Authorities would later identify them as Buck Duane Walker and Stephanie Stearns. Where is Mac Graham? His landlord, P. Parker, said he largely kept to himself and enjoyed reading, listening to audiobooks and scouring the Internet for research. The pair were desperate enough to murder the Grahams and steal their boat. HILO In 1974, Buck Duane Walker and his girlfriend, Stephanie Stearns, sailed in a leaky boat to Palmyra Atoll and returned to Honolulu Harbor in a beautiful yacht owned by a San Diego couple who had been vacationing on Palmyra. | Try Prime for unlimited fast, free shipping, Previous page of related Sponsored Products. When it arrived its motor had frozen up and it was barely limping along. When told that he hadnt seen the Grahams the Coast Guard reached out to the FBI as they felt this might lead to something outside of their jurisdiction. Its been grueling, Stephanie Stearns told reporters after hugging her tearful parents, who sat in the front row throughout the trial. The night before Sanders and Wolf were to leave Palmyra they had cocktails with the Grahams aboard the Sea Wind. WebStephanie Stearns was tried separately in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco. : Bernard pointed out to authorities where the yachts appearance had been changed from taking off the nameplate and trying to paint over it and repainting parts of the boat. Macs friend feared the worst. Buck Duane Walker was a convicted felon and fugitive. It was revealed that Buck and Stephanie had been living on the island of Palmyra as well and had known the Grahams. Final Argument: An Inquiry into the murders of Mac and Muff Graham on Palmyra Island by Buck Walker and Stephanie Stearns Paperback May 1, 2014 by Tom Bucy (Author) 37 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $5.99 Read with Our Free App Paperback $24.95 2 Used from $22.50 6 New from $23.02 On November 8, 1974, Buck Walker resurfaced at an area restaurant. Bernard asked about the Grahams and if they were still alive. Stephanie Walker Education. A few hours later, the vote was changed to 10-2. Dark came, no sign of them. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. The prosecutor needed to prove that Muff Graham did not drown and needed to show that Muff had been inside that container. As of 2014, Muffs remains are still in FBI custody, 28 years after Stephanies acquittal and Bucks conviction for her murder. WebFind helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Final Argument: An Inquiry into the murders of Mac and Muff Graham on Palmyra Island by Buck Walker and Stephanie Stearns at Amazon.com. 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. She is merely married to her beloved husband whose identity is not known. Its been grueling, Stephanie Stearns told reporters after hugging her tearful parents, who sat in the front row throughout the trial. She claimed that they had been invited over to the Sea Wind for dinner one night, but the Grahams were not there. Stearns was arrested in the lower level of the Hawaii Yacht Club for the theft of the Sea Wind,[1] but Walker was able to escape and avoid capture by using a motorized dinghy to race up the "400 row" of the Ala Wai Harbor. In one of the most beautiful settings in the world, Mac and Muff Graham would disappear in the summer of 1974. Next, she said that they left the island in the Sea Wind towing the Iola behind them. A law school student in Hawaii had written an article about handling a bag containing the skull of one of the victims in the spring of 2009 during a classroom lecture by an FBI agent. Her boyfriend, Buck Walker, was convicted of To allow the menu buttons to display, add whiteestate.org to IE's trusted sites. By August 17th, The Sea Wind and The Iola were the only two boats left in Palmyra. They started bartering their possessions for food with the other yacht owners in the area. They were flagged down by another boat owner who told them that the Coast Guard was looking at their boat the other day. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. Walker subsequently escaped from a federal prison in Washington State. Macs patience with Roy was wearing thin as he did not like Roy destroying the islands natural environment. Macs friend in Hawaii would get their mothers letters and would read the Grahams responses during his weekly radio contact. It also sparked a TV miniseries by the same name starring James Brolin and Rachel Ward. The ex-con, Buck Duane Walke r, and his girlfriend, Stephanie Stearns, had arrived at Palmyra in their shabby, poorly stocked boat while the Grahams were anchored there. To this day no one ever has. Walker and his girlfriend, Stephanie Stearns, were arrested in Honolulu in 1974 after they returned from Palmyra in a yacht stolen from Malcolm "Mac" Graham and his wife, Eleanor "Muff" Graham. Bucy hopes this months publication of his e-book, Final Argument, will renew interest in the case. The home port for their sailboat, the Sea Wind, was a marina on Shelter Island, and they were well known in the San Diego sailing community. Meaning it didnt get caught up on the reef and sink. The other sailing couples had enough supplies for themselves and a little bit left over for emergencies, but not to supply a couple who didnt prepare for their trip. With no bodies as evidence of murder, Walker and Stearns were convicted only of theft. Norman Sanders and Thomas Wolf were on their way to Samona. on Mac and Muff Graham Millionaire Murders, Deadly Paradise | FULL EPISODE | The FBI Files, After Helter Skelter. The other sailors noticed that Roy had the name Buck tattooed on his arm. In 1981, other visitors to Palmyra found Muff Graham's skeletal remains, which showed signs of dismemberment and burning (possibly by Mac Graham's acetylene welding torch) and appeared to have been concealed underwater in a large metal container. Final Argument is so bad, in so many ways, that's it's hard to know where to start a review. The boat is wooden and they have it covered in berglass to prevent it from leaking. 