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

[worldwatcher]

This is the finding of death petition from the family of James P Freund. It seems to relate to a minor child declaring destitution.

In 1985, 9 years after he was murdered, his family believed he was deceased.

View attachment 281529

Just some questions here about missing persons report and declare that person deceased. What is the proces of declaring someone deceased?
Does a court or gov. provided documents so that a person can be declared deceased, or is it up to the family to have a death certificate, so for example they can proceed futher, like say, when it comes down to for example, a heritage?

From some WS members, and the posting, I did understand that some websites are incomplete for missing persons. So in order to go down the rabbit hole, declaring of deceased can be useful to sleuth and for J. Does?

Hope this explains a liitle, what I am trying to say.. English is not my native language, so hope you guys get the meaning of my brabbeling..?

 

[Valiant]

I kind of doubt they were involved in any farm labor like picking peaches or any other vegetable harvesting. It's hard work, your hands will quickly blister and eventually callus if you stay with it. Nothing was mentioned about their hands despite the ring descriptions so I personally lean away from the idea they were doing farm labor to earn money along the way.

 

[killarney rose]

ITA. If they were working with produce there would’ve been physical signs of it.

 

[Valiant]

I wonder what the evidence was besides him being absent?

There probably is no evidence needed other than absence and no evidence of activity from the person anywhere else.

 

[Valiant]

Just some questions here about missing persons report and declare that person deceased. What is the proces of declaring someone deceased?
Does a court or gov. provided documents so that a person can be declared deceased, or is it up to the family to have a death certificate, so for example they can proceed futher, like say, when it comes down to for example, a heritage?

From some WS members, and the posting, I did understand that some websites are incomplete for missing persons. So in order to go down the rabbit hole, declaring of deceased can be useful to sleuth and for J. Does?

Hope this explains a liitle, what I am trying to say.. English is not my native language, so hope you guys get the meaning of my brabbeling..?

It may vary some by state, but a petition is usually filed stating that the person hasn't been heard from in x amount of time.
In the case of someone with children, having the missing parent declared dead may allow for payment of Social Security Survivor Benefits to a minor child. Or it may be to allow an inheritance to be distributed to the deceased's children rather than the deceased. Many times, there is no legal benefit to declare a missing person as dead so it isn't always done.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

it seems like to me the original investigators didnt really care about this case. Unless there is a whole lot of stuff that is not public knowledge. They HAD the murder weapon! Guy passes a polygraph...get an alibi from the wife..and thats it. Even though the polygraph shows he's being deceptive about how he came into possession of it. Seems like vera moore and the local papers were hyping it up over the years...but cops just half-assed it. I could be totally off base and ill informed. Just my perspective sitting on my couch

Letting the guy who had the murder weapon go and later losing it always seemed incredibly bush league to me, but maybe it wasn’t. I have no knowledge that this is so, but to me here is the simplest explanation for the police not seeming to care much: if someone is a police informant, they do seem to get away with a lot, at least in my area. I remember one shipbird in my parts who got away with things for years and years, even when caught red handed. Police don’t want to lose a source, and known informants’ lives don’t last long in incarceration so they keep them out if they can. The guy in my area did not make it to prison, he was found in the trunk of his car, well ventilated. Him, not the trunk. It was rumored that he turned in one rival too many, but no one knew for sure and I don’t think the matter was investigated all that thoroughly.
If I were stopped with a murder weapon under the seat of my car, I would expect to have a LOT more ‘splainin’ to do than this guy in SC did!

 

[branmuffin]

I kind of doubt they were involved in any farm labor like picking peaches or any other vegetable harvesting. It's hard work, your hands will quickly blister and eventually callus if you stay with it. Nothing was mentioned about their hands despite the ring descriptions so I personally lean away from the idea they were doing farm labor to earn money along the way.

I totally agree with you in regards to itinerant work. Neither of them give off vibes as peach pickers or any other kind of seasonal work. The PM would have noted the type of small injuries to the hands if it was so.

 

[worm]

Santee is just down the road, off of I-95. Not really related to the coast.

Yes, Orangeburg. I would have been better to write “towards the coast”. I was thinking of the area around Lake Marion for some reason.

 

[ClaireNC]

The victims were clean, shaved, showered, healthy and not skunky. I haven't seen any facts that suggest this was anything other than a couple, aged 25 and 30, travelling, and then they were shot.

Are there any July picking seasons in Georgia, SC and NC? When is pecan picking season?

Jumping in to say that I'm so happy that these two have gotten their names back. I hope it brings their families some peace. I live just about 30 miles from the crime scene and have been following this case for years.

BTW...Peaches are the biggest fruit crop in July and August. Pecans are a fall crop, Sept to December.

 

[StarryStarryNight]

I also wonder how much of the anecdotal evidence is sound. Was it James who shot pool with that guy and told him the silly disowned story and tried to sell him his ring? Did a hermit hear the gunshots and a car speed away? A hermit? Really?
And regarding evidence, was it ever established that they were murdered on the road? Or is it possible that they were dumped there? (Apologies if this has been established and I missed it)

I take the “ hermit” reference to just mean it was somebody who happened to live by themselves in the country. Using “hermit” I think was more the writer giving into their writer’s ego.

 

[ClaireNC]

Excuse me as I try to catch up. These articles were probably posted before but contain some details I hadn't seen before.
The lives of Pamela Buckley and James Freund, Sumter County's 1976 Jane and John Doe

James, 30, grew up in Lancaster, PA and graduated from McCaskey High School on June 10, 1964.

Court records show he married CA on December 11, 1965. In September of 1971, James filed for divorce from C. His family reported him missing in 1975.

Pamela Buckley was 25 years old. The Redwood Falls Gazette reports she was the Redwood Jaycees Sno-Queen in February of 1970. She was set to become Miss Redwood Falls in 1971, but instead decided to tour the west coast with her folk trio ‘Sunlending’.

