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

[worm]

The truck driver was local, he lived in Lynchburg. Cobbling the information that's been compiled over the years I get the impression the hermit heard the shots some time in the early morning, which could be anywhere from 1 am to 6 am. I also get the impression that the trucker Martin Durant found them in the morning. Based on the autopsy photos there was little to no decomp so they weren't there long at all, maybe less than 10 hours. The trucker called someone called Graham in Lynchburg who called Sumter country sheriff. I don't see why the truck driver was resting on a road when he lived less than five miles away from the murder scene.

In a local report back on the 2nd thread, page 6, that indicates the shots being heard between midnight and 1 am and it says “local residents” heard them. Oddly, it doesn’t mention a truck driver but rather somebody finding them “while on their way to work”.

 

[wary]

I agree; on-offs often happen when there is a specific motive too. To gain possession of a vehicle for example. IMO, the motive wasn't flat-out robbery in this case else that very expensive watch he was wearing would have disappeared too. Perhaps it was to gain possession of a vehicle.

They have always stated they believed it was possible this couple to have been somewhat well-off. That watch. Now that we know his identity, we also know that the watch most-likely was a gift from his ex father-in-law at some point (wedding present perhaps?) as his ex-f-i-l's obituary details that he had worked a 40+ years career with the Bulova Company as it's watch repair-man.

I think we can rule out Pee Wee Gaskin as he is deceased. The cops did state that they had always had some POIs and that, now with them being identified, were looking forward to possible arrest(s).

Pee Wee Gaskin was in prison at the time of the murders. No chance that he was out on bail, he’d been sentenced to death. It was commuted to life in prison at some point, but he was still behind bars.

 

[worm]

Pee Wee Gaskin was in prison at the time of the murders. No chance that he was out on bail, he’d been sentenced to death. It was commented to life in prison at some point, but he was still behind bars.

Not that it matters I guess but he was put to death for a murder he committed while serving time for murder. I mentioned him in an earlier post about this being a possible copycat attempt given the general area.

 

[Satchie]

Oddly, it doesn’t mention a truck driver but rather somebody finding them “while on their way to work”.

RSBM

Seems to me the local truck driver could have been on his way to work...

 

[Awsi Dooger]

I heard you mention the tobacco shed in your video, so I looked for it too, but didn't see it. I trust you on the location being near the intersection. I've just seen rather small, cropped versions of the crime scene, but trees are visible in the background.

What time of night was it they estimate they were killed?

I don't think I mentioned the tall fence or tobacco shed in the video. I didn't read about them until the middle of 2020, many months after visiting. But I do think I added a related comment underneath the YouTube video. Now I'm wondering if I should remove it. I have only seen that info one time and now I can't locate it again. I believe I referenced it here when I first saw it, so it might be within that lengthy thread #7.

It might even have been from the guy who has researched the case for 8 years and helped with the solve. It was written matter of factly but I'm not sure a link was included. It seemed like gathered info and not something taken from an original article.

The gunshots reportedly were heard somewhere between midnight and 1 AM.

 

[Vern]

Pee Wee Gaskin was in prison at the time of the murders. No chance that he was out on bail, he’d been sentenced to death. It was commuted to life in prison at some point, but he was still behind bars.

Right; there's him and the MP that was involved in some high profile murders the next year having been bountied about in here as suspects/POIs. I believe the MP is also now deceased so wouldn't fall in with current LE using the wording "arrest(s)" either. The MP is more who I was thinking of, but Pee Wee was sticking in my brain due to him appearing a few times over the past couple days too. Apologies.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

I need a screen shot of that - it gives the exact location of the bodies.

It states they were found at 6:20 AM. Who is Martin Durant? It looks like they were found by Durant. He must be the trucker who pulled off to rest.

How is Durant connected to the owner of the weapon, or is there no connection?

View attachment 281188

The Sumter Daily Item - Google News Archive Search

I've looked at that photo countless times over the years. Somewhere I saw a better version, one that shows the clearing at back left beyond the squad cars.

