Texas officials ID Jacksonville woman found dead in 2006

LONGVIEW, Texas – East Texas authorities have identified a 21-year-old Jacksonville woman as the person previously known as Lavender Doe after her body was found in 2006.

The Gregg County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday that authorities for years were unable to identify the body of Dana Lynn Dodd.

The identification of Dodd, who was last known to have lived in Jacksonville, was first announced by the California-based DNA Doe Project.

Joseph Wayne Burnette, 41, of Longview, is being held on $2.5 million bond in her death. The Longview News-Journal reports that evidence found at the scene led authorities to identify Burnette as a person of interest at the time of her death.

Authorities said Burnette (pictured at right), a registered sex offender, confessed to both killings. He’s also charged in the July death of another woman.