Fella who started "Americas Most Wanted" finally has his case closed.

[shortylickens]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...ap_on_re_us/adam_walsh

===============================
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, at one point placing a small photo of his son on the podium as he spoke. "We needed to know. We needed to know. And today we know. The not knowing has been a torture, but that journey's over."

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

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
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It seems the guy started this show because of his son. I never knew that.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
It seems the guy started this show because of his son. I never knew that.

His son's case was featured early on.

Glad he finally has closure.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

So sad. Amazing how the loss of a son can be something you can carry with you forever.

 

[OrByte]

My son is six years old right now and I think I would literally lose my mind if something like that happened to us.

Such a sad and scary story. And I'm happy for the Walsh's that they have some sort of closure.

 

[GoPackGo]

Walsh can take solace that the loss of his son was not in vein. The good work he has since done makes him a hero among humans.

 

[dphantom]

deepest condolences. I am glad this has been put to rest.

 

[alchemize]

Good friend of mine had dinner with Walsh. Said he was one of the most genuine, down to earth "celebrities" he's ever met (mostly b-list celebs and authors in his line of business). Glad he finally reached some closure, and glad the killer died in prison.

 

[chess9]

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
Walsh can take solace that the loss of his son was not in vein. The good work he has since done makes him a hero among humans.

Amen! Walsh has done more to educate police and governments than anyone except possibly for Missing and Exploited Children network.

I could not imagine losing a child like that. I would probably go nuts. How he kept his sanity and focused on helping others is a testimony to his strength of character.

-Robert

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: chess9

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
Walsh can take solace that the loss of his son was not in vein. The good work he has since done makes him a hero among humans.

Amen! Walsh has done more to educate police and governments than anyone except possibly for Missing and Exploited Children network.

While I don't disagree with that, I also agree with the sociologist in the article that "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." I don't doubt his intentions for a minute, but he has had an effect far greater than most people realize.

 

[StageLeft]

I'm glad he has closure and I think the statements from that sociologist are just quite frankly fvcking insane.

 

[marincounty]

I'm glad he has closure now. Now can we now stop with the vigilante shows?
I'm still waiting for someone to stab the pervert on MSNBC.

 

[cwjerome]

Originally posted by: daniel1113

Originally posted by: chess9

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
Walsh can take solace that the loss of his son was not in vein. The good work he has since done makes him a hero among humans.

Amen! Walsh has done more to educate police and governments than anyone except possibly for Missing and Exploited Children network.

While I don't disagree with that, I also agree with the sociologist in the article that "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." I don't doubt his intentions for a minute, but he has had an effect far greater than most people realize.

You mean he opened people's eyes to the brutal realities of life?

I think he had a positive effect on our culture by getting people somewhat involved or educated in public safety. And why would we take a sociologist's opinion seriously anyway? (I'm half kidding...)

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: marincounty
I'm glad he has closure now. Now can we now stop with the vigilante shows?
I'm still waiting for someone to stab the pervert on MSNBC.

I agree the vigilante shows should end, but I want to see Walsh carry on America's Most Wanted. The show has saved lives and I hope that he can find ways to bring his message and the suspects into the public's eyes for years to come.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
Walsh can take solace that the loss of his son was not in vain. The good work he has since done makes him a hero among humans.

FIXED because the other way is jjust wrong.

 

[ProfJohn]

The sociologist has a point.

The number of children abducted by a stranger is insanely tiny and yet we act like it is an every day occurrence. I would guess that your child is more likely to be hit by a car or killed while on a bike than abducted by a stranger and killed.

We were probably better off being ignorant of this almost non-existent threat than worried about it constantly.

Facts: "The most reliable research available indicates that there are only 100-130 cases of stranger abductions a year in the United States." This compares to about 7000 kids killed per year due to accidents. More kids drown in their own pool each year than are kidnapped. etc etc

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
The sociologist has a point.

The number of children abducted by a stranger is insanely tiny and yet we act like it is an every day occurrence. I would guess that your child is more likely to be hit by a car or killed while on a bike than abducted by a stranger and killed.

We were probably better off being ignorant of this almost non-existent threat than worried about it constantly.

Facts: "The most reliable research available indicates that there are only 100-130 cases of stranger abductions a year in the United States." This compares to about 7000 kids killed per year due to accidents. More kids drown in their own pool each year than are kidnapped. etc etc

Indeed. In fact this logic applies to virtually ALL threats people (at least in the US) spend their time worrying about. The unlikely threats are treated as serious problems, while the actual threats are virtually ignored. Car crashes kill far more people than terrorism, but which one receives the attention? At the end of the day, I think it's about covering what's "interesting", not weighting it by how big of a danger it really is.

 

[JJChicken]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: shortylickens
It seems the guy started this show because of his son. I never knew that.

His son's case was featured early on.

Glad he finally has closure.

Amen.

 

[TallBill]

I cant imagine the emotion of such an event. I don't think that I could ever be sane again

 

[cwjerome]

Originally posted by: Rainsford

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
The sociologist has a point.

The number of children abducted by a stranger is insanely tiny and yet we act like it is an every day occurrence. I would guess that your child is more likely to be hit by a car or killed while on a bike than abducted by a stranger and killed.

We were probably better off being ignorant of this almost non-existent threat than worried about it constantly.

Facts: "The most reliable research available indicates that there are only 100-130 cases of stranger abductions a year in the United States." This compares to about 7000 kids killed per year due to accidents. More kids drown in their own pool each year than are kidnapped. etc etc

Indeed. In fact this logic applies to virtually ALL threats people (at least in the US) spend their time worrying about. The unlikely threats are treated as serious problems, while the actual threats are virtually ignored. Car crashes kill far more people than terrorism, but which one receives the attention? At the end of the day, I think it's about covering what's "interesting", not weighting it by how big of a danger it really is.

