have a 13 year old daughter and a 7 year old son and even the mere thought of something like this is enough to bring me to tears.

That man will forever have my respect, and admiration, because of how strong he was and what he's accomplished through that strength.

I know that I'm not that strong because the only thing that comes to mind, to me, when I've thought about how I'd react or what I'd do if that were my son is rage and revenge.

Major respect to Walsh for being a far better man than I believe I could ever be.

 

[Dallas]

These stories were always disturbing even before I had kids. But once you have kids, and you hear of this type of stuff, it literally sends chills down your spine.

As a parent, there is nothing on earth more horrifying than something like this happening to your own children. Its painful just thinking about it.

I hear that. I watch my little boy like a hawk. You have to nowadays. That is so sad.

I wouldn't want to live if anything happened to my little boy. That is a fact. I just don't know how I could ever cope and be normal if he was gone.

 

[theebs]

I remember watching the sunday night movie on cbs of this when I was a kid. It actually scared me. I never knew people did that type of stuff.

When I was 16, my friends girfriend lived in sauqoit NY, just a few minutes from us. He used to go up to here house like every night in the summer and before you get to her house you have to come to a 4-way stop and then go up the hill. There was a family that lived down the street from her, the wood's. They had a couple of kids and they would always ride their bikes outside the house.

So one night in the summer, my friends and I were waiting for my other friend to get home from her house so we could go out and do whatever we were doing that night. My phone rang and my buddy said the little girl had turned up missing and he was helping look for her. He saw the little girl riding her bike on the road when he got to his gf's house earlier.

The little girls name was Sarah Anne Wood and she was never seen again and they have never found her remains. They found her bike at the stop sign of the 4 corners about 2 minutes from her house. They arrested a man who claimed to have abducted her a couple of years later, but they have never been able to prove he did it and he sent the police on all these big digging explorations all over the mountains looking for her remains. They have never found any trace of her.

you can read the details here
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/wood_sara.html

Having said all that, I am terrified of the child abductor. I have two children and I am extremely overprotective around strangers and really to be honest, I am plain rude to people who try to talk to my kids when I am out. Oh well.

 

[Yeagermeister]

I'm sure John Walsh is very happy to finally get closure after all of these years.

A few years ago I was watching one of those cold case type shows on AE and they suggested that Jeffery Dahmer may have been the killer. He was supposedly seen in that area around the time Adam was abducted. I thought it was a little far fetched.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I'm sure John Walsh is very happy to finally get closure after all of these years.

A few years ago I was watching one of those cold case type shows on AE and they suggested that Jeffery Dahmer may have been the killer. He was supposedly seen in that area around the time Adam was abducted. I thought it was a little far fetched.

Yeah I was reading an article that mentioned Dahmer had once, along with a few others from what I understand, to that case over the years.

Glad they finally got the Walsh family closure.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I remember watching the sunday night movie on cbs of this when I was a kid. It actually scared me. I never knew people did that type of stuff.

When I was 16, my friends girfriend lived in sauqoit NY, just a few minutes from us. He used to go up to here house like every night in the summer and before you get to her house you have to come to a 4-way stop and then go up the hill. There was a family that lived down the street from her, the wood's. They had a couple of kids and they would always ride their bikes outside the house.

So one night in the summer, my friends and I were waiting for my other friend to get home from her house so we could go out and do whatever we were doing that night. My phone rang and my buddy said the little girl had turned up missing and he was helping look for her. He saw the little girl riding her bike on the road when he got to his gf's house earlier.

The little girls name was Sarah Anne Wood and she was never seen again and they have never found her remains. They found her bike at the stop sign of the 4 corners about 2 minutes from her house. They arrested a man who claimed to have abducted her a couple of years later, but they have never been able to prove he did it and he sent the police on all these big digging explorations all over the mountains looking for her remains. They have never found any trace of her.

you can read the details here
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/wood_sara.html

Having said all that, I am terrified of the child abductor. I have two children and I am extremely overprotective around strangers and really to be honest, I am plain rude to people who try to talk to my kids when I am out. Oh well.

You know as I read this story, and of course the Walsh one, I remember how when I was a teenager, and even to some extent now, i always thought it would be wonderful to be like an FBI agent whose job is to hunt down, track, and stop people like this. Serial killers, and child abductors, and what not.

The more of these stories I read though the more I realise that it would take a special kind of person, and mind set, to take on this kind of thing. It would just tear at your soul too much to see these kids remains and such (Adults of course too but it's always worse when it's a child) and it would only get worse every time you couldn't find a killer.

Then there would be the mental struggle when you did catch one, and were going to get them, with doing what's right by the law and letting him go to jail for life or doing whats right in your heart and killing them right then and there.

I gain more and more respect for people who do this type of work every single time I read about a case like this.


Oh and as for the being rude...dude I don't blame you in the least. Better to have some stranger think your a heartless jerk than to have some stranger take advantage of your being nice and take your kid(s).