Nashville Medical Examiner shares how Pauline Pusser’s body is investigated
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) exhumed the body of Pauline Pusser, the wife of a famed former Tennessee sheriff, after a tip.
Pauline was shot and killed in an ambush believed to be meant for her husband, Sheriff Buford Pusser, in August of 1967 in McNairy County.
According to the TBI, an autopsy was never performed on Pauline’s body. However, a recent tip led investigators to review the case file.
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With support from Pauline’s family, the TBI requested the exhumation of her body in an attempt to answer “critical questions and provide crucial information” and exhumed her body on Thursday, Feb. 8.
Metro Nashville’s Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Feng Li, explained a body left decaying for decades could be found in any condition.
He said the state of a decaying body depends on several factors, including environment, embalming, and the quality of the casket.
“If it is well preserved, on the other hand…we can still see the intact body, with the skin, sometimes with the organs, and with the tissues,” Li said.
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Li told News 2 that the general process of examining an exhumed body starts with taking a picture and conducting an X-ray to find any projectiles or foreign objects.
If the skin is still intact, investigators look for a possible gunshot wound, tattoos, or signs of added pressure.
“Depends on the condition of the body to examine if any skin is available, because the skin, the outside of the body, will give a lot of information when we examine the body. No matter what the condition of the body, the skin is still available,” Li said. “We will see, for example, the gunshot wound.”
If it’s just bones, they will be examined by forensic anthropologists to locate any trauma.
“Sometimes it’s very…surprising,” Li said. “For example, personally, I had a case [where] originally they didn’t do autopsy and buried, and then some allegation to other party, so they decided to exhume the body after five years of [being] buried underneath, and when we examined the body, surprisingly enough, the brain is very well preserved just like, you know, preserved like yesterday.”
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News 2 is still waiting for the autopsy results.
According to the TBI, there have been several rumors about who could have been behind Pauline’s death, but no one has ever been arrested.
Anyone with information on Pauline’s killer is asked to call the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