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. Other factors, especially a recent, self-published 895-page book in which Walker still denies he killed the Grahams, work against his release, Partington said. Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations. Stearns, whose defense attorney was Vincent Bugliosi, was acquitted. Walker died in 2010. Stephanie had served her time in Hawaii and moved back to California. The Iola had just traveled 19 days from Hawaii with only two crew members. According to trial testimony, the Iola was not considered seaworthy and would not have made it even to Fanning Island about 175 miles away, the nearest location for equipment and supplies. Murder charges were added only after Mrs. Grahams skeletal remains were found in a metal box on Palmyra in 1981. One photo showed Stephanie standing on the Sea Wind taking a picture of Buck sailing the Iola. The waitress pointed them to the bar she had sent Buck to for a drink. Stephanie ended up being acquitted of all charges. IIn October 1974, 37-year-old Buck Duane Walker and 27-year-old Stephanie Stearns sailed into Hawaii on a boat others instantly recognized as the Sea Wind. Sanders had a run-in with Roy where he tried to give him some advice regarding his boat and suggested he and Stephanie set sail for Samoa for more supplies. Roy then did something that was impolite due to resources being scarce at sea. Their plan had been to live off the resources of the island and grow a crop of marijuana. Stephanies defense attorney was famed Vincent Bugliosi who believed that she was innocent. Buck Duane Walker was a convicted felon and fugitive. The Iola owners also had very few provisions along with them. Walker, 69, earned release from the U.S. Parole Commission in part because of advancing age and poor health. Fearing for the Grahams the FBI agents traveled to Palmyra Islands to see if they had been stranded there. I highly respect Bugliosi for his work on Manson & his criminal cult members, but it is obvious he wrote the book as a defence attorney, paid for by Stearns' rich family. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Please try again. Copyright 2023 Ellen G. White Estate, Inc. 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. Learn more. As the various sailing groups are introducing themselvesRoy noticed that Mac Graham was a smoker. In his zeal to prove Stearns innocence, inadvertently, Bugliosi set forth clue after clue proving the guilt of Stearns and her crime partner, Buck Walker. In June 1974, they set sail with their three dogs for the Palmyra atoll planning to spend two years there. , Dimensions Stephanies Miranda rights were read to her, but she didnt heed the warning about her right to remain silent and begins to repeat what she told Bernard Lennard. So when Aug. 28 arrives, will Walker go free after serving 22 years of a life sentence? , ISBN-13 Reviewed in Australia on March 24, 2022. Roy meanwhile was not enjoying the islands as much as Mac was. The conviction in part resulted from photographs taken by Walker from the Sea Wind showing the badly damaged Iola on the open seas sailing away from the Sea Wind. Unlike Stephanie when questioned Buck gave away nothing only answering questions with a yes or no. Stephanie, who was in jail, had inadvertently given the FBI more evidence to use against her and Buck. Back at the Coast Guard offices, Stephanie told her story again this time to the FBI. 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While Stephanie is placed under arrest, authorities were still searching for Roy who had evaded police at the marina. They would exchange marijuana for supplies that friends brought them. However, the 31-year-old weatherwoman has remained tight-lipped about her husband. On August 27th, Mac radioed his friend in Hawaii. Who was Stephanie Stearns in and the sea will tell? He was incarcerated at United States Penitentiary, Victorville, in California. Graham and her husband, Malcolm Mac Graham, had disappeared on Aug. 29, 1974, after sailing about 970 miles south from Hawaii to the Palmyra atoll. In 1981, Muff Graham's bones were found on a Palmyra beach. Unfortunately, because of Enokis refusal to allow Bugliosis tidal data into the trial, the jury was deprived of this information. It was a difficult case. The new arrivals were Mac Graham, age 53, and his wife Eleanor, nicknamed Muff, who was slightly younger than Mac. Buck Walker and Stephanie Stearns were tried separately for the murder of Muff Graham. True Crime Stories: 48 Terrifying True Crime Murder Cases (List of Twelve Collection), Killer Moms: 16 Bizarre True Crime Stories of Murderous Moms. There was a problem loading your book clubs. FINAL ARGUMENT exposes lie after compounded lie, set forth as truth in Bugliosis version of the facts surrounding the murder of the Grahams on Palmyra the August of 1974. 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. In September 1974, friends of the Grahams arranged for a flyover of Palmyra atoll and no vessel was spotted there. 