Body Of Woman Found Burned On Texas Woodpile In 2006 Identified

LONGVIEW, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Authorities say the burned body of a woman found in east Texas more than 12 years ago has been identified.

Gregg County Sheriff Maxey Cerliano and sheriff's Lt. Eddie Hope say the body found October 29, 2006, and known as "Lavender Doe" has been identified, but declined to release the woman's name.

The body, of the young woman believed to be in her late teens or early 20s, was found on a burning woodpile near Kilgore, about 115 miles east of Dallas.

The identification was first announced Tuesday by the DNA Doe Project, a California-based nonprofit agency that works with law enforcement to identify crime victims.

The sheriff's office says Joseph Wayne Burnette, the man suspected of killing Lavender Doe as well as a woman in Longview last July, is in custody and has confessed.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)