Pauline Pusser autopsy....

[rwsmith]

They have supposedly exhumed Pauline Pusser's body but the news seems to end there. What do they think they are going to find? Somebody implicated Buford Pusser himself in her death, so I suppose he shot and killed her, then shot himself through he jaw with a rifle to cover it up.

 

[sigp220.45]

The reports just say the TBI received a tip. If I had to guess I'd say somebody turned over a gun old long-dead Uncle Filbert claimed he used to shoot the Pussers back in the day. No autopsy, no bullet to match. So they dug her up for a bullet hunt.

Just my guess. Could be a lot of other reasons.

 

[Alk8944]

The case of the murder of Pauline Pusser was never closed, it is still an open investigation. The Sheriff's Office, or TBI, realized that an autopsy had never been done during the initial investigation. Basically they are playing "catch-up" on an old case where some details were overlooked! They are still trying to determine who killed her! She was killed on August 12, 1973.

 

[LVSteve]

It still staggers me the number of deaths in the US that never go to a coroner's court or some form of inquest. No autopsy on a shooting victim just boggles my mind, even in 1973.

 

[MelvinWalker]

It still staggers me the number of deaths in the US that never go to a coroner's court or some form of inquest. No autopsy on a shooting victim just boggles my mind, even in 1973.

A little history lesson about Tennessee Law Enforcement. You have to understand that this took place in rural Tennessee in the 1960's and early 70's. Also remember that Buford Pusser was an elected Constable after he lost his sheriff's race.

I know that because I was an elected Constable 22 years later on the other side of the state.

There was many times, inherent tension between the elected Sheriff of the County and the Elected Constables of the Civil Districts within the county. Neither one had real powers over the other. Deputies work directly for the Sheriff. Constables do not. Since then, many counties have had Constables removed from their county charter via a vote by the county commission to do away with the office completely, but it is on a county by county basis. The Sheriff of the County couldn't do that, but lawmakers could and often have.

For example....Bledsoe County Tennessee did away with the office of Constable, but just to the south, Sequatchie County still has them....To the north, Fentress County still has Constables, but just to the west, Putnam County did away with theirs.

The entire state reeked of corruption that would make Tombstone blush during Pusser's time as both Sheriff and then Constable....And the further west in Tennessee you went, the worse it got. That's why no coroner or anything like that probably happened. It was just the wild west, especially around the state line area that Pusser lived in Adamsville.

Here's a fast fact in case any of you are ever on Jeopardy...Sgt. Alvin C. York's son was an elected Constable in Fentress County. He was killed in the line of duty and I think he was shot with his own gun. This would have been just around the time Pusser was a Constable, but before he died in the wreck.

 

[SMSgt]

The autopsy will determine she's still dead.

 

[jframe]

I have followed the Pusser story for many years. Pusser no more shot Pauline than I did. She was hit twice in the head from 30.06 rounds out of a BAR. The gun was never found, and probably never will be found. There is a man who has spent the better part of ten years at least trying to discredit Pusser and everything about him, and has apparently convinced Pauline's surviving brother that she should be exhumed for an autopsy. Don't get what they expect to find since 1967 when she was killed, but I suppose there is a reason. Read "Ghost Tales of the State Line Mob" and you will get more accurate research on the entire State Line story than has ever been done. It's available on Amazon and I highly recommend it. I only live about an hour from where all this took place, so I have been able to visit there quite a bit, and learn a lot.

 

[rwsmith]

I kinda thought that was the case...

I have followed the Pusser story for many years. Pusser no more shot Pauline than I did. She was hit twice in the head from 30.06 rounds out of a BAR. The gun was never found, and probably never will be found. There is a man who has spent the better part of ten years at least trying to discredit Pusser and everything about him, and has apparently convinced Pauline's surviving brother that she should be exhumed for an autopsy. Don't get what they expect to find since 1967 when she was killed, but I suppose there is a reason. Read "Ghost Tales of the State Line Mob" and you will get more accurate research on the entire State Line story than has ever been done. It's available on Amazon and I highly recommend it. I only live about an hour from where all this took place, so I have been able to visit there quite a bit, and learn a lot.

