We pray these resources will enrich the lives of your students, develop their faith in God, help them grow in Christian character, and build their sense of identity with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Her attorney, Vincent Bugliosi, and Bruce Henderson wrote a book about the case, "And the Sea Will Tell." On July 13th Muff Graham wrote a letter to her mother. There was a problem loading your book clubs. In that first e-mail, Walker said Parker wrote, "I wonder if you would consider renting to an old man who has been wrongly convicted of murder.". She was acquitted Friday by a federal court jury. Do you love reading true crime? Roy and Stephanie then tried to take their boat back to Hawaii, but it got stuck on the reef so they decided to take the abandoned Sea Wind instead. They arrived from Palmyra Island, 1,100 miles south of Honolulu, later claiming they abandoned their own boat and took the Grahams' after the couple mysteriously disappeared. He told his friend that perhaps they wanted a truce. Meanwhile, Mac Graham was keeping up his weekly contact with his friend in Hawaii filling him in on the exploits of Stephanie and Roy. An example of Roy being out of his element is that he would shoot his .22 caliber handgun into the water. Buck Walker and Stephanie Stearns were tried separately for the murder of Muff Graham. , CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1st edition (May 1, 2014), Language After this he wrote an "allegorical" novel about the events on Palmyra, in which he asserted that he was having an affair with Muff Graham, and that Mac went crazy after discovering them in the act. The jury deliberated 2 1/2 days. A writer attempted to raise funds to bury Muff back in San Diego where the Grahams were originally from. Not long after The Iola arrived another yacht arrived in the harbor,the impressive Sea Wind. Walker lived off his Social Security check and paid $400 a month in rent. It was revealed that Buck and Stephanie had been living on the island of Palmyra as well and had known the Grahams. There were other boats in the harbor. Officials granted Walker release into Northern California, although the specific city was not named. The waitress pointed them to the bar she had sent Buck to for a drink. They showed up at 6:30 PM but the Grahams weren't there. She had begun rowing to shore hoping to make it before they caught up. Authorities had a difficult time tracking down the other sailors who had run-ins with Stephanie and Buck in Palmyra. As Bucy, a graduate of San Diegos Cal Western School of Law, did research for his own book on the high-profile murder and what he believes to be Stephanie Stearns role in it, he hardly expected to discover that the Hawaii FBI still had custody of Muffs remains 28 years after Stearns acquittal. Important Note: To access all the resources on this site, use the menu buttons along the top and left side of the page. Discover some of the worlds most infamous killers in perfectly-illustrated detail. The officers spotted him and notified the FBI. This revealed that it had been lying against a hard surface, such as a container. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. The Iola was a cramped boat and soon Roy moved into a makeshift tent onshore while Stephanie remained on the boat. Please try again. Island Search Fearing for the Grahams the FBI agents traveled to Palmyra Islands to see if they had been stranded there. Please try again. You'll receive an email with an opt-in link to complete your subscription. Island Search Fearing for the Grahams the FBI agents traveled to Palmyra Islands to see if they had been stranded there. Wesley G. "Buck" Walker has been paroled from federal prison after serving 22 years of a life sentence for murder in a case that led to a best-selling novel and a TV miniseries. But the one body was enough: Walker and Stearns were arrested in Arizona for murder. So too, there is considerable variance between Bugliosis cross-examination as revealed in the original trial transcript re Pollock and Shoemaker and his recounting this same testimony in his book. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. In 1985, Walker was convicted of murdering the Grahams and was sent to prison. It recounts the murder of MAC and MUFF GRAHAM on the island of PALMYRA in August 1974, and the subsequent arrest and trials of STEPHANIE K. STEARNS and WESLEY 'BUCK' WALKER who were charged with murdering the Grahams. In 1974, a wealthy couple from San Diego, California, Malcolm "Mac" Graham III, 43, and Eleanor LaVerne "Muff" Graham, 40, sailed their 38-foot ketch, Sea Wind, to Palmyra Atoll 1,200 miles south of Honolulu hoping to find it deserted and to spend a year or more there. All of which were ignored by the prosecutor, judge, jury and reading public. Walker was an ex-convict fleeing a drug possession charge and had come up with the idea of growing cannabis on Palmyra to support himself. Months passed with no word or sighting of the Grahams. Walker died in 2010. By this time the Grahams had been alone for 10 days with Roy and Stephanie. If youre traveling south from Hawaii the Palmyra Islands are approximately 1000 miles due south. She was acquitted Friday by a federal court jury. There was no sign of Mac's body. