THE GLOVES ARE OFF! Les Standiford co-author of Bringing Adam Home has been stalking and harassing me on amazon and other sites.

The following is an amazon review followed by comments made by Mr. Standiford as well as my response to Standiford.
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A closing that went so very wrong

Book review By Amazon Customer on December 20, 2015

I felt the overall book was great. It outlined so many things that went wrong with this case and how one detective caused a case to be closed incorrectly and caused insurmountable frustration and heartache for the author who was one of the witnesses.

The entire investigation went wrong from day one and now so many seem to just want a wrong closing to remain as is.

In 1981 detectives ignored tips and failed to conduct proper investigating or document information.

In 2008 a detective had the case closed by using a Sears security guard as a scapegoat and not calling witnesses that saw a confused and protesting Adam being abducted and tossed into a BLUE VAN with Jeffrey Dahmer. This case could have and should have been solved and closed correctly. Instead it would take thirty-four years for the truth to be told by the witnesses themselves. If anyone cares to hear what they have to say and what they witnessed this is the book to read. 
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Comment by Amazon Customer (AKA Les Standiford)
January 20, 2016

Why do you say scapegoat? Is this you talking or Willis? Go into the case file and read Sears Security Guard Kathy Shaffer's comments in the 1996 interview she had with Phil Mundy. She mentions that she first learned of a missing child approx 30 min after she kicked 4 children out of the store. Kathy claims that she went to the video game station 12:30-12:45 to break up a disturbance, so her approx time of learning there was a missing boy would place the time at 1:00-1:15pm. The first page for Adam in the store was at 12:25, the second page was at 12:40-45, and the third was at 1:00pm. These pages continued every 15 to 20 min. She is a security guard, therefore she would know about a missing child a little earlier that the times she gave. Also, Reve comments in the book Tears of Rage that a young girl came up to her during her search for Adam that she may have been the one who asked her son to leave the store. Reve didn't know what she was talking about, and Reve was rather frantic by the time of the second page. The time of the blue van was after 1:00pm. Read the case file and pay close attention to the statements given by Timothy Pottenburg's mother and grandmother for they give credibility to the blue van but not during the time Willis mentions.

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My Response:

Les Standiford and Joe Matthews will stop at nothing in obstructing justice for Adam Walsh and preventing the truth from being told.

When security guard Kathryn Shaffer observed the incident in the toy department at 12:45 p.m., Adam had already been missing for around twenty-five minutes. Dahmer was already in his van with Adam, and the evidence I found implied that he was most likely on his way back to the meter room behind the store where he worked. According to the record in Detective Mark Smith’s third supplemental report, some people attempted to place blame on Shaffer and she became hesitant to discuss the matter. In Smith’s report, he said Shaffer now admitted that she could’ve put Adam out the west-side garden center exit. Either Smith had all his information wrong, or someone managed to get Shaffer to change her original statement. Shaffer’s full statement can be found atJusticeForAdam.com in the SAO case files (“Statement of Kathy Shaffer,” box 1, file 12).

This would mean Dahmer could’ve hung around for about fifteen minutes or so in the toy department before retrieving the blue van and abducting Adam. I believe Adam was dropped off in the toy department around 11:40 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. Between 12:18 p.m. and 12:20 p.m., Adam was abducted. That means Adam was in the toy department for about twenty-eight to forty minutes.
Shaffer said she sent the two black kids out the south door exit near the men’s department and the two white kids out the north exit by the catalog department. Shaffer also stated, after seeing a photograph of Adam, that she was sure the younger white male juvenile was not Adam (HPD case file, roll 1, p. 70 and pp. 4866-67, September 2, 1981).

The following is an excerpt from a 1996 interview with Investigator Phil Mundy.

STATEMENT: Kathryn Barrack, September 15, 1996

KB: I was called to the toy department for a disturbance with the children who were fighting over the electronic games there. That [was] not an uncommon thing. Upon arrival, there were four little boys—two white boys, two black boys—fighting over the game.
PM: Pushing, shoving kind of thing?
KB: No, you know, they wouldn’t take turns, obviously. At the time, the black boys were the ones playing the game and continued telling the little white boys that, they were going, “OK, just a minute, just a minute,” saying they were going to surrender the game but would not.
PM: And what did you do to resolve that?
KB: I asked the children playing the game, the two little black boys, if their parents were in the store. They both answered me with a no answer, and I pointed to doors out the opposite end of the store and told them, “You two, out those two doors.”
PM: Did the boys leave out those two doors?
KB: Yes.
PM: Did you see what the other two boys did?
KB: I then asked them, “Are your parents in the store?” Assuming they were together, and the older of the two told me no. So I said, “You two, out those two doors,” and pointed at different doors.
PM: And what did they do?
KB: They left out those doors.

