Toole was never charged in Adam's case, although he provided seemingly accurate descriptions as to how he committed the crime. Several witnesses also placed him in the Hollywood area in the days leading up to Adam's disappearance. In September 1996, he died in prison, aged 49, of cirrhosis while serving a life sentence for other crimes. Afterwards, his niece told John that he made a deathbed confession to Adam's murder. His confession was viewed as unreliable, since Lucas and he confessed to or implicated themselves in more than 200 different homicides. Most of Lucas' confessions were later revealed to have been false, having been coerced by the Texas Rangers.