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E179: Pamela Buckley and James Freund
5.6k Plays3 years ago
In the early morning hours of August 9, 1976, a truck driver discovered the bodies of a young man and a young woman alongside a rural road in Sumter County, South Carolina. Since no one came forward to identify the pair, they soon became known as the Sumter County Does. Close to 45 years later, in January 2021, the two got their names back– Pamela Buckley and James Freund– both reported missing around a year before their bodies were discovered. Now that the mystery of their identities has been solved, it’s time to focus on the other mysteries: who could have committed this crime against them… and why?
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Transcript
Introduction to Nefarious Nightmare Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Hey everyone, Courtney from a nefarious nightmare podcast here. If any of you have been following Amanda or myself on our socials, there's a small chance that you've noticed some Easter eggs. A movement has been occurring at least since May of 2022 and even before that.
00:00:17
Speaker
If true crime fascinates you and you want to learn about deviant behavior against those deemed extra vulnerable, or delve into how it impacts the survivors and victims straight from the source, then be on the lookout and subscribe to a nefarious nightmare wherever you get your podcasts, and be ready for something coming mid-June 2023. Don't forget to be vigilant, for when you mess with the bees, you get the hive.
Impact of True Crime Stories
00:00:43
Speaker
We have covered nearly 200 cases here on Coffee and Cases podcast. Since some of those involve multiple victims, I'm confident in saying that we've talked about well over 200 individuals on this show. Over 200 unique people who have, even if just for an hour of our show, truly touched each of our hearts.
00:01:01
Speaker
I know for Allison and myself, the people we talk about stick with us well past the hours of research and writing and the hours we spend recording and editing. Their stories remain a part of us because behind each story, each theory, and each unexpected twist is a person. A person who is uniquely their own individual, who fit uniquely into their family group or their friend group.
00:01:22
Speaker
and who had unique plans for their own life. We've all heard it said before that we're each unique, but what does that really mean to us?
Exploring Personal Uniqueness
00:01:30
Speaker
What attributes to our own personal uniqueness? According to Minimal Made Simple, there are 15 qualities that define each of us as unique. Some are ones that we would know without really thinking about it, you know, like the complexity of our DNA.
00:01:43
Speaker
our genetics, our physical characteristics. But some things we may overlook that play a factor in who we are, like our personality. Whether we realize it or not, each choice we make, each success we have, each downfall we stumble through shapes our personalities and molds us into the people we are. Building on that is our attitude. How we see the world impacts who we are and how we react to situations we're put in. Similar to this is our perspective. But some attributes we don't think about.
00:02:11
Speaker
form us as unique people, like our habits. While we may learn certain aspects of habits from family or friends, over time, we shape our own habits, which are uniquely our own. Our intelligence plays a role in our uniqueness as well. And I don't just mean if you're book smart. Everyone shows their intelligence in various ways. For some, it is book smart. While for others, it could be street smarts, or perhaps you fall somewhere in the middle.
00:02:36
Speaker
Regardless, that makes you, you. Our goals and experiences factor into our uniqueness. Our experience shapes us in ways that our intelligence or habits couldn't. Our experience shapes our understanding of things we love and laws. It gives us a sense of happiness or sadness.
00:02:52
Speaker
Our relationships and creativity also make us uniquely us. Are you creative in multiple ways, kind of like a jack of all trades? Or do you prefer to share your creativity in a single way? That is unique about you. Lastly are our passions. Your communication, your humor, and your taste. Nothing brings our uniqueness out like our passions. When we're speaking or acting on something we feel passionate about, most of the time our true colors are revealed.
00:03:18
Speaker
You're tasting clothes, movies, music, also play into who you truly are. And honestly, that's amazing to think about, that each of us, while we may share common passions or experiences, are shaped differently by the things we have in common. So while we all may share the same interest in true crime, we're all affected differently by the cases we hear or the research we do. Why? Because we're unique.
00:03:41
Speaker
And just as we are each unique, so is each case we talk about every week on the show. For most of the victims we talk about, Allison and I have the honor of discussing who they were and what made them each unique.
Unsolved Mystery of Sumter County Victims
00:03:52
Speaker
But for a small fraction of our cases, we don't have that privilege to dive into the personalities, experiences, habits, or tastes of our victims because they're nameless.
00:04:01
Speaker
given generic names in the hopes that someday their true identities will be discovered. And for some, that does happen, like in today's case. But for so many, their true identity, their uniqueness, is lost forever. This is the story of Pamela Buckley and James Freund.
00:04:52
Speaker
Welcome to Coffee and Cases where we like our coffee hot and our cases cold. My name is Allison Williams. And my name is Maggie Dameron.
00:05:01
Speaker
We will be telling stories each week in the hopes that someone out there with any information concerning the cases will take those tips to law enforcement. So justice and closure can be brought to these families with each case. We encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page, coffee and cases podcast, because as we all know, conversation helps to keep the missing person in the public consciousness, helping keep their memories alive. So sit back, sip your coffee and listen to what's brewing this week.
00:05:30
Speaker
Okay, so Alison, obviously, yes, while we now know the identities of the people we're talking about today, there were decades where the two were either referred to as the Sumter County does because they were found in Sumter County, South Carolina, okay, or Jacques and Jane Doe.
00:05:48
Speaker
Because we don't know their true identities until 2021. Oh, so super recently. Mm hmm. And this case took place in the 70s. So that's a long time. Yes, without their identity. Yeah. And I feel like I don't know this case, but I have I feel like I've heard the name Sumter County does before. So even though I don't know the case,
00:06:13
Speaker
When I was trying to decide on a case today because I have, well, we know this, but our listeners don't. We have so many like fillers out for family we're trying to get in touch with. And sometimes a case you think you're going to be able to do, you can't do because there's delays or whatever.
