In one of the most beautiful settings in the world, Mac and Muff Graham would disappear in the summer of 1974. Were they a victim of the seas or something more nefarious? The Mac and Muff Graham murders frustrated authorities until a container holding human remains washed up onshore.
Apple Podcasts
Stitcher
Pandora
Spotify
Google Podcasts
iHeartRadio
TuneInLocation
Palmyra Atoll Islands is located south of the Hawaiian Islands. They are part of one of the largest marine protected areas in the world. If you’re traveling south from Hawaii the Palmyra Islands are approximately 1000 miles due south. The Palmyra Islands are primarily unoccupied but do host a transient population mostly made up of scientists and researchers.
During World War II it housed a US Naval base that had long been abandoned. It is considered an incorporated territory of the United States and is under its sovereignty since 1911. After WWII the Palmyra Islands are mostly used as a stopover point for sailors traveling to Samoa.
Not Alone
On June 26, 1974, a small sailboat, called The Iola, docked at one of the makeshift harbors in Palmyra. The Iola had just traveled 19 days from Hawaii with only two crew members. The Iola wasn’t really meant for this sea journey. When it arrived its motor had frozen up and it was barely limping along. The Iola was a wooden sailboat. The owners had covered the button with a layer of fiberglass in the hopes of making it more seaworthy. The friction between the two materials caused a crack in the hull and it had taken on water.
The Iola owners also had very few provisions along with them. Their plan had been to live off the resources of the island and grow a crop of marijuana. They would exchange marijuana for supplies that friends brought them.
When they arrived they found that they were not alone, as had been their hope. There were other boats in the harbor.
Stephanie Stearns and Roy Allen introduced themselves to the impromptu welcoming committee. The other sailors noticed that Roy had the name Buck tattooed on his arm. Stephanie claimed that Buck was Roy’s nickname when questioned by it. Other impressions of the young couple were that Roy didn’t really fit the image of someone who sailed or even had a lot of experience sailing. He had a rougher appearance and gave off an aura of being dangerous.
Not a good vibe.
The Sea Wind
Not long after The Iola arrived another yacht arrived in the harbor, the impressive Sea Wind. The new arrivals were Mac Graham, age 53, and his wife Eleanor, nicknamed Muff, who was slightly younger than Mac. Like Roy and Stephanie, they were surprised to see so many people. They had thought that Palmyra would be deserted. The Grahams had planned on staying around Palmyra for about 6 months.
As the various sailing groups are introducing themselves Roy noticed that Mac Graham was a smoker. He asked for a cigarette. Roy then did something that was impolite due to resources being scarce at sea. He took half the pack of cigarettes when Mac handed it over to him to take only one. Roy did not make a good first impression on the other group members either. Especially when he started talking about his plans to grow marijuana and exchange it for supplies.
It is really foolish to go to sea without being prepared with adequate supplies.
Settling In
Mac Graham started to explore Palmyra Island’s abandoned docks and military base as that had been his purpose of wanting to visit Palmyra. He also made regular radio calls to his friend back in Hawaii to check-in and updated him on his discoveries.
Roy meanwhile was not enjoying the islands as much as Mac was. He found out that the soil was not amenable to growing marijuana. Roy and Stephanie were not prepared for life at sea and had run out of supplies pretty quickly. They started bartering their possessions for food with the other yacht owners in the area. Their presence was quickly wearing thin with the others that found them to be more of a nuisance. The other sailing couples had enough supplies for themselves and a little bit left over for emergencies, but not to supply a couple who didn’t prepare for their trip.
The Grahams, however, felt bad and tried to include them inviting them aboard their boat on July 5, 1974. When Stephanie and Roy arrived they could see how the Sea Wind outshined The Iola in every way. It had a top-notch navigational system and plenty of supplies on board. The Sea Wind had already proven itself to be a seaworthy vessel as it had already been sailing all around the world.
Surviving
The Iola was a cramped boat and soon Roy moved into a makeshift tent onshore while Stephanie remained on the boat. Their plans for the bountiful marijuana crop finally faded as the seedlings they had planted had been eaten up by the island insects. The young couple had nearly run out of all their supplies.
