Police investigators have finally solved the case of the murderer who killed 6-year-old Adam Walsh back in 1981. It took police 27 years to put its finger on who was the killer, but they did it not because they were provided with any kind of new evidence or something like that. Investigators simply took another look over the past 27 years of tips, psychic revelations, police work and a serial killer's disturbing admissions and, in the end, called it a crime.

The man held responsible for the horrible crime was the prime suspect all along this lengthy case. Ottis Toole was a serial killer and he had a partner in crime. The homosexual couple joined forces and criss-crossed the United States from 1978 to 1983 making numerous victims.

The late Ottise Toole confessed to police several years ago that he had made his first victim when he was 14. As a teenager he ran over a traveling salesman who propositioned him for sex with the salesman's own car. He admitted killing nine people in six states, but police investigators do not known whether this is the real number or it was higher. Toole died in 1996 while doing time for an unrelated murder.

"This is a process that is long overdue," Hollywood Police Chief Chad Wagner said at a press conference announcing the police’s decision. The audience included Adam's parents, John and Reve Walsh.

The serial killer confessed that he killed Adam Walsh on two occasions, but recanted the confession each time. Wagner acknowledged that police could have charged Toole back then, but they didn’t. The police chief apologized to the Walsh family for the mistakes made by police investigators and acknowledged that evidence was destroyed or overlooked in the process.

Among the mistakes made by police in this case, the most evident were the loss of a bloody carpet from Toole's 1971 Cadillac and then the loss of the actual car, missing leads, poor investigative notes and poor documentation of evidence.

Adam Walsh disappeared from a Sears at the Hollywood Mall on July 27, 1981, while her mother was shopping. Two weeks later, his severed head was found in Vero Beach, Fla. The case changed the way police treated cases of missing children.

The case led to improvement on how police deal with missing children. After the funeral ceremony, the Walshes founded the Adam Walsh Outreach Center for Missing Children, which became a clearinghouse for families and police officers dealing with cases of missing children. The Walsh family also pressured the Congress and the White House to pass stronger laws and John Walsh’s famous TV show, "America's Most Wanted," helped to solve hundreds of crimes.