Unsolved murder: Body of folk hero 'Walking Tall' Sheriff Buford Pusser's wife exhumed after more than 50 years

A famous cold case is drawing nationwide attention once again after the body of a woman murdered more than 50 years ago was exhumed this week.

Pauline Pusser was killed by incoming gunfire while in a car driven by her husband, McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser, a figure whose legend was captured in multiple Hollywood films, including the 1973 film 'Walking Tall' and a 2004 remake starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.

Oakley Dean Baldwin, a North Carolina author, historian and retired law enforcement officer, has been following Pauline Pusser's case for decades. In fact, she was a relative.

"There was never an autopsy performed on Pauline," said Baldwin, who examined the cold case in his book Murder of Mrs. Buford Pusser.

Decades later, he believes this autopsy could provide answers to questions he personally has about what happened that fateful day.

What happened the night Sheriff Buford Pusser's wife died?

Pauline Pusser was killed in McNairy County, Tennessee on Aug. 12, 1967.

Pauline and her husband Sheriff Buford Pusser were reportedly together in a car on a "lonely country road" when gunshots rang out.

Pauline Pusser was killed, and her husband was “seriously wounded in the jaw when Pusser’s prowl car was fired on at dawn," according to a local newspaper article published the next day.

The Selmer police chief then heard a call on the radio from Sheriff Pusser. He and his wife were found just north of the Tennessee-Mississippi state line on U.S. 54. The sheriff was behind the wheel, and his wife was lying on the seat with her head in his lap.

The Tennessean reported the Pussers had been heading to investigate a complaint.

Investigators found 14 spent 30-caliber cartridges on the road where Pusser said the shooting occurred. The Pusser car was hit 11 times.

In the archived news article, The Tennessean quoted an investigator who said they believed the couple had driven into a trap.

Does the story of the unsolved murder add up?

Baldwin says he feels some of Sheriff Pusser's story doesn't totally add up.

"The story that was told is that they were en route to a disturbance call, and she was riding with him. They left the house around 2 o' clock, and it should have been a 20 minute drive. But the actual ambush happened around 4:30, so there's some time there that doesn't make any sense," he said.

He feels it's strange they never did an autopsy back in the 1960s after her murder. However, he feels confident this autopsy will help clear up some unanswered questions.

"Pauline was shot in the head with a high powered rifle, and it killed her pretty much instantly, and the Sheriff was wounded on his cheek. If they only find the actual damage to her skull from the shot to her head, and the rest of her body looks okay, they can rule him out as a suspect," said Baldwin.

He says investigators will look for any additional cuts or bruising on her body, as well as broken bones.

"Anything that shows she fought back," he said.

Because if she was shot in the head and died instantly, she couldn't have fought back.

He thinks they'll also search for traces of drugs to rule out that she'd been drugged before getting in the car – and they'll check to ensure there are no signs of strangulation.

If they don't find any traces of other injuries, he says they can rule out Sheriff Pusser as a suspect.

"In the heat of the battle, the stories that he told, I can see where some of them would be confusing. Your wife being murdered, and being shot yourself, by several assailants with rifles, would be very traumatic," said Baldwin.

Folk hero: Sheriff Buford Pusser and the 'Walking Tall' legend

Buford Pusser spent six years as McNairy County sheriff beginning in 1964. He aimed to rid McNairy County of organized crime – from moonshiners to gamblers.

Over the course of his life, he was allegedly shot eight times, stabbed seven times and killed two people in self-defense.

In the 1974 vesion of 'Walking Tall,' Sheriff Pusser is depicted as a man who "single-handedly cleaned up his small town," but at great personal cost: Losing his wife and nearly his own life.

Pauline Pusser's body exhumed for autopsy after 5 decades

A TBI statement said the agency received a new tip that led agents to find that there was never an autopsy performed on Pauline Pusser's body.

“With the support of Pauline’s family and in consultation with 25th Judicial District Attorney General Mark Davidson, TBI requested the exhumation in an attempt to answer critical questions and provide crucial information that may assist in identifying the person or persons responsible for Pauline Pusser’s death,” TBI spokesperson Keli McAlister said.

Baldwin examines the life, death and cold case of Pauline Pusser in his book Murder of Mrs. Buford Pusser.

Full interview with historian on what autopsy results could reveal

WRAL's Hidden Historian Heather Leah talks candidly with historian, author and retired law enforcement officer Oakley Dean Baldwin, who has spent years researching the details of Pauline Pusser's murder. He explains what autopsy results could reveal, regardless of how they come back.