Now the island did have natural resources, such as fish, crabs, birds eggs, and coconuts, but this young couple didn’t know anything about how to go about harvesting them. An example of Roy being out of his element is that he would shoot his .22 caliber handgun into the water. He also used a chainsaw to cut down a coconut tree to get to the coconuts.
Meanwhile, Mac Graham was keeping up his weekly contact with his friend in Hawaii filling him in on the exploits of Stephanie and Roy. Mac’s patience with Roy was wearing thin as he did not like Roy destroying the island’s natural environment.
Last Letter
On July 13th Muff Graham wrote a letter to her mother. Muff wasn’t really all that thrilled with living off the Palmyra Island, to begin with, and Roy and Stephanie’s presence added to the disillusionment. 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. The Grahams were able to communicate with both of their mothers.
Mac’s friend in Hawaii would get their mother’s letters and would read the Grahams’ responses during his weekly radio contact. In one of the mother’s letters, she wrote that she was afraid for Mac and Muff and that they should leave Palmyra before something bad happened to them.
New Arrivals
In mid-August, two men arrived at the Palmyra lagoon. Norman Sanders and Thomas Wolf were on their way to Samona. The night before Sanders and Wolf were to leave Palmyra they had cocktails with the Grahams aboard the Sea Wind. They cautioned the Grahams to be careful with Roy and Stephanie.
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 just got angry at the suggestion and told him to leave.
Mac Graham then took out his .357 Magnum handgun and assured the two men he could take care of himself and wasn’t afraid of Roy.
By August 17th, The Sea Wind and The Iola were the only two boats left in Palmyra. On August 27th, Mac radioed his friend in Hawaii. By this time the Grahams had been alone for 10 days with Roy and Stephanie. Things were not going well and tensions were high. Muff wanted to leave the area, but Mac stubbornly did not. While talking to his friend he told him that Stephanie was on her way over to the Sea Wind in her dingy with what looked like a cake. He told his friend that perhaps they wanted a truce. They signed off with plans to talk again on the same day at the same time the following week.
One Week Later
Mac’s friend radioed the following week as planned, but there was no response from The Sea Wind. He tried again a couple of days later and over the following weeks. Mac’s friend tried to get authorities involved, but they declined to investigate at the time so he had a friend fly over Palmyra to see if he could spot The Sea Wind. The area was completely void of any boats.
No Iola or Sea Wind.
Mac’s friend feared the worst. He felt that something had happened to Mac and Muff Graham and that Roy and Stephanie were behind it. His friend decided to reach out to any yachtsmen in the Pacific by radio asking if anyone had seen The Sea Wind. Months passed with no word or sighting of the Grahams.
Spotted in Hawaii
In October 1974 the Lennards who had taken the letter from Muff to mail were back in Hawaii. Bernard Lenard spotted a 38-foot ketch with distinct lines in a Honolulu marina that looked like The Sea Wind, but it had been repainted. He also recognized Roy Allen who had been standing up on the deck. Bernard immediately contacted The Coast Guard who had been aware of the search for The Sea Wind. When told that he hadn’t seen the Grahams the Coast Guard reached out to the FBI as they felt this might lead to something outside of their jurisdiction.
So you have the boat that Bernard recognizes as the Sea Wind, but had been painted over and a person on deck who didn’t own the yacht.
An FBI agent from the Hawaiian field office was assigned and met with Bernard and the Coast Guard at the yacht harbor. The agent didn’t feel that this would involve the FBI because perhaps the owners had sold the boat or the owners were onshore. Bernard pointed out to authorities where the yacht’s appearance had been changed from taking off the nameplate and trying to paint over it and repainting parts of the boat.
Since there was no activity on the boat the Coast Guard posted a lookout to see if anyone showed up. Roy and Stephanie were spotted the next morning coming ashore in a small rowboat. They were flagged down by another boat owner who told them that the Coast Guard was looking at their boat the other day. Roy also noticed a Coast Guard boat in the harbor coming towards them. Roy changed direction and headed to the nearest dock where he jumped off and Stephanie started to row back to The Sea Wind.