NOTE: The opposite two doors would be the north and south doors, not the west garden center exit where Adam was abducted from.

James Martin was thirteen years old when he went to visit his mother, who worked in the Waldenbooks store in the mall. From there, he went to Cozzoli’s in the food court to have a slice of pizza and a Coke for lunch. Then he walked down to Woolworth’s to look at some model cars. From there, he went to Sears. At approximately 12:45 p.m. or 12:50 p.m., he went into the toy department to play the Atari video games. James stated that he witnessed two black males who tried to take the controls from an eight-year-old white boy. At that time, he states, a female security guard walked up to the two black kids and talked to them, at which time they left (HPD case file, roll 1, p. 70 and p. 4867).

Joe Matthews used Kathy as one of his key witnesses in order to close the Adam Walsh case. Nothing Matthews said in his book Bringing Adam Home adds up. Kathryn asked the boys to leave the toy department after Adam had already been abducted.

Kathryn stated that she recalled an incident between 12:30 p.m. and 12:45 p.m. at the Atari video game located near the toy section. She witnessed a fight between two white boys and two black boys. “One black child slapped the ten-year-old white child.” Shaffer said one of the black youths became verbally abusive toward her, and she instructed all four kids to leave the store. ADAM WALSH was ALREADY missing.

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Second Response by Willis Morgan

WITNESS TIMELINE

These times stated by Hollywood Sears employees and witnesses below may not be exact and are only copied from their statements in the case files except for Vernon Jones, Janice Santamassino and Mia Cockerham because the HPD refused to interview them. But we can put together a pretty good timeline from all these witnesses relevant to Adam’s abduction.

Reve Walsh: When asked if she could be mistaken about arriving at Sears around 12:30 p.m., rather than an earlier time of 11:30 a.m., she said “anything’s possible.” Reve said she may have been inaccurate in her estimates because she wasn’t wearing her watch that day.

Joanne Braun worked at the catalog and service desk. She stated that she recalled a gray Checker vehicle parked near the north entrance door between 11:30 a.m. and noon. She also recalled seeing Reve Walsh walk past the catalog department holding a little boy by his hand HPD case file (roll 1, p. 73 and p. 4868).

Willis Morgan: I’m positive it was Jeffrey Dahmer I encountered in Radio Shack at the estimated time of 11:30 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. I then saw Dahmer walk into the Sears toy department at around 11:40 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.

Jennie Warren saw Reve enter Sears with Adam and drop him off at the toy department.

Angel Gans relieved Betty Gutberlet in the lamp department at 12:00 noon. She said that at approximately 12:05 p.m., Mrs. Walsh inquired about a lamp that was on sale. Gans checked the storeroom but didn’t have the lamp in stock. Mrs. Walsh then left the lamp department at 12:20 p.m. to 12:25 p.m. (HPD case files, roll 1, p. 4865).

Mary Hagan went to Sears around 12:00 p.m. She saw Dahmer talking to Adam. You will read her statement in the next chapter.

Janice Santamassino saw Jeffrey Dahmer and Adam in the toy department.

Timothy Pottenburgh saw Dahmer standing in the toy department.

Vernon Jones played a video game with Adam.

Timothy Pottenburgh saw Dahmer in the north parking lot retrieving the blue van and driving to the garden side west entrance.

Mia Cockerham saw Dahmer take Adam by the hand and walk him away from the video game. You will read her statement in the next chapter.

Vernon Jones saw Adam pass with Jeffrey Dahmer going toward the west exit.

Phillip Lohr saw Dahmer carrying Adam out of the store.

Bill Bowen saw Adam being tossed into the blue van.