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. After Bugliosi argued that Buck Walker had committed the Palmyra murders himself without Stearns's participation or knowledge, and following her testimony at the trial, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. Bucy puts forward his idea of what happened on Palmyra and there may be some justification for his theory. So the couple made themselves at home until the Grahams returned and they decided to spend the night upon the Sea Wind when the Grahams failed to do so. Buck Duane Walker was a convicted felon and fugitive. It adds much needed objective, incisive analysis of Stephanie Stearns' role in the murders, which was absent from Bugliosi's books "And The Sea Will Tell," which I also read. It had a top-notch navigational system and plenty of supplies on board. It is considered an incorporated territory of the United States and is under its sovereignty since 1911. 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. He was tried for escape and sentenced to five years in prison. "You just never expect anything like that to happen in a place that's so beautiful," Fullard-Leo said. Will Dominion-Fox News lawsuit be different? . Now, a state hotline is trying to call them out. He plans to contact sailors up and down the West Coast in hopes of generating interest in the idea. Instead, Stephanie and Buck were charged with interstate transportation of stolen property, which was a pretty open and shut case. Walker receives an annual salary that ranges between $46,796, as per NBC News We have provided a download link below to Firefox 2 installer. They then spent the next two days searching for the Grahams but found no trace of them. What happened next was a subject of dispute. Roy did not make a good first impression on the other group members either. The Felon - Essays on Crime and the Criminal, Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations. WebStephanie Walker Photo Stephanie Walker Salary. The next morning they had found Grahams inflatable Zodiac boat overturned and washed up on shore in the shark-infested lagoon. The jury deliberated 2 1/2 days. The Iola wasnt really meant for this sea journey. 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. "That's a parole consideration date," Partington said. 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. He was set free Tuesday from prison in Victorville, Calif., although he wasn't up for mandatory release until 2018. I just finished this after reading And the Sea Will Tell (a 2nd time last week). Its been grueling, Stephanie Stearns told reporters after hugging her tearful parents, who sat in the front row throughout the trial. [4] Walker (writing as Wesley G. Walker) claimed in a book about that case that he had been seduced by Mrs. Graham and, in the midst of lovemaking, had been caught by Mr. Graham, who shot his wife and attempted to shoot Walker. Authorities would later identify them as Buck Duane Walker and Stephanie Stearns. Each faith-building lesson integrates heart-warming Adventist pioneer stories along with Scripture and Ellen Whites writings. They also showed that the zodiac wouldnt have worked if it had been found the way Stephanie and Buck said it was. She had begun rowing to shore hoping to make it before they caught up. The Big Book of Serial Killers (An Encyclopedia of Serial Killers), Edmund Kemper: The True Story of The Brutal Co-ed Butcher (Real Crime by Real Killers). Stephanie came from money and was able to afford a high-priced attorney. Your browser's security settings are preventing some features from appearing. "I have no intention of returning to Hawai'i any time in the near future if I have any say-so," Walker wrote in a letter to Stephens Media. Important Note: To access all the resources on this site, use the menu buttons along the top and left side of the page. : They showed up at 6:30 PM but the Grahams weren't there. I read the entire book and felt I did get something out of it. Buck was taken back into custody when he exited the hotel. The pair were desperate enough to murder the Grahams and steal their boat. 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. The duo has been together since 2004. They are part of one of the largest marine protected areas in the world. I purchased this book after reading Vincent Bugliosi's fascinating book, And The Sea Will Tell. "It was a very high-profile case at the time," said Partington, who called Walker a "very bright guy, very sociable." His 70th birthday will be Sept. 18. He also recognized Roy Allen who had been standing up on the deck. You'll never find him." Bugliosis careful analysis of the tides revealed Stearns was lying about her activities purportedly occurring on the 30th and 31st of August 1974. Try again. All of which were ignored by the prosecutor, judge, jury and reading public. While in prison, Walker is said to have read extensively, studied Buddhism and corresponded with a host of people enthralled by the Palmyra case. Authorities found out that a woman had visited Buck the day before his escape. Vincent Bugliosi, Stephanie Stearns's attorney, wrote a book about the murders calledAnd The Sea Will Tell. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. He also made regular radio calls to his friend back in Hawaii to check-in and updated him on his discoveries. Is he still in the other metal box? She is merely married to her beloved husband whose identity is not known. When King asked jurors to consider whether further deliberation would be unproductive, the verdict to acquit was returned less than an hour later. