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Malcolm Glable here. We'll Malcolm with

1:37

new We'll be back with new

1:39

revisionist history episodes in January. But today we're

1:42

today to to bring you something a bit different. bit

1:44

It's an episode of the episode of

1:46

the South. Gone South. Each week, week, and

1:48

and host, Lipinsky shares shares

1:50

a different story about a

1:53

a crime that took place

1:55

below the Mason-Dixon line. Often often

1:57

told from the

1:59

perspective of the

2:01

perpetrator, the the

2:04

investor. investigator or both, Gone South

2:06

explores not only the criminal mind,

2:08

but also the distinctive culture and

2:10

rich characters of the South. This

2:13

episode is called The Real Buford

2:15

Pusser Part One. It chronicles the

2:17

life of the iconic Tennessee sheriff

2:19

who inspired several books, songs, and

2:22

a half a dozen movies, including

2:24

the 2004 remake Walking Tall, starring

2:26

Duane the Rock Johnson. But recent

2:28

findings suggesting Pusser played a role

2:31

in his wife Pauline's death have

2:33

called his legacy into question. Here's

2:35

the episode. Earlier this year

2:37

a listener sent us a

2:39

link to an article in

2:41

the Tennesseean newspaper. The article was

2:44

about the decision to exume the

2:46

body of a woman named Pauline

2:49

Pusser. New information tonight nearly

2:51

60 years after a sheriff's

2:53

wife was shot and killed.

2:55

The TBI exhumed her body

2:57

and a deeper investigation into her

2:59

death begins. Pauline was the

3:01

wife of Buford Pusser, the

3:03

legendary Tennessee sheriff, whose life

3:05

story became the basis for

3:07

a best-selling book and a handful

3:09

of Hollywood movies, most notably Walking

3:12

Tall. In August 1967, Pauline

3:14

was fatally shot in an

3:16

ambush that left Buford seriously

3:18

injured. She was 33 years

3:20

old and a mother of three.

3:22

Authorities never figured out who

3:24

was behind the ambush. Her

3:26

death has remained unsolved for

3:28

over 56 years. But according

3:30

to the article, the Tennessee Bureau

3:33

of Investigation or TBI had recently

3:35

gotten a tip that caused

3:37

them to reopen the case.

3:39

To their surprise, they discovered

3:41

that an autopsy had never

3:43

been performed on Pauline. By exuming

3:46

her body, the TBI said

3:48

in a statement, they intended

3:50

to answer, quote, critical questions

3:52

and provide crucial information that

3:54

could help them identify who was

3:56

behind Pauline's death. I

4:00

was familiar with the story of

4:03

Buford Pusser in the ambush that

4:05

killed his wife. We'd mentioned it

4:07

in season two about the Dixie

4:09

Mafia. Buford had publicly blamed Kirksey

4:11

Nix, the Dixie Mafia's supposed leader,

4:13

for orchestrating the attack. When I

4:15

asked Curgsey about it, he'd vehemently

4:17

denied being involved. In fact, he

4:20

said, officials had brought Buford to

4:22

an Oklahoma prison to try and

4:24

identify him, but Buford couldn't do

4:26

it. He

4:30

brought him out to Oklahoma and

4:32

he couldn't pick me out. They

4:34

arranged for him to hear my

4:36

voice and he couldn't pick me

4:38

out. As Kirksey put it, Buford

4:40

was a criminal himself. He said

4:42

the sheriff had taken bribes from

4:45

a gangster associate of his in

4:47

Mississippi. Carl gave him $12,000 when

4:49

he ran for office. He gave

4:51

him $3,000 for every month he

4:53

was in office. He was on

4:55

the take. He was a dirty

4:58

cop and he was a killer

5:00

cop. Let him sue me for

5:02

that. Kirksey was never charged with

5:04

Pauline's murder, and neither was anyone

5:06

else. It was a 56-year-old mystery,

5:08

one of the most famous cold

5:10

cases in Tennessee history, and it

5:13

looked like the TBI was on

5:15

the verge of a breakthrough. But

5:17

they weren't talking, and the article

5:19

left a lot of questions unanswered.