Walsh has spent his time and show following all violent crime, not just child kidnappings, and his show has helped capture 100s of the worse type of criminals. I just don't see what's wrong with being a "spokesman" and creating awareness, while at the same time being a friend of law enforcement and victims.

And I'm not getting this "panic" that the sociologist speaks of. Talk about blowing things out of proportion.

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: cwjerome
And I'm not getting this "panic" that the sociologist speaks of. Talk about blowing things out of proportion.

I understand what he's saying - when I was growing up, kids were generally allowed a pretty free rein. On a summer's day, we could leave the house after breakfast, wander down to the park, visit a friend's house, whatever, until dinner time, and our parents thought nothing of it, and didn't follow us around every minute either. That's pretty alien to a lot of today's parents, who are much more cautious. A co-worker recently told me she's started to let her son go into a store by himself while she waits in the car. The shocking part? Her son's 15!!! That's what a lot of us parents have become.

 

[Skitzer]

Originally posted by: gersson
So sad. Amazing how the loss of a son can be something you can carry with you forever.

You are obviously not a Father.

 

[Skitzer]

Originally posted by: chess9

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
Walsh can take solace that the loss of his son was not in vein. The good work he has since done makes him a hero among humans.

Amen! Walsh has done more to educate police and governments than anyone except possibly for Missing and Exploited Children network.

I could not imagine losing a child like that. I would probably go nuts. How he kept his sanity and focused on helping others is a testimony to his strength of character.

-Robert

QFT :thumbsup:

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: daniel1113

Originally posted by: chess9

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
Walsh can take solace that the loss of his son was not in vein. The good work he has since done makes him a hero among humans.

Amen! Walsh has done more to educate police and governments than anyone except possibly for Missing and Exploited Children network.

While I don't disagree with that, I also agree with the sociologist in the article that "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." I don't doubt his intentions for a minute, but he has had an effect far greater than most people realize.

I totally agree, and it's for this reason that I have never been a fan of Walsh. When I was a kid, my parents thought nothing wrong of letting me walk to and from school on my own, or bike to my friends' homes, baseball practices, etc.
While nowadays, paranoid parents drive to pick up their kids from the neighborhood bus stop.
No doubt, there are real threats out in this unsafe world, but living in perpetual fear is not progress.

 

[cwjerome]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: daniel1113

Originally posted by: chess9

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
Walsh can take solace that the loss of his son was not in vein. The good work he has since done makes him a hero among humans.

Amen! Walsh has done more to educate police and governments than anyone except possibly for Missing and Exploited Children network.

While I don't disagree with that, I also agree with the sociologist in the article that "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." I don't doubt his intentions for a minute, but he has had an effect far greater than most people realize.

I totally agree, and it's for this reason that I have never been a fan of Walsh. When I was a kid, my parents thought nothing wrong of letting me walk to and from school on my own, or bike to my friends' homes, baseball practices, etc.
While nowadays, paranoid parents drive to pick up their kids from the neighborhood bus stop.
No doubt, there are real threats out in this unsafe world, but living in perpetual fear is not progress.

Seems pretty simplistic to blame one guy so heavily for the way society has changed over the past 30 years. I think there are a lot of factors involved and if we are going to start blaming, it should be the overly-restrictive, kid coddling parents. If Walsh believes strongly in something that's fundamentally good and that's his cause, then too damn bad if some people want to carry thing out to extremes.

I'm a huge critic of the wussification of society but if you think it's someone like John Walsh that's a prime factor then you're barking up the wrong tree. In my mind, the guy has a strength of character and has done more good at fighting back at crime that few can match.

 

[OrByte]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: daniel1113

Originally posted by: chess9

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
Walsh can take solace that the loss of his son was not in vein. The good work he has since done makes him a hero among humans.

Amen! Walsh has done more to educate police and governments than anyone except possibly for Missing and Exploited Children network.

While I don't disagree with that, I also agree with the sociologist in the article that "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." I don't doubt his intentions for a minute, but he has had an effect far greater than most people realize.

I totally agree, and it's for this reason that I have never been a fan of Walsh. When I was a kid, my parents thought nothing wrong of letting me walk to and from school on my own, or bike to my friends' homes, baseball practices, etc.
While nowadays, paranoid parents drive to pick up their kids from the neighborhood bus stop.
No doubt, there are real threats out in this unsafe world, but living in perpetual fear is not progress.

While I would like to agree with this sentiment I can't shake the paranoia as a parent that there are bad people out there that want a piece of my kids! I think it?s because this kind of crime hit really close to home when I was younger. I knew a girl that met a violent death and it still bothers me to this day. She was at school and she went into a workshop there on school grounds and ran into the custodian who then proceeded to rape her and slit her throat. Anyone remember the Michelle Montoya story from Sacramento?

Anyways kids get hurt all the time, kids get kidnapped, Meagan's Law lets you look up the pedophile that lives 3 blocks away from you. I lived across the street from a sex offender while my kids were young (ages 1 and 4) This shit is everywhere! And while I want to agree with you that living in perpetual fear is not progress nor is it healthy, I don't see myself ever being any other way until my kids are MUCH older and even then you never stop being paranoid over your kids.

And I know that realistically the threat is statistically insignificant but I will still remain paranoid. I will be the first to admit this. I think as a parent you come to this point where if you aren't paranoid you aren't doing a good enough job! Isn't that ridiculous???

Plus, there are just some f_cked up people out there...

Anyways, I'm still thinking about this horrible story. I read the Foxnews story that gave a little background on this Otis character...wow what a demon that guy was.