00:06:34
Speaker
And that happened for me this week. So when I was trying to research another case to do, I stumbled upon this one and it was covered by some like larger news outlets, but it was one that I hadn't heard of.
00:06:50
Speaker
And it was really an interesting case. So I felt that our Sleuthhounds would find it as interesting as I did. And so that's why we're talking about them today. Well, I'm excited to hear about it. Because like I said, I've heard of Sumter County Does, but I don't know the story. So I'm excited to hear the details.
00:07:09
Speaker
So for today, before we jump in, I am going to sort of kind of work in chronological order. So we're going to talk about the discovery of their bodies before we talk about their identity. So for the majority of the show, I am going to call them the Sumter County does or shock or Jane, because that's what they were for so long. And then we'll talk about how their identities were discovered. And then obviously theories, because there's a lot with this one. Okay.
00:07:36
Speaker
On a seemingly normal morning, a truck driver made a very gruesome discovery. Just off Interstate 95 on a remote dirt road called Lockler Road in Sumter County, South Carolina, Martin Durant found the bodies of a young man and a young woman by the shoulder of the road. And this was August the 9th, 1976.
00:08:00
Speaker
Gosh, so this trucker is just moving along and then sees two bodies on the side of the road. So not even hidden. No. And I was kind of stuck on the, why would this trucker be on a remote dirt road? That seems a little... Oh, yeah, totally. I'm focused on the bodies. I didn't even notice. Yeah.
00:08:26
Speaker
But I read in a lot of the research that he was just trying to find like a place to rest. Cause you know, they'll pull over and he was trying to get out of the way. That does make sense. Cause it is really early in the morning when he makes the discovery because it's around six 20 that morning when he gets in contact with a store employee named Charles who phones the police to report the discovery. So it's early in the morning. Mm-hmm.
00:08:55
Speaker
Oh yeah. Cause I didn't even think about that. We're 76. So if, even if he sees this on a remote dirt road in order to get in touch with somebody, he's either going to have to try to find a house that's close to use their phone or go back into a town. Which I guess, I mean, I don't know. Did they have like the CB radio? They must have, because then as I was just, as I was saying that, I was thinking then why didn't he call 911 and call, you know, to call the police.
00:09:25
Speaker
But yeah, you're right. If you've got a CB, maybe I don't, I don't know. Do they, is it a normal habit for the company to keep one where you could like get back in contact with the store? I mean, maybe if it was like a store where it was frequented by, you know, truck drivers. Oh, maybe, maybe our trucker friends out there will have to let us know. Yeah.
00:09:49
Speaker
But I do know that both of the victims had been shot by a 375 Magnum pistol. Some records said that they had each been shot multiple times. Some just specified that the woman was shot in the chest and the man was in the head. But even the ones that said multiple times, all of the shots were in the upper part of the body. And no one
00:10:17
Speaker
when police arrived had the faintest idea who this duo could be because the pair had no identification on them. Hmm.
00:10:27
Speaker
So because no one knew who they were and didn't obviously for several decades, investigators began referring to the two as Jock and Jane Doe or the Sumter County Does when they were talked about together. And from the outside looking in, it appeared initially that the investigating team would be able to identify the two in no time because
00:10:49
Speaker
Despite the fact that the scene revealed few clues, investigators were able to pull fingerprints from both the victims and they released sketches to the public, which I posted for you to see. Yeah, you would think with that you did, especially with fingerprints. Yeah, that they would, you know, be able to trace them somehow. I'm telling you these sketches, they look like they're movie stars. I mean, they look to me super
00:11:19
Speaker
like hip, wealthy. They don't, you know what I, I don't know. They just. And they, she looks very 1970s with her hair like that. It's very barefaucet. Yeah. Like feathered back and then his longer hair. Yeah. And your assumptions were what many people believed, Alison. They thought that the pair came from
00:11:48
Speaker
affluent backgrounds based on the way they appeared and things that were later discovered from the scene of the crime. Another thing that people made based on these sketches or another assumption they made based on these sketches were because the two kind of do look similar in a way. Yeah, both kind of a little bit squarish chin, similar straight. And then have like longer noses kind of.
00:12:18
Speaker
And investigators thought that the resemblance was so strong that in the early days, many of them believed the two could be either related or siblings. Hmm.
00:12:29
Speaker
So, you know, they're thinking, okay, we have a possible brother-sister duo or maybe cousins that are missing. We have these fingerprints. Surely there's family somewhere that searching for these two young people. And at least if they're not related, then we now have two separate families searching for their missing family members. Yeah. And then you're doubling your odds because then maybe one of the families will say, Oh my gosh, my son is missing or my daughter is missing.
00:12:56
Speaker
And then they'll say, yeah, he or she was traveling with this other person and know the other name. So I could see why they were hopeful. But none of those hopes ever came to fruition, at least right away.
00:13:12
Speaker
we know that at this point all investigators had to go on were the fingerprints of the two and then obviously the hope that someone would come forward saying yeah that's my son that's my daughter that's my friend and then they found some interesting things on the victims at the crime scene and then some interesting discoveries during the autopsy. Oh interesting okay
00:13:34
Speaker
So we're going to start with Jacques Doe. Initially investigators believed that he was between 18 and 22 years of age, but when they examined his teeth they were able to determine that he was probably older than 22 and they estimated that he would be around 27. Okay.
00:13:56
Speaker
And when he was entered into NamUs, they approximated his age to be between 18 and 30, which I think is a pretty big range. That's a very big range, but I guess, you know, they don't want to narrow it down. Cause then if you say, you know, 27 to 30 and someone's 18, then you would be like, Oh, it can't be my person because even if they were 25, you'd be like, Oh, that's not him. Cause they think he's 27. I'm curious. The forensic.
