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

[Betty P]

There are several here on WS that I’ve been in other threads with and I would really like to have them on this.

Maybe getting someone on a podcast to talk about the case could get help in renewing the investigation, too.

 

[vwdude]

I wouldn’t get your hopes up that the Sheriffs department will do anything. They don’t have the courtesy to return basic phone calls or respond to emails from family members. I suspect they just want to move on.

 

[onceuponadecember]

I wouldn’t get your hopes up that the Sheriffs department will do anything. They don’t have the courtesy to return basic phone calls or respond to emails from family members. I suspect they just want to move on.

I contacted the SCSO - unfortunately they did not have more recent photos of James and Pam. I submitted the ones of Pam from 71 and 72, and they said they would “add them to their records”

 

[Betty P]

I wouldn’t get your hopes up that the Sheriffs department will do anything. They don’t have the courtesy to return basic phone calls or respond to emails from family members. I suspect they just want to move on.

That's a shame. They should definitely be working with the families, at least answering their questions about whether they're still investigating the murders.

It's understandable if they don't want to answer a lot of calls from the general public asking about the case, but they should make time for family members.

 

[worm]

You know, was just listening to Bill Thomas's podcast "Mind Over Murder". Bill is the brother of Cathy Thomas, who was murdered in 1986 in what became known as Virginia's "Colonial Parkway Murders". They were a series of murders of young couples in the Williamsburg/Yorktown, etc. area of Virginia that are still unsolved.

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aH...Q4aUDahcKEwjQ4Yfah53wAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en

In the years Bill has spent researching that series of murders, he's kind of become an expert in what are referred to as "Lover's Lane" murders - killing young couples. Bill has met a lot of experts, too. Lover's Lane murders are a very unique crime. Having a young couple murdered together is rare and a specific type of crime.

New Documentary Series Recreates Colonial Parkway Murders Crime Scenes | Oxygen Official Site

VA - VA - The Colonial Parkway Murders, 1986-89

While we don't know if James and Pamela would be considered "lover's lane murders", it seems a similar type of crime. Bill discusses other couple murders when people send in suggestions, so why not give it a try? Bill is a member here on Websleuths, has been for many years, and he's the nicest person.

It can't hurt to send him a PM and ask him what he thinks, right? Another WS member here is @Kell1, who is retired LE. We could also ask him to read up on the case and offer some input.

I think they could have been nabbed as a couple. I have to wonder if the location they were found wasn’t meant to shift attention to 95, but the weapon was local, sort of.

 

[Betty P]

I think they could have been nabbed as a couple. I have to wonder if the location they were found wasn’t meant to shift attention to 95, but the weapon was local, sort of.

Well, a good place to start is to see if some of the volunteer experts/retired LE can take a look at the case.

 

[worm]

Well, a good place to start is to see if some of the volunteer experts/retired LE can take a look at the case.

We need major national attention to get anybody like that interested. I would like to hear what an expert thought.

 

[fred&edna]

I’m sure there were military photos.

-I’m still chasing the Unsolved Mystery” episode about this case. I have to wait and watch since my guide doesn’t have any episode info. I’m getting caught up on the show so that’s good I guess.

I read somewhere the Unsolved Mysteries episode first aired January 20, 1995. Which would be season 7 episode 14. But, when I located and watched that episode on YT, I didn't see this case covered. It's possible it was edited by the person or entity uploading. Or heck... maybe I missed it or I have the wrong episode??

 

[lonewanderer]

There has been discussion about if the couple knew each other, or not.

I haven't read anywhere that makes a connection between them.

I wonder if the female victim was the intended target...

In this scenario (and based on evidence believed to be true), she is hitchhiking or at a truck stop and picked up by a truck driver with bad intentions. The male victim asks if he can come too, and the female may really push for it for her own safety and/or kindness of her naïve heart.

The trucker is obviously very unhappy with this and decides to just execute them both to get rid of them.

 

[worm]

There has been discussion about if the couple knew each other, or not.

I haven't read anywhere that makes a connection between them.

I wonder if the female victim was the intended target...

In this scenario (and based on evidence believed to be true), she is hitchhiking or at a truck stop and picked up by a truck driver with bad intentions. The male victim asks if he can come too, and the female may really push for it for her own safety and/or kindness of her naïve heart.