Jenny Rayner worked the switchboard and handled the store intercom system. She stated that, at approximately 12:20 p.m. to 12:25 p.m., she received a telephone call from a woman who identified herself as Reve Walsh. Mrs. Walsh stated, “I was supposed to meet my son Adam in the toy department; he’s not here. Can you page him?” Rayner paged Adam but got no response. She paged him again at 12:40 p.m. with no results. Rayner stated that Mrs. Walsh called her back and asked her to page Adam again. At 1 p.m. Rayner paged Adam again. Martha Crube relieved Rayner at 1:15 p.m. and continued to page Adam until 3:30 p.m. with no results (roll 1, p. 4866).

Eugene Monacho almost had an accident with Jeffrey Dahmer between 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m.

Andrew and John Sotillo, cousins, went to the mall at 12:15 p.m. to have lunch at the Sidewalk Café in the food court. The Sotillo boys had to be at David Park for a tennis match at 1 p.m. They walked to the park by going through the Sears store. Andrew and John stated that while they were walking past the Atari video games, they stopped to play. While playing the video game, they witnessed an incident involving two black youths. The time was 12:45 p.m. They recalled the time because they had to be at David Park in fifteen minutes. Eventually, the Sotillo cousins moved back to Venezuela. Sears sent four of their attorneys to Caracas to interview them.

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Comment by Amazon Customer (AKA Les Standiford)
Report abuse
Lets stick to the timeline:

Joanne Braun (Sears Employee) - Recalls seeing gray checker car near the North doors of Sears between 11:30am - 12:00pm (Interview: 9/12/81)

Angelique Ganas (Sears Employee) - Relieved co worker in lamp department at 12:00pm. Ms. Ganas recalls Reve coming to lamp department 12:05-12:10pm and mentions Reve coming back to lamp department around 12:25ish looking for Adam. (Interview: 8/28/81)

Jenny Rayner (Sears Employee) - Working switchboard gets call at 12:25pm to page Adam. Pages continue for Adam in 15-20 min increments... 12:40-12:45pm, 1:00pm

Martha Grube (Sears Employee) - Relieves Jenny Rayner at switchboard at 1:15pm, thus the pages for Adam continue until 3:30pm

"I believe Adam was dropped off in the toy department around 11:40 a.m. to 11:50 a.m." - How can you make this assumption when Angelique Ganas mentions seeing Reve in lamp department at 12:05-12:10pm? Your assumption would then place Reve in the toy department for 15-20 min, which this didn't happen.

"Between 12:18 p.m. and 12:20 p.m., Adam was abducted. That means Adam was in the toy department for about twenty-eight to forty minutes." - I do believe that Adam was abducted between the time of 12:15-12:20pm, whereas Ms. Ganas recalls Reve coming back to lamp department looking for Adam. Also, if you have read the book Tears of Rage by John Walsh, Reve recalls dropping off Adam at video game station with children all around the video game display. Reve describes in the book when she came back to video game area there were no children around, which she thought was rather strange. Somebody had cleared on that area and that someone is Kathy Shaffer, which I mention below.

Mary Corbett Hagen (Eyewitness) - She is interviewed by Phil Mundy in Sep of 1996 and mentions she went to Sears around 12:00pm for they were having a lamp sale. She sees a group of children around the video game and recognizes Adam for she mentions the last house on the left (McKinley Street) where the Walsh family resided and had seen Adam in his yard. Ms. Hagan is telling Mundy there was a man talking to Adam that had a country sounding voice and very uneducated when he spoke. The individual she described a big gap between his teeth. Ms. Hagan goes on to say she recalls seeing Reve in the lamp department for she has seen her in the past from driving by their residence. Mary Corbett Hagan is a very credible witness for she recalls seeing both Adam & Reve before July 27th, 1981.

May I ask why you left out the correspondence of Phil Mundy & Kathy Shaffer regarding Mundy's question to Shaffer on when she first learned of the missing boy?

PM: When was the first time you found out there was a missing child in the store or from the store?

KS: Approximately a half an hour after the incident

**Note: The incident was the altercation at the video game**

"Kathryn stated that she recalled an incident between 12:30 p.m. and 12:45 p.m. at the Atari video game located near the toy section." - This would mean she found out about the missing boy between 1:00-1:15pm. This can't be possible due to the timeline above and pages that were taking place for Adam at 12:25pm, 12:40-12:45pm, 1:00pm. Kathy may have been a street clothed security guard, but she would have found out about a missing boy well before 1:00pm. Reve Walsh was in a panic by 12:30-12:45pm. I'm sorry Ms. Shaffer is not the scapegoat and she did send Adam out the door by accident.

