Identified! Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - #7 Pam Buckley & James P Freund

[carbuff]

It was fairly common for people in the late 60s and 70s not to wear underwear. I don't think you can read anymore into it than that. A lot of people speculated they were foreign because of that aspect but it was fairly common in North America, too.

People have speculated that the woman was foreign because she didn't shave her legs and I believe her armpits. Again, it was fairly common back then. It was more to do with lack of access to a bathroom and a razor. It could have been a statement regarding feminism rather than lack of hygiene.

It's a lot to take in but reading the different threads really does help since the presentation of theories are dissected and discussed and fall anywhere within reasonable doubt or pie in the sky thinking.

It was also pretty common for people, especially young people, to hitch around the country, picking up odd jobs or using a parental credit card for emergencies. (My brother was out there somewhere that summer.) It was common to travel in groups, it was common to hook up and break up on the road, it was common to be gone for a couple of years. Sometimes there was bad blood with family, but mostly they were just bumming around the country and touched base with their families ever now and again. But then if they didn't show up for a while, and the parents went to report them missing, it was also common to be told, "They'll come home when they're ready."

My guess is that they had backpacks that the killer(s) threw away somewhere.

My guess is that at least one family knows they're missing and wonders what happened, might even be searching. But they're in a different part of the country and never even thought of looking in South Carolina.

My brother who was on the road in the summer of 76 told us he was going to Chicago via Sturgis SD for the motorcycle rally, then coming home. Which he did. But when he got to Chicago, he decided he wanted to see the Mississippi River, so he hitchhiked south. And then came west again and eventually wound up nearly getting himself killed in a knife fight somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. By then we were really worried, but see above re: adult, can leave if he wants, etc. We had no idea where to look for him, and if his body had been found, we probably wouldn't have even heard of it.

Kind of rambling here...

 

[Canaille]

I thought about their belongings (backpacks, suitcase, handbag, wallet) and wondering where they ended up. I wonder about clothes I’ve seen on the side of highways and even in Goodwill outlets. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen clothing in a bin and thought it looked like it came off a dead body . I’ve even purchased handbags that had identification left in them from many years ago. Even donated old family bibles can tell a story. I told my husband that I’d like to go to the crime scene and walk through the trees with a metal detector. But that’s going to have to wait until this heat takes a hike.

 

[Sweetluv]

Yes! I bought a pair of jeans from a second hand store and found a folded up fifty dollar bill in the front pocket.
Also, if they were the couple from the fruit stand, they would have had to pay for it somehow...no purse, wallet, or cash found...what happened to it..or rather, where did it go?

 

[branmuffin]

It was also pretty common for people, especially young people, to hitch around the country, picking up odd jobs or using a parental credit card for emergencies. (My brother was out there somewhere that summer.) It was common to travel in groups, it was common to hook up and break up on the road, it was common to be gone for a couple of years. Sometimes there was bad blood with family, but mostly they were just bumming around the country and touched base with their families ever now and again. But then if they didn't show up for a while, and the parents went to report them missing, it was also common to be told, "They'll come home when they're ready."

My guess is that they had backpacks that the killer(s) threw away somewhere.

My guess is that at least one family knows they're missing and wonders what happened, might even be searching. But they're in a different part of the country and never even thought of looking in South Carolina.

My brother who was on the road in the summer of 76 told us he was going to Chicago via Sturgis SD for the motorcycle rally, then coming home. Which he did. But when he got to Chicago, he decided he wanted to see the Mississippi River, so he hitchhiked south. And then came west again and eventually wound up nearly getting himself killed in a knife fight somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. By then we were really worried, but see above re: adult, can leave if he wants, etc. We had no idea where to look for him, and if his body had been found, we probably wouldn't have even heard of it.

Kind of rambling here...

Not rambling at all. Those of us who can remember what it was like during that era may have another perspective. A lot of people I knew opted to go the Europe route rather than the US during that time. They'd arrive in Amsterdam, buy some beat up VW microbus and travel for months. Some of them ended up in India. One ended up in jail in India! One girl met a guy in Spain and stayed there. She came home about four years later. So I guess things were a little more loosey goosey than they are now.

 

[T rex]

I came across something the other day that made me think of this case and it made me think of the possibilities. It's in regards to a man named Albert Spaggiari. He was the mastermind of a bank heist in Nice France on July 16 1976. Most of his accomplices were never apprehended and the money was never recovered. He later admitted that it had been used to fund political movements. After some more research I found that Spaggiari not only had ties to DINA but also to Michael Townley a key player in Operation Condor. Townley is responsible for the assassination of Orlando Letelier and Ronni Moffitt in Washington DC on Sep 21 1976. I find it odd that after all these years and with every major LE agency in the world looking for them that Spaggiari's accomplices have never been caught. I'm not saying this has anything to do with this case (although it's possible) I'm just saying it could be something like this.
I've included a couple of links for anyone that's interested. The first one tells about the robbery in France and the other is letters written by Michael Townley. In them he refers to Spaggiari as DANIEL. The FBI and CIA have confirmed that this is a code name for Albert Spaggiari.



The heist of the century


The Róbinson Rojas Archive.- Chile: Pinochet and Contreras dealings with the italian maffia in Madrid in 1975.- RRojas Databank: Analysis and Information on economics, development, research methods, globalization, poverty, sustainability, environment, human rights, China, Chile, Asia, Africa, Latin America, America Latina. Puro Chile. The Memory of the people

 

[T rex]

They are identifiable, someone is just not coming forward...
If there involvement was drugs, the people in their inner circle might not have come forward in fear of implicating themselves in illegal activity.
Also, if you look at the crime scene photos, they are lying on their back. This makes me think the last two shots had to have been the chest and neck....(?)

