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

[worm]

There's a post on Never Forget Me in their album from the daughter of a lady that sold them ice cream and peaches before they died. If I remember right, she said they drove up on a motorcycle.

Whoever mentioned this to LE couldn’t say how they were traveling. The motorcycle has been brought up before but I doubt it’s true.

 

[branmuffin]

At least it had something to base it on—the witness story. Think of the endless hours that were wasted digging at the Argentina rabbit hole—when there wasn’t a smidgen of evidence pointing in that direction.

We've never been given any evidence that LE was chasing the Argentine link other than one of many suggestions, like their parents bumped them off or they were drug mules. Mostly, it was nurtured on WS and other websites devoted to this case. There's nothing more fast moving than a theory that might tick a couple of boxes and get people running with it. If LE couldn't even find out who was missing in the US of A, I doubt they had the money, time and manpower to be investigating thousand upon thousands of disappeared individuals in South America.

Even now this case is rife with misinformation. That earlier newspaper article from the 80s where Verna Moore was interviewed it said the victims were shot three times, once under the chin. But the recent presser with the sheriff said they got shot in the head. I personally believe even now the information relating to this case has been lost, amended, forgotten and reworked verbally almost like a folk tale. Since Ms. Moore was a coroner who attended the autopsy I'd like to believe her and the chief coroner knew what a gunshot entry and exit wound looked like. So if for over 40 years Verna never corrected that information during any interviews she gave subsequent to the murders, I tend to believe the first information received.

So Wiki has already been 'updated' by over eager individuals with this information.

I didn't like the presser. I thought the sheriff was woefully underprepared for the event, considering this couple was identified in September 2020 and existing family members advised. That is a looong time to prepare for a media event.

Unless it's all a ruse to keep a suspect in the dark, I think they have an uphill battle solving this case based on the lack of existing evidence. A very poorly run investigation from the getgo, IMO. Very sad for the victims.

 

[worm]

I was talking about this with a relative who retired from the admin part of LE and she brought up the possibility that the gun could have possibly been planted on Henry. Problem is the brother saying that he was familiar with it and I’m not sure which seat the gun was found under either. Probably a swing and miss.

 

[worm]

I’ve a couple of questions that I’m curious if anybody has seen an answer to.

Do we know what became of the tire impression evidence that we know LE looked at?

Did the brother who said that he gave the gun to Henry for Christmas say where it came from?

Do we think that the suspect turned around after the murders and drove back to 341 or was there another exit to Locklear rd? Tires should have told this.

 

[Vern]

Below RSBM

The one thing you didn't mention is who's going to pay for all this labor.

Well, as a professional logistician, I'll point out that the police are already being paid. Perhaps they should hire one more dedicated full time staff each department whose sole, full-time job is entering unidentified does and missing persons cases into NAMUS. Just one. After all, the other LEOs are already out there taking the missing persons reports and recovering the unidentified remains. That mandatory collection and uploading of DNA samples for UIDs and persons being reported missing to NAMUS means that any LE agency could get a hit immediately when entering a UID or person reported missing (even if not reported missing for years / even if remains not recovered for years). This would actually save money being that 1000s of hours in staff time running around, physically moving from location to location investigating "false leads" could be saved in many, many of these cases.

As the police are already being paid and time is money it's the equivalent to shopping on-line. Much faster and efficient use of my time/money to pull up store's online database, place my orders then collect it or have it delivered than it is for me to run from store to store (perhaps even in different towns/states), up and down aisles looking for what I want, putting into the cart, waiting in line at the cash to have it "checked out" etc.

It's like this discovery - that forensic genealogy was key. Imagine how even quicker it would have occurred had that DNA already been in NAMUS for Pamela --- that's a Hit - no research, hours paying those staff. Same if her DNA, as Jane Doe, had been in NAMUS in 2018 when her missing persons case got uploaded with a photo and familial DNA sample. An immediate hit.

