Wesley G. "Buck" Walker, 72, convicted murderer; inspiration for Bugliosi book "And the Sea Will Tell" & miniseries
Hoodoo
'Buck' Walker infamous for high-profile Palmyra deaths
By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Staff Writer
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100602/OBITS01/6020337/+Buck++Walker+infamous+for+high-profile+Palmyra+deaths
http://snipurl.com/x0uhq [cmsimg_honoluluadvertiser_com]
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.
The mysterious deaths and conviction of Walker grabbed headlines
nationwide and led to a best-selling account co-written by one of
Walker's attorneys, Vincent Bugliosi, called "And the Sea Will Tell." It
also sparked a TV miniseries by the same name starring James Brolin and
Rachel Ward.
Walker had a stroke early this year and died April 26 after several
months in a nursing home, according to several friends. He had been
living in a trailer home in Willits, Calif., where he moved not long
after his early parole in 2007 from a federal prison in Victorville, Calif.
After his release, Walker self-published an 895-page book in which he
maintained his innocence and spelled out his own version of events on
Palmyra, a remote Pacific island some 1,000 miles south of Honolulu that
has a thriving ecosystem largely untouched by humans.
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. "It was
a very high-profile case at the time," said Partington, who called
Walker a "very bright guy, very sociable." Partington added: "It's a
terribly sad story. It was a difficult case. And I long ago accepted
I'll never know what happened down on that island."
Walker, then known as Buck Duane Walker, and his girlfriend, Stephanie
Stearns, were arrested in Honolulu in 1974 after returning from Palmyra
aboard a yacht stolen from a well-to-do San Diego couple, Malcolm "Mac"
Graham and his wife, Eleanor "Muff" Graham. Because no bodies were
found, Walker and Stearns were initially prosecuted only for the yacht
theft and convicted in August 1975.
Six years later, a corroded chest was found partially buried in a lagoon
at Palmyra. Inside were Eleanor Graham's remains, identified with dental
records. Her husband's body was never found. But the one body was
enough: Walker and Stearns were arrested in Arizona for murder.
Walker was convicted in 1985. Stearns was acquitted.
While in prison, Walker is said to have read extensively, studied
Buddhism and corresponded with a host of people enthralled by the
Palmyra case. When he was released in 2007, he took up residence in a
San Francisco motel for several years before moving to a 22-foot trailer
in Willits, a small town about three hours from San Francisco.
Walker lived off his Social Security check and paid $400 a month in rent.
His landlord, P. Parker, said he largely kept to himself and enjoyed
reading, listening to audiobooks and scouring the Internet for research.
"He took a short walk every day. He was happy sitting there listening to
books on tape," she said, adding Walker contacted her by e-mail through
a Craigslist ad for a rental. 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."
Walker's case made Palmyra a household name. The atoll, home to a rich
diversity of animals and plants, before that was a little-known getaway
for the yachting community. Palmyra was privately owned by the
Fullard-Leo family until 2001, when the Nature Conservancy bought it for
$37 million for preservation and research purposes.
The Fullard-Leo family bought Palmyra as part of a hui in the early
1900s for a fishing venture that never materialized. Betty Fullard-Leo
said the Graham case left the family shocked and disturbed. "You just
never expect anything like that to happen in a place that's so
beautiful," Fullard-Leo said. "It's just covered in palm trees. It teems
with life."
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Hoodoo
By Helen Altonn
01:12 p.m. HST, Jun 02, 2010
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/breaking/95463129.html
Wesley G. "Buck" Walker, who served 22 years in federal prison for a
murder on Palmyra Atoll that led to a best-selling novel and television
miniseries "And the Sea Will Tell," has died in California at age 72.
He died April 26, according to the Lake County Records Office.
Walker had lived in a trailer in the forest in Willits, Calif., until
suffering a stroke.
His landlady, who only uses her last name Parker, said by telephone when
Walker responded to her rental ad on Craigslist, "he was very clear in
saying he was a wrongly convicted murderer who had just spent 22 years
in jail.
"One thing he said was he had a parole officer and you would always get
your rent on time."
Walker, then known as Duane "Buck" Walker, and his girlfriend, Stephanie
Stearns, were arrested in Honolulu after sailing in a yacht stolen on
Palmyra from Malcolm "Mac" and wife Eleanor "Muff" Graham of San Diego.
The couples met in 1974 on the remote Palmyra Island, 1,100 miles south
of Honolulu. The Grahams were on the yacht Sea Wind and Walker and
Sterns on a leaky boat named Iola.
Walker and Stearns were convicted initially of theft. Stearns served
seven months of a two-year sentence and Walker 42 months of a 10-year
sentence before escaping. He was arrested later in drug charges in Arizona.
No one knew what happened to the owners of the Sea Wind until 1981 when
Muff Graham's bones were found on Palmyra. Malcolm Graham's body was
never found.
Walker, who lived on the Big Island in the early 1970s, was convicted of
murder in 1985 and served 22 years of a life sentence in a prison in
Victorville, Calif., near Los Angeles. He was released on parole weeks
before his 70th birthday on Sept. 18, 2007.
Stearns was acquitted of the murders. Her attorney, Vincent Bugliosi,
wrote a book about the case, "And the Sea Will Tell." It was made into a
1991 TV movie starring James Brolin and Rachel Ward.