7 days ago
Questions remain decades after death of Pauline Pusser
ADAMSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — From mystery novels to thrillers, Oakley Dean Baldwin has authored more than 30 books.
But out of his entire body of work, the true crime story of his relative, Pauline Pusser, hits especially close to home.
'I'm distant cousins to her. My grandmother and her father, Jack Mullins, were raised together back in Haysi, Dickenson County, Virginia,' explained Baldwin, author of Murder of Mrs. Buford Pusser.
Who was legendary lawman Buford Pusser?
Baldwin remembers Pauline as a very giving and loving person. She was murdered in an ambush meant to take out her husband, Sheriff Buford Pusser.
The couple was driving and the killers ambushed their car with a barrage of gunfire.
At least that's the story told for decades but Baldwin isn't so sure that's the truth. Baldwin and his family started doing their own research.
'We were shaking our head at every turn with the evidence that we were finding. Nothing was making any sense. A lot of red flags,' said Baldwin.
Why were Pauline Pusser's remains exhumed?
'You have the sheriff whose 36-year-old wife gets murdered and you don't do an autopsy on her that's really strange to me,' said Baldwin.
Baldwin would know the proper investigative steps as he spent decades in law enforcement working real-life crime mysteries. But the one about his own cousin wasn't stacking up.
For example, the day Pauline was killed, she was out on a service call with her sheriff husband when the killers ambushed the car.
But Baldwin claims the patrol car — a key piece of evidence in Pauline's cold case — was allowed to be put back into service at the sheriff's office.
'They repaired all the bullet holes and the glass and it was put back into service for deputies to drive. And that's something that's really odd. If you haven't solved the crime, and you don't think someone is a person of interest, you don't release the evidence like that. So that was a red flag when I read that – who in the world would release that car?' asked Baldwin.
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Baldwin called the investigation back then 'shoddy' and says the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is more professional organization today than it was in 1967 when politicians had more sway over investigators.
Over the years, many have speculated that Buford killed his own wife and covered it up.
The TBI recently exhumed Pauline's body in hopes of solving the case.
'That's the $64,000 question. That's why we are all looking for the autopsy results. I feel like that's either going to clear up a whole lot or its going to stir up a whole lot…We just want the truth to come out. Let the chips fall where they fall.'
Baldwin said once the current investigation is wrapped up and the autopsy revealed, he will update his book with the new findings.
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