It's like Al Capone's lost treasure. Nothing untoward will show up and it will die down after a small flurry of excitement.

 

[Krogen]

Thanks for the context, MelvinWalker. https://smith-wessonforum.com/141980240-post5.html

It's interesting to learn of the inter-agency workings and dysfunctions. Those of us on the outside are prone to guesswork and speculation.

 

[Baxter6551]

Reference last bit of info in post #5

Constable Thomas Jefferson York, Fentress County Constable's Office, Tennessee

 

[CalifEd]

Those of us on the outside are prone to guesswork and speculation.

I/m goinna open a business.

Internet Investigations:
specializing in Guesswork and Speculation
Facts available at additional cost.

Might as well make some money while riding the wave.

 

[LVSteve]

Thanks for the context, MelvinWalker. https://smith-wessonforum.com/141980240-post5.html

It's interesting to learn of the inter-agency workings and dysfunctions. Those of us on the outside are prone to guesswork and speculation.

Too many "agencies" is a fundamental issue in the US. The county here got rid of the constable's office after a litany of issues. In some ways it was a loss as it performed a lot of tasks like serving writs and the like that would otherwise have to be done by LE, and LE has plenty to do as it is.

 

[NYlakesider]

I/m goinna open a business.

Internet Investigations:
specializing in Guesswork and Speculation
Facts available at additional cost.

Might as well make some money while riding the wave.

Your very late on that, the MSN so called journalists have been doing that for decades!-

 

[MelvinWalker]

Reference last bit of info in post #5

Constable Thomas Jefferson York, Fentress County Constable's Office, Tennessee

Very good sir and good digging! I knew that happened with Sgt. York's son, but it was before my time. I was in elementary school when he was shot. I wasn't even sure what he looked like.

I did meet one of Sgt. York's other sons several times. He was a Park Ranger for the State of Tennessee at the York Grist mill State Park that his father had built in the 1940's I believe...He died a few years ago.. I graduated high school with Sgt. York's granddaughter.

 

[MelvinWalker]

Too many "agencies" is a fundamental issue in the US. The county here got rid of the constable's office after a litany of issues. In some ways it was a loss as it performed a lot of tasks like serving writs and the like that would otherwise have to be done by LE, and LE has plenty to do as it is.

Correct, and a lot of that depends on the state you live in. Florida doesn't have constables and I don't think they ever have....Texas however has constables and from what I gather they have broad powers and influence there...Maybe somebody from Texas can comment on that?

I know that I remember one elected Tennessee constable decided to start running radar on I-40 and then doing vehicle searches. He could do it, I guess, but why? Big liability and out his lane. The Sheriff of the county complained, but the constable said stick it...SO, it went up the chain to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, who then back lobbied the county commission to eliminate the office in the next election, which they did..

They probably just should have voted to impeach and remove him and leave the office itself alone, but you know...Painting with broad brushes and all. I would assume that the county attorney told the commission it was a liability, (which it was), but the constable had his own bond. The county would have ended up on the hook for a lawsuit from that goofball.

 

[JohnRippert]

Texas however has constables and from what I gather they have broad powers and influence there...Maybe somebody from Texas can comment on that?

There has been a load of articles recently in our lovely left leaning paper the Chronicle about the constable system here. They would love to get rid of them hence the multiple articles, but they are quite popular with many folks around here because they do a lot of patrolling of neighborhoods. The patrols cost the neighborhoods, of course. As mentioned above, they also do a lot of the grunt work, like serving warrants, etc. The main complaint seems to be the lack of inter service communication and cooperation between the constables and other police offices.

