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

[Fukiyama]

Just came across this full-page article on Pamela and Jim.
04 Apr 2008, 3 - National Post at Newspapers.com

The person being interviewed was Vera Moore who was Assistant to the Coroner at the time of the murders.

In paragraph 1 it is stated that:

She must have had a reason to use the word "van". She was directly involved with the case at the coroner's office and would be privvy to more info than we were/are. Perhaps the "Hearing Witness" heard a van door closing - it is a more distinct sound than hearing a car door shut. Perhaps a small leak of a detail unknown to the general public. Maybe it is a van that is the vehicle in question.

@Awsi Dooger , I know you were looking to better nail down the actual location of the incident for proximity to the highway. At para 3 it states they were found 400 metres from the highway. I think you were correct when you believed they came off the highway, turned onto the first sideroad and that it happened just into that road.

Did she use the word van as quoted by the reporter or did the reporter use the word when writing the story? If it's not in a direct quote from Moore, I think we need to take it with a grain of salt. As for being close to the highway, again, it's not the first sideroad, it's the second. It may have not been far as the crow flies, but it was still a good distance out into the middle of nowhere in the dark.

I received a Facebook message from the person I know who lived near where the shootings took place. His friend found the bodies. The new information is that a black girl living nearest to the scene heard the gunshots . This has not been mentioned in any previous reports.

He mentions another detail that has not been mentioned before. , that a black girl living nearest to the scene heard the shots. He lived near the scene. Someone his dates are off but it has been forty years. Were they found with their faves lying down? He wrote a book about his life, this would have been a big moment but there is no mention of it.

The National Post article has a picture of the bodies as they were found lying along the road. They were not face down.

 

[Drew5571]

Did she use the word van as quoted by the reporter or did the reporter use the word when writing the story? If it's not in a direct quote from Moore, I think we need to take it with a grain of salt. As for being close to the highway, again, it's not the first sideroad, it's the second. It may have not been far as the crow flies, but it was still a good distance out into the middle of nowhere in the dark. I apologize for the typos. Is this credible?




The National Post article has a picture of the bodies as they were found lying along the road. They were not face down.

 

[worm]

I received a Facebook message from the person I know who lived near where the shootings took place. His friend found the bodies. The new information is that a black girl living nearest to the scene heard the gunshots . This has not been mentioned in any previous reports.

If the girl was young, it would seem that her parents may have reported it. Other than the hermit and someone supposedly living in the woods, I’ve only read that “someone who lived nearby” heard shots and a car. I wonder what the police reports actually have officially on this part of the story.

 

[sam spade]

You know, now that they have been found, I feel a sense of sorrow for looking at their death photos for so long. These weren't just plain, old photos, these were the 2 victims at the place of their last breath. I ....I have no words except that I guess this is why we do this.
#gonnatakeabathwhenigethome

 

[Drew5571]

I was surprised that he responded. I thought I would mention it, due to the new detail. Also, remember the times, someone might have gone after that family. Another detail, he hurriedly moved out of his home for fear of being attacked. Hope this is relevant. Should I call someone?

 

[worm]

You know, now that they have been found, I feel a sense of sorrow for looking at their death photos for so long. These weren't just plain, old photos, these were the 2 victims at the place of their last breath. I ....I have no words except that I guess this is why we do this.
#gonnatakeabathwhenigethome

I used to edit images for news and I figured this may have been in part the thinking of LE too. Although it seems harsh and disrespectful, the shock value draws attention to the case and LE needed that. I often tried to help police out with things, and they would do the same for me.

 

[wary]

Another detail, was this mentioned in the original report. “ Polaroid negatives of the couple, still lying face down in the shallow ditch that was scraped out each time the road plowed down the road .I took them home with me.” Were the Polaroid negatives taken by the coroner?

Where is this quotation coming from?

 

[Vern]

Did she use the word van as quoted by the reporter or did the reporter use the word when writing the story? If it's not in a direct quote from Moore, I think we need to take it with a grain of salt. As for being close to the highway, again, it's not the first sideroad, it's the second. It may have not been far as the crow flies, but it was still a good distance out into the middle of nowhere in the dark.

