Ottis Toole is an American drifter and serial killer who has been convicted of a number of heinous crimes. He received two death sentences, but on appeal they were commuted to life in prison. Subsequently, the story of the maniac became a plot for films and literary works, and his personality disorder is still being studied in the leading scientific institutes of the world.
Early biography
Ottis Toole was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. The boy's father was an avid alcoholic, and his mother suffered from a personality disorder. As a child, a woman would dress a child in girls' clothes and call him Susan. Later, Toole claimed that, at a young age, he several times became a victim of sexual abuse by many close relatives and acquaintances. In addition, his maternal grandmother was a member of a satanic sect. The woman tried to teach her grandson "devilish" practices and rituals.
When Ottis started elementary school, he was diagnosed with mild mental retardation. He also suffered from epilepsy, which led to frequent seizures. Toole often ran away from home and slept in abandoned buildings so as not to meet with his family members. Wanting to have fun, he periodically began to set fire to abandoned objects and buildings.
At a young age, Toole realized that he was homosexual. At the age of 12, he was already in a romantic relationship with a neighbor boy. In ninth grade, Ottis dropped out of school and started going to gay bars. A little later, he began to earn money in elite establishments as a model, and in 1965, at the age of 17, he was convicted of attempting to sell one of the employees of a dance club into slavery.
From 1966 to 1973, Toole was a prostitute in the southwestern United States of America. In early 1974, police officers began to receive the first complaints about the man, and then discovered that Ottis may be involved in unsolved murders.
Crimes
Toole became one of the prime suspects in the murder of 24-year-old American Patricia Webb in the mid-1970s. Soon after the investigation began, he briefly settled in Boulder, Colorado. Ottis hid his actions in every possible way, so for lack of evidence he could not be sent to prison.
Literally a month later, Tulu is credited with a new crime - the murder of 31-year-old Ellen Holman, who died on October 14, 1974. But the court again could not collect enough evidence to punish the maniac.
In early 1975, Ottis competed in amateur drifting competitions in the southern United States, after which he returned to his native Jacksonville. Here he married a local girl, but after a few days the couple broke up.
In 1976, Toole met Henry Lee Lucas. Later, the maniac claimed that together they committed 1,008 murders on the orders of the unknown cult of the "Hands of Death". However, police officers denied an unconfirmed claim that the religious organization existed. On January 4, 1982, Ottis Toole barricaded 65-year-old George Sonnenberg at a boarding house in Jacksonville and then set fire to the building. An elderly man died a week later from injuries sustained in a fire. However, the police brought charges only a year later. After a confession, Tula was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
During the investigation, the maniac also confessed to the murder of 6-year-old Adam Walsh, which he committed back in 1981. According to Toole, he met the boy in the parking lot of the mall. The man told the child that he had candy and toys. Adam willingly agreed to go with the stranger. Soon, Walsh demanded that Ottis take him back, but in response, the maniac punched the baby in the face. The boy began to cry, annoying Tula. When they went out into a deserted place, the criminal took out a machete and beheaded Adam. He threw the body into the nearest canal, and fled from the scene of the murder.
In addition, police have identified Toole as the culprit in two unsolved murders in northwest Florida. Later, Ottis admitted that he really killed 18-year-old traveler David Shallat, as well as 20-year-old Ada Johnson.
Before the final verdict, Toole took part in a psychiatric examination. She showed that the man suffers from impulsive personality disorder. This is what, according to the doctors, prompted him to commit crimes against society. The court found enough evidence to officially attribute the antisocial syndrome to Tulu.
Ultimately, the maniac was sentenced to life imprisonment. Already in prison, he told investigators about four more murders. However, his punishment remained the same. Toole died in Florida State Prison of cirrhosis on September 15, 1996 at the age of 49. He was buried in a local cemetery.
Personal life
Trying to hide his gay orientation, on January 14, 1976, the offender married a woman who was 25 years older than him. However, three days later, she realized that Ottis was homosexuality, after which she left her lover forever. During an interview for one of the American newspapers, Toole admitted that it was a kind of tactic for society to consider him a normal person.
From 1976 until his imprisonment, Ottis maintained a romantic relationship with his accomplice Henry Lee Lucas.
Image in creativity
In popular culture, many characters have been created, whose fate is based on the biography of a famous maniac. For example, in the TV series "Law & Order" describes the murder of Adam Walsh, committed by Ottis in 1981. In addition, Toole's story has formed the basis for such famous films as "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" by Tom Towles and "No Good Deeds" by James Swan.
In the late 1990s, writer Willis Morgan wrote The Frustrated Witness, which examined Toole's worst crimes. The author conducted his own investigation of several murders and tried to analyze the main motives of the famous maniac.