Another timeline that discredits your theory is from Marilyn Pottenberg/Carolyn Hudson (Interview 9/4/81)

-Marilyn, Carolyn and Timothy arrive at Sears 11:45am
(Parked car on North side of Sears)

-Shopped for one (1) hour
(Bringing the time to 12:45pm)

- Carolyn Hudson recalls hearing page for lost boy around 12:45pm as they walk to have lunch at sidewalk cafe

-They all have lunch until 1:15pm

-Carolyn & Timothy walk thru Sears, after 1:00pm, and exit out North doors. Timothy witnesses blue van close to 1:30pm in parking lot.

I'm sorry but your book just doesn't materialize the timelines correctly. You mention details in your book, yet in the example you provided above truly exemplifies missing detail regarding the correspondence of Mundy/Shaffer. I read your interview with Jack Hoffman back in October of 1991 and there were key details missing as to aligning blame toward Dahmer ie. Couldn't recall if suspect had a mustache? No mention of glasses? Mary Corbett Hagan provided solid description of suspect, which I won't go there right now. Inability to pinpoint time at the mall? Not being able to elaborate on these details, prior to the case file being opened in 1996, would not look good for you in a court of law. I'm just being blatantly honest.

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My Response to “Lets stick to the timeline”:

Mr. Standiford, you should stick to writing your fiction novels. I understand detective Joe Matthews’ dishonesty is so pervasive that he prefers to propagate a false narrative over the truth in the Adam Walsh abduction. It’s repugnant enough when he distorts reality through the media by discrediting witnesses. Matthews had a chance to set the record straight. Instead, for egotistical reasons or in his eagerness to placate the Walshes, he authored his own narrative of events and took it upon himself to become the chief propagandist for the Ottis Toole theory as he contrived evidence and twisted facts (much like what Mr. Standiford is doing) in what may have been a diabolically clever scheme he hatched up that would please the Walshes. Then he used useful idiots at the Hollywood Police Department to get the case closed. Reve herself said she didn’t want to go to her grave not knowing, yet Matthews seems to be okay with the proliferation of a false narrative.

So I ask you sir, what is your excuse? Do you really prefer to be in the same foxhole with Mr. Matthews? It seems to me that you’re quite comfortable lobbying you're fake flashbang grenades at me in your attempts to fight side by side with your co-author who bamboozled you into writing his false narrative.

All my timelines are from the records and unlike Matthews I talked to many of the witnesses myself.

“Carolyn & Timothy walk thru Sears, after 1:00pm, and exit out North doors. Timothy witnesses blue van close to 1:30pm in parking lot.” This statement by Carolyn was given weeks after the fact. Her original statement did have the correct time. It was this misstatement of the time that caused lead detective Jack Hoffman to dismiss the Pottenburghs along with the blue van.

I decided to hear from Timothy himself. So I drove the five hours to Timothy’s house in Central Florida. When I arrived, Timothy was sleeping. I explained to his wife, Michele, who I was and what I wanted to talk to Tim about. She woke him up immediately. One of the first things Tim told me was how badly they messed the case up. Tim said that he had been keeping up with the case. He even knew some of the other witnesses from news accounts. I showed him an 8-1/2” × 11” photo of Ottis Toole, and Tim scoffed at the notion that Ottis Toole could’ve been involved. He said, “Ever since they closed the case, I’ve been telling my grandmother they closed that case wrong.”

When I showed Tim a photo of Jeffrey Dahmer in court, Tim said, “Yes, that was him, but he had a mustache.” Next, I showed him the 1982 mug shot of Jeffrey Dahmer with the mustache. It was the mug shot that matched the Twin City Mall composite and the Hollywood Mall composite that Tim made when he was ten years old. He said, “It’s been thirty years. I remember making that composite like it was yesterday, and that’s him.”

He also said that he was positive it was Adam Walsh that he saw. This was in complete contrast to what Detective Jack Hoffman said in 1981 and what Joe Matthews said in his book. I gave Tim a copy of Bringing Adam Home so that he could read it for himself. I just wanted Tim to know that Matthews, who calls himself a devout Catholic, was not to be trusted—not as a detective and not as a friend of John and Reve Walsh. With friends like Joe, John and Reve will never get true closure.

So I ask you again sir where do you stand and why do you find the need to hide behind a pseudonym or no name at all?

Willis Morgan author of Frustrated Witness and spokesman for Adam.