CBS NEWS – A late Tennessee sheriff who inspired a Hollywood movie about a law enforcement officer who took on organized crime killed his wife in 1967 and led people to believe she was murdered by his enemies, authorities said Friday.
Authorities acknowledged that the finding will likely shock many who grew up as fans of Buford Pusser and watched 1973’s “Walking Tall,” which immortalized him as a tough but fair sheriff with zero tolerance for crime.
The movie was remade in 2004, and many officers joined law enforcement because of his story, according to Mark Davidson, the district attorney for Tennessee’s 25th judicial district.
There is enough evidence that if Pusser, the McNairy County sheriff who died in a car crash seven years after his wife’s death, were alive today, prosecutors would present an indictment to a grand jury for the killing of Pauline Mullins Pusser, Davidson said. Investigators also uncovered signs that she suffered from domestic violence.
Prosecutors worked with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which began reexamining decades-old files on Pauline’s death in 2022 as part of its regular review of cold cases, agency director David Rausch said.
Agents found inconsistencies between Buford Pusser’s version of events and the physical evidence, received a tip about a potential murder weapon and exhumed Pauline’s body for an autopsy.
This undated photo provided by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, shows the location in Guys, Tenn., where then McNair County Sheriff Buford Pusser said his wife was killed on Aug. 12, 1967.
AP
At the time, some residents in the community told CBS affiliate WREG-TV that they were caught off guard as agents swarmed the cemetery and moved Pusser’s headstone.
“This case is not about tearing down a legend. It is about giving dignity and closure to Pauline and her family and ensuring that the truth is not buried with time” …
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE …
Buford Hayse Pusser (December 12, 1937 – August 21, 1974) was the sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee from 1964 to 1970 and constable of Adamsville from 1970 to 1972.
He is known for his virtual one-man war on moonshining, prostitution, gambling, and other vices along the Mississippi–Tennessee state line. His efforts have inspired several books, songs, movies (most notably Walking Tall), and a TV series. He was also a wrestler known as “Buford the Bull” in the Mid-South.
The Buford Pusser Museum was established at the home he lived in at the time of his death in 1974. A Buford Pusser Festival is held each May in his hometown of Adamsville, Tennessee.
In August 2025, following a three-year investigation conducted together with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the local district attorney’s office concluded that Pusser killed his wife, Pauline Mullins Pusser, in 1967. – WIKIPEDIA
