Identified! Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - Pamela Buckley & James P Freund #8

[worm]

Could she have been posed with the guitar just to make a good picture? Truth in advertising may not apply to promotional posters....

She looks to be playing an open C chord but that could have been posed. I think when musicians typically pose like that, they will grab a chord or note that they know but it’s just my guess.

 

[Triss]

I think it's probably her, the only problem that I notice with it is her eye color. Her eyes are very light colored in most photographs, but this woman has very dark eyes. The hair looks very much like Pam's, but another problem with this photo is that the woman is playing a guitar. Pam, from what has been shared, was a vocalist, never a guitarist or any type of instrumental musician. It's a 50/50 chance.
IMO

Her eyes could be dark because of the lighting and make up. She wears little to no make up in her high school photos and there's definitely some eyeliner in that picture with a guitar as well as in her post mortem photos. She's also a few years older. But it's definitely her, the ring, the hair, the uncanny resemblance, it's all there.
As for the guitar...Well, there's no information that she was a guitar player... But there's also no information that she wasn't a guitar player She was really into music, so it wouldn't surprise me if she could play guitar. It's also possible that she was holding the guitar just for the picture.

 

[wary]

Her eyes could be dark because of the lighting and make up. She wears little to no make up in her high school photos and there's definitely some eyeliner in that picture with a guitar as well as in her post mortem photos. She's also a few years older. But it's definitely her, the ring, the hair, the uncanny resemblance, it's all there.
As for the guitar...Well, there's no information that she was a guitar player... But there's also no information that she wasn't a guitar player She was really into music, so it wouldn't surprise me if she could play guitar. It's also possible that she was holding the guitar just for the picture.

I think that was still the era when everyone tried to learn to play the guitar, at least. So, even if she was more of a singer, she could certainly have known how to play, enough for the picture.

 

[onceuponadecember]

Here are my personal thoughts on the silver and jade ring:

• The band was probably silver sterling (aka .925 silver)
• The ring was probably just some costume jewelry, not a class ring.
• The ring might've been from a resale store, thrift shop, or older.

 

[Eddie99]

Do we know if either victim possessed a vehicle, when they were last heard from? That would be the next best clue.

Other random thoughts:

I go back and forth on the location they were found. The fact they were right out in the open suggests to me the killer had no concern about being connected to that location.
On the other hand, seems a bit risky to just (presumably) pull off of 95 take the first turn and fire 6 shots, without knowing ones surroundings.

Next thought.

If you consider robbery to be the principal motive, that would explain not having a purse or wallet with the bodies. However, wouldn't you think they would take the watch and jewelery?

Next.....

I keep coming back to how they ended up together.

Were the victims together, and encountered their killer?

Was JPF with the killer, when they met the woman?

Was the woman with the killer, when they met JPF?

Revenge, Heartbreak / Jealousy, commission of another crime/ eliminate witnesses are the main motives for murder. What do we think is the most likley reason this happened? Or was the killer just a psycho?

 

[Betty P]

There has been a ton of discussion over the years on how they died and who did it. One of the key details that stumped a lot of people as far as the who was the location of the bodies. It is generally agreed by those who have posted who know the area that one has to know how to get to that road where the bodies were found. This, along with the gun ending up in the possession of a local, has always pointed to someone from Sumter County being the killer.



Probable. Still a lot of assumptions.

Agree, it was a road/turn off not easily found.

It was also located along a major interstate highway, so they were probably driving through on a trip.

Good point.
I just did a little research on the ring and it looks like the stones are turquoise and red coral. Anyways, here's a similar ring I found online that I'm going off here:
View attachment 280993
I'll see what I can find on the possible class ring.

Yes, it's possible she bought the jewelry in New Mexico. Sunlending used to play clubs in Taos, NM, according to old ads on Newspapers.com.

However, this type of jewelry was very popular in the 70's and widely available across the US. I had many pieces like this, in rings, bracelets, necklaces, etc. and never visited the SW US. You could by them in women's boutiques, department stores, gift shops, etc.

Here are ads, for example, in Indianapolis, IN selling that type of jewelry at a wholesale market show at the local Holiday Inn. More following

8 Nov 1976, 38 - The Indianapolis News at Newspapers.com

15 Oct 1975, 29 - Standard-Speaker at Newspapers.com

4 Jun 1976, 26 - The Post-Star at Newspapers.com

 

[onceuponadecember]

Do we know if either victim possessed a vehicle, when they were last heard from? That would be the next best clue.

Other random thoughts:

I go back and forth on the location they were found. The fact they were right out in the open suggests to me the killer had no concern about being connected to that location.
On the other hand, seems a bit risky to just (presumably) pull off of 95 take the first turn and fire 6 shots, without knowing ones surroundings.

Next thought.

If you consider robbery to be the principal motive, that would explain not having a purse or wallet with the bodies. However, wouldn't you think they would take the watch and jewelery?

Next.....

I keep coming back to how they ended up together.

Were the victims together, and encountered their killer?

Was JPF with the killer, when they met the woman?

Was the woman with the killer, when they met JPF?

