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Buford Pusser
Buford Hayse Pusser (December 12, 1937 – August 21, 1974) was an American police officer and politician who served as the sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee from 1964 to 1970 and constable of Adamsville from 1970 to 1972. His time in office inspired several books, songs, and movies, most notably Walking Tall. He was also a wrestler known as "Buford the Bull" in the Mid-South.
In August 2025, following a three-year investigation conducted together with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the local district attorney's office concluded that he has enough evidence that if Buford Pusser were alive today, an indictment could be presented to the McNairy County Grand Jury for their consideration against him for the murder of his wife, Pauline Mullins Pusser, in 1967.
Buford Pusser was born in Adamsville, McNairy County, Tennessee, on December 12, 1937. He was the son of Helen (née Harris) and Carl Pusser. His father was the police chief of Adamsville, Tennessee. Buford Pusser was a high-school football and basketball player[citation needed] and was 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps when he graduated from high school, but his service ended in boot camp when he was given a medical discharge for asthma.
In 1957, he moved to Chicago, where he was a local wrestler known as "Buford the Bull". He married Pauline Mullins on December 5, 1959.[citation needed] Pusser returned home in 1962 and in September he was elected Adamsville's police chief and constable. In 1964, Pusser ran against incumbent Democratic sheriff James Dickey as the Republican Party's nominee. After Dickey was killed in an auto accident, Pusser was elected sheriff. He was the youngest sheriff in Tennessee's history.[citation needed] Pusser promptly began trying to eliminate the Dixie Mafia and the State Line Mob.[verification needed]
Pusser survived several alleged assassination attempts. According to events as told by Pusser, on February 1, 1966, Louise Hathcock attempted to kill Pusser during an on-site investigation of a robbery complaint at the Shamrock Motel. Hathcock allegedly fired on Pusser with a concealed .38 pistol. Pusser returned fire and killed Hathcock. On January 2, 1967, Pusser was shot three times by an unidentified gunman.[verification needed]
According to Pusser, his phone rang before dawn on the morning of August 12, 1967, informing him of a disturbance on New Hope Road in McNairy County; Pusser responded, and his wife, Pauline, rode along. Shortly after they passed the New Hope Methodist Church, Pusser said, a fast-moving car came alongside theirs and the occupants opened fire, killing his wife and leaving Pusser for dead. Doctors said he was struck on the left side of his jaw by at least two, or possibly three, rounds from a .30-caliber carbine. He spent 18 days in the hospital before returning home, and he required several more surgeries to restore his appearance.
Despite vowing to bring his wife's murderers to justice, Pusser never did see Kirksey Nix or any of the accused prosecuted. Nix was sentenced to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for the 1971 Easter Saturday murder of New Orleans grocer Frank J. Corso. While imprisoned, Nix ordered the 1987 murder-for-hire of Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Margaret, in Biloxi, Mississippi. His co-conspirator, Biloxi Mayor Pete Halat, had, in his capacity as Nix's attorney, stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars that Nix had amassed in a massive lonely hearts scam, blaming it on his law partner, Judge Sherry. Nix was later sentenced to isolation for the rest of his life. According to a 1990 AP story in The Town Talk, a newspaper in Alexandria, Louisiana, Nix denied being involved in the ambush of the Pussers.[verification needed]
On January 5, 2024, more than 56 years after Pauline Pusser's death, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced that the criminal investigation remained an active case, and requested information from the public. Following several tips, the TBI confirmed that an autopsy had never been performed on Pauline Pusser's remains during the course of the original investigation in 1967. In a written statement, the TBI said, "With the support of Pauline's family and in consultation with 25th Judicial District Attorney General Mark Davidson, TBI requested the exhumation [of Pauline Pusser's remains] 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." Her remains were exhumed on February 8, 2024 and reinterred on or around April 7, 2024.
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Buford Pusser
Buford Hayse Pusser (December 12, 1937 – August 21, 1974) was an American police officer and politician who served as the sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee from 1964 to 1970 and constable of Adamsville from 1970 to 1972. His time in office inspired several books, songs, and movies, most notably Walking Tall. He was also a wrestler known as "Buford the Bull" in the Mid-South.
In August 2025, following a three-year investigation conducted together with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the local district attorney's office concluded that he has enough evidence that if Buford Pusser were alive today, an indictment could be presented to the McNairy County Grand Jury for their consideration against him for the murder of his wife, Pauline Mullins Pusser, in 1967.
Buford Pusser was born in Adamsville, McNairy County, Tennessee, on December 12, 1937. He was the son of Helen (née Harris) and Carl Pusser. His father was the police chief of Adamsville, Tennessee. Buford Pusser was a high-school football and basketball player[citation needed] and was 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps when he graduated from high school, but his service ended in boot camp when he was given a medical discharge for asthma.
In 1957, he moved to Chicago, where he was a local wrestler known as "Buford the Bull". He married Pauline Mullins on December 5, 1959.[citation needed] Pusser returned home in 1962 and in September he was elected Adamsville's police chief and constable. In 1964, Pusser ran against incumbent Democratic sheriff James Dickey as the Republican Party's nominee. After Dickey was killed in an auto accident, Pusser was elected sheriff. He was the youngest sheriff in Tennessee's history.[citation needed] Pusser promptly began trying to eliminate the Dixie Mafia and the State Line Mob.[verification needed]
Pusser survived several alleged assassination attempts. According to events as told by Pusser, on February 1, 1966, Louise Hathcock attempted to kill Pusser during an on-site investigation of a robbery complaint at the Shamrock Motel. Hathcock allegedly fired on Pusser with a concealed .38 pistol. Pusser returned fire and killed Hathcock. On January 2, 1967, Pusser was shot three times by an unidentified gunman.[verification needed]
According to Pusser, his phone rang before dawn on the morning of August 12, 1967, informing him of a disturbance on New Hope Road in McNairy County; Pusser responded, and his wife, Pauline, rode along. Shortly after they passed the New Hope Methodist Church, Pusser said, a fast-moving car came alongside theirs and the occupants opened fire, killing his wife and leaving Pusser for dead. Doctors said he was struck on the left side of his jaw by at least two, or possibly three, rounds from a .30-caliber carbine. He spent 18 days in the hospital before returning home, and he required several more surgeries to restore his appearance.
Despite vowing to bring his wife's murderers to justice, Pusser never did see Kirksey Nix or any of the accused prosecuted. Nix was sentenced to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for the 1971 Easter Saturday murder of New Orleans grocer Frank J. Corso. While imprisoned, Nix ordered the 1987 murder-for-hire of Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Margaret, in Biloxi, Mississippi. His co-conspirator, Biloxi Mayor Pete Halat, had, in his capacity as Nix's attorney, stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars that Nix had amassed in a massive lonely hearts scam, blaming it on his law partner, Judge Sherry. Nix was later sentenced to isolation for the rest of his life. According to a 1990 AP story in The Town Talk, a newspaper in Alexandria, Louisiana, Nix denied being involved in the ambush of the Pussers.[verification needed]
On January 5, 2024, more than 56 years after Pauline Pusser's death, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced that the criminal investigation remained an active case, and requested information from the public. Following several tips, the TBI confirmed that an autopsy had never been performed on Pauline Pusser's remains during the course of the original investigation in 1967. In a written statement, the TBI said, "With the support of Pauline's family and in consultation with 25th Judicial District Attorney General Mark Davidson, TBI requested the exhumation [of Pauline Pusser's remains] 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." Her remains were exhumed on February 8, 2024 and reinterred on or around April 7, 2024.