 

[Tabirey]

As I work from home mostly, I would definitely be interested in volunteering to adding cases into NamUs. It would be very easy for states to utilize Dropbox, etc to send files to be entered. The only time/money cost then, would be uploading into an assigned volunteers Dropbox. I honestly believe it would be efficient and definitely helpful in getting alot of these cases solved.

 

[Fukiyama]

Do we think that the suspect turned around after the murders and drove back to 341 or was there another exit to Locklear rd? Tires should have told this.

This is a question I would love to see answered and would go a long way towards clarifying the issue of if the bad guys were local or not local.

The aerial imagery site that has been linked to doesn't have any images of the area at the time of the murders, so it is unknown at present if the road Locklair meets at its other end actually met I-95 at grade or if the overpass bridge had been built by then.

 

[otto]

I’ve a couple of questions that I’m curious if anybody has seen an answer to.

Do we know what became of the tire impression evidence that we know LE looked at?

Did the brother who said that he gave the gun to Henry for Christmas say where it came from?

Do we think that the suspect turned around after the murders and drove back to 341 or was there another exit to Locklear rd? Tires should have told this.

We read upthread that the vehicle was a van and they exited the back of the van. That suggests to me that the wheel based was measured and photographed, footprints and tire evidence was photographed, tire impressions were taken measured and photographed, and the evidence was used to identify a vehicle and some insight into what happened at the scene where they were murdered. Whether that evidence has been destroyed is another question - especially since other evidence was not preserved.

Interesting question about which direction was taken after the murder. If the tires and wheel base suggest a van, it should have been clear whether the vehicle turned around. I wonder whether there's a way for more evidence to be released - evidence that would not implicate an individual, but which may draw out witnesses.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

This is a question I would love to see answered and would go a long way towards clarifying the issue of if the bad guys were local or not local.

The aerial imagery site that has been linked to doesn't have any images of the area at the time of the murders, so it is unknown at present if the road Locklair meets at its other end actually met I-95 at grade or if the overpass bridge had been built by then.

Actually that link with aerial imagery dated to 1966 and showed I-95 under construction at that time but the layout already intact and identical to today. It was easy to drag the map and check everything. The exit ramps were on one side only, the north side. The other side of Locklair is not near ramps now and was not near ramps then.

Interstate layouts like that don't change over time, especially not in rural low populated areas. Changes are only made due to increased demand near heavily populated areas, or when another interstate is newly built and has some crossing conflict.

 

[otto]

This is a question I would love to see answered and would go a long way towards clarifying the issue of if the bad guys were local or not local.

The aerial imagery site that has been linked to doesn't have any images of the area at the time of the murders, so it is unknown at present if the road Locklair meets at its other end actually met I-95 at grade or if the overpass bridge had been built by then.

When I looked at the historic site, as well as current Google street view, I wonder whether there has been some clear cutting for agricultural land.

Historic Aerials: Viewer

 

[otto]

This copyright image shows the I95 intersection near Locklear Road in 1966.

Link: Historic Aerials: Viewer

 

[otto]

This is a question I would love to see answered and would go a long way towards clarifying the issue of if the bad guys were local or not local.

The aerial imagery site that has been linked to doesn't have any images of the area at the time of the murders, so it is unknown at present if the road Locklear meets at its other end actually met I-95 at grade or if the overpass bridge had been built by then.

Which bridge? White line is probable route

Historic Aerials: Viewer

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Do we think that the suspect turned around after the murders and drove back to 341 or was there another exit to Locklear rd? Tires should have told this.

They would have known from tire marks. Locklair is 1.2 miles and very seldom used. If the vehicle had traveled the distance those tire tracks would have been visible throughout. By all indications the vehicle turned around and dashed away left toward I-95.

Here is the other side of Locklair. You can see the street name in the dirt from Google Street View. I intentionally began on this side of Locklair and made numerous stops, including at the small fenced in area on the right. That is a local cemetery. It was locked.

