Authorities Believe Sheriff Who Inspired Movie 'Walking Tall' Killed Wife in 1967

KOCO ^ | Aug 29, 2025

[nickcarraway]

Authorities in Tennessee announced Friday that they believe a sheriff who inspired the movie "Walking Tall" is responsible for his wife's death in 1967.

During a news conference Friday, officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said there were "inconsistencies" in statements from Sheriff Buford Pusser following the 1967 murder of his wife, Pauline.

“It’s been said that the dead can’t cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so. In this case, that duty has been carried out 58 years later,” said District Attorney General Mark Davidson for the 25th Judicial District.

Blood splatter patterns on the vehicle also contradicted statements from Buford Pusser, officials said.

Buford Pusser reported that his wife volunteered to ride along in the dark early-morning hours of Aug. 12, 1967, on a disturbance call. He claimed that a car pulled alongside his and fired several shots, killing Pauline and injuring him in what he claimed was an ambush intended for him and carried out by unknown assailants.

Buford Pusser recovered from his injury. No viable suspects were developed, and no charges were filed.

After receiving a tip that an autopsy was never performed on Pauline Pusser, the TBI exhumed her body in February 2024.

Davidson said the investigation revealed that Pauline Pusser was more than likely shot outside the vehicle and then placed inside the vehicle. Cranial trauma suffered by Pauline Pusser, depicted in crime scene photographs, does not match interior crime scene photographs from the vehicle.

TBI officials also said the autopsy determined that Pauline Pusser had a nasal fracture before her death. Investigators now believe the physical evidence points to a staged crime scene and that Buford Pusser’s gunshot wound was likely self-inflicted.

“There is probable cause to believe that Pauline’s death was not an accident, not an act of chance, but, based on the totality of the TBI investigative file, an act of intimate, deliberate violence,” Davidson said.

Law enforcement officials said the discoveries would be sufficient to seek a grand jury indictment of Buford Pusser if he were alive today.

Buford Pusser died in 1974 after a one-vehicle crash. He served as the sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee, from 1964 to 1970 and was known for his crackdown on crime along the Mississippi-Tennessee state line.

[roving]

I wasn’t expecting that.

[Valpal1]

They think he shot himself in the jaw twice?

That doesn’t seem likely.

[DesertRhino]

I doubt this very much. Someone is up to something for attention or to sell a book. SOP is to make an outrageous claim, pump it and get a quick best seller.
The broken nose is easy, she was hit in the back of the head with a 30 carbine, slammed into the hard dash of a 1960s sedan and broke it. Also Raton driving as he crashed into a field. The modern autopsy compared to an old photo of the inside of the car? Sure pal. And you have the testimony of the guy who did the photos almost 60 years ago?
Inconsistent statement you say? He was battling with a deeply corrupt county machine and was getting no help. They murdered his wife trying to get him. Think he might have been rather careful in his statement? The people he was giving it to night not have been fully trustworthy.

This is some modern smart ass trying to get some fame or money. Guaranteed…

[DesertRhino]

Also, an M1 carbine ball round doesn’t explode a head like a modern soft point or hollow point. It’s a penetration monster, sails straight through. But if he’s looking for a gore filled car Interior like you see in modern crime photos… he’s out in left field.

There’s an agenda here somewhere. Money, fame or electability.

[MachIV]

Same here. And what about the spray of gunfire into the car? It didn’t happen?

[A_perfect_lady]

They think he shot himself in the jaw twice? That doesn’t seem likely.

Yeah, this sounds like nonsense. Slandering a dead man for an agenda of their own.

[Rockingham]

This claim was extant at the time of the original incident. The counter-narrative to the Hollywood story is that Buford Pusser was himself thuggish and corrupt in an era and in a region where that was common.

[RainMan]

Their goal is to destroy the hero’s. I have zero faith in their investigation 50 years after the fact.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I worked with a man who had kin in that area. They said Pusser went on his anti-crime spree because as Sheriff, he was not getting his “fair share” of the take.

[bigfootbob]

There’s a guy, Oakley Dean Baldwin, who’s doing exactly what you post. He popped up on my X feed awhile back with serialized posts driving people to his podcasts concerning Buford/Pauline Pusser. I think he actually convinced authorities to exhume Buford Pusser’s body for an autopsy.

I didn’t bite, his teasers didn’t seem authentic and Baldwin reminded me of a grifter.

[vetvetdoug]

My Grandfather was a close friend of Buford and I knew him when I was fifteen through my relatives. IMO Buford was an honorable man that had to deal with the corruption on the Ms/Tn stateline that rivaled Chicago in the 30's. I lived for 35 years four miles from his ambush site. August 12, 67', my Grandfather put me on a bus back to Texas and sat outside his hospital room with his pistol because they feared another attack on him. My cousin was the sheriff that was killed prior to Coleman becoming Sheriff and I had no respect for Coleman who did get his fair share of the take often. Buford took the time to teach me how to shoot a pistol on his visits to my Grandfather's store and square dance hall. There may be inconsistencies in his testimony but remember his was shot in his face and lost his lower jaw in the attack.

IMO this is just a publicity stunt to sully his name with conjecture.

[ohioman]

I agree with you. My dad met Buford in Huntsville, Alabama many years ago. Buford was a good guy and was devastated with the loss of his wife. The people in this article are full of Shiite!