Updated: 1:54 PM PST, January 26, 2021
The two bodies had multiple gunshot wounds when they were discovered off of Interstate 95 in South Carolina by a truck driver on August 9, 1976.
A 1976 John and Jane Doe cold case was reopened after the victims were finally identified, with thanks going in part to a South Carolina man who helped investigators in the identification of a missing couple, according to CBS local affiliate WLTX.
Pamela Mae Buckley, 25, of Minnesota, and James Paul Freund, 30, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, were reported missing by their families, according to The Associated Press. The bodies of the pair were discovered off of Interstate 95 in South Carolina by a truck driver on August 9, 1976, with multiple gunshot wounds, but remained unidentified until recently.
COLUMBIA, S.C. â A man and a woman found shot to death just off a South Carolina highway have been identified by DNA after more than 44 years, a sheriff said Thursday.
James Paul Freund, formerly of Lancaster, was 30 and Pamela Mae Buckley was 25 when a trucker found their bodies in August 1976 on a narrow paved road just off Interstate 95 near Lynchburg, Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said.
Both hadn t been seen for about eight months before they died, and investigators are still trying to figure out their relationship, Dennis said.
Freund and Buckley were both shot several times with the same gun and the fatal wound was to the back of their heads, Sumter County Coroner Robbie Baker said.
Missing Colorado woman identified as victim of 1976 homicide
Pamela Mae Buckley of Colorado Springs was found shot to death 44 years ago in South Carolina along with James Paul Freund.
Credit: AP
Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis releases the names of two people found shot to death near Interstate 95 more than 44 years ago at a news conference on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, in Sumter, S.C. DNA testing helped identify the victims, whose killer has not been found. (Kayla Green/The Item via AP) Author: Associated Press, Janet Oravetz (9News) Published: 9:41 AM MST January 22, 2021 Updated: 9:41 AM MST January 22, 2021
COLUMBIA, S.C. A man and woman found shot to death just off Interstate 95 in South Carolina have been identified by DNA after more than 44 years.
Former sheriff dedicated his life to solving murder mystery. 44 years later, Jane & John Doe to be revealed
Authorities now know the names of a man and woman who were found shot to death off of I-95 in August of 1976. Author: Kayland Hagwood Updated: 8:34 PM EST January 20, 2021
SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. After more than 40 years, a Sumter County murder mystery will soon be revealed.
It’s the story of a young man and woman. Deputies say they were hitchhikers, but were found shot to death along I-95 in August of 1976.
Jean Graham said her father Ira Byrd Parnell was sheriff at the time of the investigation. He’s since passed, but the mystery stayed with her family.