5:21

Like, why had an autopsy never

5:23

been performed on Pauline Pusser? And

5:26

why had the TBI only just

5:28

discovered this fact? Also... What was

5:30

the tip that caused them to

5:32

reopen the case? And who was

5:34

the tipster? As I look deeper

5:36

into the story, though, I realize

5:38

that this wasn't really an investigation

5:41

into the death of Pauline Pusser.

5:43

It was an investigation into the

5:45

life of Buford Pusser. Buford was

5:47

a hero to a generation of

5:49

Americans, a larger than life figure

5:51

who inspired people to stand up

5:54

to injustice. But now... The TBI

5:56

was raising questions that would threaten

5:58

that legacy. I'm

6:00

Jed Lipinsky. This is Gone

6:02

South. The story of Buford

6:04

Pusser reads a bit like

6:06

a fable from the The

6:09

story of South. reads a bit

6:11

like we're from the American with Dwayne To

6:13

tell it, we're going to start

6:15

with Dwayne Johnson, The otherwise known

6:17

as The Rock. and The star of

6:19

the Fast and Furious franchise, of

6:21

The Voice of Maui in One of

6:23

one of the highest -paid actors in

6:25

Hollywood. Hollywood. But in the early

6:27

2000s, The Rock's film career was still

6:29

uncertain. He was He was

6:31

already a global wrestling sensation, but Hollywood

6:33

had a long standing stigma against

6:35

pro wrestlers who tried to cross over.

6:37

to cross Hulk Hogan tried to do it

6:39

in the to and 90s, but most of his

6:41

films flopped. films His 1996 film,

6:43

Santa with Mussels, has been called one

6:46

of the worst movies ever made. ever

6:48

made. The Rock's film film career began

6:50

with fantasy roles in The Mummy

6:52

Returns and The Scorpion King. King. But

6:54

it was his leading role in the

6:56

2004 film, Walking Tall, that solidified his status

6:58

as an action star. I was I was

7:00

justified in what I did, you and

7:02

if you will quit me of these

7:04

charges, then I'm I'm going to run for sheriff.

7:06

And if And if elected, I'm going to

7:09

fix this town. Order. Order! In the In

7:11

the film, the Rock plays a retired

7:13

special forces agent who returns to his

7:15

hometown to find to find it corruption. in corruption. He He

7:17

decides to run for for sheriff launches a

7:19

one a crusade to clean up the town. the

7:21

town. The The movie poster shows him

7:23

striding down a country road. road, only

7:26

with a with a two by four. Younger

7:28

Younger viewers may not have realized Walking

7:30

Tall was a remake of the 1973

7:32

hit movie of the same name. Both

7:34

were Both were based on the

7:36

real -life story of of Buford Pusser. If

7:38

you're under you're under live live

7:40

outside Tennessee, you've probably never

7:43

heard of of Buford. But in the the

7:45

and 70s, he was a big

7:47

deal. Pusser was an was an almost mythical

7:49

figure in the in the South. He died

7:51

in a fiery car crash in 1974

7:53

at 36. over a But in just

7:55

over a decade in law enforcement, he

7:57

managed to inspire a legend akin

7:59

to that of Wild West lawmen like

8:01

Wyatt and Wild Bill Hickok. The folklore

8:04

The folklore surrounding can make make it hard

8:06

to separate fact from fiction. So

8:09

here are are some facts. Pusser was born

8:11

on was born on a farm

8:13

farm in Adamsville, Tennessee. He was He

8:15

was 6 and two 250 by high school

8:17

got a got a scholarship to play college

8:19

football. He He enlisted in

8:21

the Marines instead, but was given a medical discharge

8:23

for asthma. for asthma. there he

8:25

bounced around. around. He He got a

8:27

job as a cutter for a paper bag

8:29

company in Chicago. Chicago. He He went to mortuary

8:31

school at night. at night. For For extra

8:33

money, he he wrestled professionally on

8:35

weekends under the name the name Buford the Bull.

