Overview

• Prosecutors said the TBI’s findings meet the threshold for a grand jury indictment had Buford Pusser not died in 1974.
• A 2024 exhumation and new autopsy revealed evidence inconsistent with his ambush account of the 1967 shooting.
• Forensic analysis found blood spatter on the hood, indications Pauline was shot outside the vehicle, and a close-contact cheek wound on Pusser likely self-inflicted.
• The reinvestigation compiled a file of more than 1,000 pages from interviews, reenactments, and forensic reviews.
• Officials cited signs of prior domestic abuse, and Pauline’s family welcomed the findings as long-awaited clarity.