Identified! Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - Pamela Buckley & James Freund #9

[Ajaygee11]

Somehow in the sixteen years of following this particular case, I missed this article. It contains several bits of information I had not seen before. I'll post these here for others to read first and in a later post offer some thoughts etc.
Clipping from The Item - Newspapers.com

Clipping from The Item - Newspapers.com

Well that revealed a few things that I had not read before, like for example the actual make and model of the rear tyres that were thought to be on the vehicle that left the tracks behind and that the front tires were a fairly common commercial tread. Starting to see why they thought it was a van.

 

[worldwatcher]

There are so many contradictory post/story's here,this one I read about - when- the gun was stolen, I really thought, it was 4 or 5 years, prior to the murders took place, but now I am not sure, anymore..?
Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - #6
Can someone enlight this, pls?

I found the text in the media section of this forum, by mistake I closed the tab, so can't link it directly, but here is the text :

"sheriff parnell says the (.357) gun has been traced to a 1974 theft of several weapons in durham, north carolina..."

Source:
Clipping from The Index-Journal - Newspapers.com

 

[Valiant]

Well that revealed a few things that I had not read before, like for example the actual make and model of the rear tyres that were thought to be on the vehicle that left the tracks behind and that the front tires were a fairly common commercial tread. Starting to see why they thought it was a van.

And a tire like that would be something that could be bought up north or out west as a snow tire, if James or Pamela owned the vehicle. I wonder if LE knows yet if James or Pam disappeared with a vehicle.
Or if someone bought that tire down south, they'd consider it a mud tire.
Interesting.

 

[Betty P]

I found the text in the media section of this forum, by mistake I closed the tab, so can't link it directly, but here is the text :

"sheriff parnell says the (.357) gun has been traced to a 1974 theft of several weapons in durham, north carolina..."

Source:
Clipping from The Index-Journal - Newspapers.com

Can everyone see this? I have a subscription, but can't tell if non-subscribers can see it.

 

[shellbee]

Somehow in the sixteen years of following this particular case, I missed this article. It contains several bits of information I had not seen before. I'll post these here for others to read first and in a later post offer some thoughts etc.
Clipping from The Item - Newspapers.com

Clipping from The Item - Newspapers.com

Sorry to reply to my own post, but I have a few thoughts on some of the content of the article.

The ear witness hearing four shots might explain why police, according to Verna Moore, thought they were each shot once in the van and two more times along the roadside.

Pam had a mani and pedi.These days there's a nail spa in every strip mall and supply has made visiting one an affordable luxury for many. To my recollection, in the 70's a professional manicure, was limited to wealthier women in the more cosmopolitan areas. Perhaps places such as Charleston? Savannah? Palm Beach? Miami? Of course she could have done it herself which means she probably had one of those manicure sets in the zippered case which suggests she had luggage and probably wasn't hitchhiking.

Pam's shorts were cut-off style manufactured to look that way, but not former pants repurposed into shorts. That's kind of interesting.

 

[shellbee]

Well that revealed a few things that I had not read before, like for example the actual make and model of the rear tyres that were thought to be on the vehicle that left the tracks behind and that the front tires were a fairly common commercial tread. Starting to see why they thought it was a van.

I wonder when they started selling that particular tire.

 

[worm]

Sorry to reply to my own post, but I have a few thoughts on some of the content of the article.

The ear witness hearing four shots might explain why police, according to Verna Moore, thought they were each shot once in the van and two more times along the roadside.

Pam had a mani and pedi.These days there's a nail spa in every strip mall and supply has made visiting one an affordable luxury for many. To my recollection, in the 70's a professional manicure, was limited to wealthier women in the more cosmopolitan areas. Perhaps places such as Charleston? Savannah? Palm Beach? Miami? Of course she could have done it herself which means she probably had one of those manicure sets in the zippered case which suggests she had luggage and probably wasn't hitchhiking.

Pam's shorts were cut-off style manufactured to look that way, but not former pants repurposed into shorts. That's kind of interesting.

These are good articles and they seem to indicate to me that LE also thought the answers were in the circle of the gun. They even mention having an idea that Lonnie knew who had the weapon on the night of the murders even tho he had an “airtight” alibi.

 

[onceuponadecember]

Hey y'all, I'm doing some notes on Pam and James's evidence of life (the matches, clothes, etc.) to see if I can make any more connections. I'll post back with what I find later on.

