Devastating Injuries Death...pp5
The ambulance came, but there would only be one passenger-- Buford. Pauline was left behind as part of a murder investigation. Hugh Kirkpatrick, Selmer’s Chief of Police, the first to see Pusser and his wife after the shooting, said, ‘”The sheriff’s jaw was hanging loose and blood was spurting from the wound. It’s a wonder he did not bleed to death...
The sheriff was sitting behind the wheel of his car and his wife was lying on the seat with her head in his lap...It was easy to see she was dead. The top of her head was blown off.” (The Nashville Tennessean Robert Kollar 8-13-67)
The McNairy County Coroner, Ward Moore, was informed by Medical Examiner Dr. Harry Peeler that Buford was on his way to Memphis and “probably would not live to get to Memphis.”
Pauline's wounds
Rex Armistead MHP lead investigator stated he made it to the hospital before Pauline was moved to the funeral home and Buford was transferred to Memphis. "Pauline looked like a bloody rag and most of her head and brains were missing...It did not look like a person laying there...Buford almost bled to death and lost a lot of blood." (Rex Armistead interview, 12/01-2007)
Not only was Ward Moore the County Coroner, but was also the embalmer and funeral director at Shackleford Funeral Home, which was often the case in small counties. Describing Pauline’s extensive wounds, Moore stated, “Her (Pauline’s) head was partially decapitated; just about the entire top of her head was gone.”
sad...
Dr. Harry Peeler would reflect on how pretty Pauline’s blond hair was, and how awful it was seeing Pauline in the car with most of her head blown away.
Moore would state that “it took hours to work on Pauline to make her presentable to the family for viewing.”
Buford's Injuries
Buford’s injures to his face were nearly fatal (face photos pdf). Armistead saw his (Pusser’s) face without the bandages and described it as “nothing but a gaping hole.” (Rex Armistead interview).
In an interview, Pusser was quoted as saying, “I caught soft nose slugs in the face. I tried to call on the radio for help, but couldn’t. I pulled the rearview mirror down to see what was wrong and my chin was almost hanging to my lap.” (J. Michael Willard, Fiery Death of the “Walking Tall” Sheriff, Inside Detective, December 1974, pp 68)
Dr. Peeler told Ward Moore that he felt Pusser was not going to live to make it to Baptist Hospital in Memphis.
Chapter Ambush