Ottis Toole: Mutilator, murderer and cannibal

Mutilator, murderer and cannibal: This is the criminal history of Ottis Elwood Toole. This serial killer, originally from Florida, was convicted of six murders, but the number of his victims could be even higher since, before his death, he confessed to having killed hundreds of people.

For more than two decades, Ottis Toole terrorized the states of Florida and Texas, where he committed most of his crimes. In at least one of those states, the serial killer set his victim’s house on fire, which contributed to him receiving two death sentences initially. They were eventually reduced to life sentences which he served until September 15, 1996, the day of his death.

THE LIFE OF OTTIS TOOLE

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Ottis Elwood Toole was born on March 5, 1947, in Jacksonville, Florida. He claimed to have suffered from sexual abuse and incest at the hands of various members of his family, including his older sister and one of his neighbors. From a young age, he had homosexual inclinations as well as an affinity for arson that led him to burn down several houses.

At age 12, he dropped out of school and began frequenting gay bars. Around this time, he also developed an obsession with homosexual pornography. His criminal activities increased in number and severity and, at 14, he committed what would be his first murder. It was a man who threatened to sexually abuse Toole. Given this, the young man ran over him with his car but the authorities didn’t arrest him for this.

OTTIS TOOLE MURDERS

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Ottis Toole’s street life led authorities to link him to prostitution and the murder of two young men who lived in the Colorado area. For this reason, he decided to leave the area to return to Jacksonville, Florida. There he met Henry Lee Lucas, who for many years was his partner, and alleged accomplice, in the murders of 108 people.

On January 4, 1982, Ottis Toole’s arsonist instincts kicked in and he burned down the house of George Sonnenberg, who was still inside. He initially survived the attack, but died several weeks later from his burns. In his confession, Toole said that he had set fire to the house because of a fight with Sonnenberg, who was his romantic partner. He received the death penalty for this crime.

OTHER CONFESSIONS

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Ottis Toole’s arrest after the death of George Sonnenberg was just the beginning of a series of confessions and investigations that have linked him to dozens of murders, including that of Adam Walsh, a six-year-old boy who was found dead in 1981. He also claimed to be responsible for two deaths on the I-10 freeway.

Ottis Toole claimed to have also killed David Schallar and Ada Johnson after kidnapping them at gunpoint. In his dialogues with the police, Toole’s impulsiveness and antisocial behavior stood out, two traits he had since his childhood.

OTTIS TOOLE’S MODUS OPERANDI

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In addition to pyromania, Ottis Toole attacked his victims in different ways. First, he kidnapped them and then began a series of violent attacks that ended in their deaths by shooting or decapitation, as was the case of Adam Walsh.

To this day, investigators continue to debate the events that led to Adam Walsh’s death. Some of them believe that the true perpetrator of the murder was Jeffrey Dahmer, another serial killer who lived nearby during the 1980s.

JUDGMENT

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During the trial, Ottis Toole accused Henry Lee Lucas of being his accomplice in several murders and he was charged with illegal possession of weapons. He also testified that he was innocent of setting fire to Sonnenberg’s house and that he had only signed the confession under pressure from the detectives assigned to the case.

On April 28, 1984, the jury found Ottis Toole guilty of first-degree murder, for which he received the death penalty. In total, the evidence collected led to him receiving two death sentences but, in the end, he ended up spending the rest of his days in Florida State Prison, where he died on September 15, 1996. Until the day of his death, Ottis Toole continued confessing to crimes.