 

[onceuponadecember]

So I took some notes and I really focused on the matches here: I realized Nebraska is NE of Colorado. Maybe James was in Nebraska and headed through Colorado and picked up and/or met Pam while there?

 

[branmuffin]

Based on the thought that the initial shot that Pam and James suffered was not at the body dump site, do you think it's possible that Pam and James picked up someone or befriended someone from the area and spent some time with them in their home which is where things went sideways and they were shot? Then the killer(s) bundled them into the rear of the van, dragged them out of the vehicle and shot them again in the chest and the throat. They'd be driving around in a vehicle that was covered in blood. There's so little blood on the bodies, though. You'd think Pamela's top would be saturated in blood being white.

I think gunshots using a .357 with .38 bullets wouldn't exit the body if they hit bone. They found bullets on the ground where the couple were found so which bullets were they, the bullets from the chest shot or the head/throat shot? You'd have to ensure that the bullets wouldn't hit any ribs, front or back to get a through shot unless the person shot them just under the breastbone angling down through soft tissue if they were straddling the victims. A throat shot could have been a through and through. Unless the reverse happened, the throat shot ended up in their skull and the chest shot was a through and through. Being shot in the chest doesn't necessarily mean through the heart, it's a pretty big target. Although if the victims were lying helpless on the ground before being finished off would it be easy to shoot them in the heart.

I'm just trying to understand what the state of the bodies was since for decades I've been under the impression that all shots occurred on Locklair Rd.

I wonder if Lonnie Henry was covering for his brother who said he gave the weapon to him in the early seventies when in reality he was the owner of the weapon when it was reported stolen in 1974.

 

[MadMcGoo]

This is at least the 2nd article I’ve seen that states they were killed there at the scene. I believe the other one is the long article published about a decade after the murders (with their PM recons). It also gives yet another description of where, on their body, they had been shot. I suppose it’s of no consequence at this point, but it makes things confusing when each article is different.

Anyway, I noticed in this one (which had probably been mentioned before) says they “stepped from the back of a van on a secluded, dirt road in South Carolina.” I wonder if they found shoe prints? Maybe matched them to Pam’s or Jim’s shoes? Just a thought. ETA: This wording could be overzealous journalism or creative writing, not necessarily fact based.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Based on the thought that the initial shots that Pam and James suffered was not at the body dump site, do you think it's possible that Pam and James picked up someone or befriended someone from the area and spent some time with them in their home which is where things went sideways and they were shot? Then the killer(s) bundled them into the rear of the van, dragged them out of the vehicle and shot them again in the chest and the throat. They'd be driving around in a vehicle that was covered in blood. There's so little blood on the bodies, though. You'd think Pamela's top would be saturated in blood being white.

I think gunshots using a .357 with .38 bullets wouldn't exit the body if they hit bone. They found bullets on the ground where the couple were found so which bullets were they, the bullets from the chest shot or the head/throat shot? You'd have to ensure that the bullets wouldn't hit any ribs, front or back to get a through shot unless the person shot them just under the breastbone angling down through soft tissue if they were straddling the victims. A throat shot could have been a through and through. Unless the reverse happened, the throat shot ended up in their skull and the chest shot was a through and through. Being shot in the chest doesn't necessarily mean through the heart, it's a pretty big target. Although if the victims were lying helpless on the ground before being finished off would be easy to shoot them in the heart.

I'm just trying to understand what the state of the bodies was since for decades I've been under the impression that all shots occurred on Locklair Rd.

I wonder if Lonnie Henry was covering for his brother who said he gave the weapon to him in the early seventies when in reality he was the owner of the weapon when it was reported stolen in 1974.

Good point about the blood. I’d expect to see a lot more on their clothes.

 

[branmuffin]

Good point about the blood. I’d expect to see a lot more on their clothes.

I'm wondering if the 'hearing witness' was actually asleep when the first shots were issued which woke them up and then they heard two distinct separate volley of shots. I know they stated they were watching Johnny Carson but maybe they fell asleep. I think hard evidence should dictate where the shots were fired rather than relying on a witness who heard something. Witnesses are notorious for getting stuff wrong. I'd like to know how many bullets they found at the discovery site and in the bodies because I still believe that Locklair Rd. is where Pamela and James met their end.

Edited to add: I just looked up what time the Johnny Carson show aired in 1976. It ran from 11:30 pm to 1:00 am. It ran Monday to Friday but not on the weekends so I don't know how the 'hearing' witness said he was watching Johnny Carson.

