Identified! Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - Pamela Buckley & James P Freund #8

[GatorFL]

But your head is not your neck. So what is it, a head shot or a neck shot?

If I heard him right it was a shot to the back of the head.

 

[AliceInPain]

From your link:

"After more than 40 years, the victims have been identified as Pamela Buckley of Colorado Springs, Colorado and James Freund of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, according to Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis.

They were both reported missing in their respective home states in 1975, the sheriff said.

Buckley was 25 years old at the time of her death and Freund was 30."

Oh my God, are these the peoples?? I am certified dead bye.

 

[Molly's Mom]

JPF's complaint in divorce is also misspelled. Fruend instead of Freund.

JPF Divorce - Newspapers.com

Indignities. So many possibilites.

 

[ajac71]

Great Day!!I grew up a few miles from the murder site and have visited the gravesite. Might visit Pam and James again this weekend and leave a flower with their name on it.

Wonderful, and if you do could you please take photos? Im sure there will be a lot of activity there in the next few days, thats even if they are still there, who knows when they will be moved.

 

[calo44]

This news article says they have “persons of interest” in the murder of Pamela and James:

Names of Sumter County's 1976 John, Jane Doe mystery released

 

[Reasonable & Just]

This is just amazing. I am so glad they have their names back. It's amazing how men's faces change pretty quickly in early adulthood. James' brows are so much heavier in the PM photos (not to mention his jaw). He grew up to be a very handsome man. May both of these lovely young people rest in peace, and may there be justice. Someone carried out what looks like a ritualistic crime, and I hope they never got/get a chance to take another life.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

This news article says they have “persons of interest” in the murder of Pamela and James:

Names of Sumter County's 1976 John, Jane Doe mystery released

WHOA! That is good, good news.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

I’ve never posted on this site before, but I’ve been interested in this case since I stumbled upon it about 15 years ago....in fact I still have an email from Deanna at DoeNetwork in 2007 thanking me for alerting them to the news coverage of their bodies being exhumed for DNA.
One thing that strikes me - it never once occurred to me that their families wouldn’t have been looking for two people together, when in fact it seems that neither family would have been aware that James was with Pamela and Pamela with James - assuming they were together - and wouldn’t have expected them to be. The Canadian angle was clearly a bit misleading, particularly since the “Jacques” theory was reinforced by the “J” on the ring. Another thing often suggested was that they were affluent - in reality he may well have bought his Bulova watch discounted from a PX store when he was in the army, although it’d likely still have cost a bit.
Kudos to all who worked so hard on this case and gave Pamela and James their names back. RIP.

Welcome to WS @JDCF1970. We’re glad you’re here. Happy sleuthing. You’re in for a ride.

 

[Spindlebrook]

Maybe Pamela or James had a vehicle that was stolen from them after the murders and old DMV records have the VIN number and can trace it to someone else. That could lead to the killer.

 

[Triss]

From your link:

"After more than 40 years, the victims have been identified as Pamela Buckley of Colorado Springs, Colorado and James Freund of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, according to Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis.

They were both reported missing in their respective home states in 1975, the sheriff said.

Buckley was 25 years old at the time of her death and Freund was 30."

I wonder how old that picture of Jim is? He definitely looks much younger than 30 there.

 

[wmm85]

I wonder how old that picture of Jim is? He definitely looks much younger than 30 there.

That is his high school senior class photo from 1964.

 

[orchidaceaes]

I wonder how old that picture of Jim is? He definitely looks much younger than 30 there.

That's from 1964 so about 55 some odd years old? It's his senior photo from his yearbook. He was only 18 then.

 

[Triss]

That's from 1964 so about 55 some odd years old? It's his senior photo from his yearbook. He was only 18 then.

Thank you for the answer. He changed so much and grew up to be a handsome man.

 

[LucyOso]

RIP Pamela and James. Happy you have your name's back.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Matthew McDaniel, a Clemson resident who helped identify Buckley and Freund and suggested the sheriff’s office reach out to the DNA Doe Project in 2019, was glad the more than 44-year-long mystery of their identities came to an end.

For the past eight years, McDaniel dedicated himself to solving the case of the unidentified pair, and he said it was genetic genealogy that cracked it.

He has shared research and a potential list of suspects with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

Dennis said he thinks this homicide was an isolated incident, and he did not wish to share much information regarding the homicide case, as the sheriff’s office plans to delve back into the investigation.

“We do have persons of interest,” Dennis said. “We’re definitely going to reopen the case, and we want to find out who actually committed these crimes.”
Names of Sumter County's 1976 John, Jane Doe mystery released

 

[orchidaceaes]

Thank you for the answer. He changed so much and grew up to be a handsome man.

I know it shocked me when I first saw it. Then I went back and compared that yearbook photo to the post-mortem and they had a similar chin shape, nose, and eyes. The eyebrows threw me for a bit, but the yearbook photo is taken from above. I honestly wasn't 100% it was him until the DNA Doe Project posted what looks like the same picture to Facebook.

 

[Betty P]

Indignities. So many possibilites.

Actually it applies to a pattern of behavior that makes the other spouse feel their life is unbearable. Its often used in cases of verbal or mental abuse.

indignities divorce pennsylvania - Google Search

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Pamela Buckley, chosen the Redwood Jaycees Sno-Queen in February and set to become Miss Redwood Falls 1971, abdicated the throne to tour the west coast with the folk-singing trio “Sunlending.”
Backward Glances: Football player poet gets revenge against his English class

 

[Arz]

What do you guys think about the mechanic in Nebraska who said that he had done work in their car and he remembers them having a car with Oregon or Washington plates?
Maybe he was mistaken about the car plates? Do you think the sightings was true ?

I tried to find the plates of all the state mentioned above during the 1975/6 period and they don’t really look similiar.

 

[Triss]

I know it shocked me when I first saw it. Then I went back and compared that yearbook photo to the post-mortem and they had a similar chin shape, nose, and eyes. The eyebrows threw me for a bit, but the yearbook photo is taken from above. I honestly wasn't 100% it was him until the DNA Doe Project posted what looks like the same picture to Facebook.

I hope we'll get to see a more recent picture of him. And you're right, his signature brows are not as bushy in his yearbook photo. I too had to look closely to make sure I'm looking at the right person haha