 

[MelvinWalker]

There has been a load of articles recently in our lovely left leaning paper the Chronicle about the constable system here. They would love to get rid of them hence the multiple articles, but they are quite popular with many folks around here because they do a lot of patrolling of neighborhoods. The patrols cost the neighborhoods, of course. As mentioned above, they also do a lot of the grunt work, like serving warrants, etc. The main complaint seems to be the lack of inter service communication and cooperation between the constables and other police offices.

Thanks for commenting from Texas. What you said make me shake my head. Some things never change no matter where you go...

The wife and I love Texas and almost moved there. I got a wild hair a few years ago and decided to do the whole Dallas thing with Dealey Plaza and the works. A Dallas PD Corporal saw us standing in front of the building that Ruby was killed in, (which wasn't open to the public). He took us into the basement and let us take pictures. It's some sort of courthouse now. Very nice guy...Shook my hand and said "Welcome to Texas". I remember when we explained why we looked lost, he said "You walked all the way here from down there for THIS building?"

While there we saw several texas Constables had people pulled over on the highway that goes from downtown to the Texas theater... I told the wife, well Texas takes this pretty serious. They looked like Highway Patrol.

 

[BKLooney]

There are 24 constables in our county.

 

[MelvinWalker]

There are 24 constables in our county.

East Tennessee tends to have more Constables than middle Tennessee. Places like Cocke County, Johnson, Campbell, Claiborne...I would imagine most of them still have Constables.

 

[BKLooney]

I have followed the Pusser story for many years. Pusser no more shot Pauline than I did. She was hit twice in the head from 30.06 rounds out of a BAR. The gun was never found, and probably never will be found. There is a man who has spent the better part of ten years at least trying to discredit Pusser and everything about him, and has apparently convinced Pauline's surviving brother that she should be exhumed for an autopsy. Don't get what they expect to find since 1967 when she was killed, but I suppose there is a reason. Read "Ghost Tales of the State Line Mob" and you will get more accurate research on the entire State Line story than has ever been done. It's available on Amazon and I highly recommend it. I only live about an hour from where all this took place, so I have been able to visit there quite a bit, and learn a lot.

I've read quite a bit about Bufford for years, haven't read that book yet but I'll be getting it!

 

[jframe]

I've read quite a bit about Bufford for years, haven't read that book yet but I'll be getting it!

It's a great read. The author was teaching Geneaolgy at a small college near Chattanooga when a student told him she had an interesting family history.
One of her relatives was Louise Hatchcock, the woman Pusser shot and killed at the Shamrock Motel at the Tennessee/Mississippi state line, after she pulled a snub nosed .38 on him and it misfired. That was what got him interested in doing actual research on the entire state line story,of which Pusser was actually just a small part of. The book is full of copies of search warrants, FBI arrest records, the autopsy report on Hatchcock, and quite a bit more. My wife was born and raised in McNairy County, so that is another reason I am up there quite a bit.

 

[Faulkner]

{snip} She was hit twice in the head from 30.06 rounds out of a BAR. The gun was never found, and probably never will be found. {snip}

Hmm, for some reason I thought it was spent .30 carbine brass they found along the shooting scene.

A couple of years back I rode my Harley over to met a buddy who lives near Memphis and we spent the weekend nosing around McNairy County, Tennessee, visiting the courthouse and some of the historical sights from the Bufford Pusser era. Rural Tennessee and rural Arkansas had a lot in common back in the late '60's.

Regarding constables, Arkansas constables are a constitutional office, so it would take a constitutional amendment by the state legislature to abolish the office state wide. The only thing local county government can do is not fund the office, which is the case in many counties. They are elected for two year terms and serve in the Justice of the Peace district in which they live.

I have served as an elected Arkansas constable for eight consecutive terms (16 years) concurrent with serving with the sheriff's department.

 

[Puller]

Bufford's reign as sheriff was well before my time but many of my kinfolks are still around that recall those times since we live just across the line into Mississippi. They say the word was that Bufford crossed the line a few times but that's what it took to take down organized crime that was literally winked at all the way to Nashville.

