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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Andrea Cavallier

Sheriff Buford Pusser inspired a film starring The Rock. Now after 58 years, police say he likely murdered his wife Pauline Mullins Pusser

After 58 years, police say they have a suspect in the murder of Pauline Mullins Pusser: her husband, the famous sheriff, Buford Presser - (Facebook/Bettmann Archive)

In a tight-knit, rural community in Tennessee, Sheriff Buford Pusser has always been known as a legend.

He patrolled McNairy County in the 1960s while wielding an enormous hickory walking stick, took on bootleggers and mobsters, and became the inspiration for the Hollywood film Walking Tall – later remade with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

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