The trucker is obviously very unhappy with this and decides to just execute them both to get rid of them.

How and at what point they met is a big part of this mystery. In thinking about the perp being transient, like a trucker, I have to wonder about the weapon being found local. And wasn’t there some story about the gun being bought from a trucker? So many theories and many unanswered questions.

 

[worm]

I read somewhere the Unsolved Mysteries episode first aired January 20, 1995. Which would be season 7 episode 14. But, when I located and watched that episode on YT, I didn't see this case covered. It's possible it was edited by the person or entity uploading. Or heck... maybe I missed it or I have the wrong episode??

I’ve never found it online, I just keep watching the show when I can on that crime channel. I wish the episodes were on demand.

 

[onceuponadecember]

I’ve never found it online, I just keep watching the show when I can on that crime channel. I wish the episodes were on demand.

The clip with the segment on Pam and JP was not even 15 seconds long - it just said these two (believed to be brother and sister) were found dead on August 9, 1976 and their characteristics. No reenactments, just the facts.

 

[onceuponadecember]

Bumping. No new info from the SCSO that I could gather.

 

[doshidori]

There has been discussion about if the couple knew each other, or not.

I haven't read anywhere that makes a connection between them.

I wonder if the female victim was the intended target...

In this scenario (and based on evidence believed to be true), she is hitchhiking or at a truck stop and picked up by a truck driver with bad intentions. The male victim asks if he can come too, and the female may really push for it for her own safety and/or kindness of her naïve heart.

The trucker is obviously very unhappy with this and decides to just execute them both to get rid of them.

I respectfully disagree with this.
- They were both found with icecream or fruit with milk in their stomach, eaten at the same time. (It means it's very likely they ate together)
- They were both found without underwear. (It might mean their underwear were both in the laundry or something else)
- They were both reported missing in December 1975, almost 9 months prior to the murders.
- They both had a similar olive tan - which made people believe they are siblings. (It might mean that they travelled together, they had similar amount of exposure to sun and shade so they both developed similar shades of tan.)
- They were both clean. (They had similar lifestyle during travelling.)

All these point to me that they have been together travelling for quite some time.

I even think they might have met each other in December or before December. Both seem to like travelling - him going to Germany and back, her travelling state by state with her music trio. They could have met at a bar in a very random town. They could have met while she is singing at a venue. They could have met while he is visiting an old army friend (another poster said this before). I think at this point it's impossible to speculate where and how they met. But I'm pretty sure they knew each other and they were comfortable with each other.

 

[worm]

I respectfully disagree with this.
- They were both found with icecream or fruit with milk in their stomach, eaten at the same time. (It means it's very likely they ate together)
- They were both found without underwear. (It might mean their underwear were both in the laundry or something else)
- They were both reported missing in December 1975, almost 9 months prior to the murders.
- They both had a similar olive tan - which made people believe they are siblings. (It might mean that they travelled together, they had similar amount of exposure to sun and shade so they both developed similar shades of tan.)
- They were both clean. (They had similar lifestyle during travelling.)

All these point to me that they have been together travelling for quite some time.

I even think they might have met each other in December or before December. Both seem to like travelling - him going to Germany and back, her travelling state by state with her music trio. They could have met at a bar in a very random town. They could have met while she is singing at a venue. They could have met while he is visiting an old army friend (another poster said this before). I think at this point it's impossible to speculate where and how they met. But I'm pretty sure they knew each other and they were comfortable with each other.

Their lack of communication with friends/relatives leaves a blank spot to how they met too. I agree, trying to guess at this point their initial meeting is a long shot at best.

 

[doshidori]

I also would like to add that I don't think it's a random killing. I think they were specifically targeted by a local gang/mafia for whatever reason.

