After another thought-provoking three episodes of Unsolved Mysteries volume 3 were released on Netflix, viewers once again find themselves a little dumbfounded by a case. In particular, they're asking, "what happened to 'Buffalo' Jim Barrier?"
In the episode titled, "Death in a Vegas Motel," family, friends and experts recap the events leading up to the day wrestling promoter Buffalo Jim was found dead in a Las Vegas Motel 6. Additionally, they talk about some of the interesting plot twists that appeared throughout the course of the police investigation that have them denouncing Buffalo Jim’s "official" cause of death. While the Clark County Coroner’s Office say his death was accidental, others close to him believed he was murdered.
We took a closer look into the facts surrounding the mysterious passing of Buffalo Jim and here’s what we found.
What happened to Buffalo Jim Barrier the day he died?
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department major incident report, on the night of April 5, 2008, Buffalo Jim told his then-teenage daughter Jessica he was going out (according to Jessica in Unsolved Mysteries, he specifically said he was "going to go meet with a friend for dinner. I’ll be home by 12"). Unfortunately, that would mark the last time Jessica saw him alive.
Jumping to the Clark County Coroner’s report, around 8:22 pm that evening, Buffalo Jim checked into Motel 6 for one night and stated that "there would be two occupants in the room."
The following day, at approximately 11 am, a member of the motel cleaning staff entered his room and saw him laying down across the bed with his pants pulled down around his ankles. The Motel 6 employee immediately left the room. The same housekeeper returned at roughly 1:10 pm to see Buffalo Jim’s body in the same position. After he didn’t respond to her calling out, she went to the motel lobby to dial the authorities.
Once the police and paramedics arrived on the scene and were unable to resuscitate Buffalo Jim, he was declared dead at 2:30 pm.
Facts from the Buffalo Jim Barrier case
Here are some of the more important facts and noteworthy evidence from the case.
- According to the LVMPD, Buffalo Jim’s body was found with a white powdery substance on the front of his shirt and on his face.
- The Clark Country Coroner’s report claims one of his daughters mentioned "he [Buffalo Jim] had a past cocaine addiction, although no longer used illicit drugs." No illicit drugs were found at the scene and there was no obvious sign of a struggle in the motel room.
- On May 27, 2008, The Las Vegas Sun noted that Mike Murphy, the coroner of Clark Country at time, ruled Buffalo Jim’s death an accident. He said Buffalo Jim "died of dilated cardiomyopathy" and listed "cocaine intoxication" as a "contributing condition" to his heart problem.
- According to Netflix site Tudum, investigators found Buffalo Jim’s wallet, ID and a single dollar bill on the unoccupied bed next to his body. Family and friends believe the single dollar bill is a sign that Buffalo Jim’s death was the result of a "mob hit."
How did Buffalo Jim die? Theory
Buffalo Jim’s family is not buying his death was an accident. His daughter Jennifer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that relatives believe her dad was murdered, the "victim of a mob hit." Jennifer looks at the threats her father received in the weeks leading to his death as proof, along with the lone dollar bill found at the crime, which she is convinced is a message from organized crime.
If you have more information about the case, please head over to the Unsolved Mysteries tip line.
New episodes of Unsolved Mysteries volume 3 air on Tuesdays on Netflix.
Also read what happened to Tiffany Valiante? Unsolved Mysteries theories.