The National Post article has a picture of the bodies as they were found lying along the road. They were not face down.

It's a very in-depth interview with a first-person official actually involved in the case. I'm akin to think that gives it more street cred than us speculating. I can't see a reporter just deciding to use a very specific vehicle term like "van" just because. They had an official first-hand person right there while doing the story.

Ref the bold by me: Indeed; as @Awsi Dooger explained in their video ... off the highway onto the 1st road, then turn onto the road they were found at the crime scene area. They were just trying to get the distance to location more accurately nailed down. I figured that point from the article would help them out. That's all.

 

[Drew5571]

Where is this quotation coming from?

This is coming from a person I know who lived near the scene.

 

[worm]

It's a very in-depth interview with a first-person witness to the case. I'm akin to think that gives it more street cred than us speculating. I can't see a reporter just deciding to use a very specific vehicle term like "van" just because. They had an official first-hand person right there doing the story.

Ref the bold by me: Indeed; as @Awsi Dooger explained in their video ... off the highway onto the 1st road, then turn onto the road they were found at the crime scene area. They were just trying to get the distance to location more accurately nailed down. I figured that point from the article would help them out. That's all.

This is coming from a person I know who lived near the scene.

They would need to officially report that to LE and we would get the report from them.

 

[Drew5571]

They would need to officially report that to LE and we would get the report from them.

I called the Sumter police department, it’s probably nothing.

 

[worm]

I called the Sumter police department, it’s probably nothing.

Cool, they could, and should, follow up. I’d imagine they are getting a lot of tips and sure hope these things pan out. My local LE recently made an arrest on a murder from 1976 so the hope is there for us here.

 

[phenolred]

The tire imprints that were taken at the scene belonged to a van. I remember this from years ago when I was here, it's way back in the threads, I will look for the source.

 

[worldwatcher]

From my understanding and have read that in one article, is that several witnesses /residents heard the shots.
Can't find it any more.

Also, if you take a good look at the Crime scene , on the photo, you can see, LE taking notes, they are writing and sitting close (above) James body.
The picture is to find on the website of crime junkie podcast.

Today, I was lurking on a German forum and there was an article post, that says, JPF was never report missing:
"Investigators said a missing person report was never filed for Freund, who was from Lancaster, Pennsylvania."

Man and woman identified as victims of 1976 cold case after investigators exhumed their bodies | Daily Mail Online

 

[Fukiyama]

@Awsi Dooger , I know you were looking to better nail down the actual location of the incident for proximity to the highway. At para 3 it states they were found 400 metres from the highway. I think you were correct when you believed they came off the highway, turned onto the first sideroad and that it happened just into that road.

400 meters in a straight line, but almost two kilometers on the ground down dark narrow backroads traveled by people who had no real idea where they were going if we assume they were from out of the area.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Being Canadian, I don't agree that Jock didn't look French Canadian. There are definitely some physical characteristics of French Canadian people, being dark haired and dark eyed and being slight in stature. Almost 50% of French Canadians from Quebec have an admixture of Amerindian in their genetic markings.

So when I saw those PM images, coupled with the KOA story, I did think he possessed the darker complexion and physical characteristics of many French Canadian men. When I say French Canadian, I don't mean someone just born in Quebec ( prior Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was born in Quebec but he has no FC heritage other than his place of birth) I mean someone who can trace their lineage back several generations to ancestors in the 1700s. A link is at the bottom of this post.

As for the turquoise jewelry, it's possible it was bought somewhere in the southwest since that was where it originated but even in the 70s it had already made the trek to Canada because it epitomized the embrace of native culture, and a free spirit and open philosophy. Now, it would be extremely difficult to identify any jewelry origins unless you bought it at source. I've been to Central America, Mexico and the SW and I've seen exactly the same stuff. Now you can't tell where the stuff was made just by looking at it. Most likely, it's China now so we can't use it to identify where someone had been or came from.

