FL FL - Adam Walsh, 7, Hollywood, 27 July 1981

[eileenhawkeye]

I've been mesmerized by the Adam Walsh case for years now, and for the life of me I could never understand why it has received so little attention from true crime buffs. Aside from being arguably the most important case of our lifetime, the Adam Walsh case is a powerful, haunting, heartbreaking story. It's filled with remarkable characters and fascinating details that fit together in an unbelievably complex crime narrative that contains several major episodes spanning several decades. And it is still unsolved, despite the overwhelmingly convenient official conclusion.

Yet this thread is even more barren than a Google search for "Adam Walsh case." Meanwhile, a quick glance at Websleuths' landing page reveals, what, five million posts apiece about the Casey Anthony and JonBenet Ramsey cases? I have to admit, I don't get it.

My mom is a huge true crime buff, not to mention a fan of mystery thrillers. She watches Investigation Discovery, the FBI Files, devours documentaries and books about serial killers, etc. So I asked her: why do you think there isn't more interest in the Adam Walsh case among devotees of true crime?

Oh, that's easy, she said. One, they're never going to find out who the killer really is and, two, the parents were never serious suspects. Case closed.

I think many people see the circumstances as no different than any other stranger abduction. It was horrifying at the time, and still is today, but lost the shock factor as the years went by. It doesn't really stand out anymore. That's just my opinion though.

Most people also think it's solved. Look at the Amber Hagerman case, you don't see many people discussing that case. It's similar to this one as it also led to big changes and was a stranger abduction.

Also, Why do you say it's the most important case of our lifetimes? Who is "our"? I feel like that would only apply to people who were young children at the time Adam was abducted. Do you feel the media gives it due credit?

Who are the interesting characters involved besides Toole?

I do agree with you that for a case that is well known and has quite the legacy, it doesn't have much public interest. Was there much coverage for the 30th anniversary? The 35th anniversary is coming up right?




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[JenniferTx]

Excuse me for my ignorance....so the only part of Adam that was ever found was his head? The rest of his remains are still out there somewhere? I had read somewhere that OToole wanted money to release where the rest of his remains were located. Is that true?

 

[proudfootz]

It's been suggested that Jeffrey Dahmer makes a good suspect as he was living in the area at that time.

 

[JenniferTx]

It's been suggested that Jeffrey Dahmer makes a good suspect as he was living in the area at that time.

Certainly possible but sadly I guess we will never know unless they ever locate the bones of little Adam. Maybe then forensics might be able to get more information. John Walsh is one of the strongest men I have ever seen and love how he took such a tragedy in his own life and in turn helped catch so many criminals. God Bless John Walsh!

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

The 1983 TV movie "Adam" was uploaded on YouTube yesterday. I had never seen it surprisingly. So amazing that despite their loss and despair, the Walsh's were able to muster up so much good by campaigning in the progression to help missing and exploited children. It's just so devastating that it took such a horrifying tragedy. But I guess the positive is how many children it has helped since. I don't even have children but if it were me, I'd never get over the pain and loss.

 

[Oakie]

I'm convinced Jeffrey Dahmer was the killer. I cannot now remember where I read this, but a few years ago I was reading an account of this by someone who had found a witness placing Dahmer in that same Sears store from which Walsh vanished, just before he vanished. That can't be a coincidence.

 

[jackiejack35]

The witness statements sure are compelling to point towards Dahmer, and seems as though the police dismissed a lot of info that led them away from OToole, but why would Dahmer not admit it if it had been him? Was Dahmer ever linked to any child murders or abductions? I can’t remember.

Coincidentally, I grew up in Hollywood and my mom was in that very Sears when he was taken. She told me that she was getting my dad a birthday present- for his bday the next day- and my two siblings and I begged to go but she wanted to make a quick trip. We were around Adam’s age and younger and this was when it was common for us kids to wander to stores a bit while mom shopped. She remembered hearing them call for Adam over the intercom and said it reinforced the strange feeling she had that morning to not bring us along. Said it haunted her for a long time thinking it could have been any of us that wandered too far that day into that monsters path. Such a horrible tragedy what happened to that sweet boy.

 

[Gypsy86]

small children was not dahmers MO... this case is just as mind blowing as all the other cases i try to help with

 

[Gypsy86]

this video blew my mind

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Adam doesn't seem to fit Dahmer's victimology IMO. He's way too young (age 6) compared to the others. Dahmer's youngest victim was the 14 year old Laotian that escaped and then was returned to him by the police. *SMH*.

