Murder of Adam Walsh

Murder of Adam Walsh
Adam Walsh
Location	Indian River County, Florida, U.S.
Date	c. July 27, 1981; 43 years ago (1981-07-27)
Attack type	Child murder by strangulation, beheading, child abduction
Victim	Adam John Walsh
Motive	Unknown
Inquiries	Investigation concluded in December 2008
Accused	Ottis Toole (confessed, later recanted confession; died 1996)

Adam John Walsh (November 14, 1974^[1] – c. July 27, 1981) was an American child who was abducted from a Sears department store at the Hollywood Mall in Hollywood, Florida, on July 27, 1981. His severed head was found two weeks later in a drainage canal alongside Highway 60/Yeehaw Junction in rural Indian River County, Florida. His death garnered national interest and was made into the 1983 television film Adam, seen by 38 million people in its original airing.^[2]

Adam's father, John Walsh, became an advocate for victims of violent crimes and was the host of the television program America's Most Wanted and, later, In Pursuit with John Walsh.^[3] Convicted serial killer Ottis Toole confessed to Adam's murder, but was never convicted of the crime because evidence was reportedly lost and Toole later recanted his confession. Toole died in prison of liver failure on September 15, 1996.^[4] No new evidence has come to light since then, and police announced on December 16, 2008, that the Walsh case was closed and that they were satisfied that Toole was the killer.