Fla. police close books on '81 Walsh killing

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 12/16/08 at 4:41pm

I remember when this happened.

At the time, it seemed to me the entire country was suddenly whipped into a frenzy of fear over the safety of their children.


I hope the Walshs can find some peace.



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. "We needed to know. We needed to know. And today we know. The not knowing has been a torture, but that journey's over."

Walsh's wife, Reve, at one point placed a small photo of their son on the podium.

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

Full article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081216/ap_on_re_us/adam_walsh

Updated On: 12/16/08 at 04:41 PM

[danmag]

Posted: 12/16/08 at 4:47pm

The press conference with John Walsh was absolutely heart breaking.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 12/16/08 at 5:17pm

There is still no word on what happened to Etan Patz though. I believe his abduction occurred before the Walsh case.

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 12/16/08 at 5:53pm

I had never heard of the Patz case. I just looked it up.


Here is a bit from wikipedia:

Suspect

In 1991, jailhouse informants claimed that Jose Antonio Ramos, a convicted child sexual abuser imprisoned in Pennsylvania, admitted to his murder. Ramos had been a friend of Etan's one-time babysitter. He promised that no body would be found, saying "It's too horrible. No one would ever represent me".[citation needed] In a special feature on missing children, the New York Post, reported on October 23, 1999, that Ramos was the prime suspect in Etan's disappearance.

Etan was declared legally dead in 2001. His parents, Stanley and Julie Patz, pursued a civil case against Ramos, who was found liable for Patz's wrongful death in May 2004.[2] They were awarded a sum of $2 million, which they have never collected, as Ramos is serving a prison term for molesting boys in Pennsylvania. He will have served his full sentence in 2014. Without evidence, a body or a crime scene, some New York investigators do not believe they will ever be able to convict Ramos for Patz's death.


I feel for those parents.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 12/16/08 at 6:08pm

The Etan Patz case has always haunted me.

I didn't see the John Walsh press conference, but I'm sure this 'closure' is bittersweet. I hope he finds comfort in knowing so much good came out of the tragedy of his son's murder, by way of his starting his TV program which has captured so many criminals.

But, still, the shock of a 6 year-old being murdered is unimaginable.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/16/08 at 6:23pm

He will have served his full sentence in 2014. Without evidence, a body or a crime scene, some New York investigators do not believe they will ever be able to convict Ramos for Patz's death.

Does this mean that in 2014, if he's alive, this creep is gonna be released?