Swim for It
Two Coast Guard officers closed in the man who then turned and dove off the pier and started to swim away. However, when he dove off the pier he left his wallet behind. In that wallet was a driver’s license with Roy Allen’s name on it.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard boat closed in on Stephanie’s rowboat. She had begun rowing to shore hoping to make it before they caught up. She made the dock and took off running with the Coast Guard officer giving chase. Stephanie took off into a hotel stairwell and was found soon hiding behind a potted plant. She was taken to the Coast Guard offices for questioning.
Bernard Lennard and Stephanie were towed in the rowboat to the offices. Bernard asked about the Grahams and if they were still alive. Stephanie indicated no saying that they had drowned or at least that is what she thought. She claimed that they had been invited over to the Sea Wind for dinner one night, but the Grahams were not there. The next morning they had found Graham’s inflatable Zodiac boat overturned and washed up on shore in the shark-infested lagoon. 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.
Second Time Around
Back at the Coast Guard offices, Stephanie told her story again this time to the FBI. Stephanie’s Miranda rights were read to her, but she didn’t heed the warning about her right to remain silent and begins to repeat what she told Bernard Lennard. She told the agents she and Roy arrived right before dinner, but no one was aboard. Roy told Stephanie that they had been invited over and perhaps the Grahams were out fishing for their dinner. 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.
The next morning when the Grahams didn’t return, they went out looking for them, and that is when they found the washed-up zodiac onshore. They then spent the next two days searching for the Grahams but found no trace of them. Next, she said that they left the island in the Sea Wind towing the Iola behind them. But soon the Iola had gotten caught up on a reef and soon sank. The FBI holds jurisdiction over crimes on the high seas and based upon the story that Stephanie had told she was placed under arrest for interstate transportation of stolen property.
Hunt for Roy
While Stephanie is placed under arrest, authorities were still searching for Roy who had evaded police at the marina. Having Roy’s picture and knowing about Roy trying to grow marijuana gave the FBI a starting point in their search.
But there was a problem as there was no record for a Roy Allen. The FBI took Roy’s photo to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) who recognized the picture as that of Buck Walker whom the DEA was also searching for. Buck Duane Walker was a convicted felon and fugitive. He had been awaiting sentencing on a drug conviction when he and Stephanie had absconded on The Iola.
Island Search
Fearing for the Grahams the FBI agents traveled to Palmyra Islands to see if they had been stranded there. After they arrived they found the abandoned camp that Roy had made on the beach. They also found The Iola hatch cover onshore which told agents that Roy and Stephanie had planned on scuttling The Iola as no one would go to sea without a hatch cover for their vessel. Meaning it didn’t get caught up on the reef and sink.
A theory started to develop where perhaps Stephanie and Roy had tied the Grahams up and then put them on The Iola and sank the Iola to cover up their crime.
Still On the Lookout
On November 8, 1974, Buck Walker resurfaced at an area restaurant. For the past 10 days, he had been hiding out in the lava flows on the big island of Hawaii. By happenstance, two uniformed officers were eating in the same restaurant. They had shown Buck’s picture to the waitress and she recognized him. The waitress pointed them to the bar she had sent Buck to for a drink. The officers spotted him and notified the FBI.
Buck was taken into custody on the fugitive warrant without incident. 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. She had some photos sent off to be developed while in jail and those photos were intercepted by authorities. One photo showed Stephanie standing on the Sea Wind taking a picture of Buck sailing the Iola.
The US Attorney’s office didn’t feel there was enough evidence to charge Stephanie and Buck with the murder of the Grahams. It was a circumstantial case and if they lost they wouldn’t be able to charge them again should their bodies ever be discovered. Instead, Stephanie and Buck were charged with interstate transportation of stolen property, which was a pretty open and shut case. Both were found guilty. Buck got 10 years for his original drug conviction and 5 years for the stolen property. Stephanie received 2 years.
