This undated photo provided by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, shows the location in Guys, Tenn., where then McNair County Sheriff Buford Pusser said his wife was killed on Aug. 12, 1967. (TBI via AP)

A late Tennessee sheriff who inspired a Hollywood movie about a law enforcement officer who took on organized crime killed his wife in 1967 and led people to believe she was murdered by his enemies, authorities in Tennessee said Friday.

The finding will likely shock many who grew up as Buford Pusser fans and watched the 1973 “Walking Tall” movie that immortalized him as a tough but fair sheriff with zero tolerance for crime, authorities said.

There is enough evidence that if then-McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser were alive today, prosecutors would presen

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