• They were shot methodically, execution style. Whoever killed them is not an amateur. It’s a person that was trained or experienced in executing. Usually people that are experienced in executing are not local car thieves, but they are members of mafia or gangs (members of police and army also possible).
• The motive doesn’t seem to be petty theft. James had an expensive watch and ring on. (Also even though possible, people usually don’t murder for petty theft.)
• A very interesting point is.. Both James and Pamela last contacted their families in December and didn’t contact their friends and family for months. Why?
• The gun was found filed off in the possession of a local truck driver, Lonnie Henry. And that gun was passed around a lot apparently. Who and what kind of people pass around their gun a lot? For what reason? Do regular folk pass their gun around a lot? I think there’s something strange there.
• If this was a car theft, and these people are so experienced that they cold bloodedly murder a couple, which means they have done this before, why was Lonnie Henry still a drunk truck driver? Wouldn’t he and his family be well off then? I don’t think it’s a car theft.

For all this, I have my own ideas of what might have occured but I do not want to offend anyone.

 

[worm]

I’ve said before that I think the answer is centered around that gun and the people who had it. I’m convinced that Henry knew something and wasn’t saying.

 

[Betty P]

I also would like to add that I don't think it's a random killing. I think they were specifically targeted by a local gang/mafia for whatever reason.

• They were shot methodically, execution style. Whoever killed them is not an amateur. It’s a person that was trained or experienced in executing. Usually people that are experienced in executing are not local car thieves, but they are members of mafia or gangs (members of police and army also possible).
• The motive doesn’t seem to be petty theft. James had an expensive watch and ring on. (Also even though possible, people usually don’t murder for petty theft.)
• A very interesting point is.. Both James and Pamela last contacted their families in December and didn’t contact their friends and family for months. Why?
• The gun was found filed off in the possession of a local truck driver, Lonnie Henry. And that gun was passed around a lot apparently. Who and what kind of people pass around their gun a lot? For what reason? Do regular folk pass their gun around a lot? I think there’s something strange there.
• If this was a car theft, and these people are so experienced that they cold bloodedly murder a couple, which means they have done this before, why was Lonnie Henry still a drunk truck driver? Wouldn’t he and his family be well off then? I don’t think it’s a car theft.

For all this, I have my own ideas of what might have occured but I do not want to offend anyone.

Good analysis, but please keep in mind LE found no evidence of drugs in their systems or on their bodies, clothing or possessions.

I'm also not sure that the couple didn't have friends who saw them in the days or weeks before they were found deceased. Since discovering their identities, it seems LE has only questioned their family members. Neither of the victims lived with their families, they were adults. Pam had separated from her husband some months before. It's possible both had jobs and friends, but LE hasn't identified or contacted them. It might be wrong to assume the couple had been living a nomadic life during the previous 9 months.

 

[MadMcGoo]

I wonder if running their photos through some major newspapers or media outlets, especially those close to the crime scene and places they may have been (Grant’s Truck Stop, Sebring races, etc.), would jog anyone’s memory who might remember them. It’s a long shot, as many have said it’s been so long.

 

[lonewanderer]

I respectfully disagree with this.
- They were both found with icecream or fruit with milk in their stomach, eaten at the same time. (It means it's very likely they ate together)
- They were both found without underwear. (It might mean their underwear were both in the laundry or something else)
- They were both reported missing in December 1975, almost 9 months prior to the murders.
- They both had a similar olive tan - which made people believe they are siblings. (It might mean that they travelled together, they had similar amount of exposure to sun and shade so they both developed similar shades of tan.)
- They were both clean. (They had similar lifestyle during travelling.)

All these point to me that they have been together travelling for quite some time.

I even think they might have met each other in December or before December. Both seem to like travelling - him going to Germany and back, her travelling state by state with her music trio. They could have met at a bar in a very random town. They could have met while she is singing at a venue. They could have met while he is visiting an old army friend (another poster said this before). I think at this point it's impossible to speculate where and how they met. But I'm pretty sure they knew each other and they were comfortable with each other.

Touche'!

I am comfortable with admitting this completely snuffed my theory.

The only thing I could possibly come up with to defend my originally theory is resorting to a similar case (I once again admit my theory is bunked based on your well placed points).

There is the case of "One-Eyed Jack" who remains unidentified. In his case, he was murdered by a truck driver who gave him a ride for quite a ways. When the truck driver was asked why he killed the man, he responded "He was getting on my nerves" (or something very similar).

Could the couple have rode a long ways with this trucker and met a similar fate?