'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAb/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB/9oADAMBAAIQAxAAAACEmAP/xAAeEAABBAIDAQAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEEQAFEjEyQf/aAAgBAQABPwDQaqNPguuqceSWyfB43SBVj73kliHGkusEyFlpZRyuro1fef/EABYRAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACIf/aAAgBAgEBPwBof//EABURAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAEDAQE/AJf/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Dana Dodd seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth in 2006, and it was over a decade later that she was finally identified. Though the case was solved and her perpetrator was ultimately punished, Dodd's disappearance and subsequent identification in January 2019 remain one of the most fascinating true crime cases from Kilgore, Texas.
Dana Dodd's murder is the subject of the upcoming episode of Dateline on NBC, which is slated to premiere at 10 pm EST. Titled The Woman With No Name, the synopsis for the episode reads:
"When police are unable to identify a young murder victim, a dogged investigator employs the help of armchair detectives and new DNA technology to find her killer -- and her identity."
Trending
Ahead of the episode on Friday, December 6, 2024, let us go over five chilling facts about this murder.
5 chilling facts about Dana Dodd aka Lavender Doe's murder
1) Dana Dodd was identified as Lavender Doe for 12 years
After Dana Dodd disappeared in 2006, an unidentified body was found in Kilgore, Texas, which was reportedly spotted by two men out shooting target practice. The victim's body was not identified right then and it was referred to as "Lavender Doe." This was because the dead body was found in a lavender sweater.
It took 12 years to figure out that it was Dodd's body after the DNA Doe Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding identities of unidentified victims, got behind it.
2) Dodd was also s*xually assaulted before being murdered
When the body was found in Kilgore, Texas, authorities found out after an autopsy that the woman was also s*xually assaulted before being murdered.
Interestingly, when the body was located, it was still on fire, which hinted that it was a very recent crime. Yet, it took so long to solve this case.
3) Dana Dodd's killer was suspected for the murder but was not punished immediately
Even before the authorities could figure out the identity of the victim, police had already singled out Joseph Wayne Burnette, a convicted s*x offender. He was in prison at the time but the authorities could not physically link him to the murder of Dana, who was still being referred to as "Lavender Doe."
4) Dana Dodd's killer was originally arrested for a separate crime
In a shocking twist, Dodd's killer, Joseph Wayne Burnette, was arrested in connection to another murder. In 2018, Felisha Pearson disappeared and soon her remains were discovered in a remote forest off West Birdsong Street in Longview, Texas.
As Burnette was living with her at the time, he became an immediate suspect, and after being arrested for failing to register himself as a s*x offender, he was arrested.
5) Joseph Wayne Burnette is serving time for both the murders
After confessing that he murdered Felisha Pearson, he also confessed to the murder of Dana Dodd. He was subsequently given three concurrent 50-year prison sentences. His earliest parole eligibility is in 2043. He remains incarcerated at the Michael Unit in Tennessee Colony, Texas.
The upcoming episode of Dateline on NBC will cover this case in more detail.