8:37

It It was after a match

8:40

that he met his future wife, wife,

8:42

Pauline Mullins. Pauline Pauline was a petite from

8:44

from Virginia, divorced with two young

8:46

kids. soon They married soon after to

8:48

moved back to Buford's of of

8:50

Adamsville. It was here was here that Buford

8:52

found his calling in law enforcement. Buford

8:54

became Adamsville's chief of police at

8:57

age 25. later, he Two years later,

8:59

he ran for sheriff of McNary

9:01

to clean promising to clean up the

9:03

violence and corruption that the the

9:05

state line between Tennessee and Mississippi. For

9:07

decades, For decades, the sale of

9:09

hard liquor was prohibited in McNary The

9:11

area became The area became a hub

9:13

for and and moonshining. Illegal

9:15

gambling and prostitution

9:17

flourished. groups groups like line

9:19

mob and the Dixey the terrorized

9:21

residents and and tourists alike. alike. Buford, the

9:23

the imposing former wrestler, seemed

9:25

like the man for the job.

9:27

the job. He became the youngest sheriff in

9:29

the history of Tennessee. history of he

9:31

immediately developed a reputation as a

9:33

fearless crusader. as a fearless tell people

9:36

tell people, nobody on the on the

9:38

face has studied this story this

9:40

as involved as I have

9:42

in it as I years. 60 years.

9:44

And everybody knows County

9:46

knows that. is Steve Sweat. He He

9:49

owns a body shop in

9:51

McNary County called Steve Sweat Body Shop. He's He's

9:53

also considered the

9:55

unofficial Buford Pusser historian. Then, you know, people

9:57

got to call me Pusser

9:59

historian. and course it's it's been described

10:01

in the the for probably 20

10:03

years. 20 years. Steve first Steve first

10:06

heard about Pusser as a young boy.

10:08

watched a lot of a lot of and

10:10

and police procedurals on TV like

10:12

like and and Highway Patrol. Pusser Pusser

10:14

reminded him of the men

10:16

in those shows. Steve studied Buford. He read the

10:18

He read the articles about

10:21

him in the newspaper, Stories of

10:23

Pusser arresting bootleggers, dynamiting moonshine stills, punching out

10:25

drunks at the roadhouse down

10:27

the street. street. Once in 1966, killed the

10:29

owner killed the owner of a

10:31

seedy motel motel after she fired at

10:33

him with a concealed 38. Another time, a

10:35

Another time, a speeding motorist he

10:37

pulled over shot him in the

10:39

face before fleeing the scene. Buford

10:41

got stitched up and went back to

10:44

work. Steve could Steve could hardly believe it.

10:46

Buford was like a real Matt Dillon,

10:48

the the star of smoke. In the show,

10:51

In the show, the is the of of

10:53

Dodge City, Kansas, tasked with bringing

10:55

law and order to the lawless frontier

10:57

town. town. You know, Buford, he

10:59

was just like Matt like When

11:01

he got on the scene,

11:03

there got on back and was no

11:05

this and that. and a matter

11:07

of seconds, you know, the situation,

11:09

you know, was under control. you

11:12

know, the what happened next would

11:14

raise Buford under a local legend

11:16

what a national next would raise

11:18

Buford Pusser from a

11:20

local legend to a national

11:23

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11:25

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11:27

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11:29

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11:33

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11:35

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11:38

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11:40

is endless. one thing they one thing. in

11:42

They all have in don't stick to don't stick

11:44

to them. In fact, studies show

11:47

that 90 % of those resolutions

11:49

are broken within two within two weeks. one

11:51

But here's one resolution that's to to keep. keep.

11:53

If you you follow my advice, a a

11:55

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11:58

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12:00

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12:12

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12:17

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this to this episode of

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Revisionist History on the on