The group played at a coffeehouse in March of 1971 in San Diego.

The University of Minnesota Morris newspaper shows Sunlending in concert on campus on March 11, 1975 along with We Five... Her family reported her missing that year.

Lancaster man identified as deceased in 44-year-old South Carolina cold case

Freund graduated from McCaskey High School in 1964. He played JV sports and joined various clubs, including English Study, Baseball, and Pinochle. The school's yearbook indicated he wanted to pursue a career as an accountant. To his friends, Freund was known as "J.P." According to newspaper records, he lived on West Walnut Street in Lancaster.

 

[worm]

I take the “ hermit” reference to just mean it was somebody who happened to live by themselves in the country. Using “hermit” I think was more the writer giving into their writer’s ego.

Agreed. I qualify as a “hermit” by this def. Several other reports say “area residents”, or something to that effect and somewhere I seen where it was “a girl”, which I put in the residents category.

 

[worm]

@ClaireNC , I could be wrong as I’m going off of memory with what I’ve read others posters mention, but I think the band had some member turnover in the years before 75 but the rest of your post sounds right.

 

[wmm85]

In regards to Sunlending: one member Anthony Matthews passed away in a hang gliding accident in August 1975. At some point, Mary MacGregor (of “Torn Between Two Lovers” fame) became the lead singer. It doesn’t seem like Pamela was involved with the group after she got married in 1972. It seems that the only constant band member was a guy named John Daly (who still appears to be alive).

I wonder if Pamela and Mary MacGregor knew each other.

 

[worm]

In regards to Sunlending: one member Anthony Matthews passed away in a hang gliding accident in August 1975. At some point, Mary MacGregor (of “Torn Between Two Lovers” fame) became the lead singer. It doesn’t seem like Pamela was involved with the group after she got married in 1972. It seems that the only constant band member was a guy named John Daly (who still appears to be alive).

I wonder if Pamela and Mary MacGregor knew each other.

I wish Daly, or anybody who knew these people, would come forward and tell us who they were. Personality wise.

 

[wmm85]

I wish Daly, or anybody who knew these people, would come forward and tell us who they were. Personality wise.

I would also be curious if he has any material he could share from Pamela’s tenure in Sunlending. It doesn’t appear they released any commercial recordings, but he may have demos, live recordings, performance footage (8mm), etc.

 

[ClaireNC]

In regards to Sunlending: one member Anthony Matthews passed away in a hang gliding accident in August 1975. At some point, Mary MacGregor (of “Torn Between Two Lovers” fame) became the lead singer. It doesn’t seem like Pamela was involved with the group after she got married in 1972. It seems that the only constant band member was a guy named John Daly (who still appears to be alive).

I wonder if Pamela and Mary MacGregor knew each other.

Thanks! I'm trying to catch up and feel completely lost. Is the info about her getting married posted somewhere?

ETA- Nevermind. I found her thread: Found Deceased - CO - Pamela Mae Buckley, 23, Colorado Springs, Dec 1975

 

[worldwatcher]

It may vary some by state, but a petition is usually filed stating that the person hasn't been heard from in x amount of time.
In the case of someone with children, having the missing parent declared dead may allow for payment of Social Security Survivor Benefits to a minor child. Or it may be to allow an inheritance to be distributed to the deceased's children rather than the deceased. Many times, there is no legal benefit to declare a missing person as dead so it isn't always done.

Thank you for answering this, much appreciated!

Even though, I live overseas, I truly understand why people need a break from their lives.
Imo, that is why James and Pamela started to roam, I also understand why their family asked for privacy, it is a lot to digest.
Truly hope that LE can provide some answers to their questions that interfert through their whole lives.
Peace to them!

 

[otto]

it seems like to me the original investigators didnt really care about this case. Unless there is a whole lot of stuff that is not public knowledge. They HAD the murder weapon! Guy passes a polygraph...get an alibi from the wife..and thats it. Even though the polygraph shows he's being deceptive about how he came into possession of it. Seems like vera moore and the local papers were hyping it up over the years...but cops just half-assed it. I could be totally off base and ill informed. Just my perspective sitting on my couch

That's my perception as well. I do wonder whether the information from the KOA - that the victims were Canadian - was enough for local investigators to conclude that it wasn't entirely their problem - that Canada should first identify them and then they know who to investigate. Another factor to keep in mind is that, in 1976, police departments in different jurisdictions were not working together.

Police published Freund's dental work in dental communities but the photos were printed backwards, and today it seems likely that the dental work was completed in Germany. Photos of the couple were shared with other jurisdictions, but I doubt the victim's families thought their missing family member was part of a couple.

I think police tried, hit dead ends, did not properly pursue the gun information, and moved on to other investigations.

 

[worm]

That's my perception as well. I do wonder whether the information from the KOA - that the victims were Canadian - was enough for local investigators to conclude that it wasn't entirely their problem - that Canada should first identify them and then they know who to investigate. Another factor to keep in mind is that, in 1976, police departments in different jurisdictions were not working together.

Police published Freund's dental work in dental communities but the photos were printed backwards, and today it seems likely that the dental work was completed in Germany. Photos of the couple were shared with other jurisdictions, but I doubt the victim's families thought their missing family member was part of a couple.

I think police tried, hit dead ends, did not properly pursue the gun information, and moved on to other investigations.

I see it a little different but agree some. According to reports, the sheriff and investigators worked pretty steady, the late coroner as well. The former sheriff’s daughter says that this case stuck on him until his own death. They brought in dental experts who can’t be blamed for someone not printing a negative properly. The gun issue really bothers me and cops should have been sleeping under the beds of anyone with a connection to that weapon.