Ottis Toole | |
|---|---|
 Toole in a 1983 mugshot taken shortly after his arrest | |
| Born | Ottis Elwood Toole March 5, 1947 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | September 15, 1996 (aged 49) Raiford, Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Florida State Prison Cemetery, Starke, Florida, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Prostitute and vagrant |
| Spouse | Novella Henry |
| Conviction(s) |
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| Criminal penalty |
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| Details | |
Span of crimes | 1961–1983 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Michigan, Florida and Texas |
| Killed | 6 convicted, 1 suspected, hundreds more claimed |
Date apprehended | June 15, 1983 |
| Imprisoned at | Florida State Prison |
Ottis Elwood Toole (March 5, 1947 – September 15, 1996) was an American serial killer who was convicted of six counts of murder. Like his companion Henry Lee Lucas, Toole made confessions which resulted in murder convictions, and which he later recanted. The discrediting of the case against Lucas for crimes for which Toole had offered corroborating statements created doubts as to whether either was a genuine serial killer or, as Hugh Aynesworth suggested, both were merely compliant interviewees whom police used to clear unsolved murders from the books.
Toole received two death sentences, but on appeal, they were commuted to life imprisonment. He died in his cell from cirrhosis, at age 49. Police attributed the 1981 murder of Adam Walsh to Toole on the basis of recanted statements. Lucas had backed Toole's confession to the Walsh murder, claiming that he had been in possession of the victim's severed head, though Lucas had a reputation for false confessions.