 |
This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (December 2007) |
| This article or section relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations of additional sources. |
Adam John Walsh (November 14, 1974 – c. July 27, 1981) was an American boy abducted from a Sears department store at the Hollywood Mall in Hollywood, Florida, on July 27, 1981, and later found murdered. Though convicted serial killer Ottis Toole confessed to the boy's murder, he was never tried for the crime. Adam's death earned national publicity, and Adam's father, John Walsh, later became an advocate for victims of violent crime and the host of the television program America's Most Wanted.
Contents |
Kidnapping
Adam's mother, Revé, let him watch a small group of older boys play video games at a Sears store in Hollywood, Florida, while she walked a few aisles away to shop for a lamp. When Revé returned to the video game section, she was frightened to find that Adam was not there. She then told a Sears associate, who announced over the intercom for Adam to meet his mother at one of the information desks. Revé later said that she had no confidence that Adam would be able to locate the desks. Adam and his mother were never reunited. There are claims that a female security guard threw the children out of the store for bickering over the video game, and perhaps Adam was confused and thought he had to leave too. Investigators think Adam had been mistakenly associated with a group of older children who were causing trouble and told to leave the shopping mall. It is suspected that Adam was abducted near the front exterior of the store after the other boys went on their way. Adam's severed head was found in Vero Beach, Florida, canal on August 10, 1981; the rest of his remains were never recovered. When the Walshes attempted to sue Sears, Sears brought a counter suit. The Walshes dropped the charges. The Hollywood Mall became a dead mall after this event.
Aftermath
The kidnapping and murder prompted Adam's father, John Walsh, to become an advocate for victims' rights and helped to spur the formation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). As a result of his advocacy, he was approached to host the television program America's Most Wanted. The Code Adam program for helping lost children in department stores is named in Walsh's memory. The U.S. Congress passed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act on July 25, 2006, and President Bush signed it into law on July 27, 2006. The bill signing ceremony took place on the South Lawn of the White House, where leaders from both sides of the political spectrum joined John and Revé Walsh. The bill institutes a national database of convicted child molesters, increases penalties for sexual and violent offenses against children, and creates a RICO cause of action for child predators and those who conspire with them.
Suspects
No one has been convicted of Adam Walsh's murder, although one man, Ottis Toole, repeatedly confessed and then retracted accounts of his involvement. Toole, allegedly a confidante of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, was never charged in the Walsh case, even though he provided seemingly accurate descriptions on how he had committed this crime. Police investigated Toole for the Walsh murder, but lost important evidence in the case. In September 1996, Toole died in prison of cirrhosis of the liver while serving a life sentence for other crimes. Afterwards, Toole's niece told John Walsh that her uncle made a deathbed confession to the murder of Adam.[1] Toole's confession, however, is viewed with skepticism by many, since he and Henry Lucas confessed to or implicated themselves in over 200 different homicides, many of which it has been proven they did not commit. Jeffrey Dahmer, arrested in Wisconsin in 1991 after killing more than a dozen men and boys, has also been named as a suspect in the Walsh murder. Some have suggested a Dahmer link to the case for many years, but the allegations earned widespread publicity in early 2007. Dahmer was living in Miami Beach at the time Adam was murdered and two eyewitnesses place him at the shopping mall on the day that Adam was abducted. Dahmer preyed on young men and boys, and his modus operandi included severing his victims' heads.[1] Since this rumor has surfaced John Walsh has said that he has "seen no evidence linking his son's unsolved kidnapping and slaying to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer." John still believes his son was murdered by Ottis Toole.[1]
Movies
Adam's disappearance and his family's struggle was dramatized in a 1983 NBC television movie, Adam, with actors Daniel J. Travanti and JoBeth Williams portraying Adam's parents. In 1986, the movie "Adam" was followed up with the sequel, "Adam: His Song Continues." The real John Walsh appeared at the conclusion of the broadcast to publicize photos of other kidnapped children, years before hosting America's Most Wanted.
References
- ^ a b c Associated Press, "Walsh: No Dahmer link to son's slaying"; URL accessed February 9, 2007
