‘Walking Tall’ sheriff staged wife’s 1967 murder in Tennessee, investigators say

Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, once celebrated as a crime-busting hero and the inspiration behind the Hollywood hit movie “Walking Tall,” faces new accusations of pulling the trigger that killed his own wife.

A cold-case review by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has concluded that there is probable cause that Pusser, who died in 1974, staged his wife’s 1967 murder. Prosecutors said Friday that if he were alive today, they would present an indictment to a grand jury for the murder of his wife, Pauline Mullins Pusser.

Investigators also said they uncovered signs that Pauline suffered from domestic violence.

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The McNairy County sheriff died in a car crash seven years after his wife’s death.

For nearly six decades, the public believed that Buford and his wife were ambushed while responding to a disturbance. According to his account at the time, shots were fired from a passing vehicle, leaving Pauline dead and Buford severely wounded. The case closed, largely resting on his own testimony.

Prosecutors joined forces with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which reopened Pauline’s case in 2022 during a cold-case sweep, according to agency director David Rausch.

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Former McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser points to a section along a lonely blacktop road where he and his wife Pauline were ambushed in 1967. (Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images)

Agents flagged inconsistencies between Buford’s account and the physical evidence, as they chased down a tip about a possible murder weapon and exhumed Pauline’s body for a new autopsy.

The probe uncovered evidence that Pauline was shot outside the car and placed inside to fit Buford’s narrative.

Blood-spatter patterns on the vehicle and surrounding ground did not align with his description of the scene.

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This undated photo provided by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, shows the location in Guys, Tenn., where then-McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser said his wife was killed on Aug. 12, 1967. (TBI via AP)

During the reexamination of the case, Dr. Michael Revelle, an emergency medicine physician and medical examiner, found that cranial trauma suffered by Pauline didn’t match crime-scene photographs of the car’s interior.

Pauline’s remains revealed signs of previous abuse, including a healed broken nose — as the evidence pointed to a violent marriage that Buford hid from the public.

The film “Walking Tall” was inspired by Buford Pusser’s fight against organized crime in his small town. (Tim Chapman/Getty Images)

Pauline’s brother, Griffon Mullins, expressed relief after the investigation update, saying, “You would fall in love with her because she was a people person. And of course, my family would always go to Pauline if they had an issue or they needed some advice and she was always there for them. She was just a sweet person. I loved her with all my heart.”

Mullins said he knew there was some trouble in Pauline’s marriage, but she wasn’t one to talk about her problems. For that reason, Mullins said he was “not totally shocked.”

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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation plans to make the entire file, which exceeds 1,000 pages, available to the public by handing it over to the University of Tennessee at Martin once it finishes with redactions.

“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,” Mark Davidson, the district attorney for Tennessee’s 25th judicial district, said in a news conference streamed online. “The truth matters. Justice matters. Even 58 years later. Pauline deserves both.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.