The genomic heritage of French Canadians

I've been to Quebec countless times. Minus the KOA story I doubt the consensus would have been French Canadian. It might have been mentioned occasionally but one among many guesses. Hardly a theme. The profile morgue angles don't look French Canadian at all, IMO. They also look lighter skinned. It was only the hair come over version that made him look darker skinned than he undoubtedly was, especially since the olive description totally contradicted what we thought we were seeing from some photos. The people describing from feet away deserve benefit of a doubt.

Somehow the incredibly shaky KOA anecdote that didn't surface until a year after the case was bloated far beyond its worth and that's what shifted all focus to Canada. If you read the summary of how DNA Doe Project approached the case it was very specific that they ignored the Canada angle and focused instead on a concrete variable...the ring with the JPF initials. As a gambler that's always what I try to rely on, what is meaningful and what is not. Nate Silver described it perfectly in his book title, "The Signal and the Noise." I guarantee if he had evaluated this case the KOA angle would have been noise.

I don't know enough about female jewelry to argue about it. I do know that among the three rings Jane was wearing the one that always stood out to me was the one with the turquoise stone and split with a separate red stone. It seemed fairly distinctive as opposed to turquoise only. Once I saw the Taos, New Mexico connection to Sunlending I wasn't particularly surprised when I googled Taos rings and that exact split style popped up. There are two examples of a turquoise and watermelon ring high atop this link that I posted the other day. I'm hardly claiming that style isn't available elsewhere. But when I google the related terms and check Images the ones that show up are from New Mexico and most often a Taos connection:

https://www.taosaccessories.com/

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Just came across this full-page article on Pamela and Jim.
04 Apr 2008, 3 - National Post at Newspapers.com

@Awsi Dooger , I know you were looking to better nail down the actual location of the incident for proximity to the highway. At para 3 it states they were found 400 metres from the highway. I think you were correct when you believed they came off the highway, turned onto the first sideroad and that it happened just into that road.

Thank you for the link. I knew that National Post article existed but I got frustrated the other day looking at the April 3 edition. Somebody gave me the wrong date so I was searching one day off.

The 400 meter distance makes sense from near the intersection as a straight line reference. I believe I mentioned the 400 meters back in thread 7. Locklair Road runs perfectly parallel to I-95 only in a brief section of perhaps 75 meters. No chance they would be saying 400 meters if the murders occurred there. It's less than 30 meters from the highway. And if it happened in the middle of the farmland it's closer to 200 meters than 400.

I think it was close to the intersection. But I believe we'll be receiving more info. There are still people who remember these murders and will either come forward on their own or be contacted as the investigation continues, plus the research toward the book.

 

[worm]

@Awsi Dooger , I’ve about lost interest in the campground story too. As reported in that Post article, the coroner is one who really had questions about the KOA and with those records being lost to fire, I’m not sure if that one is worth it anymore. LE thinks that the guy who had the gun knew more than he was telling. Again, I can’t get away from him or that weapon.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Ref the bold by me: Indeed; as @Awsi Dooger explained in their video ... off the highway onto the 1st road, then turn onto the road they were found at the crime scene area. They were just trying to get the distance to location more accurately nailed down. I figured that point from the article would help them out. That's all.

It did help. And after looking at the National Post photograph I'm more inclined to believe the bodies were indeed on the left side of Locklair -- as viewed from the nearby intersection -- and not the right side as I long believed. The slope is very distinct. Somehow when I visited I was so confident they were on the right side I didn't notice that the slope on the left side matches the photos much better than the right side.

Here is that Google Maps Street View turned sideways aiming at the left side of Locklair, not far from the intersection. This seems very similar to the time frame photos...with a ditch off the road then a pronounced upward slope:

Google Maps

 

[killarney rose]

I have an almost identical ring as Pamela’s, vintage 70s and I didn’t get it in New Mexico.

its very hard to see the details but there is a jewelers mark on the back of the setting. It looks like it was stamped. Ive included a picture of the ring too. These coral and turquoise rings were everywhere. I’m not trying to be argumentative, I just want folks to understand that.