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Ottis Toole was born March 5, 1947 in Jacksonville, Florida, the youngest of 9. After being ran over by a car at the age of 4, his head was impaled by a nail when he fell through a hole in his front porch at age 8. This was the beginning of his grand mal epileptic seizures, which continued throughout his life. His alcoholic father was SA him from age 5-6 before abandoning the family (before reappearing later with a new wife). Then, his stepfather resumed the abuse, which including passing him around to his friends. He told his parents but they dismissed him.
Ottis was also a pyromaniac starting at a young age and had other issues as a child that resulted in bullying in school. He often skipped school to go hang out with his paternal grandmother, Cornelia. Cornelia was a member of an intergenerational death cult. Some sources call her a Satanist, some a witch, but she brought her practices from her roots in the Okefenokee Swamp. She told Ottis he was the Devil’s Child and brought him to grave rob cemeteries to gather body parts for her rituals. Ottis initially believed being the Devil’s Child made him special and thought devil worshipping was a game. He eventually started hearing voices in the graveyards and became fearful. Cornelia let him keep a pet cat at her house, which his father subsequently killed in front of him with its kittens while his grandmother stood laughing at him as he cried.
According to Toole, his first murder was at age 14 when he ran over a traveling salesman who propositioned him for sex. He was arrested for loitering at the age of 17, which was his first arrest.
Not much is known about Toole’s whereabouts between 1966 and 1973. He was a suspect of a murder in Nebraska and another in Colorado in 1974. Subsequently, he headed back to Jacksonville. He briefly married a woman 25 years older than him in 1976, but they were divorced in less than a year when he told his wife he was gay.
Toole murdered 65-year-old George Sonnenberg, whom he allegedly had a sexual relationship with, in 1982. He trapped Sonnenberg in the boarding house where he was living and set it on fire; the victim died a week later. Toole was also arrested for an unrelated arson in 1983. In 1984 Toole confessed to the unsolved murder of 18-year-old David Schallart, a hitchhiker who he picked up east of Pensacola, and 20-year-old Ada Johnson after kidnapping her from a nightclub in Tallahassee.
The murder of Adam Walsh is also attributed to Toole, and Adam Walsh’s family believe he is the killer.
In the book the Hand of Death, Henry Lee Lucas claims Ottis brought him into the Hand of Death cult headquartered deep in the Florida Everglades. Henry claimed Ottis tricked him-he was under the impression he and Ottis were joining together (for work) until the boss started addressing Ottis and it was clear they already knew each other well.
An interviewer asked:
“Do you have any particularly fond memories of your days together with Henry Lucas? He's the one they made the movie about, not you. What's your last word?”
Toole answered:
“Henry is going to be executed but I'll be alive surrounded by cute (explicit). I have everything I want in prison. Except I miss the freedom to drive down the highway robbing and killing from town to town.”
Toole was ultimately convicted of 6 counts of murder.
Sources:
Sondra London, well known true crime author who interviewed Ottis Toole before his death in 1996; Link to her Ottis Toole page on her website, with audio of the interview and summary of his life
The Devil's Child by Sondra London
Ottis Toole sentenced to death following rooming-house arson" . Gainesville Sun. May 19, 1984. p. 8A.
Gainesville Sun - Google News Archive Search
Death Diploma (documentary, full, requires sign in)
Death Diploma (documentary, 6 parts, no sign in required)
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD6410C6FC2D5D72B
Compilation of 12 other Ottis Toole interviews
Investigators have released transcripts of a grisly jailhouse telephone... (1984)
Investigators have released transcripts of a grisly jailhouse telephone... - UPI Archives
Full audio of Toole-Lucus prison phone call
Part 1 of 4
Part 2 of 4
Serial Killers: Henry Lee Lucas talks to Ottis Toole 02 of 04
Part 3 of 4
Serial Killers: Henry Lee Lucas talks to Ottis Toole 03 of 04
Part 4 of 4
Serial Killers: Henry Lee Lucas talks to Ottis Toole 04 of 04
Ottis Elwood TOOLE, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee/Cross-Appellant. (1985)
Toole v. State
Police Say Toole Continues To Insist Adam Walsh Was Among His Victims" L. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. November 24, 1983. pp. 1-E.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search
Adam Walsh Murder Case Closed. America's Most Wanted. Statement From John & Revé Walsh. December 17, 2008.
AMW | Feature | Adam Walsh Murder Case Closed
Programmed to Kill: The Politics of Serial Murder. David McGowan. 2004. p.88. ISBN: 0-595-32640-4.
Hand of Death: The Henry Lee Lucas Story. Max Call. 1985. Published by Prescott Press, Inc., Lafayette, Louisiana. ISBN: 0-933451-00-8.
The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers: Second Edition. Michael Newton. 2006, 2000. ISBN-10: 0-8160-6196-3. ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-6196-9.
