Identified! Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - Pamela Buckley & James Freund #10

[branmuffin]

Radial tires have been around for far longer than 60 years, but were still not as common in 1976.
Winter tires back then (called mud and snow tires), even radials, had a blocky open tread design, especially back in 1976. if you bought a 4 wheel drive truck new back then, it came with "mud and snow" tires, like the image of a 1976 Ford Bronco below. Eventually "mud and snow" tires evolved into all season tires (Ok for light snow, but a more closed tread design), winter tires (with a softer tread compound), and all terrain tires (for 4x4s that went off road).
But in 1976, the same snow tire that might be used in Pennsylvania or Colorado would also be the mud tire used on back roads of South Carolina. That's why I don't think the presence of these tires proved the van belonged to Jim or Pam though it could have,

We've done this subject to death, I think. We're getting into semantics now so for me the whole issue of tires is a dead one. Lets agree to disagree and move on to the subject of the vehicle and whether it belonged to either James or Pam or whether they were hitchhiking and met their worst nightmare.

My personal opinion, is that the vehicle belonged to them. I don't really care what the vehicle was and they either picked up a hitchhiker or got involved with some people from the area and ultimately were forced out of the vehicle and murdered. The way they were killed always get my brain whirring. They didn't just get shot, they were executed. The sequence of shots were deliberate, imo, and for some reason the killer chose not to obliterate their faces. I doubt that had anything to do with some altruistic notion to allow them to be identified by family members but rather had something to do with either sending a message to some unknown quantity or a message of mission accomplished.

I know that seems like I'm getting into conspiracy thinking but it just doesn't make sense to me. And to further the mystery if they were executed, then why? I know here on WS the majority of members always view the deceased as unfortunate victims of crime but sometimes we know that deaths occur because of criminal activity they were involved in. I'm not saying that's what occurred here but there's a reason that the weapon was found in the possession of a local and it had a storied history, none of which LE really seemed to follow.

 

[Betty P]

We've done this subject to death, I think. We're getting into semantics now so for me the whole issue of tires is a dead one. Lets agree to disagree and move on to the subject of the vehicle and whether it belonged to either James or Pam or whether they were hitchhiking and met their worst nightmare.

My personal opinion, is that the vehicle belonged to them. I don't really care what the vehicle was and they either picked up a hitchhiker or got involved with some people from the area and ultimately were forced out of the vehicle and murdered. The way they were killed always get my brain whirring. They didn't just get shot, they were executed. The sequence of shots were deliberate, imo, and for some reason the killer chose not to obliterate their faces. I doubt that had anything to do with some altruistic notion to allow them to be identified by family members but rather had something to do with either sending a message to some unknown quantity or a message of mission accomplished.

I know that seems like I'm getting into conspiracy thinking but it just doesn't make sense to me. And to further the mystery if they were executed, then why? I know here on WS the majority of members always view the deceased as unfortunate victims of crime but sometimes we know that deaths occur because of criminal activity they were involved in. I'm not saying that's what occurred here but there's a reason that the weapon was found in the possession of a local and it had a storied history, none of which LE really seemed to follow.

Looking back over the old articles from the days and weeks after their murder, local and state police believed the couple were

1 from out of town
and
2 driving a vehicle

The early theory, often repeated, was that the two picked up hitchhikers who murdered them, perhaps for their vehicle. Of course, the gun used in the murders was later found in a search of the vehicle of a local man. The decision regarding driving a vehicle was based on their grooming, cleanliness, clothing and condition of their shoes that led them to believe they weren't hitchhiking.

 

[Valiant]

My personal opinion is it’s quite likely one of them had a vehicle, whether it was the van or not. The vehicle could have been disposed of or sold with a fake ID as there would be no one to report it stolen.

But I don’t think the type of killing is what is usually associated with a robbery. It seems like they maybe crossed the wrong person. How? Of course drugs could have been involved.

I have to wonder if the local caught with the weapon was told to dispose of the gun and the car and only did part of the job.

 

[Betty P]

My personal opinion is it’s quite likely one of them had a vehicle, whether it was the van or not. The vehicle could have been disposed of or sold with a fake ID as there would be no one to report it stolen.

But I don’t think the type of killing is what is usually associated with a robbery. It seems like they maybe crossed the wrong person. How? Of course drugs could have been involved.

I have to wonder if the local caught with the weapon was told to dispose of the gun and the car and only did part of the job.

That was a big theory back in the day, but the investigation and autopsy revealed no trace of drugs in their systems or on their clothing. Another theory is that someone just wanted to steal their vehicle, which was probably either a van or truck.

 

[Cedars]

We've done this subject to death, I think. We're getting into semantics now so for me the whole issue of tires is a dead one. Lets agree to disagree and move on to the subject of the vehicle and whether it belonged to either James or Pam or whether they were hitchhiking and met their worst nightmare.

My personal opinion, is that the vehicle belonged to them. I don't really care what the vehicle was and they either picked up a hitchhiker or got involved with some people from the area and ultimately were forced out of the vehicle and murdered. The way they were killed always get my brain whirring. They didn't just get shot, they were executed. The sequence of shots were deliberate, imo, and for some reason the killer chose not to obliterate their faces. I doubt that had anything to do with some altruistic notion to allow them to be identified by family members but rather had something to do with either sending a message to some unknown quantity or a message of mission accomplished.

I know that seems like I'm getting into conspiracy thinking but it just doesn't make sense to me. And to further the mystery if they were executed, then why? I know here on WS the majority of members always view the deceased as unfortunate victims of crime but sometimes we know that deaths occur because of criminal activity they were involved in. I'm not saying that's what occurred here but there's a reason that the weapon was found in the possession of a local and it had a storied history, none of which LE really seemed to follow.

I agree with your points. This was more of a mafia-style execution than an ordinary robbery. The roadways of the US were not, and are still not, littered with bodies of young couples shot execution-style just for car theft, with no indication of sexual assault on the female (the usual motive for such murders, IMO).

Also, ensuring they were abandoned without ID, was IMO deliberate and it worked. Perhaps the killer knew they were not from the area and weren't in touch with their families?

And also your point about the killer(s) seemingly wanting them to be found, not attempting to hide the bodies at all, that's very unusual.

Recalling another case of recent DNA id, the parents of 'baby Holly' were killed around 1980, but their remains concealed in a remote wooded lot (they were found anyway). That case hasn't been solved but it's been suggested they were associating with a religious cult. Their car ended up being sold back to his mother - definitely strange goings-on, not just a case of random robbery.

Unfortunately, in this case we don't know why the two each went off from their family and friends, and never contacted anyone with so much as a postcard about where they were going or why. We don't know how they met or what drew them together or what they did for income, where they'd been staying, how they spent their time, etc, etc.

I think it's likely that they were targetted because the killer knew no one would miss them or identify them. They may have had a fair amount of cash, or as you say, perhaps got drawn into some kind of illegal activity and then were eliminated, rather than paid. I don't think they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a different, local couple could just as easily have been the victims.

JMO