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

[Warwick1991]

As far as I can remember, Jimmy verified that he gave the weapon to Lonnie for Christmas in 1971 or 72. He also stated the weapon had its serial numbers when it was given which basically threw out Lonnie's story about buying it and finding out the numbers had been scratched. That's when he admitted he'd erased the numbers. I still can't figure out why the cops never pursued that angle. I'm mean, I'm a cop and I've got a suspect that is in possession of the murder weapon of two unidentified individuals and the suspect keeps changing his story. Why didn't they lean on him? Did Lonnie wake up one day and say, hey, I'm going to obliterated the serial numbers on this gun my brother gave me four years ago? It boggles my mind.

I really do believe the cops dropped the ball on this one. It appears that they did their due diligence, putting out feelers all over the country, getting Interpol involved, keeping the bodies in a viewable casket until decomp made that difficult, and Verna..... the woman who relentlessly pursued this case for the rest of her life. What if the investigation was stymied by some insider. Think of all that lost and misplaced evidence. The lack of charges. It just goes on and on. I remember seeing this Italian movie a long time ago, it was called An Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. That citizen was a cop.

The difficult part of the history of the gun is reconciling the various accounts of its history. Newspaper accounts linked on the previous thread say that the gun was stolen from the Raleigh-Durham area in 1974. That puts the 1971-2 “Christmas gift” time frame out of the picture.

I have heard from LE acquaintances that the willingness to prosecute stolen property charges can vary, depending on whether the person found in possession is aware of the fact that the property was stolen. Perhaps it was difficult to prove whether the Henry brothers knew the revolver was stolen.

The obliterated serial number is both a state and Federal crime. The
Federal charges apparently filed against Lonnie suggests that there was reluctance to file state charges by local LE, and that an entity other than the local police had a hand in filing those charges.

So something is wrong here - like the 1970 Italian movie. Incompetence or corruption, or a combination of both.

 

[branmuffin]

I can't be the only one who has noticed some questionable family history posted elsewhere...

An LGH Jr born 1946 (with LGH Sr as father), no death date listed. As well as CGH (born 1952, died 1973) LGH as his father.

I discounted the info and didn't spend time attempting to disprove. Has all of this been previously discussed and discarded? Or, is there something I'm missing (an adoption, illegitimate child, or ??).

I brought that up a couple of weeks ago, about another son. I found it on a genealogy site. I think probably the child died at birth but as the first born got to be Junior.

 

[fred&edna]

I brought that up a couple of weeks ago, about another son. I found it on a genealogy site. I think probably the child died at birth but as the first born got to be Junior.

Ahh... obviously, I missed that... thank you!

I wasn't even sure the child was recorded as being born to mom DCH (nor dad LGH). Doesn't matter, I suppose.

 

[worm]

After a late night re read I’m getting scared that the grip will get lost on this case again and we will be back to almost the start line. God I hope not.

 

[worldwatcher]

After a late night re read I’m getting scared that the grip will get lost on this case again and we will be back to almost the start line. God I hope not.

I do that too, re-read, even follow broken links. I remember that, when I first started on WS, there were a lot of links from crime library, and I was a frequent visitor.
Yesterday I looked it up again to see if there were a little bit more details about the gun, sadly nothing new.
Nevertheless, I want to post it here, incase someone is interested.
Most story's are archived.
A Murder Weapon — Handsome mystery couple found murdered in South Carolina — Crime Library

 

[worm]

I do that too, re-read, even follow broken links. I remember that, when I first started on WS, there were a lot of links from crime library, and I was a frequent visitor.
Yesterday I looked it up again to see if there were a little bit more details about the gun, sadly nothing new.
Nevertheless, I want to post it here, incase someone is interested.
Most story's are archived.
A Murder Weapon — Handsome mystery couple found murdered in South Carolina — Crime Library

Nothing about this case sticks with me like this weapon and the rocky lie detector and interview with Henry. I can’t help but to think that at the very least, he knew something. NOTHING ABOUT THIS MAKES SENSE.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Nothing about this case sticks with me like this weapon and the rocky lie detector and interview with Henry. I can’t help but to think that at the very least, he knew something. NOTHING ABOUT THIS MAKES SENSE.

It makes perfect sense. To get treatment like that, the simplest explanation is that the man found with the gun was a police informant or had a relative or friend in a high place. I have said it before and still believe it.
LE may know or well suspect who the killer was. They know a lot they are not sharing. There may not be enough that is provable to bring charges. This is not what any of us wants to hear, but sometimes people do get away with things.

 

[worldwatcher]

Nothing about this case sticks with me like this weapon and the rocky lie detector and interview with Henry. I can’t help but to think that at the very least, he knew something. NOTHING ABOUT THIS MAKES SENSE.

