Adam Walsh Case Closed

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — The investigation into the 1981 death of Adam Walsh, the 6-year-old son of "America's Most Wanted" anchor John Walsh, is finally closed, after having been classified as an unsolved murder for 27 years. Hollywood Police Chief Chad Wagner announced Tuesday that the department had concluded that a man named Ottis Toole kidnapped and killed the boy. The now-deceased pedophile and convicted murderer confessed to the slaying, but later recanted. Tool had confessed to hundreds of killings, but police determined most of those confessions were lies. Toole's niece later told John Walsh that her uncle gave a deathbed confession to his son's murder before dying in prison more than a decade ago. For years, John Walsh and his wife Revé decried the investigation as botched — an accusation Wagner confirmed. Despite the mistakes made along the way, Wagner said the investigation always led detectives back to Toole, the only chief suspect in the case. Wagner said he hoped the department's decision could bring the Walsh family closure. Having voiced suspicions of Toole in the past, John Walsh said not knowing was torture, but "that journey's over." The Associated Press contributed to this report.