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. Gods Messenger: Meeting Kids Needs is a brand new web site created especially for teachers wanting to enhance their students spiritual walk with Jesus. Honolulu attorney Earle Partington represented Walker in the murder trial, which was moved to San Francisco because Hawai'i Judge Samuel King didn't think Walker could get a fair trial in the Islands. The federal system generally does not parole aging offenders until they reach 70 at the earliest, he said. Her boyfriend, Buck Walker, was convicted of murder in June and sentenced to life in prison. I keep waiting--in vain--for it to pop up on Netflix. He said the Grahams died because of a love triangle gone wrong in his self-published 895-page book titled "Palmyra: the True Story of an Island Tragedy.". Sharron was taking a walk down the beach and discovered an aluminum container that contained human remains washed up on shore. Both were charged with murdering Eleanor Muff Graham of San Diego, who disappeared along with her husband, Malcolm, from Palmyra atoll in August, 1974. IIn October 1974, 37-year-old Buck Duane Walker and 27-year-old Stephanie Stearns sailed into Hawaii on a boat others instantly recognized as the Sea Wind. Please try again. 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. She was working when authorities paid her a visit to arrest her. In April, the two sailed it to Oahu for its maiden voyage to face drug charges in federal court. Reviewed in Australia on May 23, 2017. The murder was the basis of a best selling book And the Sea Will Tell, which was turned into a popular mini-series starring James Brolin. Her husband has never been found. Cameron Todd Willingham Accidental Fire Or Intentional Arson. In that wallet was a drivers license with Roy Allens name on it. The duo has been together since 2004. To learn more, click here. , CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1st edition (May 1, 2014), Language The jury believed the defenses theory that it was Buck who acted alone and concealed what he did from her. The strange goings-on at Palmyra Atoll were remarkable enough to spawn a legend about the island being unlucky, and today you'll still hear Pacific travelers talk about the "Palmyra curse." Its been grueling, Stephanie Stearns told reporters after hugging her tearful parents, who sat in the front row throughout the trial. In October 1974 the Lennards who had taken the letter from Muff to mail were back in Hawaii. 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. The trip to Palmyra atoll typically takes about a week, but the Iola got lost and the journey took Stearns and Walker nearly three weeks. Walker never acknowledged committing the murder, self-publishing an 895-word novel he called the true story of an island tragedy.. Her son, Dorian Graham Muncey, 58, Macs nephew, said he was shocked to learn his aunts bones were being passed around in a law class. She was acquitted Friday by a federal court jury. Sadly, Mr. Bugliosi passed away in 2015. 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. Palmyra is today owned by the Nature Conservancy and is the site of some climate change research. HILO In 1974, Buck Duane Walker and his girlfriend, Stephanie Stearns, sailed in a leaky boat to Palmyra Atoll and returned to Honolulu Harbor in a beautiful yacht owned by a San Diego couple who had been vacationing on Palmyra. And the Sea Will Tell is a true crime book by Vincent Bugliosi and Bruce Henderson. When they arrived they found that they were not alone, as had been their hope. They had thought that Palmyra would be deserted. : But I felt the egotism in the text was probably a true reflection of Bugliosi's personality, which made it somehow even more compelling. Walker had a stroke early this year and died April 26 after several months in a nursing home, according to several friends. Conservatives are terrified of the past. An example of Roy being out of his element is that he would shoot his .22 caliber handgun into the water. Notorious atoll murderer dies after parole to, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Notorious atoll murderer dies after parole to Willits area, Bay Area honeymooners say snorkel boat abandoned them off Maui coast, Tahoe really does not want you to drive up this weekend, Ukiah business celebrates longtime employee with a billboard on Hwy. But he is known to most people as Buck Duane Walker, the name he was using when he and Stearns sailed into Honolulu in 1974 aboard the disguised 37-foot ketch 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. The killer was Buck Duane Walker, also known as Wesley G. Walker, a tough ex-convict and noted con artist, who had also sailed to Palmyra that summer with his girlfriend, Stephanie Stearns. She was acquitted Friday by a federal court jury. Alas, poor Muff, her bones at the time of publishing, languish in the care of the FBI, forty years after her torture and murder by Stearns and Walker, still not at rest, forlorn and forgotten. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. After Bugliosi argued that Buck Walker had committed the Palmyra murders himself without Stearns's participation or knowledge, and following her testimony at the trial, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. Originally they told authorities that their own boat, theIola, got stuck on a reef at Palmyra, but Stearns later admitted they scuttled theIola in favor of stealing theSea Wind. Malcolm Graham's body was never found. For the most part he does this by omitting critical testimony that proves the lie such as Stearns patently absurd account of her sailing method re leisure sailing, or her improbable account of the Iolas supposed approach to Palmyra.