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car company. company. Early

15:41

in in the morning of

15:43

August 12, 1967, a call

15:46

came into Pusser's home. caller said a few

15:48

a few were were threatening to kill

15:50

each other at at Hollis Hall, a

15:52

rowdy spot near the state line. state

15:54

line. The story goes that someone

15:56

had called the jail. of course,

15:59

of course, favorites dad... was the jailer, Carl, and

16:01

dispatcher. And he felt like this he felt like

16:03

this to come know, the state line to

16:05

come a state line he never call, he

16:07

never did even bother it. with

16:09

it. But then at some point they

16:11

called home, home in know, in the

16:14

early morning hours and told him

16:16

there was trouble, you know, there

16:18

on the state line that he

16:20

needed to come down there. come down

16:22

there. to Buford's biographer, biographer, W.R. Buford

16:24

and Pauline were scheduled to

16:27

attend a family gathering in Virginia

16:29

later that day. later

16:31

decided to join decided to join

16:33

him. And supposedly told him, said, I'm gonna

16:35

go with you you get back. get

16:37

back. And And that's what put her

16:39

in the car with him that

16:41

morning. So responding to an

16:43

responding to an anonymous complaint, and Pauline

16:45

jumped into his Plymouth Fury and

16:47

raced down New Hope Road to Road

16:50

to Beer Hall. beer hall. On

16:52

they they passed the Methodist Church. Church.

16:55

Moments later, a a sleek black Cadillac

16:57

pulled up beside them. them.

16:59

It sprayed Plymouth with a

17:01

30 with a 30 caliber Their lights

17:03

were off, it was just breaking day,

17:06

and and he didn't didn't realize they

17:08

were owning before the shots the car.

17:10

the car. shattered the shots shattered

17:12

the driver's side window, missing

17:14

but but striking Pauline in

17:17

the head. As Buford later later told

17:19

his biographer, He had an automatic shotgun

17:21

beneath the seat the seat and a 41 pistol

17:23

on his hip, on but he didn't

17:25

have time to grab them. time

17:27

to grab them. slumped onto the onto the

17:29

floorboard, plus or He drove another He miles

17:31

until he thought he'd lost the

17:33

attackers he'd pulled over to check

17:35

on Pauline. over to check on Pauline. He'd

17:37

gone that he'd he was in

17:39

and drove was in and miles and

17:41

it was two miles it on

17:44

the money just right on the over

17:46

to see about to see about Pauline.

17:48

Buford later said he laid head on

17:50

his lap and saw a gaping

17:52

wound. saw a He prayed, He prayed, Oh please

17:54

don't let her die. let her die. As

17:57

he he did so, the the black

17:59

Cadillac reappeared. A A gunman opened

18:01

fire again, this time point range.

18:03

Buford took took two shots to

18:05

the lower jaw, his chin held

18:07

in place only by a

18:09

flap of skin. of skin. He He

18:11

slumped forward as another bullet ripped

18:13

through the driver's side door. the

18:15

driver's side skull. shattered her instantly. skull,

18:18

killing her managed to drive

18:20

another seven miles to

18:22

the hospital. another drove seven

18:24

miles further He his chin miles

18:26

further. With his gum, and teeth

18:29

gone. gone. At

18:32

the At the hospital, Pauline was pronounced

18:34

dead. dead. Buford was taken to Memphis

18:37

to get his jaw reconstructed. jaw Sheriff's

18:39

deputies stood guard outside his room around

18:41

the clock, fearing the assassins might

18:43

return to finish the job. might

18:45

return to finish the job. was was

18:47

old at the time of at the time

18:49

of the He remembers the moment he heard about it. moment

18:52

he know, we didn't have social

18:54

media and cell phones, but

18:56

you can phones, how fast words how

18:58

fast things like that things like this

19:00

area back then. back then. Based

19:02

on Buford's statement to the cops, they

19:04

concluded the ambush was motivated by

19:07

his quest to combat corruption on the

19:09

state line. quest to A full scale

19:11

search for the on ensued. line. A The

19:13

governor of Tennessee offered a $5 ,000

19:15

reward for The leading to an arrest

19:17

and conviction. offered a $5,000 But months passed

19:19

and the money was never collected. arrest and

19:21

black Cadillac and the But months had

19:23

vanished without a trace. was never collected.

19:26

The Black Cadillac recovered.

19:28

assassins he had a good idea of who

19:30

they were. trace. He He named several men with

19:32

ties to the to mob in the Dixie

19:34

in the Dixie Mafia. Nix was one of them. was one

19:37

of them. the next few years,

19:39

four of those men died

19:41

under suspicious circumstances. circumstances. a

19:43

notorious gangster named named Carl towhead

19:45

was ambushed and killed in his

19:47

car his car motel in Corinth,

19:50

Mississippi. And a lot of people

19:52

speculate about that about that being an

19:54

hit know, to get rid of him.

