Authorities have exhumed the body of the wife of a prominent former Tennessee sheriff more than half a century after she was shot to death in an unsolved murder.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed Thursday that it oversaw the exhumation of Pauline Passer’s body at Adamsville Cemetery. She was shot and killed in a car driven by her husband, McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser. Passer’s legend was portrayed in the 1973 film Walking Tall starring Joe Don Baker and the 2004 remake starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. .
Adamsville’s various locations continue to draw visitors interested in the West Tennessee sheriff’s heritage.
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In a statement, the TBI said authorities received new information indicating that an autopsy was never performed on Pauline Passer’s body.
“With the support of Pauline’s family and in consultation with 25th Judicial District Attorney General Mark Davidson, the TBI is answering important questions that may help identify those responsible for Pauline Passer’s death. We requested the excavation to provide important information,” TBI spokeswoman Kelly McAllister said.
Tennessee authorities have exhumed the body of Pauline Passer, the wife of former McNairy County Sheriff Buford Passer. (Fox News)
Pauline Passer was murdered in McNairy County on August 12, 1967, and former officials from the TBI, then called the Tennessee Bureau of Criminal Identification, were called in to investigate. McAllister said the investigation into her murder remains active.
The newspaper cited an Aug. 13, 1967 article that said Pauline Passer was killed and her husband was “severely wounded in the jaw when Passer’s prowling car was fired upon on a lonely country road at dawn.” .
Police Chief Selmer heard a call from Sheriff Passer over the radio that he and his wife had been found just north of the Tennessee-Mississippi border on Route 45. The sheriff is sitting behind the wheel, his wife also lying on the seat with his head in her lap. The Tennessean reported. The Passers were on their way to investigate the complaint.
Investigators found 14 spent .30-caliber bullets on the road where Passer said the shooting took place about three miles from the state line, The Tennessean reported. Passer’s car was hit 11 times.
In an archived news article, The Tennessean quoted investigators as saying they believed the couple had fallen into a trap.
Buford Pusser served as sheriff for six years starting in 1964 and aimed to rid McNairy County of organized crime, from bootleggers to gamblers. He was shot eight times and stabbed seven times in self-defense, allegedly killing two people.
In the 2004 remake, Pusser’s name does not appear and the film is set in Washington state.
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Buford Pusser died in a car accident in August 1974, the day he agreed to play himself in the Walking Tall sequel.