Revenge, Heartbreak / Jealousy, commission of another crime/ eliminate witnesses are the main motives for murder. What do we think is the most likley reason this happened? Or was the killer just a psycho?

A great deal of us think James and Pam picked up a carjacker looking for a fancy car to steal. Maybe James had some sort of sports car or van.

 

[norest4thewicked]

I’m just now catching up on this thread after a few days away. I’m so relieved that Pam and James now have their names back and that their family members can get some sense of closure. I think the biggest surprise to me is that they were separately reported missing in 1975. I had previously speculated that their families might have looked for them as individuals somewhere other than S.C., but I was thinking in terms of missing person reports after 1976, not before.

I doubt we’ll ever know why exactly they ended up in South Carolina or the precise sequence of events leading to their deaths, even if their killer is one day identified. I do tend to agree that the killer(s) was most likely someone local to Sumter County and that robbery was the most likely motive. It doesn’t feel like a drug case to me in spite of the execution-style killings. I’m undecided on the point about whether they had a car or were hitchhiking; the latter seems slightly more likely to me, but I’m not sure it makes a huge difference to the overall theory of case

The fact that screams to me that they had a vehicle was that they had absolutely nothing on them when they were found - because everything they owned was in the vehicle. I am convinced that they picked up the wrong hitchhiker on the way to wherever they were going.

 

[worm]

I think that was still the era when everyone tried to learn to play the guitar, at least. So, even if she was more of a singer, she could certainly have known how to play, enough for the picture.

True, a lot of singer/musicians know a little on instruments. That C chord she is playing in the pic is a basic, beginner chord. Everyone’s heard of middle C? That version of C is it.

 

[Andreee]

Sadly, we're once again back at square one. We've figured out everything about James and Pam, we've got the photos, we've got a probable sequence of death, but we have no idea where they went, and LE doesn't wish to release that info (which is understood)

We aren't back at square one IMO. We now know the identities of this young couple, and so do their families. Any extra info. is cool, but the main thing now is for LE to hopefully find out their vicious murderer(s).

 

[Andreee]

Good investigators would have driven a few hours in each direction on I 95 to see if any exits had an advertised ice cream shop on a sign. Wonder if that happened. Also lots of ice cream is fruit ice cream.

I had understood a worker at a fruitstand thought he had seen the couple there at one point.

 

[Andreee]

I’m just now catching up on this thread after a few days away. I’m so relieved that Pam and James now have their names back and that their family members can get some sense of closure. I think the biggest surprise to me is that they were separately reported missing in 1975. I had previously speculated that their families might have looked for them as individuals somewhere other than S.C., but I was thinking in terms of missing person reports after 1976, not before.

I doubt we’ll ever know why exactly they ended up in South Carolina or the precise sequence of events leading to their deaths, even if their killer is one day identified. I do tend to agree that the killer(s) was most likely someone local to Sumter County and that robbery was the most likely motive. It doesn’t feel like a drug case to me in spite of the execution-style killings. I’m undecided on the point about whether they had a car or were hitchhiking; the latter seems slightly more likely to me, but I’m not sure it makes a huge difference to the overall theory of case

It seems to me that the killer was ex-military, ex-cop or some kind of pro with guns, the way they were shot.

 

[Betty P]

Here's a link to a post from an earlier thread here in 2008. It quotes a news article about the man, Lonnie Henry, who was caught with the gun used in the murders.

Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - #3

Sole suspect
About four months after the murders, police in the Darlington County town of Latta arrested Lonnie George Henry for drunk driving. Under the seat of his car they found a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson with the serial number filed off.
Police sent the gun to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division's forensic lab for tests and later concluded that Henry's revolver had killed the mystery couple. Bullets taken from the bodies matched with the weapon.
When officers asked Henry point blank if he was the killer, his polygraph said he was telling the truth. No, he hadn't pulled the trigger. But several other lie detector tests implied he was lying about something, at least, maybe covering up for somebody. Investigators wondered if someone had stolen his gun and whether a relative or friend of Henry's had killed the couple in Sumter.
But case files say Henry did lie about how he'd obtained the gun, first telling officers that he'd bought it from a truck driver. Days after the purchase, Henry told investigators, he discovered the serial number had been filed off. By then, it was too late to return the item for a refund.
SLED recovered the serial number and investigators tracked the gun from its manufacturer to Henry's brother, who said he gave it to Henry as a Christmas present four or five years earlier.
The gun had been bought, stolen and resold several times before falling into the hands of Henry's brother. But he said the serial number was still there on Christmas Eve.
When confronted with the new information, Henry confessed to filing the serial numbers off himself.
It remains unclear why Henry lied if he was innocent. And it also remains unclear if he really was. Case files say Henry was a recovering alcoholic and had also gotten in trouble with the law for a slew of minor offenses.
At the time, his son had recently drowned in the Pee Dee River. He'd also accidentally killed one of his co-workers, by backing a dump truck over him.
Investigative psychologists even wondered if he'd killed the Sumter couple and simply couldn't remember doing it.