When looking at the crime scene photos the male victims right arm is folded across his body, his head is turned to the left and his legs are in a figure 4 position. You can almost see that he has been flipped over from left to right. IMO.

 

[Sweetluv]

T rex.....good observation!

 

[carbuff]

Not rambling at all. Those of us who can remember what it was like during that era may have another perspective. A lot of people I knew opted to go the Europe route rather than the US during that time. They'd arrive in Amsterdam, buy some beat up VW microbus and travel for months. Some of them ended up in India. One ended up in jail in India! One girl met a guy in Spain and stayed there. She came home about four years later. So I guess things were a little more loosey goosey than they are now.

Or less loosely, get a Eurail pass and stay in hostels.

It all reminds me of this song:

 

[peace+love]

This case has always confused me. There is so much information on the two does, including pictures of their faces!!! And still nothing. Hopefully they'll be able to get an identity with advances in DNA testing.

 

[Canaille]

Talk about OCD... I woke up this morning thinking about this case. I get the feeling the killer was a LEO.

 

[Sweetluv]

Yes....
Something about this case has always been "off" to me..cant quite put my finger on it..doesnt jive.

 

[Warwick1991]

Talk about OCD... I woke up this morning thinking about this case. I get the feeling the killer was a LEO.

I agree that the killer may be some kind of LEO. One thing is that the killer used a .357 revolver, and used 3 shots per victim. The revolvers of that time had 6 shots, and needed to be reloaded if more than 6 shots were needed. The use of 3 shots per victim, IMO, is evidence of LEO training where the officer is taught to count and track the number of shots fired. If only 6 shots were fired, this shows training and discipline that the average criminal does not have. Untrained individuals wouldn’t count their shots; they might shoot all 6 shots at the same target in the midst of a crime.

The standard LEO sidearm in many US states was a .357 revolver, which also shoots .38 caliber cartridges. Both of those cartridges were standard in many LEO organizations, although criminals often chose the same firearms/cartridges as well.

I’d like to know more about the revolver used, in particular, the make (it has been described as a Smith & Wesson), model and barrel length. Some were typical LEO weapons. I understand the SN was defaced, but defaced serial numbers can often be revealed in a lab. It sounds like very little was done.... The revolver may have been discarded or sold in some way, in the hopes that an uninvolved person with a criminal history would end up with it...

The investigation could have been manipulated by a LEO who was involved, which would explain the lack of any arrests or identification of the victims.

 

[Warwick1991]

In a very early thread, it was noted that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) sent the revolver to the FBI, where they verified its serial number in a lab, traced its sale and ownership, which included a theft and multiple sales. The original buyer was said to be the brother of the NC man (LH) who was found with it during a traffic stop. The original buyer was also the last owner before his brother was arrested with it, even after multiple owners and a theft. LH, the individual who was found with the murder weapon (a ballistic match) later admitted defacing the serial number, which is a Federal and State crime, although he had a sound alibi for the murder.

Since this revolver seems to have been in the hands of more than one individual, with a somewhat casual attitude to sale and ownership, it is likely that an associate or relative of LH is the killer. This individual could have been a LEO or a former LEO.

Note: edited to provide additional detail

 

[retrometro]

LH, the individual who was found with the murder weapon (a ballistic match) later admitted defacing the serial number, which is a Federal and State crime, although he had a sound alibi for the murder.

Since this revolver seems to have been in the hands of more than one individual, with a somewhat casual attitude to sale and ownership, it is likely that an associate or relative of LH is the killer. This individual could have been a LEO or a former LEO.

That's definitely intriguing information. I know LH is long dead, but I'd be curious to know how deeply LE dug into his background at the time.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Update from DDP:

The Sumter Does are "at lab for sequencing"

 

[Canaille]

Update from DDP:

The Sumter Does are "at lab for sequencing"

YAY!!!!!! Thanks for the update!

 

[Warwick1991]

YAY!!!!!! Thanks for the update!

They have had the DNA from the Sumter Does for sequencing for well over a month, perhaps 2 months... I’d noted it on an August 10th post on this thread, but someone else had noted it even before that. I would guess that the DNA might be hard to work with after so many years. Let us hope for results.

 

[Onaliv]

I thought about their belongings (backpacks, suitcase, handbag, wallet) and wondering where they ended up. I wonder about clothes I’ve seen on the side of highways and even in Goodwill outlets. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen clothing in a bin and thought it looked like it came off a dead body . I’ve even purchased handbags that had identification left in them from many years ago. Even donated old family bibles can tell a story. I told my husband that I’d like to go to the crime scene and walk through the trees with a metal detector. But that’s going to have to wait until this heat takes a hike.

My guess is that their belongings were in whatever vehicle they had and that (stealing the vehicle) was quite possibly the motive for their killings

 

[Giuc0]

That's definitely intriguing information. I know LH is long dead, but I'd be curious to know how deeply LE dug into his background at the time.

Was LH linked to enforced disappearances in South America?
Edit: can't find the post about him. Can someone help me, please? I followed afar and some elements escaped me.

FWIW, new archives about the Dirty War have just become declassified Desclasificados, un proyecto que avanza | Noticias | Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo
In Spanish, I know.

I want to leave no stone unturned on the enforced disappearance angle.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Update from DDP:

The Sumter Does are "at lab for sequencing"

..and now they are "in bioinformatics"!