On November 14, 1974, in Hollywood, Florida, John Walsh, a TV star and cr*iminal investigator, and Revé Drew had a son named Adam John Walsh. He was the first baby they had.
On July 27, 1981, Adam’s mom took him shopping with her at the Hollywood Mall in Hollywood, Florida. They used the north door to get into Sears together. Adam was at a booth with Atari 2600 games while Revé went to look for a lamp for sale. Other boys were taking turns playing.
Adam and the other boys were already gone when his mum finished shopping and went back to the kiosk. The store manager told her that there was a fight over who would play the Atari next, and a security guard told the boys to leave the store.
Adams didn’t tell the security guard that his mum was out shopping because he was too shy, so the guard thinks he was with the other kids. Adams’ parents think this is true. Adam didn’t know that all of the kids were sent out of a Sears exit.
Right away, Revé looked around the store and used the PA system to call for her son. She met his dad’s grandmother by chance, and she also helped with the search. Revé searched for her son for an hour before calling the police to report him missing.
A broken head was found in a drainage canal next to the Florida Turnpike on August 10. This was close to Vero Beach, which is about 130 miles from Adams’ home. John and Revé Walsh told the whole country the next day that they still thought Adam was alive. They also promised a reward of $100,000 if he was found safe. Soon, it was clear that Adam’s bones were what they were.
The coroner thought the person had probably di*ed from choking. His body looked like it had been dead for a long time before his head was found. It was impossible to find the rest of his body.
After some research, the police found Ottis Toole, a drifter from Jacksonville, Florida, who had been found guilty of k*illing someone.
Toole says he promised Adam candy and toys to get him to get in his white 1971 Cadillac. After, they took I-95 north to get to Toole’s house in Jacksonville.
Adam agreed at first because he felt embarrassed, but as they drove, he became scared. When Adam screamed, Toole hit him in the face. This made things worse, so he hit Adam again until he passed out. Seeing that Adam was still breathing, he pulled over, used Adam’s seatbelt to choke him, took him out of the car, and used a machete to cut off Adam’s head.
Toole also said that when he got back to Jacksonville, he burned his body in an old fridge to get rid of it. He told police that all he wanted to do was make him his son, but this wasn’t likely to happen since he was close to parents who loved him.
Otis Toole always said he was involved but then changed his mind. They never said he k*illed Adams because there was no physical proof. In September 1996, Toole, who was 49 years old, di*ed in p*rison of cirrhosis. He was in pr*ison for life for other cri*mes.
The case was closed by police in Hollywood, Florida, on December 16, 2008, with Adam’s dad, John Walsh, there. The police were sure that Ottis Toole was the kil*ler after looking at the case from the outside. They told everyone this.
