Legendary sheriff implicated in wife's murder almost 60 years later

It was long believed that Pauline Mullins Pusser, the wife of the legendary Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, was shot and killed in an ambush meant for her husband, but new evidence suggests that it was the late sheriff who killed his wife.

A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation report uncovered "inconsistencies in Buford Pusser's statements to law enforcement and to others," District Attorney Mark Davidson said at a press conference Friday.

Law enforcement uncovered physical, medical, forensic, ballistic and reenactment evidence that contradicted the McNairy County sheriff's account of his wife's 1967 murder.

The sheriff's story inspired the movie "Walking Tall" in 1973 and several sequels, a 2004 remake and several books, Davidson said.

Buford Pusser died in a car accident in 1974.

"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 sheriff had reported that his wife volunteered to ride along with him in the dark, early morning hours on a disturbance call. He claimed that a car pulled alongside his and fired several shots toward them, killing Pauline and injuring him in what he claimed was an ambush intended for him carried out by unknown assailants, according to Davidson.

The sheriff, who was also shot in the ambush, recovered from his injuries and no viable suspects were found and no charges were filed.

Investigators now believe that Pauline Pusser was shot outside the vehicle then placed inside the vehicle, which is not what Buford Pusser has told investigators at the time of the murder.

"This was a cold case for decades but in 2022 TBI agents took another look at the archive file and coordinated with our office. That work accelerated in 2023 and in 2024, Pauline Mullins Pusser was exhumed for an autopsy," Davidson said.

"It's been said that the dead cannot cry out for justice, it is the duty of the living to do so. In this case that duty is being carried out 58 years later," Davidson said.

Investigators used modern forensic science and investigative techniques that were not available in 1967, officials said.

A new autopsy also revealed cranial trauma suffered by Pauline Pusser does not match crime scene photographs of the interior of the vehicle she was allegedly killed in. Blood splatter on the outside of the vehicle also contradicts Buford Pusser's account of the murder, Davidson said.

A forensic investigator also determined that a gunshot wound to Buford Pusser's cheek was a close contact wound, not long range as he had described, and was likely self inflicted, Davidson said. Blood splatter analysis also indicated that someone was injured both inside and outside the vehicle, he said.

Investigators now believe that the crime scene was staged.

The sheriff spent about 18 days in the hospital and required several surgeries to recover, Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Director David Rausch said at the press conference.

The case, which was based largely on his statement, closed "perhaps too quickly," Rausch said.

Investigators received a tip about the possible murder weapon in spring 2023.

The autopsy also indicates that prior to her death, she had a nasal fracture that had healed most commonly caused by "interpersonal trauma," according to Davidson.

If he were alive today, investigators believe they have produced enough probable cause that prosecutors could have delivered a criminal indictment for murder.

"Pauline's death was not an accident, not an act of chance, but based on the totality of the TBI investigative file, an act of intimate violence," Davidson said.

"Justice for Pauline has been a long time coming and thanks to all the hard work put in by many we are finally able to announce to Pauline's surviving family and to the public that we believe we are as close as possible to justice," he said.

Griffon Mullins, the brother of Pauline Pusser, thanked law enforcement for their work and urged others to accept the findings of the investigation.

"To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not terribly shocked," he said.

He said he was grateful to have gotten this closure so many years later.

"I loved her with all my heart and I've missed her horribly this last 57 years," Mullins said in a recorded statement.

"I am devastated. It's been a long time since she left ... I've had a lot of time to think and look back at Pauline's life. She didn't tell me a whole lot. She wasn't the type of person to tell you her problems, but I knew deep down there was problems in her marriage," Mullins said.