 

[onceuponadecember]

It seems to me that the killer was ex-military, ex-cop or some kind of pro with guns, the way they were shot.

I would probably say a pro with guns or hunter would make most sense.
IMO

 

[Triss]

I had understood a worker at a fruitstand thought he had seen the couple there at one point.

That's correct. And I believe that fruit stand witness. Fruit and ice cream were found in their stomachs, after all. It also proves that Jim and Pam hanged out together at least for some time before they were murdered. In my opinion we can rule out that they did not know each other before they died.

 

[onceuponadecember]

That's correct. And I believe that fruit stand witness. Fruit and ice cream were found in their stomachs, after all. It also proves that Jim and Pam hanged out together at least for some time before they were murdered. In my opinion we can rule out that they did not know each other before they died.

The fruit stand story was in Florence, SC, right?

 

[Dragonfyree]

I think we may be over thinking this again.

Pamela probably followed Interstate 80 East, which would take her through Nebraska where she got the matchbook, we don't know if she already had the jewelry but that type of Southwestern jewelry was available in most stores, swap meets, etc. across the Midwest. She was probably carrying a backpack with candles and possibly one of those small lanterns for when she had to camp out at night and would need light.

She gets to the East coast and meets James, she could have met him months before the incident or just a couple of weeks before, she decides it's safer to travel with him and James realizes it's probably easier to get rides if he has a female with him.

James disappears from the East coast and there is nothing that says he had a car or a lot of money with him when he left. Remember, there were gas shortages and prices at the time were extremely high for gas and the whole point of hitchhiking around the country was you could go where you wanted, stay as long as you want and go off on excursions off the beaten path, which would be difficult if you had to spend all your money on gas. He probably also had a backpack.

What happened to them?

1. At the campgrounds they overheard something that another person may have felt was dangerous for them to know. They were offered a ride and were killed to keep them silent. Everything they had with them stayed in the car, as they were strangers and the killers thought it would slow down any investigation if they weren't known.

2. At the wrong place at the wrong time. Offered a ride by someone else who was the target. They were stopped, Pamela and James were killed, so there would be no witnesses - taking all their stuff to slow identification and taking the original target with them to dispose of somewhere else as they may have been able to lead back to the killers.

or a million other scenario's.

 

[mp_1989]

She looks to be playing an open C chord but that could have been posed. I think when musicians typically pose like that, they will grab a chord or note that they know but it’s just my guess.

Good shout c chord is the only one I can ever remember too haha

 

[Molly's Mom]

Hey, I've been following this case for a couple of years now and I'm happy to be able to contribute my very first post on this site of what I have found.

I found an un-dated Promotional Photo for the band Sunlending (the bottom of the photo is curled, but it says Sunlending) showing Johny Daly, rocking a Beatles fringed hair-do and wearing the same style circle framed glasses as in the only other band photo I have seen.

Now this is the part I'm unsure of:

The female in the picture, who I'm assuming is Pamela, has her hair similar also to the other band photo where it's parted in the middle and with the front bangs tucked under to the side of her face. On her index finger you can see some sort of elongated ring that she is wearing, which I would imagine to be one of the 3 rings when they found her body and as seen in the evidence photos.

Absent from the photo is Anthony Matthews the third band member, who died in a hang-gliding accident on August 1st 1975, so I would assume this photo was taken between then and until December 1975 of that year when Pamela disappears from Colorado Springs, CO.

I read a post in another thread from user fred&edna who found an article from: Volume LIV, Number 7, Alabamian - University of Montevallo - January 26, 1977

Where it stated that another female singer named Mary MacGregor, at some point being the lead singer for Sunlending:

"Mary Macgregor was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, and completed her early musical training with ten years of classical piano and theory, two years of vocal training and one year on the violin. During high school and college she sang and played in a fourteen-piece dance band and then worked as a folk singer around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Later she sang, danced, and played electric piano, organ, and electric bass in R&B and folk-rock bands, winding up as the lead singer in a country-rock band called Sunlending. Mary is now working on her own, commuting from her home which is 35 miles from civilization in the mountains near Steamboat Springs, Colorado."

But I can't imagine this being her, as she appears to always be rocking the Farrah Fawcett bangs blowout hair-do and I can't find any picture or video of her with straight hair or no bangs covering her face, but then again look at Johny Daly and his completely different hairstyle looks. The only thing I can vision this to be her would be the fact that the article matches up to her being able to play an electrical bass guitar and the female in the picture is playing a guitar.

And after scouring through Mary's wikipedia page, it mentions that after graduating from the University of Minnesota, she toured the country with various acts, but no where on there does it mention that she replaced or that she was the lead singer of Sunlending at some point.

What do you guys think ? I created a collage of Pamela where you can see her hair darker and eyebrows more visible compared to the washed-out newspaper clipping. And I enhanced the rings evidence photo that Unsolved Mysteries aired and rotated the middle coral & turquoise ring to be vertical to match up with the index finger wearing the elongated ring.

Is Johny Daly really GK? I mean if Pam was using a stage name, could her husband have too?

 

[JerseyGirl]

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