Google Maps

To demonstrate that the layout has not changed since 1976 I will advance Google Street View further on the road at the south side. It is called Douglas Swamp Road. Here is Douglas Swamp Road approaching I-95. The lighter colored road is standard while crossing over freeways. Note the lack of an entrance ramp on the right side:

Google Maps

Here is an angled view that shows the I-95 lanes, with north on the right side. There is no way in heck this side was ever altered to remove ramps that were there in 1976:

Google Maps

 

[otto]

This is a question I would love to see answered and would go a long way towards clarifying the issue of if the bad guys were local or not local.

The gun was found by chance near the murders four months after the murders. It's very likely that the murders were committed by someone local to the area.

If that's true, then how did J.P and Pam get to Lynchburg, or other nearby place where they'd meet a local? Did the couple own a van and drive there? Is there an ice cream with fruit shop in Lynchburg in 1976?

If they were driving a van, who had a van after the bodies were found? If they had a vehicle registered to either of them in 1976, would there be records of that today?

 

[otto]

They would have known from tire marks. Locklair is 1.2 miles and very seldom used. If the vehicle had traveled the distance those tire tracks would have been visible throughout. By all indications the vehicle turned around and dashed away left toward I-95.

Here is the other side of Locklair. You can see the street name in the dirt from Google Street View. I intentionally began on this side of Locklair and made numerous stops, including at the small fenced in area on the right. That is a local cemetery. It was locked.

Google Maps

To demonstrate that the layout has not changed since 1976 I will advance Google Street View further on the road at the south side. It is called Douglas Swamp Road. Here is Douglas Swamp Road approaching I-95. The lighter colored road is standard while crossing over freeways. Note the lack of an entrance ramp on the right side:


Here is an angled view that shows the I-95 lanes, with north on the right side. There is no way in heck this side was ever altered to remove ramps that were there in 1976:

Google Maps

First link looks like leafy pines, like the description at the murders.

 

[otto]

At the risk of being exceptionally crude, here are the two photos that were published in 1976 and in 2008. They show the ditch, as well as tree growth at that time.



Link upthread and at the top left corner



4 Apr 2008, 3 - National Post at Newspapers.com

 

[worm]

@Awsi Dooger , that loamy dirt on Locklair should have held impressions of anything that touched it. They have to know everywhere the victims and perp took steps while there. But, I’d guess that is useless now too as there is nothing to compare to since tires and shoes usually degrade.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Well, as a professional logistician, I'll point out that the police are already being paid.

Exactly. Those positions needed to evolve and sadly they did not evolve. Not sufficiently. Journalists previously filed one or two stories per day and otherwise waited until the next deadline. Now they are asked to keep up with social media duties with deadlines essentially all day long.

Law enforcement somewhere along the line should have understood that online databases of all types needed to be prioritized, even if it required shifting an hour of responsibility per day or adding a new position. As mentioned by Vern, that extra hour would have saved time and solved cases in the long run.

Really pathetic. And you can see now in real time the departments that did take those steps and were quickly able to take advantage of the new genealogical availability. Seattle area has cleared one old case after another. Their related press conferences are all very thorough and well done, with photos and family members, in comparison to the Sumter guy who was woefully unprepared and obviously was not comfortable in a media setting like that.

 

[otto]

It looks like 1966, Locklear Road crossed I95.

By 1983, which is the next available year, there are barriers preventing traffic from crossing the highway at Locklear Road. Was it possible to cut across the highway in 1966. If so, next question is when were the barriers installed.







Historic Aerials: Viewer

 

[otto]

@Awsi Dooger , that loamy dirt on Locklair should have held impressions of anything that touched it. They have to know everywhere the victims and perp took steps while there. But, I’d guess that is useless now too as there is nothing to compare to since tires and shoes usually degrade.

True, but it is still helpful to identify the vehicle and what took place.

Investigators have to find the person before looking at someone's shoes. It's like DNA, find a suspect and then compare DNA, or shoes and tires.