 

[MadMcGoo]

I'm wondering if the 'hearing witness' was actually asleep when the first shots were issued which woke them up and then they heard two distinct separate volley of shots. I know they stated they were watching Johnny Carson but maybe they fell asleep. I think hard evidence should dictate where the shots were fired rather than relying on a witness who heard something. Witnesses are notorious for getting stuff wrong. I'd like to know how many bullets they found at the discovery site and in the bodies because I still believe that Locklair Rd. is where Pamela and James met their end.

Edited to add: I just looked up what time the Johnny Carson show aired in 1976. It ran from 11:30 pm to 1:00 am. It ran Monday to Friday but not on the weekends so I don't know how the 'hearing' witness said he was watching Johnny Carson.

Thank you for looking that up!! I was wondering the same thing about when it aired. That’s quite interesting.

 

[Ajaygee11]

I wonder when they started selling that particular tire.

From a quick glance, without doing further research, looking at the advertisements I saw, it looks like the late 60's / early 70's.

 

[Warwick1991]

I found the text in the media section of this forum, by mistake I closed the tab, so can't link it directly, but here is the text :

"sheriff parnell says the (.357) gun has been traced to a 1974 theft of several weapons in durham, north carolina..."

Source:
Clipping from The Index-Journal - Newspapers.com

The interesting part of this is that the revolver was stolen in 1974. That is only 2 years before the murders. Perhaps the Henry brothers were involved in the theft. The lack of charges against Lonnie Henry or his brother is a mystery. Filing off a firearm serial number is both a state and Federal crime, and possession of stolen property is potentially another charge. The path of the revolver from the time of its theft to its discovery has not been described, but is significant.

 

[Valiant]

I wonder when they started selling that particular tire.

Firestone Town & Country snow tires were very popular and had been around for years.
They had a slogan "you go or we pay the tow". They were all Dad ever used and he always got to work in the Ohio winters. I suspect they were popular tires.

The "Wide Oval" was Firestone's performance tire line, so a wide oval version of the snow tire might be a little less common. By 1976 the Firestone Wide Oval Town & Country tire had been around for several years. I've found advertisements back until at least 1968.

 

[MadMcGoo]

The interesting part of this is that the revolver was stolen in 1974. That is only 2 years before the murders. Perhaps the Henry brothers were involved in the theft. The lack of charges against Lonnie Henry or his brother is a mystery. Filing off a firearm serial number is both a state and Federal crime, and possession of stolen property is potentially another charge. The path of the revolver from the time of its theft to its discovery has not been described, but is significant.

I happened to see this yesterday when I was looking for something different. I don’t remember seeing it before. Apparently LGH was charged with, and later pleaded guilty to, a federal crime for possessing the firearm with a filed down serial number...

Clipping from The Item - Newspapers.com

 

[worldwatcher]

The interesting part of this is that the revolver was stolen in 1974. That is only 2 years before the murders. Perhaps the Henry brothers were involved in the theft. The lack of charges against Lonnie Henry or his brother is a mystery. Filing off a firearm serial number is both a state and Federal crime, and possession of stolen property is potentially another charge. The path of the revolver from the time of its theft to its discovery has not been described, but is significant.

"Again, Lonnie Henry had the gun but said his brother Jim had given it to him, but he'd gotten it from some group of robbers from the Raleigh-Durham area, who had stolen it from some unnamed individual."

Let this be the year the Sumter County Does are identified..

I haven't read the whole thread, but came across this post, so tried to search in newspapers, about the theft, so it could be linked here, but no luck so far.

 

[shellbee]

I'm wondering if the 'hearing witness' was actually asleep when the first shots were issued which woke them up and then they heard two distinct separate volley of shots. I know they stated they were watching Johnny Carson but maybe they fell asleep. I think hard evidence should dictate where the shots were fired rather than relying on a witness who heard something. Witnesses are notorious for getting stuff wrong. I'd like to know how many bullets they found at the discovery site and in the bodies because I still believe that Locklair Rd. is where Pamela and James met their end.

Edited to add: I just looked up what time the Johnny Carson show aired in 1976. It ran from 11:30 pm to 1:00 am. It ran Monday to Friday but not on the weekends so I don't know how the 'hearing' witness said he was watching Johnny Carson.

Good catch. If only LE or reporters were as diligent.