From Down Below
On January 21, 1981, a South African couple Robert and Sharron Jordan were visiting the Palmyra Islands. Sharron was taking a walk down the beach and discovered an aluminum container that contained human remains washed up on shore. Around one of the bones was a gold wristwatch. Sharron having heard about the disappearances of the Grahams contacted the Coast Guard.
The FBI flew to Palmyra to try to verify if, in fact, the bones were one of the Grahams. The yellow container was similar to the two missing containers that FBI agents had found in the abandoned Navy warehouse years earlier. Divers were sent into the ocean to search for the other container. They found nothing, but sharks.
The bones and the container were sent off to the FBI lab in Washington D.C.
What the Bones Tell
The skull was identified as belonging to a caucasian woman in her late 40s early 50s. Dental records confirmed that it was Muff Graham. The skull also showed charring and a hole in the left eye socket which was consistent with a gunshot wound, but investigators could not say conclusively it was due to a bullet due to its deterioration. Stephanie had served her time in Hawaii and moved back to California. She was working when authorities paid her a visit to arrest her.
Stephanie and Buck were charged with the murder of Muff Graham. The FBI thought Buck was still in prison in Washington state when they went to serve him but soon found out that he had escaped after serving 42 months (3 ½ years of a 10-year sentence). Authorities found out that a woman had visited Buck the day before his escape. So the FBI put a trace on the make and model of her car and that led them to a hotel in Nevada. Buck was taken back into custody when he exited the hotel.
Tried Separately
Buck and Stephanie’s trials were held separately in San Francisco due to the publicity the Graham case had in the media. The motive according to prosecutors was theft and desperation since their boat was not seaworthy and they were running out of provisions. The prosecutor needed to prove that Muff Graham did not drown and needed to show that Muff had been inside that container. They also showed that the zodiac wouldn’t have worked if it had been found the way Stephanie and Buck said it was. The zodiac was overturned on the beach as it is not designed that way to overturn. Besides the zodiac was with the Sea Wind when it docked in Hawaii.
The San Francisco medical examiner confirmed the findings of the FBI examiner. The findings showed that the skull had been flattened on the left side of the face. This revealed that it had been lying against a hard surface, such as a container. Experts refer to this as coffin wear and it is not seen when something is buried on a soft surface, such as sand or dirt only on hard surfaces. Meaning the wear to Muff’s skull came from the hard lining of the aluminum container, not from the bottom of the harbor.
Gathering Witnesses
What made this case difficult was subpoenaing of witnesses who lived and traveled by boat. Authorities had a difficult time tracking down the other sailors who had run-ins with Stephanie and Buck in Palmyra.
Stephanie’s defense was that she blamed Buck Walker for the murder. At the time, she didn’t have a criminal record compared to Buck. Stephanie did testify on her own behalf and was able to give her version of events. Stephanie’s defense attorney was famed Vincent Bugliosi who believed that she was innocent. Stephanie came from money and was able to afford a high-priced attorney.
Now Vincent Bugliosi was known for his prosecution of Charles Manson and Mason family members of the Tate-LiBianca murders. Stephanie ended up being acquitted of all charges. The jury believed the defense’s theory that it was Buck who acted alone and concealed what he did from her.
Buck Walker was not as fortunate as Stephanie and was found guilty and received a life sentence. Buck Walker was paroled from federal prison in 2007. He was in his 70s at that time and in poor health. He died from a stroke in 2010.
Sad Twist
As of 2014, Muff’s remains are still in FBI custody, 28 years after Stephanie’s acquittal and Buck’s conviction for her murder. She has never received a formal burial. A writer attempted to raise funds to bury Muff back in San Diego where the Grahams were originally from.
Unfortunately, her remains are still in FBI custody. Mac Graham’s remains have never been found.
Resources
- Deadly Paradise | FULL EPISODE | The FBI Files
- Palmyra Atoll
- Palmyra Atoll NWR – Palmyra Atoll
- After Helter Skelter. The Story of two couples who met on a… | by Jean Campbell | CrimeBeat
- 1974 murder victim still awaits burial