00:14:24
Speaker
Oh, Dontist or, or the Dontist or what, you know, whatever they're called. I wonder how accurate that is. Like when they say, I wonder if there are habits that a person can have that make their teeth look older or if it's based on something, you know, kind of like a tree rings where it's, you know, there's something in your teeth. Right. Yeah. I'm curious.
00:14:51
Speaker
Well, I will say that he is pretty close to the age of this man when they determine who he is. Okay. Jacques Doe was white, but he had an olive complexion. He had, and I think that's why they gave him the name Jacques instead of, you know, John Doe. That's what I read in a couple sources. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what some people said.
00:15:17
Speaker
He had brown hair that was shoulder length, which you saw in the picture. He had brown eyes and berry bushy eyebrows. In fact, they were often described as distinct. Like that's how the autopsy reported it, that he had distinct eyebrows, distinctly bushy eyebrows. That's an interesting phrase. There's some other things that this
00:15:42
Speaker
Corner pointed out that I would not have thought to point out but I mean, I guess if you're Thinking about somebody, you know, you may be like, oh, yeah Johnny's been missing and he has you know, like really bushy eyebrows. That's true. Yeah, that's true. You want to I guess Focus in on anything that could be distinct. Mm-hmm He was over six feet tall and weighed about a hundred and fifty pounds. So he is a very thin man. Mm-hmm
00:16:12
Speaker
He also had extensive and elaborate dental work done. I read that he had a very unique type of root canal that was done at some point in his life and the procedure was so different and so unique that the investigators thought he had this work done in another country. Like this wasn't a practice that we do here. Interesting, either that or I guess the dentist could be from another country who performed it. Oh that's true, I'm glad of that.
00:16:41
Speaker
That is super interesting though. But that does lead to like a potential theory as to who they could be later on that we'll discuss. Okay. It also kind of supports the affluent assumption because dental work is expensive. Yes it is. I have sadly, I had never had a cavity in my entire life
00:17:09
Speaker
until I had the egg retrieval done for IVF and I was so sick and threw up so much that I now have four. Oh no. And they're actually probably worse because now I'm like a living heartburn machine. So who knows. Be prepared to shell out some money. Yeah.
00:17:32
Speaker
He also appeared according to the autopsy to have played a lot of sports because he had some scarring on various spots on his back and shoulders and I don't know really how you're able to determine those are sports related but that's what the autopsy said.
Detailed Descriptions of Victims
00:17:47
Speaker
Yeah unless they're related to maybe these injuries are common or tears of muscles or I don't know that's okay you said it would be
00:18:00
Speaker
intriguing. Yeah. Yeah. When he was discovered, he was wearing Levi brand jeans and a red t shirt that said Coors America's light beer on the front. Okay, so he likes to drink or he's like, you know, showing that he's following the crowd.
00:18:21
Speaker
And it had Camel Challenger GT Sebring 75 on the back, which was obviously some sort of promotional shirt. And police quickly determined that it was from the Sebring race, which is like a NASCAR thing, I think.
00:18:38
Speaker
racing company that's held in Sabering, Florida, and it was held in 1975. So that's where the shirt comes from. So now we have ties to he's been in Florida at some point. Right the year before.
00:18:53
Speaker
So maybe he has friends there, he has families there. This is yet another thing, I feel like with this sketch and fingerprints and his dental work and his distinctive bushy eyebrows and the fact that he went to this race, I mean, that's a lot of stuff. Oh, we have even more specific things that you would think, they're like the green curtains in the Amy Mahalevit case. Like you would think somebody knows these things.
00:19:22
Speaker
He was also found carrying a pack of Grant's truck stop matches, which is a specific truck stop. And I forgot to say it, it may be South Carolina, but obviously he'd been at this truck stop. And on his wrist, he had a gold watch, a wristwatch. And what's that super expensive brand? Oh, like the boulevard watches.
00:19:43
Speaker
Yes. So he had one of those with a twist-a-flex band on his wrist and it had a serial number, which if you're an investigator, you're like, Oh, you know, this is important. Right. Now we can trace it to where it was bought. Yeah. And the serial number was H918803. And investigators were able to determine that that company made his specific watch
00:20:08
Speaker
in 1968 but the company downsized in the 70s and when they downsized they destroyed many of their records so there was no way to determine where the victim's watch was distributed from or where it was bought or distributed to or where it was bought. Man, here I thought it was going to be another super super good clue.
00:20:34
Speaker
Right. Cause then you could say, Oh, this is a guy who's been to this race. He, you know, had these matches in his pocket. He looks like this. And he also bought a watch from San Francisco at this specific store. Right. Exactly. But we don't, we couldn't determine that. He also wore a 14 karat gold ring set with a gray star Sapphire stone. So again, pointing to seems unique and like they're wealthy.
00:21:03
Speaker
Yes. And inside the ring, like on the inside of the band, the initials JPF were engraved on the ring. So we even have presumably, which now we know, yes, but then they didn't his initials or the initials of someone who is close to him. You know, like a loved one or something. Yeah. Like his dad or his grandpa or something.
00:21:31
Speaker
Both the ring and the watch, like I said, were really expensive. And this together with a elaborate dental work, like you pointed out, suggested to many that he did come from a wealthy family. The female victim was slightly younger than the man police determined. She was originally thought to be between 18 and 20, but shortly after her case was entered into NamUs, they just at her age to say 18 to 25. Because 18 to 20 is kind of a small range. It is, right.