19:56

was Another was reportedly found floating

19:58

in the Boston harbor. his body riddled

20:01

with bullets. Two more were shot

20:03

to death in Texas. Kirksey Nick

20:05

supposedly survived only because he was

20:07

locked up at the time. No

20:09

evidence tied Buford to those murders.

20:11

But legend has it, Buford had

20:13

a hand in all of them.

20:15

That's just speculation and just kind

20:18

of the way it seemed. Whatever

20:20

the truth was, Buford's style of

20:22

law enforcement suited residents of McNary

20:24

County. After the ambush, he was

20:26

reelected twice more. Then... In 1974,

20:28

at 36 years old, he died.

20:30

He was speeding down a country

20:32

road in his Corvette when he

20:34

spun out of control, hit an

20:36

embankment, and broke his neck. No,

20:38

there was no foul play. It

20:40

was just mainly speed. You know,

20:42

he was 36 years old, had

20:44

a big engine 74 Corvette, and

20:46

he loved to go fast. And

20:48

that's pretty well it. Yeah, that's

20:50

pretty well what happened. The story

20:52

of the ambush and Buford's vigilante

20:54

quest to kill the men who'd

20:56

murdered his wife struck a deep

20:58

and primal chord in American culture.

21:00

It inspired a best-selling book in

21:02

1971, called The 12th of August,

21:04

by W.R. Morris. From there, the

21:06

legend took on a life of

21:08

its own. The 12th of August

21:10

was adapted into the hit 1973

21:12

movie, Walking Tall, starring Joe Don

21:15

Baker, as Buford Pusser. and cheering

21:17

a film called Walking Tall based

21:19

on the true story of a

21:21

young man who wouldn't surrender to

21:23

the system and the girl who

21:25

always stood beside him. Walking Tall

21:27

was lightly fictionalized. For example, Joe

21:29

Don Baker carries a hickory stick

21:31

instead of a gun while cleaning

21:33

up the state line. In truth,

21:35

Buford never carried a stick on

21:37

patrol. But since the film was

21:39

based on a true story, most

21:41

people naturally thought it was true.

21:43

and so the legend grew. The

21:45

film spawned two sequels. The country

21:47

and rockabilly singer... Betty Bond

21:49

an entire album

21:51

of songs inspired

21:53

by The Sheriff. by

21:55

the Listening to

21:57

the lyrics, you

21:59

could be mistaken

22:01

for thinking could be

22:03

was a figure

22:05

out of American

22:07

folklore, like John

22:09

Henry or Paul out

22:11

of Actor Joe Don

22:13

Baker, who played Buford in Paul Bunyan.

22:15

Actor later compared him to a

22:18

character from Greek mythology. the original Walking

22:20

Tall, of me that people still him

22:22

him to a character from Greek

22:24

mythology. mythology. There's a me that

22:26

people still remember remember I can understand it

22:28

because Buford was such a wonderful

22:30

person. know, he was a hell of

22:32

a character person. real life. a was like

22:35

Hercules, In real life, He was incredible. Hercules, Zeus or

22:37

something. He was Then in 2004, in

22:39

the remake of Walking Tall

22:41

came out. came out. Shortly after the

22:43

premiere, the rock came to McNary County

22:45

see where Buford lived. lived. Steve Sweat

22:47

Swett and his wife escorted him

22:50

around, accompanied by a group of by

22:52

a group of execs. And he came

22:54

here here. Out of respect for Buford.

22:56

He wanted to see where Buford Buford

22:58

walked he said. he said. I want

23:00

to see where he actually worked. worked.

23:03

Steve took the took the rock to

23:05

Buford's house, his office, and the

23:07

local courthouse. It's behind us and

23:09

with lights and with We didn't stop

23:11

at any red lights stop at intersection.

23:13

lights in the we ran we miles 80

23:16

hour down the highway the highway here. He wrote

23:18

back seat with his elbows on

23:20

the front seat seat, and, you know, just

23:22

like a a... -year -old kid, you know,

23:24

trying to absorb to stories. these stories. they

23:26

drove, the rock told Steve that starring Tall

23:28

had been a dream come true. come true.

