45 years ago, a man and woman were brutally murdered on a dirt-fronted road in Sumter

County, South Carolina.

For more than four decades, the identities of the victims have remained a mystery, and

for two families, the truth of what became of their loved ones was always just out of

reach.

That all changed last month in January of 2021.

During a press conference, members of the Sumter County Sheriff's Office announced

that in conjunction with a local citizen investigator and the DNA DO project, they have finally identified

the victims who have laid beneath stones marked male unknown and female unknown at Bethel

United Methodist Cemetery in Sumter County since a year after their murders.

James Paul Fruened and Pamela Mae Buckley both disappeared in December of 1975.

Eight months later, they were found murdered along the narrow Locklayer Road, not far from

Interstate 95.

Despite a large-scale investigation and a determination from then-sharef I bird,

Parnell, the case has gone unsolved all these years.

However, now that James and Pam have been identified, investigators are focused on identifying

their elusive killer also.

This is Trace Evidence Case Update Episode No. 118, the Sumter County Does.

Welcome to this Trace Evidence Update episode.

I'm your host, Stephen Pacheco.

While the identities of James Fruened and Pamela Buckley were revealed last month, usually

I release updates fairly quickly, but I wanted to ensure their families had time to process

...