00:22:02
Speaker
She too was pretty small. She was five foot five inches and weighed only a hundred pounds. So again, very slim builds on both of them. And just like the man, she also had an olive complexion. So hence the reason some thought the two could be related. That makes sense. Jane Doe had reddish brown hair that fell right around her shoulders. She had blue gray eyes, though some sources said they were hazel, which I guess you could maybe say
00:22:32
Speaker
No, blue hazel eyes are like brown and green. Yeah. I feel like those are two different things. She did not have really any extensive dental work done. She didn't have any scoring, but she did have two distinct moles on the left side of her face near her mouth. Oh, so again, something like the bushy eyebrows that would stand out. And just like the bushy eyebrows, this one, I was like, this is kind of very, um,
00:23:01
Speaker
specific. But the coroner notated that she had quote unquote unusually long natural eyelashes. I mean, that's a I would love for someone to say that about me. But yeah, yeah. So he has distinctively long bushy eyebrows and she has distinctively long eyelashes.
00:23:25
Speaker
Yeah, he's got distinctive eyebrows. She's got unusual eyelashes. It was also noted that both were very clean and very well groomed according to the Florence Morning News, which I think is important because I think a lot of the times we automatically assume
00:23:42
Speaker
if they're unidentified, that they're homeless or they're going to be dirty. We have all of these stereotypes that we automatically associate with people with that, and they weren't any of these stereotypes.
00:23:57
Speaker
So as I mentioned earlier, she had no surgical scars. She had never been pregnant. Her legs were left unshaven and Jane Doe was wearing an unbleached, this is so 70s, an unbleached muslin blouse over a pink front tying halter top. And I think the sleeves were like, you know, kind of those bell sleeves.
00:24:21
Speaker
She was wearing jean shorts and a floral printed scarf taught at her waist that kind of served as a belt. So, so 1970s. Definitely.
00:24:32
Speaker
She wore, this is hard for Eastern Kentucky people to say this, the name of this brand. So I just need y'all to know she wore stride, right. Stride, right. Brand wedge heel sandals, which my mom said was huge in the seventies. Cause my mom was like in her heyday in 1976. And they were lavender and hot pink. So she was the fashion queen. Oh, definitely.
00:25:02
Speaker
She also had some distinctive jewelry. She wore three very distinctive rings. Okay. Hopefully these lead somewhere. Well, they don't, but they are.
00:25:13
Speaker
You think they would. According to WIS TV, one ring contained a black oblong stone, which appeared to have like small turquoise chips embedded in it. Another ring had an ornate scrolling feather shape with coral and turquoise stones. And the third was just a simple band with red, white, and blue stones. And when I read those descriptions while I was researching
00:25:41
Speaker
I immediately just pictured my aunt, Sandy, who she was like the lady that had to have a ring on every finger. I'm not exaggerating. That was my aunt, Sheila. Oh, yes. Everyone like that. I'm curious because I do. Yeah, we need to know.
00:26:01
Speaker
Yeah. But, but Aunt Sandy had a ring on every finger and these weren't just like, you know, simple rings. Beautiful ones. Flashy, beautiful, precious stones on every finger. And many of her rings looked like the ones that
00:26:17
Speaker
were described above and she lived in Oklahoma and so every Christmas because she didn't come in a lot because that's you know a pretty significant travel to come from Oklahoma to Kentucky but um when she would come in for Christmas she always brought us jewelry and awesome almost all of the jewelry that she got and then after she passed away um
00:26:41
Speaker
She left each of us jewelry and almost all of it was made that she got on nearby reservations. And so then I was wondering, could the same thing be said about the jewelry that Jane Doe was wearing? Especially with the turquoise. Yeah.
00:27:01
Speaker
And my intuition was correct because I, the more I read, I did find out that investigators believed that the rings were authentic handmade Native American or Mexican American costume jewelry. Interesting. And they were all made of sterling silver and they originated in the Southwestern United States. So I thought that was interesting. Yeah.
00:27:25
Speaker
So now we have the fingerprints, the dental work, the rings, the watch, you know, all the details that police had gathered. And I know that as we talked about, they're like, Shirley, someone will recognize this ring. Right. Shirley, they'll recognize this watch. There are all kinds of unique details. Mm hmm.
00:27:47
Speaker
but no one came forward with anything concerning their identities. But a witness did come forward and he told investigators that earlier that day that the couple was believed to have been murdered, he heard a car driving down that dirt road. So the same road where the bodies were found. The witness told police he heard gunshots and then heard the car drop quickly away and turn back onto the highway. Okay, can I pause for a second?
00:28:16
Speaker
This is a rural road. Number one, how is this witness hearing the car? Number two, if I saw a couple walking and then I heard a car and then I heard gunshots and then I heard a car squealing away on it, there should have been a phone call before the trucker found them.
00:28:39
Speaker
And I'm wondering to your point, like how rare would it be to see these people walking on this dirt road? I wonder if it's like almost something that kind of runs parallel to the interstate, you know, or maybe it's like near a gas station or a rest stop and people maybe get out and walk and stretch their legs along that road. Like I wonder if it's more traveled or frequented than what we're thinking it is. Right. It could be.
00:29:05
Speaker
It could be, but I do agree with you about the phone call. Yeah. I think I would have told investigators. I don't know that I would have been brave enough to investigate it myself, but I would have been brave enough to call somebody. Yeah. And said, Hey, maybe you should check this out. You could be like, I don't know if anything happened, but here's what I heard.
00:29:23
Speaker
do with it what you will. That's right. Exactly. From this one witness testimony, theories did begin to formulate. So some speculated that the couple may have been well to do and have been robbed. But again, why are we on this road? And why not take the watch? And the rings.