I know!
So, 4 months after the murders of JPF and PMB, Lonnie was pulled over for DUI, at the age of 58.
LE found the gun, statched under the drivers seat. The serial number was partly removed
6 years later, Lonnie died:

1918–1982

The Life Summary of Lonnie George
When Lonnie George Henry Sr. was born on 23 July 1918, in Anson, North Carolina, United States, his father, Julian Richardson Henry, was 29 and his mother, Rosa Ella Diggs, was 21. He married Doris Horne about 1944, in Anson, North Carolina, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons. He lived in Gulledge Township, Anson, North Carolina, United States for about 10 years and Wadesboro, Anson, North Carolina, United States for about 9 years. He died on 20 May 1982, in Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, United States, at the age of 63, and was buried in Seago Cemetery, Lilesville, Anson, North Carolina, United States.
FamilySearch.org

Lonnie had 9 siblings:
Lonnie George Henry (1918-1982) - Find A Grave...

His brother, Jimmy who gave him the gun, as a Christmas present was 46 years at the time in 1976. They are 12 years apart, so, in my point of view, Lonnie covered for his younger brother?

Was Lonnie's alibi, predicted?
Did the killer know, that.. who ever had the gun, couldnt be framed for it?

I mean, if you are an alcohic, you aren't very reliable, how many times on a row, do you visit, your spouse in a hospital?

I do think, Lonnie's wife lived decades after his death (2002) so her illness wasn't life threatening?
It doesn't make sense..-at all!
Imo.

 

[worldwatcher]

It makes perfect sense. To get treatment like that, the simplest explanation is that the man found with the gun was a police informant or had a relative or friend in a high place. I have said it before and still believe it.
LE may know or well suspect who the killer was. They know a lot they are not sharing. There may not be enough that is provable to bring charges. This is not what any of us wants to hear, but sometimes people do get away with things.

Thanks for that!
So now, I am thinking... it was a premeditated murder. The body 's flipped over, crime scene at a place, wich only a local would know, or someone, who's been there before..
A dui, 4 months after the murders...

 

[worm]

If Henry was an informant with connections, wouldn’t he have skated on the DUI and gun charge? If he lived in NC, I don’t get why he was driving around midland SC drunk?

 

[Reannan]

If Henry was an informant with connections, wouldn’t he have skated on the DUI and gun charge? If he lived in NC, I don’t get why he was driving around midland SC drunk?

Lonnie George Henry was arrested in SC near the NC state line with the murder weapon if my memory serves me correct. His wife, Doris Hall Henry was from Pageland, SC which is just over the NC border. The trip to where the murders happened is anywhere from 66 to about 84 miles depending on which route you take... get directions from "Pageland, SC" to "Locklear Road, Lynchburg, SC" on Google Maps. LGH did have a connection to SC, but I haven't been able to find a connection to the area where the murder happened. Why would he have been there?

 

[worldwatcher]

If Henry was an informant with connections, wouldn’t he have skated on the DUI and gun charge? If he lived in NC, I don’t get why he was driving around midland SC drunk?

His wife was from SC, Chesterfield
FamilySearch.org
About a hour, - or so, drive from the place where James and Pam were found, if I am not mistaken?
She had 6 siblings, so...guess.. they knew, she was hospitalized?

 

[Ozoner]

I know!
So, 4 months after the murders of JPF and PMB, Lonnie was pulled over for DUI, at the age of 58.
LE found the gun, statched under the drivers seat. The serial number was partly removed
6 years later, Lonnie died:

1918–1982

Snipped.

The more I mull this case over, the more I have a hard time believing that this crime was committed by a 58-year-old alcoholic with no known history of committing similar crimes. LGH was an old man by 1970s standards—even more so when you consider how much drinking ages a person.

Of course, it's possible that he did have a history of similar crimes but simply avoided detection, but I think it's more likely that he was covering for a younger family member or for someone who had some kind of influence over him (like someone whose payroll he was on, for instance).

He likely knew or suspected who had killed James and Pamela. He didn't tell LE, but maybe he spilled his guts to someone who's still alive. That sort of hearsay wouldn't be admissible in court, but it could help solve the mystery.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

If Henry was an informant with connections, wouldn’t he have skated on the DUI and gun charge? If he lived in NC, I don’t get why he was driving around midland SC drunk?

No one can fill in all the blanks, but in my area I know of several guys who were rumored to be informants. They occasionally got in a little trouble but skated out of the big trouble. One died of natural causes, and the other turned up well ventilated in his own car’s trunk. I guess that was a natural death too, since it is natural to be dead if one is shot that many times. He was involved in retail pharmaceutical distribution, or so I heard.
I think a lot depends on who has jurisdiction over the case. An informant may be protected in one area and not in others, or for one level of crime but not others. As for driving around drunk, if one of us on this board had to live with the things he may have had to live with, we might start to hit the juice a little hard too.

 

[worm]

@Ozoner , I wonder if he spilled any info too. It takes me to the motorcycle club murders that took so long to clear in Charlotte NC. LE recently said that they got info to clear up the mystery from somebody but wouldn’t name them. In a shell, I think the guy that was in on it, who died from a terminal illness a bit before it was solved, told someone before dying. That’s just my opine but LE said it was info that wasn’t public. I hope that can be the case here since it’s been so long?