23:30

The The rock's father, Rocky Johnson, also

23:32

had also been a pro wrestler. The two

23:34

of The two of them had watched

23:37

the original Walking Tall over and

23:39

over when the rock was young. young.

23:41

The rock's father, Rocky Johnson, had had

23:43

also been a pro wrestler. The two of

23:45

two of them had watched the original...

23:47

walking tall over and over when the

23:49

rock was young. was young. was their

23:51

favorite movie. movie. According to Steve, Steve,

23:53

it rock to be a better

23:55

man. be a better man. and he told

23:58

us. us, he said that was... My

24:00

dad and my my favorite movie when

24:02

I was a little fella. and

24:04

he said, and in my in my

24:06

life, he said all I had the had the

24:08

opportunity to take the wrong path. said,

24:10

I would said I would think of

24:12

those and tall movies. I wanted to

24:15

to walk tall. what the rock what

24:17

the That's what he what he said.

24:19

the rock, Steve Sweat was emotionally

24:21

Steve Sweatt was emotionally invested in

24:23

the legend of Buford Pusser as

24:25

a righteous hero. hero. And And so,

24:27

when Steve learned that Pauline's body

24:29

was being exhumed earlier this year, this

24:31

he was appalled. The The suggestion

24:33

that Buford played a role in

24:35

Pauline's death threatened to destroy his

24:37

legacy. his legacy. made matters worse

24:39

was that the decision to exhume her

24:41

could be traced to an outsider. to

24:43

an A former security consultant from Arkansas

24:46

named Mike Arkansas Of course, the perception

24:48

that America has is that Buford

24:50

was a real hero. was a real he

24:52

cleaned up the state line line. and that

24:54

that he sought revenge for his wife's

24:56

death. But, you But, a whole know, there's

24:59

a whole other story that needs to

25:01

be told. for Business recently

25:03

teamed up with Malcolm Gladwell

25:05

for a new episode of for

25:07

Business recently teamed up with Malcolm

25:09

Gladwell for a new episode of the

25:12

History AI talk about how 5G is

25:14

enabling the use of AI to deliver

25:16

transformative innovation. innovation. Gladwell Malcolm

25:18

Gladwell here. Today, I a to share

25:20

a very special conversation I had

25:22

recently posted by my good friends

25:24

at T -Mobile for Business about

25:26

how AI is changing our world. the

25:28

Tell us about the problem you're

25:30

trying to solve. we think When we

25:32

think about emergency events and really

25:34

the the majority of the world. the

25:37

primary that that firefighters use

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is a radio to

25:41

communicate their status to the

25:43

outside operation. to reasonable to

25:46

expect that people can

25:48

become disoriented. So when I

25:50

realized that technology was important

25:52

was when I realized

25:54

that many of the most

25:56

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25:59

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there was just significant lack of

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resources. You know, from a T

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can we take this incredible, best -in

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26:13

Listen to this episode of Revisionist

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Like everybody else, when I first heard

30:30

the story of Buford of I was

30:32

a huge fan. I I don't think

30:34

they made fans any bigger than

30:37

me. fans I admired the man and

30:39

everything he did. The 12th of August

30:41

had me convinced. of Then the movie

30:43

came out, and I saw the

30:45

movie. came I thought it was incredible. I

30:47

It told a really entertaining story, entertaining

30:49

and story. was just filled with admiration

30:51

for Buford. for This is

30:53

Mike is Mike Ilum. In the early early

30:55

1970, when when the first walking came

30:58

out, out, Mike was a young

31:00

deputy in Benton County, Arkansas, Arkansas, 465

31:02

miles miles west of He loved the job.

31:04

He He loved the job. He

31:07

imagined being elected sheriff one day

31:09

and cleaning up the Beaufort like the had.

31:11

lousy. To But the pay was lousy. To

31:14

support his family, as he reluctantly took a

31:16

job as the head of a prevention for

31:18

a regional grocery retailer. And

31:20

yet his interest in police work

31:22

never went away. every watched every episode

31:24

of got hooked on the He got hooked

31:26

on the JFK assassination and... Later, the

31:28

O.J. Simpson case. In the In

31:30

the mid his he turned his

31:32

attention to Pusser. Mike still held the still

31:34

held the man in high regard, but

31:37

certain elements of the story had always

31:39

bothered him. For For one, idea the

31:41

idea that Pauline had joined on a on

31:43

a disturbance call in the middle of the

31:45

night. I think I can I think

31:47

I can speak for just about anyone

31:49

who has been in law enforcement.

