And the Sea Will Tell
Author | Vincent Bugliosi and Bruce Henderson |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | True crime |
Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
Publication date | 1991 |
Media type |
And the Sea Will Tell is a true crime book by Vincent Bugliosi and Bruce Henderson. The nonfiction book recounts an apparent double murder on Palmyra Atoll although only one body was ever found; the subsequent arrest, trial, and conviction of Wesley G. "Buck Duane" Walker; and the acquittal of his girlfriend, Stephanie Stearns, whom Bugliosi and Leonard Weinglass had defended. The book went to No. 1 on The New York Times hardcover bestseller list in March 1991 and is still in print as a trade paperback and ebook.
The killings
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2023) |
In 1974, a wealthy couple from
Also on Palmyra were Wesley G. Walker (a.k.a. "Buck Duane Walker") and Stephanie Stearns (referred to as "Jennifer Jenkins" in the book), who had sailed there together from
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. The Grahams were a happily married couple touring the world, and Mr. Graham ran his business remotely. 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. As Walker's method of farming became unsustainable, he and Stearns were forced to plan a voyage in the rickety Iola, against prevailing winds and currents, to Fanning (Tabuaeran), a nearby atoll in Kiribati, to restock — a voyage close to impossible without a working auxiliary engine.
Eventually, the other visitors, aside from the Grahams left, leaving only the two couples on the atoll. According to Stearns, the Grahams disappeared sometime between August 28 and August 30, 1974, and the young couple found the Grahams'
In 1981, a South African couple visiting Palmyra found a human skull and other bones that had apparently fallen out of a World War II vintage metal box washed up on the beach after a storm. They were identified as belonging to Muff Graham. They showed signs of dismemberment and burning.
Trial and punishment
Buck Walker was tried and convicted of Muff Graham's murder. He was incarcerated at United States Penitentiary, Victorville, in California. Although Walker never testified, the defense claimed that he and Stearns were attempting to return the Sea Wind to Hawaii with the Iola in tow, but the Iola ran aground on the reef as they exited the lagoon and had to be abandoned. During the voyage back to Hawaii, it was claimed that a large swordfish damaged the Sea Wind's hull below the waterline, necessitating her repair and subsequent repainting and renaming.
Stephanie Stearns was tried separately in the
Aftermath
The book was adapted into the 1991 television film And the Sea Will Tell, directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, which aired on CBS as a 4-hour film. Part 1 aired on February 24, and Part 2 was aired two days later.
The trial lawyer who represented Walker, Earle Partington, sued Bugliosi for defamation, claiming that both the book and the docudrama portrayed Partington in a negative light. The court found for Bugliosi, ruling that this was his protected opinion.[2]
Walker was released on parole in September 2007 at the age of 69, after serving 22 years of a life sentence, and died of a stroke on April 26, 2010, at the age of 72.[3] Prior to his death, Walker had been living in a trailer home in Willits, California.[4] Walker (writing as Wesley G. Walker) claimed in a book about the 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.[5] Malcolm Graham's body has never been found.[6]
References
- ^ Bell, Diane (April 18, 2014). "1974 murder victim still awaits burial". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
- ISBN 978-0199342525.
- ^ Williams, Linda (June 9, 2010). "Notorious atoll murderer dies after parole to Willits area". Willits News. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
- ^ Vorsino, Mary (June 2, 2010). "'Buck' Walker infamous for high-profile Palmyra deaths". HonoluluAdvertiser.com.
- ^ Walker, Wesley (2007). Palmyra: the True Story of an Island Tragedy. Incline Village, Nevada: B. & E. Press.
- Honolulu Star Bulletin.