00:29:43
Speaker
Others speculated that they were tourists from another country and they were mugged and murdered but again wildly behind the expensive watch and the rings I mean, I guess we can assume they stole their wallets since they didn't have that on them So maybe there was just a lot of cash in there and they didn't bother with the other stuff But I feel like if you're gonna rob you may as well do the whole thing. Yeah Some believe that the couple's car had been hijacked
00:30:10
Speaker
So maybe it was the couple with the people who were in the car and then they killed them to take their car, or maybe they were hitchhikers traveling across the United States. I don't know that I really get behind that one, but none of those theories led to any more clues.
00:30:28
Speaker
We do know there were no drugs or alcohol in either of their systems. Autopsy reports showed that the pair had been eating fresh fruit, potentially even ice cream, in the time leading up to their deaths. And there was one report of a witness seeing a couple that looked similar to the Sumter County does.
00:30:45
Speaker
purchasing fruit at a local farmers stand. That lead fizzled out. One thing that I thought was strange was when the pair were discovered, neither of them had on underwear. Hmm. Hmm. Interesting.
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Speaker
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00:34:25
Speaker
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00:34:49
Speaker
So, Tom continued to go by and investigators were no close to naming the does from Sumter County. Months after the couple's murder, another witness did come forward though, which is good. Oh, okay.
00:35:01
Speaker
This time it was an employee of a South Carolina campground that claimed, and this claim is a little weird, he claimed that he had met the couple a few weeks before their death. And according to Grunge, he said that the man's name was Jock and that he and the woman were going to Florida. So he says he becomes friends with the duo and later said that he was the son of a doctor, that Jock was the son of a doctor in Canada.
00:35:31
Speaker
and that he and the woman were actually on vacation. Okay. Okay. So all of the stuff, all of the info, like the shirt coming from that race that's in Florida, them calling him jock doe, all of that is already in the news by the time this person comes forward, right? So is there anything to this second witnesses story that wasn't in the news already?
00:36:02
Speaker
just this assumption that he's saying that Jago was the son of a doctor in Canada. But that lead led nowhere. By this point, the payer's description had been sent across the country. Their fingerprints were sent to the FBI. Their fingerprints were sent to other law enforcement agencies. Although several possible identities were suggested, like the one from
00:36:28
Speaker
the campground friend, they were all ruled out. Sadly, no one came forward to claim either as their family or friends and no leads that gained any significant traction to finding out their identity came forward. This detail
00:36:48
Speaker
This detail, I was like, this is a lie. But it was reported in the Daily Tom News. So just know that it was reported at a news station, even though it is going to sound so weird. But apparently, because they got no real significant leads, the couple's bodies were placed in airtight coffins with glass lids like Snow White in a building behind a funeral home so that people could like come if they thought, oh, that might be my
00:37:19
Speaker
best friend, they could say, Oh yeah, that's him. We took a time out just to verify. And yes, apparently this is a legitimate statement.
00:37:29
Speaker
OK, so they were placed in these snow white coffins in the hopes that someone would come by and identify them. But that never happened. And so in 1977, they were buried and donated plots in the Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery. Now, more questions regarding these snow white coffins come to mind. OK. How long can one stay?
00:37:52
Speaker
In an airtight. And not decay. Right. I guess if it's airtight, like, is there anything in there to start the decay process? Because you've already been prepared, your body has. You know, so. Well, if I die before Anthony, I'm going to tell him I want to be a coffee table.
00:38:16
Speaker
That way if you ever bring another woman home, I'll just be, I'll just be there in the living room right there. Yeah. Never forget. So she knows I'm going to haunt her. That's right. But as we all know, Jacques and Jane Doe did not remain unidentified. Thankfully.
00:38:37
Speaker
Yes. So before jumping into the theories, and you know, we think that's a long time, like 40 some years, but then think about the boy in the box, how long he went with that identity. True. So before we jump into theories, I want to discuss briefly how we found out who the Sumter County does were. Okay.
00:38:57
Speaker
So as we know, they went unidentified for well over 40 years before they were exhumed in 2007 in the hopes of like maybe finding additional DNA or pulling their DNA to help identify who they are. According to Medium, Verna Moore, the former Sumter County coroner, exhumed the bodies in 2007 and she took or they took samples for future DNA identification. But the
00:39:27
Speaker
matching process proved a little more difficult than they initially thought that it would have. And you know, 2007 to me doesn't seem that long ago. Right. Because you know, I'm stuck in that era. But 2007 was a pretty long time ago now. And so even just in those years, the advancements we can do with DNA have changed significantly from 2007 to
00:39:54
Speaker
2021. And plus if you're going to use other aspects like familial DNA to find somebody, obviously that is continuing to grow.
00:40:04
Speaker
And that is what ended up happening. So in June of 2019, a Clemson resident who had taken special interest in this case, his name was Matt McDaniel, suggested to authorities that they send the samples from Jacques and Jane Doe to the DNA Doe Project, which is a nonprofit organization that utilizes that genetic genealogy to identify victims.
Identification and Resolution
00:40:31
Speaker
Grunge said on January 19, 2021, the bodies of Jacques and Jane Doe were finally identified via that work done by the DNA project. Their identities were Pamela, who ended up being 25.
00:40:46
Speaker
right in that range that they thought. And well, her full name was Pamela May Buckley. And I say that because James, who was found to be 30, which again, in that range that the data suggested was James Phillip Freund. So JPF, which Oh, the ring. So you would think the ring would have had people come forward.
00:41:13
Speaker
So unless they have different fathers, then that means they're not related. Yeah, they were not related. Okay. A statement by the DNA Doe Project described the resolution of the case behind the missing identities and that they were still withholding additional information, including the descendants names. I don't know if that potentially plays a part or played at that time apart into what they thought could have happened to the pair. Okay.