31:51

They will tell you that one thing

31:53

you never do thing you never do is your

31:55

spouse to a disturbance call. call. A

31:57

disturbance call can go sideways so quickly

31:59

quickly and It's just dangerous for everyone. Then

32:02

there was the route Buford took

32:04

that night. As a Buford Pusser

32:06

fan, Mike had visited McNary County

32:08

to check out the Buford Pusser

32:10

Museum and see a few of

32:12

the sites. And he realized Buford

32:14

could have taken a much simpler

32:16

route to Hollis Jordan's Beer Hall,

32:18

where the alleged disturbance took place.

32:21

It was a very convoluted system

32:23

of backroads to get to the

32:25

state line. That didn't make sense

32:27

to me because he was just

32:29

two blocks from... Highway 64, and

32:31

he could have got on Highway

32:33

64, then on 45, been to

32:35

the same location in a very

32:38

short time, whereas this convoluted system

32:40

of roads, several of them were

32:42

unimproved at that time, and so

32:44

it would have been a much

32:46

slower route. That led Mike to

32:48

another question. According to Buford, the

32:50

ambushes were lying in wait behind

32:52

a church on a deserted country

32:54

road. But how would they have

32:57

known that Buford would take that

32:59

road? instead of the more direct

33:01

route to Hollis Jordan's. Wouldn't they

33:03

be waiting on either 64 or

33:05

45 or possibly even there at

33:07

the site where he was supposed

33:09

to be responding to? So that

33:11

didn't make sense. And so when

33:13

he got some time off work,

33:16

Mike decided to reenact the ambush.

33:18

He recruited some friends to pose

33:20

as the assassins, a police chief

33:22

from Ohio, a retired cameraman from

33:24

Mississippi, in a McNary County local

33:26

who knew the story. We set

33:28

up a scenario where I would

33:30

pass by representing Buford's car passing

33:33

by the church and we actually

33:35

had a Cadillac beside the church

33:37

that gave chase. However, by the

33:39

time that I got to the

33:41

bridge, they were still about 200,

33:43

250 yards behind me. And, you

33:45

know, that really started to ring

33:47

true that if they couldn't catch

33:49

me in broad daylight, how could

33:52

that have happened in the predon

33:54

hours with no headlights? How fast

33:56

were they traveling when they were

33:58

trying to chase you? Well, I

34:00

was going 45 and at one

34:02

time they reached 92 miles an

34:04

hour in that seven tenths of

34:06

a mile stretch trying to catch

34:08

me. And like I say, they

34:11

were still over 200 yards behind

34:13

me by the time I reached

34:15

the ambush point. And that just

34:17

convinced me that there was no

34:19

way it happened the way that

34:21

Beauford said. At this point, I

34:23

just started to gather up all

34:25

the information that I possibly could.

34:28

Mike began making public records requests.

34:30

He read the police reports and

34:32

studied the crime scene photographs from

34:34

the ambush. Two things immediately stood

34:36

out. One was the blood spatter.

34:38

He knew that blood spatter often

34:40

tells a story about how a

34:42

crime occurred. Blood spatter tells you

34:44

several different things. It can tell

34:47

you the direction that a shot

34:49

came from, the hike that it

34:51

came from, the distance, the firearm

34:53

was away from a person, and

34:55

none of it matched Buford stories.

34:58

Buford had claimed that he and Pauline

35:00

were inside the car when the ambushers

35:02

opened fire, wounding Buford and killing Pauline.

35:05

As such, you'd expect the blood spatter

35:07

to be all over the car's interior.

35:09

But that's not the only place the

35:11

blood spatter was. You had blood on

35:13

the front bumper, the hood of the

35:16

car, the top of the car, all

35:18

over the outside of the windshield, so

35:20

you knew that something was not correct

35:22

with his story. What specifically did that

35:25

suggest about where the victim may have

35:27

been at the time or the shooter?