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Once in Hawaii, the couple had the Sea Wind repainted and also renamed it, which according to boating superstition brings bad luck. Muff gave her letter to one of the other boat owners, Bernard and Evelyn Lennard, as they were leaving the islands to go back to Hawaii and would mail it for her. Roy also noticed a Coast Guard boat in the harbor coming towards them. This includes personalizing your content. Mr. Walker and Miss Stearns turned up here in October 1974, sailing the Grahams's yacht, the Sea Wind, which they had partly disguised and repainted. The Grahams had brought more than a year's supply of food for their voyage, but Walker and Stearns quickly consumed their own meager supplies and resorted to harvesting the island's few coconuts, often by chopping down entire trees, leaving scars on the island habitat. On August 30, according to Stephanie Stearns, Buck Walker told her that the Grahams had invited the two of them over for dinner aboard theSea Wind. I worked my way through the last half of the book by skimming repetitious portions of the court transcripts. Both Stearns and Walker had stated the Iola sank on the reef just inside the Palmyra harbor while they tried to tow it back to Hawaii. Wesley G. "Buck" Walker, the former Big Island marijuana grower convicted in the 1974 murder of a wealthy San Diego couple on Palmyra, has died in California at age 72. Most of those that knew and loved her are gone and she has been shamefully abandoned by the sailing community. Its been grueling, Stephanie Stearns told reporters after hugging her tearful parents, who sat in the front row throughout the trial. A graduate of the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in psychology, Juris Doctor degree from the San Fernando Valley College of Law. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we dont use a simple average. But Walker's former attorney, Earle Partington, says the Aug. 28 "projected" release date posted by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons means only that Walker will be considered for parole then. Walker was tried first, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for Muffs murder, thanks, in part, to the testimony of a fellow inmate to whom hed made a jailhouse confession. His landlord, P. Parker, said he largely kept to himself and enjoyed reading, listening to audiobooks and scouring the Internet for research. : The next morning when the Grahams didnt return, they went out looking for them, and that is when they found the washed-up zodiac onshore. UPD: Ukiah man arrested for alleged assault at motel, Mendocino County Jail bookings: Friday, March 3, 2023, Mendocino County Jail bookings: Feb. 28, 2023, As Adderall shortage continues, DEA plans to limit some telemedicine prescriptions, House where JonBenet Ramsey was found dead listed for sale for almost $7M, Columbia University permanently drops SAT, ACT admissions requirement, The Waterbed Doctor: California retailer lays claim to retro bed with nearly 40 years of service, sales, Felonious Florida podcast: Missing teenage girl leads to several cases of child sex trafficking, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. She had some photos sent off to be developed while in jail and those photos were intercepted by authorities. Get your hands on this collection of 30 true crime stories. Buck Walker) and Stephanie Stearns (referred to as "Jennifer Jenkins" in the book), who had sailed there together from Hawaii on Stearns's sailing vessel Iola, a deteriorating, patched-together wooden sloop that lacked a reliable auxiliary engine. The Fullard-Leo family bought Palmyra as part of a hui in the early 1900s for a fishing venture that never materialized. In one of the most beautiful settings in the world, Mac and Muff Graham would disappear in the summer of 1974. Stearns and Walker took over the Graham's ritzy yacht, theSea Wind, and sailed it back to Hawaii. The author makes some fair points but doesn't address any other possibilities in the deaths of Mac and Muff Graham. Mac Graham then took out his .357 Magnum handgun and assured the two men he could take care of himself and wasnt afraid of Roy. Several years ago I happened upon "And The Sea Will Tell", a book written by VINCENT BUGLIOSI and BRUCE HENDER-SON. Bernard asked about the Grahams and if they were still alive. On August 30, according to Stephanie Stearns, Buck Walker told her that the Grahams had invited the two of them over for dinner aboard the Sea Wind. Muff Graham, formerly Eleanor LaVerne Eddington, had grown up here.Her mother, Rose King, and sister, Peggy Faulkner, of San Diego, were quoted in media coverage of the murders. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Read our revised Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice. Stearns, who sobbed as she read entries from her 1974 log to the jury about the Grahams disappearance, denied there was any feud. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. Roy told Stephanie that they had been invited over and perhaps the Grahams were out fishing for their dinner. Her boyfriend, Buck Walker, was convicted of Roy then did something that was impolite due to resources being scarce at sea. Walker, 69, earned release from the U.S. Parole Commission in part because of advancing age and poor health.