00:41:44
Speaker
News report published later in the day. So of that the day of the 19th Elaborated that the male victim was from Pennsylvania and the female was from Wisconsin though I think it was the next day They actually corrected that and said the female was from Minnesota. So they're a long way from home. Yeah, definitely Which I think could explain why? Maybe they were on vacation Yeah, or maybe they were hitchhikers but this
00:42:12
Speaker
Well, I guess he could still be the son of a doctor from Canada if he's living in Pennsylvania, but it doesn't sound like our camping friend was right. He, his family was, I don't remember where for my research, but they weren't from, I don't know if he was like maybe a first generation born American or if, you know, he immigrated here or what, but I do think they were from, if I remember my research, another country.
00:42:40
Speaker
Which explains the dental work. That's something called a complexion and the dental work. Yeah. Okay.
00:42:45
Speaker
We know at the time of the murder, Pamela was 25. W-A-C-H reports Pamela was a former beauty queen. She was the Redwood Snow Queen in 1970 and was supposed to become Miss Redwood Falls in 1971. And she does look like a beauty queen, which she said earlier. But instead of moving up in the pageants, she made a decision to tour the country with a folk trio called
00:43:12
Speaker
the son lending, this report says. I don't know if James was a part of that or not. I didn't read that in my research, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere. According to reports, she was officially reported missing in 1975 by her family. So she's reported missing like a year before she's found dead. Which seems to say that she chose to leave her family on her own and didn't want to contact them.
00:43:42
Speaker
And this kind of reminds me of, we talked about this when we recorded one of our Patreons for this month, that Heaven's Gate.
00:43:55
Speaker
cult that these people just up and disappeared and like all their family was reporting the missing. This is kind of what she her scenario reminds me of. James was 30 years old at the time of his murder and WACH reports that James grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Makaski High School and that he was actually previously married but was divorced before he was also reported missing in 1975.
00:44:22
Speaker
Hmm. I wonder why these two chose to then leave their families and not contact their families again. Now I'm making the assumption here that between the time that they were reported missing by their families in 1975 and August of 1976, that they weren't under some duress where they couldn't contact their family. You know, obviously is the assumption I'm making, but I think that that's,
00:44:52
Speaker
interesting and it makes me wonder what was going on in their lives that they made those decisions to leave. Despite the fact that their identities had been determined, we were still left wondering who killed them and why. Like you said, there's just a lot of questions I want to have answers to. Right, right.
00:45:16
Speaker
There have been several theories that have been proposed over the years to explain what happened to them. And we're gonna explore some of those now, but there were a lot. So I kind of combined some and then kind of picked and chose other ones that I thought were more realistic. So theory number one is that, and this is the most commonly proposed theory,
00:45:43
Speaker
that the duo was somehow involved in drug smuggling.
Theory of Organized Crime Connection
00:45:48
Speaker
Hmm. Apparently, we come to this conclusion because Sumter County, at the time that they were killed, was known to be a hub for drug trafficking in the 70s. Oh, so there is an article and many of these theories come from this article.
00:46:11
Speaker
And that's called, the couple has been identified as Pamela Mae Buckley and James Paul Freund that I'm going to talk about a lot because this person that wrote this article has dedicated like a significant portion of his life into helping find out who these people were and what happened to them. So he has a lot of good research and theories and things like that.
00:46:36
Speaker
But this article thinks or theorizes that one of the reasons we can assume that they were involved in drug smuggling is the way that they were killed because it was an execution style murder. And this author says that this is a mafia style hit. So it suggests that they were targeted for some reason. Now, the only thing that I find
00:47:05
Speaker
I don't know, different. And I know there might be more to this theory that you're going to tell me about, but the, the assumption that it sounds like a mafia style hit because yes, the man was shot in the head, but she was shot in the chest. Right. And to me, well, unless you're one of the things like going with one of the articles that said there were multiple gunshot wounds. But again, I know what you're saying. I don't think that would be execution style. Right. One shot. Right.
00:47:36
Speaker
So, hmm, I don't know.
00:47:40
Speaker
Well, that same article goes on to say that Pamela and James, well, James specifically, was found wearing that racing shirt. And it was an IMSA shirt for that searing race. And this IMSA corporation was known to have connections to drugs. In fact, in the early 80s, several racers and race teams were convicted of drug smuggling charges. And this article said these weren't small time drug
00:48:09
Speaker
deals or drug smugglers, they were part of multimillion dollar criminal organizations who were smuggling tons of drugs into the United States. And they're saying that these racers and the race teams had strong ties to organized crime and even to the CIA. So I think the shirt kind of connects this theory of drug smuggling along with- Connects the dots for some people.
00:48:34
Speaker
So they're thinking maybe he worked on one of those racing teams or he knew somebody and somehow got involved. Or even, you know, he was trafficking the drugs back and forth from Florida to Sumter County, you know, and just happened to pick up that t-shirt at a race. Okay. Where he was getting those drugs. I won't completely discount the theory, but I want to hear your other potentials. Okay.
00:49:04
Speaker
Another theory is that the Sumter County does were victims of organized crime, which I think could connect to the drug theory as well. This one suggests that they may have been involved in some sort of criminal activity and were killed as a result of that criminal activity. Again, I think we could connect that to the drugs. Much of this theory comes from that same article that we just talked about, but apparently there were also
00:49:30
Speaker
enormous amounts of local corruption within this small area where their bodies were found. So apparently, and this person that wrote this article actually chose to remain unnamed for a really long time. Because I don't know, I didn't like look too much into him, but I didn't know. Maybe he's like from that area. Kind of like a Crystal Rogers situation. You don't want, you know,
00:49:55
Speaker
to make local people mad. But there was also, according to him, enormous amounts of local corruption. Several prominent businessmen and politicians were implicated in at least three murder to hire schemes. And these were people like the local bank president, a local mayor. So high up people, I'm assuming, in this community.