One source stated "He was careful to select victims on the fringes of society, who were often itinerant or borderline criminal, making their disappearances less noticeable and reducing the likelihood of his capture. He lured them to his home with promises of money or sex, then strangled them to death. He engaged in sex acts with their bodies and kept body parts and photos as souvenirs." Jeffrey Dahmer

Adam's disappearance definitely would have been noticed and too much of a risk. Also, several skulls were also found in Dahmer's apartment so it seems unlikely he'd dispose of Adam's head.

Ottis Toole seems to be accepted by LE as Adam's murderer. Not sure how to feel about that either. Toole was definitely an opportunist when it came to trolling victims- which makes sense in Adam's case as it could have been pure happenstance. But Adam seems completely random compared to most of Toole's other victims. Not saying it's improbable. But perhaps it's possible LE accepted it as such because he confessed and they had no other leads?

It appears that Toole, like Dahmer, seemed to go for those who were not only much older than Adam, but those who were vagrants, transients etc. It was stated that Toole (and Henry Lee Lucas) would "prey upon hitchhikers, prostitutes, and migrant workers". Adam just doesn't belong in any of these categories.
Henry Lucas And Ottis Toole Became Lovers And Then Murdered Their Way Across The United States

 

[Gypsy86]

i have never felt that ottis tooles confession was ever reliable. and the car ottis had was lost.... HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN

 

[Gypsy86]

i feel this case is a tool to catch the real killer possiby

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

i have never felt that ottis tooles confession was ever reliable. and the car ottis had was lost.... HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN

Agreed. Maybe for kicks he wanted the claim to fame as many killers want since all his other victims weren't really in the headlines. Early on it also had been documented that it was a false confession because Toole said at one point he wasn't even sure if he did it. It wasn't until years later via "exceptional clearance" after Toole died that LE attributed Adam's murder to him, without any new evidence or trial. I really don't think he nor Dahmer did it. Just doesn't fit the MO and victimology.

 

[Catchemifucan622]

Dahmer was at the dump site 3 days before Adam's remains were found. The exact location, wuth a bucket. He also had access to a blue van and his description matched the one given to police as the one seen at the the store. Even Bundy had a very young victim (12).
As far Dahmer not confessing.....Florida has the death penalty,
Dahmer also did have prior for child molestation....there are way too many coincidences to be ignored. Someone wrote a book and did a fairly good investigation on the subject. Has anyone read it?

 

[Catchemifucan622]

Adam Walsh murder revisited: The case against Jeffrey Dahmer

 

[Catchemifucan622]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1439236275/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_DXTTXRC9KV1411WBWNCM

Anybody read this? I'm thinking about ordering it. Thoughts

 

[AlwaysCoffee]

Dahmer was at the dump site 3 days before Adam's remains were found. The exact location, wuth a bucket. He also had access to a blue van and his description matched the one given to police as the one seen at the the store. Even Bundy had a very young victim (12).
As far Dahmer not confessing.....Florida has the death penalty,
Dahmer also did have prior for child molestation....there are way too many coincidences to be ignored. Someone wrote a book and did a fairly good investigation on the subject. Has anyone read it?

I've never been in the "Dahmer did it" camp, but this exact (bbm) thought dawned on me while reading through this thread. I have to admit I'm rethinking this stance now.

My biggest hesitation is that not only does the Walsh case not fit Dahmer's usual MO, but Adam himself doesn't fit the victim profile. Put bluntly, Dahmer targeted dark people. Wasn't the child molestation charge actually for the Laotian boy's older brother? Surely there were others?

 

[sds71]

40 Years Later, Adam Walsh's Abduction and Murder Not Forgotten in South Florida

 

[Lucky Digger]

Hi. Thanks for starting this thread. I know that they found the head of a child not long after Adam was abducted, but it was badly decomposed and I don't think that there was ever a positive ID on it. In my mind, he could still be alive. I have found a guy on facebook that looks just like an age progression of him. I wonder?

 

[Lucky Digger]

I've never been in the "Dahmer did it" camp, but this exact (bbm) thought dawned on me while reading through this thread. I have to admit I'm rethinking this stance now.

My biggest hesitation is that not only does the Walsh case not fit Dahmer's usual MO, but Adam himself doesn't fit the victim profile. Put bluntly, Dahmer targeted dark people. Wasn't the child molestation charge actually for the Laotian boy's older brother? Surely there were others?

Wouldnn't Dahmer have been too young?