 

[worldwatcher]

Lonnie George Henry was arrested in SC near the NC state line with the murder weapon if my memory serves me correct. His wife, Doris Hall Henry was from Pageland, SC which is just over the NC border. The trip to where the murders happened is anywhere from 66 to about 84 miles depending on which route you take... get directions from "Pageland, SC" to "Locklear Road, Lynchburg, SC" on Google Maps. LGH did have a connection to SC, but I haven't been able to find a connection to the area where the murder happened. Why would he have been there?

Lonnie was pulled over, in Latta, SC,(DUI) in December, 43 miles from the crime scene.
Was it his driving that was noticed, or....

 

[Reannan]

Lonnie was pulled over, in Latta, SC,(DUI) in December, 43 miles from the crime scene.
Was it his driving that was noticed, or....

I am desperately digging for connections to Lonnie and South Carolina in general. I stumbled on something kind of interesting. It may be a rabbit hole, but maybe not. Lonnie's wife was from Pageland, SC, so he definitely had a reason to be in SC... why was Lonnie George Henry in Latta when he was arrested? I am not sure - yet. We REALLY could use that bit of information!! We know the gun was stolen, and I found an article about a guy who was arrested in Pageland, SC in 2015 with over 5,000 guns (Brent Sutton Nicholson)... MANY of them stolen. That may seem irrelevant because of the time difference but bear with me.. the quote from the guy in the link below is interesting. Brent Nicholson was arrested in 2013 for stolen weapons, assault, receiving stolen weapons, but it took them two years to prosecute him?? He appears to have been arrested again in 2018 for a seatbelt violation!!! WTF?? If I was arrested for this many stolen weapons in 2013 or even in 2015, I can guarantee you I would not be free to drive without my seatbelt in 2018...and I live in SC. Anyways... in the attached article from 2015, a local Pageland, SC guy is interviewed and he states in regards to Brent Sutton Nicholson, “Everybody knew he’d buy guns; his father bought ‘em, his grandfather bought ‘em,” says Al Padgett, 68, who keeps a booth at a local flea market and says he’s known the family all his life. “He collected ‘em, hoarded ‘em, but I never knew him to sell a gun. Not one. He did everyone a favor keeping ‘em off the street.” WHAT?? Read the article... I also found a family name from Pageland that is connected to Lonnie's wife and Brent. Was gun-running a big thing back in the 70's?
Authorities arrest South Carolina man, find nearly 5,000 guns | Duluth News Tribune

 

[Reannan]

I am desperately digging for connections to Lonnie and South Carolina in general. I stumbled on something kind of interesting. It may be a rabbit hole, but maybe not. Lonnie's wife was from Pageland, SC, so he definitely had a reason to be in SC... why was Lonnie George Henry in Latta when he was arrested? I am not sure - yet. We REALLY could use that bit of information!! We know the gun was stolen, and I found an article about a guy who was arrested in Pageland, SC in 2015 with over 5,000 guns (Brent Sutton Nicholson)... MANY of them stolen. That may seem irrelevant because of the time difference but bear with me.. the quote from the guy in the link below is interesting. Brent Nicholson was arrested in 2013 for stolen weapons, assault, receiving stolen weapons, but it took them two years to prosecute him?? He appears to have been arrested again in 2018 for a seatbelt violation!!! WTF?? If I was arrested for this many stolen weapons in 2013 or even in 2015, I can guarantee you I would not be free to drive without my seatbelt in 2018...and I live in SC. Anyways... in the attached article from 2015, a local Pageland, SC guy is interviewed and he states in regards to Brent Sutton Nicholson, “Everybody knew he’d buy guns; his father bought ‘em, his grandfather bought ‘em,” says Al Padgett, 68, who keeps a booth at a local flea market and says he’s known the family all his life. “He collected ‘em, hoarded ‘em, but I never knew him to sell a gun. Not one. He did everyone a favor keeping ‘em off the street.” WHAT?? Read the article... I also found a family name from Pageland that is connected to Lonnie's wife and Brent. Was gun-running a big thing back in the 70's?
Authorities arrest South Carolina man, find nearly 5,000 guns | Duluth News Tribune

If I was a quitter, I would give up because this guy has gotten off again!! I am NOT a quitter and will continue to investigate this crap! Good GRIEF!!! SC man with thousands of 'hoarded' guns will not go to prison

 

[worm]

If I was a quitter, I would give up because this guy has gotten off again!! I am NOT a quitter and will continue to investigate this crap! Good GRIEF!!! SC man with thousands of 'hoarded' guns will not go to prison

My own grandfather was a known buyer like this but, even in the 80s, he would take numbers to LE and drew a bill of sale to declare it not stolen. People in the “dirty gun” business are well aware of what they are doing. Others stay on guard against illegal guns to stay clear of trouble. This is why I wanted to know how Lonnie’s brother got the gun and did he knowingly give his relative a hot weapon as a gift?

 

[MadMcGoo]

LGH was charged with a federal crime. If he was an informant for a local agency or knew higher ups that were local, would that matter? Like if it was just a state or local felony, he might have gotten off because of who he knew? But since it was a federal offense he couldn’t get out of it? I honestly don’t know. I’m not even sure I believe he could have been an informant or something similar, but obviously things don’t add up.