00:50:22
Speaker
Interestingly, there was another incident just a few months prior to Pamela and James' murder where a police chief was murdered by another officer in very suspicious circumstances, just a couple miles from where the couple was murdered. My thinking though with this is, especially if they were not known by any of the locals, I don't necessarily know if it would be the organized crime, but it could be the fact
00:50:50
Speaker
that if there were other crimes and other murders just a couple of miles away from where Pamela and James are found, potentially they could have been walking along and have seen something that they shouldn't have seen. I didn't even think about that. That's a good point. This one, this next theory, I don't. It's not for me. But this theory says that
00:51:20
Speaker
James and Pamela were killed as part of a personal vendetta that someone that they knew was targeting them and maybe held like a personal grudge. Many people speculate could this have been like the result of a lover scorned. But now if that is the case then I feel like
00:51:48
Speaker
And this is totally off the wall and there's no backing to this whatsoever. This is just me thinking about the details of the case. If I were to go with this theory, I would think that the scorned lover was someone who Pamela had been with. And the reason I say that is because she was shot in the chest, which makes me think of like your heart where somebody would be like, you know, you're going to break my heart, you know,
00:52:19
Speaker
I don't know. That's totally off the wall, but that's just where I wonder if it could be the opposite. Like they planned out how they were going to kill James, which would have been, you know, the shot in the head. And she was just kind of an afterthought and they just shot her. I mean, it could be that definitely could. But again, we're just talking off the wall here. Another theory is that the Sumter County does. This one is interesting to me or part of the witness protection program. And this has a lot of,
00:52:47
Speaker
Following this theory does okay. I find this interesting because you all know I Have a hard time I'm trying to do better, but I have a hard time believing that the government and law enforcement or the FBI or whoever are not inherently good and
00:53:08
Speaker
Like I have a hard time saying that they're doing bad things. So this one gives me pause because if we believe this theory, then we're also believing that the government knew all along who these two individuals were. But for some reason, weren't saying their true names, which, and if that's the case, we're wasting a lot of money, which I guess, which I guess could be, you know, they were, there was a bigger,
00:53:33
Speaker
seen at play that we didn't know about and their identities couldn't be released at the time, which maybe is true as well. Well, I was only thinking of the witness protection thing because they had obviously left home a year before and had not contacted their families.
00:53:59
Speaker
And obviously I know that that happens all the time. I get it. But it's the fact that it happened with both of them. And here they're being found together. Well that's what I was about to say. They're together. Yeah. So that's weird. So you know maybe this is true. Maybe we can also connect the witness protection program to the organized crime theory. Maybe they were you know
00:54:28
Speaker
being looked for in some way. So obviously, not surprisingly, these last two theories also come from that same article that I've mentioned. But in this theory, we
00:54:44
Speaker
have somehow associated the couple with the mobster John Roselli. So this article says that John Roselli, and I had no idea who this man is, perhaps that speaks of my educational background, but apparently this guy was most known for his connection to the Kennedy assassination.
00:55:07
Speaker
Did you know this? I did not. I did not know. I don't feel as dumb now. So John Roselli had testified in the Warren Commission that he believed rogue elements within the CIA in conjunction with the mafia had been responsible for JFK's assassination. The Warren County Commission had wanted to recall Roselli for further testimony before he was found. I feel like this is a broad connection before he was found floating in a barrel near Miami. So he's dead.
00:55:36
Speaker
And his case is also unsolved as it probably always will be. Sounds to me like he was about to give some info that people didn't want to get out. Yes. And subscribers of this theory point to the fact that the body of Roselli was found floating in a bay near Miami the same day the couple was murdered. So some people are being
00:55:58
Speaker
a little broad here and connecting those dots, speculating that there was some type of connection in the case, because they point to the fact that James was wearing the t-shirt from Sebring, Florida, which is close to Miami. And people say, you know, it's not uncommon if the mafia is taking you out for these hits to be carried out in groups. Like we're taking everybody out at once. Yeah. To me, there's not enough to this theory. I don't think so either. Yeah. Yeah.
00:56:29
Speaker
The last theory that we're going to discuss is could the couple's murder be connected to a truck driver named George Lonnie Henry?
Gun Discovery and Investigation
00:56:39
Speaker
Three names and a truck driver. Okay. I know. Check, check.
00:56:46
Speaker
Apparently in December of 1976, George was stopped in South Carolina for driving under the influence. It was discovered upon this stop that he was also in possession of a stolen gun with a scratched off serial number. Sketchy.
00:57:04
Speaker
So they obviously take the gun. They do some ballistic tests and they were able to determine that this gun with a scratched off serial number was the weapon used to kill James and Pamela. Oh, okay. Well, this seems like a no brainer. I know. But then the article said, quote, subsequent interviews and polygraphs yielded mixed results as to whether or not he was the one responsible for their murders.
00:57:33
Speaker
Well then who else is? How'd he get the gun? So according to his statements, he says, there's no way I could have committed these murders because my wife was sick and I was at her bed, like her bedside in a North Carolina hospital. So I was hours away. Do we have visit our records?
00:57:54
Speaker
Well, it had been so long since the, this is what that article said, that too much time had passed to really be able to verify if his alibi is correct or not, or true or not, I should say. So how's he explain the gun?
00:58:09
Speaker
So he says, this is still a mystery, but he claims his brother Henry had given it to him as a gift. If my relative was like, here, happy birthday, take this gun with a scratch off serial number. I'd probably be like, thanks, but no thanks. Yeah. Why is it so sad? But
00:58:33
Speaker
They also say that the gun was originally stolen by a group of thieves in the Raleigh Durham area before Henry came into position of the gun. So there's like a whole chain of this gun that was obtained illegally. So we have no records, like paper records of who had it and when they had it. I mean, I guess all of that could be true. The thieves could have gotten it and then they sold it at some really cheap price.