Ottis Toole - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
(WARNING extremely sick & graphic, mods please remove if not allowed)
An Interview With Ottis Toole: The Cannibal Kid By Billy Bob Barton. Adapted from Boiled Angel #8
An Interview With Ottis Toole
Ottis was also a pyromaniac starting at a young age and had other issues as a child that resulted in bullying in school. He often skipped school to go hang out with his paternal grandmother, Cornelia. Cornelia was a member of an intergenerational death cult. Some sources call her a Satanist, some a witch, but she brought her practices from her roots in the Okefenokee Swamp. She told Ottis he was the Devil’s Child and brought him to grave rob cemeteries to gather body parts for her rituals. Ottis initially believed being the Devil’s Child made him special and thought devil worshipping was a game. He eventually started hearing voices in the graveyards and became fearful. Cornelia let him keep a pet cat at her house, which his father subsequently killed in front of him with its kittens while his grandmother stood laughing at him as he cried.
According to Toole, his first murder was at age 14 when he ran over a traveling salesman who propositioned him for sex. He was arrested for loitering at the age of 17, which was his first arrest.
Not much is known about Toole’s whereabouts between 1966 and 1973. He was a suspect of a murder in Nebraska and another in Colorado in 1974. Subsequently, he headed back to Jacksonville. He briefly married a woman 25 years older than him in 1976, but they were divorced in less than a year when he told his wife he was gay.
Toole murdered 65-year-old George Sonnenberg, whom he allegedly had a sexual relationship with, in 1982. He trapped Sonnenberg in the boarding house where he was living and set it on fire; the victim died a week later. Toole was also arrested for an unrelated arson in 1983. In 1984 Toole confessed to the unsolved murder of 18-year-old David Schallart, a hitchhiker who he picked up east of Pensacola, and 20-year-old Ada Johnson after kidnapping her from a nightclub in Tallahassee.
The murder of Adam Walsh is also attributed to Toole, and Adam Walsh’s family believe he is the killer.
In the book the Hand of Death, Henry Lee Lucas claims Ottis brought him into the Hand of Death cult headquartered deep in the Florida Everglades. Henry claimed Ottis tricked him-he was under the impression he and Ottis were joining together (for work) until the boss started addressing Ottis and it was clear they already knew each other well.
An interviewer asked:
“Do you have any particularly fond memories of your days together with Henry Lucas? He's the one they made the movie about, not you. What's your last word?”
Toole answered:
“Henry is going to be executed but I'll be alive surrounded by cute (explicit). I have everything I want in prison. Except I miss the freedom to drive down the highway robbing and killing from town to town.”
Toole was ultimately convicted of 6 counts of murder.
Sources:
Sondra London, well known true crime author who interviewed Ottis Toole before his death in 1996; Link to her Ottis Toole page on her website, with audio of the interview and summary of his life
The Devil's Child by Sondra London
Ottis Toole sentenced to death following rooming-house arson" . Gainesville Sun. May 19, 1984. p. 8A.
Gainesville Sun - Google News Archive Search
Death Diploma (documentary, full, requires sign in)
Death Diploma (documentary, 6 parts, no sign in required)
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD6410C6FC2D5D72B
Compilation of 12 other Ottis Toole interviews
Investigators have released transcripts of a grisly jailhouse telephone... (1984)
Investigators have released transcripts of a grisly jailhouse telephone... - UPI Archives
Full audio of Toole-Lucus prison phone call
Part 1 of 4
Serial Killers: Henry Lee Lucas talks to Ottis Toole 02 of 04
Part 3 of 4
Serial Killers: Henry Lee Lucas talks to Ottis Toole 03 of 04
Part 4 of 4
Serial Killers: Henry Lee Lucas talks to Ottis Toole 04 of 04
Ottis Elwood TOOLE, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee/Cross-Appellant. (1985)
Toole v. State
Police Say Toole Continues To Insist Adam Walsh Was Among His Victims" L. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. November 24, 1983. pp. 1-E.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search
Adam Walsh Murder Case Closed. America's Most Wanted. Statement From John & Revé Walsh. December 17, 2008.
AMW | Feature | Adam Walsh Murder Case Closed
Programmed to Kill: The Politics of Serial Murder. David McGowan. 2004. p.88. ISBN: 0-595-32640-4.
Hand of Death: The Henry Lee Lucas Story. Max Call. 1985. Published by Prescott Press, Inc., Lafayette, Louisiana. ISBN: 0-933451-00-8.
The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers: Second Edition. Michael Newton. 2006, 2000. ISBN-10: 0-8160-6196-3. ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-6196-9.
Ottis Toole - Wikipedia
Ottis Toole - Wikipedia
(WARNING extremely sick & graphic, mods please remove if not allowed)
An Interview With Ottis Toole: The Cannibal Kid By Billy Bob Barton. Adapted from Boiled Angel #8
An Interview With Ottis Toole
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