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Dana Dodd's body was found back in 2006 but until 2018, nobody knew who she really was. The girl was brutally killed and her body was burnt beyond recognistion.
The media called her Lavender Doe because she was wearing a purple shirt when her body was discovered.
Twelve years later, her murderer was arrested due to an unrelated case. The murderer was identified as Joseph Wayne Burnette. He made a full confession in 2018 and was sentenced to imprisonment for two killings.
Details of this chilling murder mystery will be explored on Dateline- Secrets Uncovered on January 25. Watch the full episode on Oxygen.
Here's the synopsis of the episode -
Police are perplexed when they find the body of a young woman but are unable to identify her; with the help of amateur investigators and new DNA technology, a dogged investigator finds her killer and her identity.
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of murder and dismemberment. Discretion is advised.
Chilling facts about Dana Dodd's murder, how she was killed and more
1) Dana was selling magazines
When Burnette met Dana, he claimed that she was selling magazines in the parking lot of Walmart. After a while, the girl approached him to buy a magazine from her but he refused to take it, instead, he confessed that he proposed to have sex with her. The girl allegedly agreed to the offer and the two had sex inside his car.
Dana was working for a traveling magazine sales crew at the time, after allegedly fleeing from her house.
2) She was accused of stealing money
When asked why Brunette decided to kill the girl, he said that Dana had tried to steal money from him. However, the police will not be able to verify the allegations. The man claimed that after finding out that Dana was being decietful, he strangled her and burnt her body.
Even though the case remained unsolved, the police were able to get close to the accused. Her body was discovered a few days later and an autopsy revealed that she had semen inside her.
The DNA of the semen during the investigation led the police to Brunette. The murderer did confess that he had sex with the victim but did not divulge further details.
3) She had a rough childhood
Dana allegedly had a rough childhood with her mom, who left her, when she was still an infant and her dad, leaving them homeless.
After her father was arrested multiple times, Dana was raised by her step-mom, which was when she began to hop from city to city for jobs and for a livelihood. The girl eventually landed a job in Texas and started working for a magazine on their sales team.
4) Burnette was sentenced to 50 years imprisonement
Burnette was arrested for the murder of her girlfriend, Felisha Pearson in 2018. Pearson was first reported missing on July 19, 2018 and her body was found on July 24.
Over the questioning session, Burnette confessed to killing both the women. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
5) Search for her was pursued online
As the police investigated the case, the online sleuths did their own research. The project was recommended to the DNA Doe Project and they agreed to take it up. This online project aims to use genetic genealogy to solve cases left unattended.
The private investigator traced her roots to Czechs ancestry and found the victim's first cousin, a middle-aged woman who lived only a few miles away from the place where her body was found.
