The History of Northeast Florida

Gerard John Schaefer grew up in an environment that today is recognized as a recipe for raising a serial killer.  His mother was overly doting towards him, and his father was an abusive alcoholic who was away from home much of the time.  He was born on March 26, 1946 in Neenah , Wisconsin .  His father, Gerard John Schaefer, Sr., was a traveling salesman.  His mother, Doris, was a housewife. He was the oldest of three children, the others being a girl, Sara, and a boy, Gary. When his father was home, he often belittled Doris .  He never missed an opportunity to make it clear that he thought young Johnny, as he was called, was useless and that he preferred his daughter to him.  On top of this, both parents were dogmatic Catholics who enforced strict adherence to their faith. The family relocated to Nashville , Tennessee , and shortly thereafter, they moved to Atlanta , Georgia .  Around the age of 12, as Schaefer approached puberty, his disturbing pro...

This article is reprinted from the book   Florida Felons: Stories from the History of Raiford Prison On July 27, 1981 Reve Walsh took her six year old, Adam shopping at a Sears store in Hollywood , Florida .  She left him playing video games in the toy department for a few minutes.  When she returned Adam was nowhere to be found.  Two weeks later the boy’s head was discovered by fishermen in a canal near Vero Beach , nearly 120 miles away.  Adam’s body was never found.  Over the following years, Adam’s father, John Walsh, became an activist on behalf of murdered and missing children and went on to host the television show “ America ’s Most Wanted.” While the case was never officially solved, both the police and John Walsh believe they know who was responsible for Adam’s abduction and murder:  Ottis Elwood Toole of Jacksonville , Florida . Ottis Elwood Toole was born in the Springfield area of Jacksonville on March 5, 1947.  As a young boy, ...