SOMERVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Investigators released new information Friday after exhuming the body of Pauline Mullins Pusser nearly six decades after she was buried. Pauline was the wife of Sheriff Buford Pusser, a Tennessee legend known for carrying a stick as he cracked down on crime.
Mark Davidson, District Attorney for the 25th Judicial District, said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has “produced evidence sufficient to create probable cause.” That means that “more likely than not,” if Buford Pusser were alive today, an indictment could be presented to the McNairy County Grand Jury for their consideration against him for the murder of his wife.
More than likely, Davidson explained, Pauline Mullins Pusser was shot outside the vehicle then brought into the vehicle. Davidson said there is probable cause that her death was “not an accident,” and instead an “act of intimate, deliberate violence.”
“It’s been said that the dead cannot cry out for justice, it is the duty of the living to do so,” Davidson said. “In this case, that duty’s been carried out 58 years later.”
TBI Director David Rausch spoke to key elements learned throughout the renewed investigation: inconsistencies in Buford Pusser’s story, recent statements provided by those associated with the investigation, Pauline Mullins Pusser’s autopsy and evidence examined by TBI personnel.
The agency had also received a tip about a possible murder weapon in 2023, although they would not disclose whether that tip connected them to the weapon during Friday’s press conference.
“The work to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the facts of this case, using the full strength of the Bureau as it exists today, has reshaped our understanding of what transpired now almost 60 years ago,” Rausch said.
Both Davidson and Rausch touched on new information and evidence in the case, including inconsistencies in Buford Pusser’s statements to law enforcement officials and others. Physical, medical, forensic, ballistic and reenactment evidence.
Davidson cited the opinion of Dr. Michael Revelle, an emergency medicine physician and medical examiner, among the evidence used to come to this conclusion. Revelle pointed out that cranial trauma sustained by Pauline Mullins Pusser did not match interior crime-scene photographs of the vehicle.
“This case is not about tearing down a legend. It is about giving dignity and closure to Pauline and her family and ensuring that the truth is not buried with time,” Davidson said. “The truth matters. Justice matters. Even 58 years later, Pauline deserves both.”
For nearly 60 years, questions surrounded Pauline Mullins Pusser’s death after she was said to be shot and killed in an ambush meant for her husband while riding in his car. Buford Pusser was also shot in the face. Davidson said that among the evidence in the file, an expert said that the shooting was possibly staged; Davidson added that Revelle’s evaluation of the gunshot wound he sustained to the cheek was evidence of a close-contact wound, not a long-range wound.SEE ALSO | Why were Pauline Pusser’s remains exhumed?
Efforts were also undertaken to recreate bloodstain patterns on the hood of Buford Pusser’s vehicle, and Davidson said the conclusion was that someone was injured both outside and inside the vehicle. Cartridge locations and bullet trajectories were also found to be inconsistent with Buford Pusser’s version of events.
Mike Elam, who created The Other Story podcast looking into the case, said one of his followers told him about a possible murder weapon several years ago. He said together, they took it to the TBI.
“I drove over just to see the weapon, photograph it, get the serial number, other information off the gun,” Elam said. “It was one of those things where I had a check run on it and it just confirmed what this individual was telling me.”
Griffon Mullins, brother of Pauline Mullins Pusser, shared a video statement at the conference. Mullins called her one of the most personable people he had known and thanked the TBI for offering closure for him and other loved ones.
“I knew, deep down, there was problems in her marriage,” Mullins added. “If I only known now what I knew then, she would have never went back to Tennessee.”