35:29

So all of the bloodspatter on the

35:31

outside of the car leads you to

35:34

believe that someone was actually standing in

35:36

front of that car when they were

35:38

shot, not on the inside. The second

35:40

thing that stood out to Mike was

35:42

the position of the shell casings. He

35:45

said that he was sitting in the

35:47

car. that they pulled up close enough

35:49

that they were right next to him,

35:51

you would expect shell casings to have

35:54

been found in between the cars.

35:56

possibly some being ejected

35:58

inside the Cadillac and

36:00

some even going

36:03

over into car car

36:05

after the window was

36:07

blown out. weren't in the But

36:09

the the road weren't in the middle of

36:11

the road, or inside on the shoulder of the road,

36:13

on were on the shoulder of the road, the on

36:15

the opposite side of where Buford's car would have

36:17

been. Pauline was said to was said

36:20

to have died from two gunshot wounds to the

36:22

head. Mike wanted wanted to see what

36:24

the autopsy report said. He called the He

36:26

called the County medical examiner, but they

36:28

didn't have it. it. So he called

36:30

the medical examiner for the state of

36:32

Tennessee in Nashville. of Tennessee didn't have it

36:34

either. They didn't have it either. When

36:36

Mike The response shocked him. shocked

36:38

him. I learned I learned that

36:40

one was never performed. couldn't believe

36:43

it. Pauline was the couldn't believe

36:45

it. who had, was the sheriff's wife, who

36:47

had, according to a dramatic in a

36:50

dramatic Hollywood -style ambush, no with no

36:52

other witnesses and no viable suspects.

36:55

Even a cursory look at the evidence

36:57

suggested Buford's version of events was

36:59

highly dubious. And highly

37:01

dubious. no autopsy. The

37:03

state and local and local

37:05

medical examiners from 1967 had long

37:08

since passed away. away. So Mike

37:10

reached out to the current state medical examiner.

37:12

He asked, What could have

37:14

prevented the autopsy of a murder

37:16

victim back in 1967? a murder victim he

37:19

told me that the prosecutor

37:21

and the local medical examiner

37:23

had to concur on the

37:25

need for one. need for So

37:27

some some reason, they could

37:30

not concur. you have to you have

37:32

to wonder about the reasoning

37:34

for that, because that autopsy would

37:36

have told so much about

37:38

her death that they just passed

37:40

up the opportunity to get trajectories,

37:42

angles, distance, so much there

37:44

that needed to be told. be told.

37:46

Mike knew knew that as the as

37:48

the Sheriff of County, was was friendly

37:50

with both the local DA

37:52

and the medical examiner. They

37:54

must have felt sorry for for Buford. Mike

37:56

could could easily imagine him persuading both

37:58

men to bury his wife without

38:00

an an autopsy. You know, is it

38:03

is possible that Buford absolutely did

38:05

not want an autopsy done

38:07

and convinced the two men not

38:09

to have one. makes It makes

38:11

absolutely no sense otherwise. He would spend

38:13

a was hooked. of the He would

38:15

spend a good part of

38:17

the next 10 years investigating Buford

38:19

and the events leading up

38:21

to Pauline's death. Along

38:23

the way, way... he would uncover

38:25

details no one knew about

38:27

one of the about most

38:29

famous unsolved most Details that suggested

38:32

the prime suspect in Pauline's

38:34

death the her husband, in

38:36

Pauline's death was her husband,

38:38

next time

38:40

on That's next time on

38:42

Gone South. If you have information, story

38:44

you have information, story

38:46

tips, or feedback you'd

38:48

like to share with

38:50

the Gone South team,

38:52

please email us at South

38:54

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38:56

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Facebook, South and Instagram can also

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sign up for our You can

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also sign up for

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our newsletter on South with

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Jed South with Jed South

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is an Odyssey South is

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an Odyssey original podcast. It's

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created, written, and narrated by me,

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Jed Lipinski. Our executive

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producers are Jenna are Jenna Weiss Berman,

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Maddie Sprung Tom Lipinski, Lloyd Lloyd

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and me. me. Our story editors

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are Lopinsky, Maddie Sprung Kaiser, and and

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Joel Gone South is South is

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edited, mixed, and Lipinski, mastered

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by Chris Basil and Andy

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Jask.