TWO couples sharing a remote island in the Pacific, the first returned to Hawaii in the other couple’s vessel and the second couple was never seen again, alive. What happened on Palmyra? Now we know some of the truth.
Palmyra lies 1,200 miles south of Hawaii and is a lonely outpost sometimes occupied by scientists and world sailors. In 1974, Mac and Muff Graham sailed to the island with plans to stay for about a year before moving on. They were nautical nomads, sailing where they pleased while operating a business from afar. They had already sailed around the world once and would likely do it again except for what happened on the island.
As it turned out, Palmyra was not uninhabited as they supposed. In addition to a handful of scientists, the Grahams met Wesley Walker and Stephanie Stearns, and it soon became clear to everyone that the young couple were not typical world travelers. Their sailboat, the Iola, was old and rickety, patched together and without the necessity of a reliable backup engine. They also lacked basic supplies such as food or a radio. Just what were their intentions?
Wesley revealed his plan to grow marijuana on Palmyra and sell it for money, and thereby support their island life, but they soon learned that the soil and climate were poor for growing the crop. As their food stocks dwindled, they resorted to cutting down coconut trees to gather the nuts and traded what they had with the Grahams just to survive.
As the scientists left the island, they warned the Grahams that the young couple were trouble, but Mac expressed confidence in dealing with them. He was armed, he bragged, and could not be outsmarted by Wesley. Soon the two couples had Palmyra to themselves and their relationship deteriorated further. At some point it led to murder.
After some time had passed and the Grahams stopped sending their weekly communications, Wesley and Stephanie appeared in Hawaii with a new boat. An old friend of the Grahams, who had visited them on Palmyra, saw the boat in a Honolulu marina, only it had been painted, re-rigged and renamed. Knowing their friends had not been heard from in quite some time, they called the police and investigated the suspicious vessel, which turned out to be the boat belonging to the Grahams, only now Wesley and Stephanie were on it.
A chase through the streets of Honolulu ensued, and for some time Wesley eluded the police, but they were both caught in the end. Wesley and Stephanie both gave fanciful stories, clearly rehearsed, about how the Grahams died, but they could not explain why they did not call in the disappearance, and why they took their boat and repainted it.
Wesley was sentenced to ten years for stealing the boat and Stephanie was given two. Since no bodies were ever recovered and investigators had no evidence linking Wesley or Stephanie to the disappearance of the Grahams, they could not prosecute them for murder. However, in 1981, another sailing couple visited Palmyra and found a metal chest containing the remains of Muff Graham, confirmed by dental records. Wesley and Stephanie were tried for murder. Wesley was found guilty and received a life sentence of which he served twenty-two years. Stephanie was found not guilty and walked away from it all.
That Wesley killed the Grahams is beyond dispute, but controversy has swirled around Stephanie’s involvement. What was her role? Did she participate in the murders? She certainly knew of them and helped steal the boat, which makes her at least an accomplice after the fact. Many believe that a great injustice was done and that Stephanie should have been found guilty along with her boyfriend. A television movie was made of the case, and Stephanie’s defense attorney wrote a book about the event called “And the Sea Will Tell,” in which he argues that Stephanie was truly innocent (of course), a pawn of her devious and violent boyfriend, Wesley.
What do you think? Was Stephanie involved in the murders? Did the jury get it wrong?
BC Cook, PhD lived on Saipan and has taught history for over 30 years. He is a director and historian at Sealark Exploration.
BC Cook
