On Friday, investigators revealed new evidence suggesting that the Tennessee sheriff, who gained fame from the movie “Walking Tall,” likely played a role in his wife’s death back in 1967.
During a news conference, Mark Davidson, the district attorney for the state’s 25th judicial district, stated that the evidence uncovered would “more likely than not” have led to an indictment of then-McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser if he were alive today, according to WKRN.
“It’s often said that the dead cannot cry out for justice. It is the task of the living to do so,” Davidson proclaimed. “… Justice for Pauline has been awaited for far too long.”
For nearly six decades, the narrative held that Pauline Mullins Pusser had been fatally shot in an ambush intended for her husband. Buford Pusser himself endured a gunshot wound to his cheek during the alleged attack.
However, Davidson revealed that Dr. Michael Revelle, an emergency medicine physician and medical examiner who assessed Pauline Pusser’s injuries after her body was exhumed last year, concluded that the shooting might have been orchestrated and that her husband’s wound appeared to be a close range injury.
Investigators highlighted that bloodstain patterns on Pusser’s car hood, along with the positioning of cartridges and bullet pathways, seemed to challenge the sheriff’s account of events. They suggested it looked as though someone was shot both inside and outside the vehicle. Davidson noted it was probable that Pauline Pusser was shot outside the vehicle and then pulled back in.
Revelle determined that her wounds did not match photographs of the inside of the vehicle.
“The work to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the facts of this case, using the full strength of the Bureau as it exists today, has reshaped our understanding of what transpired now almost 60 years ago,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said.
The new evidence provides probable cause, Davidson said, that her death was “not an accident” but instead was an “act of intimate, deliberate violence.”
Buford Pusser was known for carrying a big stick as he fought crime in McNairy County, taking on bootleggers, prostitution, and gambling. Joe Don Baker played Pusser in the 1973 movie “Walking Tall. Two sequels starred Bo Svenson as the title character, and wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johson played Pusser in a 2004 remake. Two direct-to-video sequels of that film starred Kevin Sorbo.
“This case is not about tearing down a legend. It is about giving dignity and closure to Pauline and her family and ensuring that the truth is not buried with time,” Davidson said. “The truth matters. Justice matters. Even 58 years later, Pauline deserves both.”
Pauline Pusser’s brother, Griffon Mullins, thanked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in a video statement shared at the press conference
“I knew, deep down, there was problems in her marriage,” Mullins said. “If I only known now what I knew then, she would have never went back to Tennessee.”
Pauline Pusser’s body was exhumed last year when investigators received a new lead. The new autopsy uncovered a healing fracture “caused by interpersonal trauma.” Davidson said after conducting interviews with people who knew the Pussers at the time, concluding that she was. victim of domestic violence was “not making a leap.”