00:59:03
Speaker
Right. So the brother is like, yeah, I can't pass this up. And then he's like, Oh, I'll just give this gift to my brother because I got a good deal on it.
00:59:13
Speaker
I don't know. Which I do have to say if, so I guess the questions are, do we think it's this random group of people, these thieves potentially that killed James and Pamela or could it be Henry or maybe even potentially the brother? But what a crappy brother if he's like, you know, I just killed these two people. You know who really would love to have this gun as a present? My brother, I know.
00:59:38
Speaker
Let me give this to my brother to implicate him in this murder. Yeah, that would be awful. But you're I mean, you ask a good question because no, I don't think that a group of thieves had used this gun because it goes back to us talking about if it were a group of thieves, then why wouldn't they have taken jewelry and expensive watches and things like that? And like, I don't think you know how early we talked about
01:00:09
Speaker
Their car could have been hijacked. Well, wouldn't that have been found by now? Their car. And so if they were attacked by thieves and the thieves stole their car, I think that would have been resolved by now. Right. I don't know. I guess if I'm hard pressed to pick one of them, then
01:00:32
Speaker
There had to have been something in my mind that drove them both away from home. I don't know if they were involved in something or what. There was also something that drove the two of them together. You know, in a way where they're traveling together, neither one is contacting their family.
01:00:56
Speaker
So there is the potential that they were somehow involved in something, whether that is the drug smuggling, organized crime, kind of more generally. But I don't think that they were just hitchhikers. I don't think that they
01:01:18
Speaker
that it was necessarily a personal vendetta. And I also don't think that there's a connection to the mobster in my mind. But there are a lot of peculiar elements that make me think maybe organized crime.
01:01:41
Speaker
The story of Pamela and James is a crazy case with seemingly outlandish theories, but it's an unsolved mystery that's captivated true crime enthusiasts for decades. Despite exhaustive efforts by law enforcement and amateur sleuths alike, the reason these two were killed and who killed them remains a mystery. Hopefully we've done something here on Coffee and Cases to shed more light on a case that, like all others, deserves to be solved.
01:02:05
Speaker
We've taken you on a journey through the timeline of events leading up to the discovery of the Doe's body, as well as the subsequent investigation and the forensic analysis that were conducted to eventually determine their true identities. We talked through several theories, each nearly as likely as the next or unlikely as the next, and yet all of us are left still wondering who did this.
01:02:26
Speaker
It is up to all of us to demand more resources and attention for these cases and keep the pressure on law enforcement to do their job and bring justice to those who've been wronged or for people who may know something to be brave enough to speak up and change this trajectory of cases just like this one. In the end, this case serves as a reminder of the importance of never giving up hope and never forgetting those who've been lost. While the mystery may never be fully solved, we owe it to the victims and their families to keep fighting for answers and to ensure that their memories are never forgotten.
01:02:56
Speaker
Again, please like and join our Facebook page, Coffee and Case's podcast to continue the conversation and see images related to this episode. As always, follow us on Twitter, at casescoffee, on Instagram, at coffee cases podcast, or you can always email us suggestions to coffeeandcasespodcastatgmail.com. Please tell your friends about our podcast so more people can be reached to possibly help bring some closure to these families. Don't forget to rate our show and leave us a comment as well. We hope to hear from you soon.
01:03:26
Speaker
Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.
01:03:49
Speaker
I still have notes with Maggie and Allison. We have lots of love going out this week to Brittany, Jennifer, Courtney, AJ, Amy, Clara, Hannah, KA Marie, and to Lynette for reaching out to us on social media this past week. Keep those messages coming because even if we don't get the opportunity to respond, it honestly makes our week.
01:04:14
Speaker
And we do try really hard to respond to all of you because we do love when you reach out to us. Just sometimes our work schedules get a little crazy and it takes us a while to get back to you.
01:04:24
Speaker
And speaking of one of those individuals, Lynette wrote such a sweet note that I wanted to share with you guys. She said, quote, I just wanted to drop in to say how much I love your podcast. So many podcasters stick to the facts of the case, but you ladies really help your listeners feel as if they know the victims. The genuine care and concern you have for each case you share comes across loud and clear. Keep it up from a fellow teacher. I love that. I know. It's so kind and made me so happy.
01:04:53
Speaker
And we also have love going out to our newest short and sweet five-star written review. Hey, you know what? It's OK. That's right. We love those two. From Jaja Bean, who wrote, quote, here's the review, great show. And listen. Great review. We love it. Say, I love a five-star review no matter how long or short they are. So thank you.
01:05:19
Speaker
And we realized that we missed a five-star review last week, so we want to apologize and send lots of love to Bailey, who wrote, quote, so much effort and personality put into these. I've had both of the speakers as teachers in high school and their work combined compares to none. I love listening. Thank you all for some good entertainment.
01:05:41
Speaker
Well, Bailey, you're the sweetest. I know. Yes, that makes me so happy. And to end, we have lots of love going out to Suzanne on Patreon. I know. We are looking forward to sending out some merch in May to patrons like her who have joined at the 12, 15, or $20 a month level. Your support means everything to our little show.
01:06:10
Speaker
And if you have not yet joined Patreon, check out the link in our show notes, or you can go to patreon.com slash coughing cases today to get access to bonus content. And if you want to be part of the swag that will be coming out in August, join now at one of those higher tiers. And with that, all of our love is going out to each and every one of you. Until next week, sleuthounds.