Bombshell new evidence reveals that legendary Sheriff Buford Pusser — the heroic crime-fighting lawman played by Joe Don Baker in the hit 1973 flick Walking Tall — was an abusive murderer who killed his wife, Pauline, and faked her death as a drive-by ambush.

The shocking finding came as the murderous attack was recently reviewed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which regularly looks at unsolved cold cases such as Pauline’s death on Aug. 12, 1967, according to CBS News.

Buford, who died at 36 in a 1974 car crash, claimed he got an early a.m. call of a disturbance and Pauline asked to ride along.

Just after passing New Hope Methodist Church, the iconic McNairy County sheriff claimed a car pulled alongside and fired inside the vehicle, killing Pauline and wounding Buford, who was hospitalized for 18 days and underwent several surgeries.

But in the case review, Dr. Michael Revelle, an emergency medicine physician and medical examiner, concluded from crime scene photos that Pauline was shot outside the car, not inside as Buford claimed. Revelle says Pauline’s head injuries didn’t match photos of the interior of the car and the blood splatter was on the outside of the vehicle — not inside!

He also found that Buford’s gunshot wound on his cheek was from close contact and likely self-inflicted — and not a slug fired at a distance.

Also, Pauline’s autopsy showed she’d previously suffered a broken nose and from what people who knew her at the time had said, she was a victim of domestic violence.

“This case is not about tearing down a legend. It is about giving dignity and closure to Pauline and her family and ensuring that the truth is not buried with time,” says District Attorney Mark Davidson.

“The truth matters. Justice matters. Even 58 years later, Pauline deserves both.”

Pauline’s younger brother, Griffon Mullins, says the new evidence has given him closure.

He described Pauline as “just a sweet person. I loved her with all my heart.”