But I've always wondered which direction that photo was taken from. I always believed it was taken down Locklair with I-95 at distant right. But it's possible it was taken in the other direction, inward on Locklair and facing toward Old St. John's Road. That would make some sense because the multiple squad cars would be at the intersection blocking traffic from entering Locklair. The distance is correct for that. But it would mean the bodies were on the other side of the road, at left as viewed from the entrance to Locklair. I always believed they were on the right side.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

I've never studied her rings at all. There has always been mention that they may come from the American southwest. After finding out about Sunlending one page that always pops up on Google search is from Taos, New Mexico. It appears to be related to the Taos Fiesta, which is an annual celebration held over multiple days on the third week of July. Very possible Sunlending played Taos Fiesta in 1971.

I googled Taos rings and many entries popped up that look similar to her rings. In particular, the one with a turquoise and red stone is very common. I have seen versions on several sites. It is listed as turquoise and watermelon. This page has a big sample of Taos jewelry, many of which resemble those rings, other than the one with blue, blue, blue. That one doesn't appear to be a Taos style ring:

https://www.taosaccessories.com/

 

[Valiant]

The truck driver was local, he lived in Lynchburg. Cobbling the information that's been compiled over the years I get the impression the hermit heard the shots some time in the early morning, which could be anywhere from 1 am to 6 am. I also get the impression that the trucker Martin Durant found them in the morning. Based on the autopsy photos there was little to no decomp so they weren't there long at all, maybe less than 10 hours. The trucker called someone called Graham in Lynchburg who called Sumter country sheriff. I don't see why the truck driver was resting on a road when he lived less than five miles away from the murder scene.

I believe there was another post mentioning the truck driver who found the bodies worked for a heating oil or propane delivery company.
In this case, he might be "resting" because he's on the road to his first delivery but ahead of the time he's supposed to make the first delivery of the morning.

 

[Valiant]

Back in 1976, casual employment was far less formal that it is today. Today you likely couldn't get a job, even a temporary one, without a social security number and proof eligibility for employment. That just wasn't the case back in the 1970's. Payment in cash was a much bigger thing then - even was still into the 1980s when I first started working in taxes.

And, for that matter, we've never heard from any law enforcement agency if they have yet checked for activity on the victims' Social Security Numbers and when that stopped. They could have left a trail we don't know about.

 

[southerngospel]

Are there any higher quality photos of the crime scene? Its weird that the only photo available of the entire scene with both of them is the size of a postage stamp. I wonder who released them in the first place? Seems to be high quality photos of them individually on the scene.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Re: Filing numbers off, but keeping weapon.

I think it is a mistake to apply rules of logic to people who have none. If it were me, I’d be looking for the deepest part of the deepest ocean to get rid of that weapon!

I have seen some pretty dumb things done.

 

[Drew5571]

Looking back over my posts, I made a few mistakes. I meant Sherbert (Sorbet) instead of Herbert. Also, in some cases, they make arrests of deceased persons in unsolved cases . I wonder if the killer showed up at the funeral service, just a thought.

 

[Drew5571]

Thank you to everyone who has liked or quoted my posts . Hope I have made sense.

 

[S o B]

well no one probably recognized the dental work photos because the work was likely done in Germany IMO

Why do you think Germany? He was from Pennsylvania and graduated from a US High School?

 

[Mbt]

Re: Filing numbers off, but keeping weapon.

I think it is a mistake to apply rules of logic to people who have none. If it were me, I’d be looking for the deepest part of the deepest ocean to get rid of that weapon!

I have seen some pretty dumb things done.

Agreed. Since none of us (or almost none of us) are crazy or out of our minds on hard drugs, it is problematic to apply the logic that we might use to what the prep might use. Starting from the proposition of "Now if it were me, and I shot 2 drifters in the neck and chest 3x on a country road at 3 o'clock in the morning, I would..." is taking a few leaps, I'd say.
For me, the mere idea of owning a gun, especially one with the serial numbers filed off, is hard to fathom.

 

[Mbt]

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)

 

[Triss]

Why do you think Germany? He was from Pennsylvania and graduated from a US High School?

He was sent to Germany during his military service.

 

[southerngospel]

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)

ive always laughed at "a hermit" bit....pretty much all of the background info we've been told about this case over the years seems pretty bogus. Im thinking they were probably dumped there...as opposed to being shot there..and im thinking it was more than one person involved.

 

[Drew5571]

If he were a mechanic and worked on cars, what if he was involved in high stakes car racing. What if the car that was his responsibility had lost the race or malfunctioned or crashed. What if someone lost money due to his error and thought he was responsible. You might have a motive.