 

[rwsmith]

That's what I remember....

Hmm, for some reason I thought it was spent .30 carbine brass they found along the shooting scene.

A couple of years back I rode my Harley over to met a buddy who lives near Memphis and we spent the weekend nosing around McNairy County, Tennessee, visiting the courthouse and some of the historical sights from the Bufford Pusser era. Rural Tennessee and rural Arkansas had a lot in common back in the late '60's.

Regarding constables, Arkansas constables are a constitutional office, so it would take a constitutional amendment by the state legislature to abolish the office state wide. The only thing local county government can do is not fund the office, which is the case in many counties. They are elected for two year terms and serve in the Justice of the Peace district in which they live.

I have served as an elected Arkansas constable for eight consecutive terms (16 years) concurrent with serving with the sheriff's department.

I remember it being .30 carbine.

 

[jimmyj]

Correct, and a lot of that depends on the state you live in. Florida doesn't have constables and I don't think they ever have....Texas however has constables and from what I gather they have broad powers and influence there...Maybe somebody from Texas can comment on that?

I know that I remember one elected Tennessee constable decided to start running radar on I-40 and then doing vehicle searches. He could do it, I guess, but why? Big liability and out his lane. The Sheriff of the county complained, but the constable said stick it...SO, it went up the chain to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, who then back lobbied the county commission to eliminate the office in the next election, which they did..

They probably just should have voted to impeach and remove him and leave the office itself alone, but you know...Painting with broad brushes and all. I would assume that the county attorney told the commission it was a liability, (which it was), but the constable had his own bond. The county would have ended up on the hook for a lawsuit from that goofball.

I began LE in 1962 Polk County Florida. At that time there were Constables who were the law enforcement arm of the Justice of Peace.

 

[MelvinWalker]

I began LE in 1962 Polk County Florida. At that time there were Constables who were the law enforcement arm of the Justice of Peace.

I did not know that. I didn't know Florida ever had Constables, but then, I have only been living here four years.

 

[Muley Gil]

21 of Alabama's 67 counties still have constables.

 

[S-W4EVER]

I have followed the Pusser story for many years. Pusser no more shot Pauline than I did...

It would take a lot of objective evidence to convince me of that too and I don't live anywhere near Tennessee.

 

[jframe]

Hmm, for some reason I thought it was spent .30 carbine brass they found along the shooting scene.

A couple of years back I rode my Harley over to met a buddy who lives near Memphis and we spent the weekend nosing around McNairy County, Tennessee, visiting the courthouse and some of the historical sights from the Bufford Pusser era. Rural Tennessee and rural Arkansas had a lot in common back in the late '60's.

Regarding constables, Arkansas constables are a constitutional office, so it would take a constitutional amendment by the state legislature to abolish the office state wide. The only thing local county government can do is not fund the office, which is the case in many counties. They are elected for two year terms and serve in the Justice of the Peace district in which they live.

I have served as an elected Arkansas constable for eight consecutive terms (16 years) concurrent with serving with the sheriff's department.

According to the book I mentioned, which I believe has pictures of some of the spent casings, it was 30-06. The casings in the pics are bottlenecked, which a .30 carbine would be straight walled.

 

[Puller]

According to on line sources, a .30 carbine was used in the ambush.

According to Pusser, his phone rang before dawn on the morning of August 12, 1967, informing him of a disturbance on New Hope Road in McNairy County; Pusser responded and his wife Pauline rode along. Shortly after they passed the New Hope Methodist Church, a fast-moving car came alongside theirs and the occupants opened fire, killing Pauline and leaving Pusser for dead. Doctors said he was struck on the left side of his jaw by at least two, or possibly three, rounds from a .30-caliber carbine. He spent 18 days in the hospital before returning home, and needed several more surgeries to restore his appearance.