East Texan to Stand Trial Next July for 2 Murders in Longview

GREGG COUNTY — A Longview man will face trial next July for the murder of 2 women in Gregg County. According to our news partner KETK, Joseph Wayne Burnette, 42, is accused of murdering Felisha Pearson and a woman known for more than a decade only as “Lavender Doe”. Both cases have been set for July 20th in the 188th District Court in Longview. The court date will be one year to the day since Felisha Pearson was reported missing by her mother.

Pearson’s body was found in the woods off West Birdsong Street in Longview. On that same day, the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office announced it was looking for Burnette, who had failed to register as a sex offender. “Lavender Doe” had been a murder mystery for more than 12 years. DNA Technology would eventually give Dana Lynn Dodd her name back. Dodd was 21-years-old when she got into a stranger’s car at a Walmart in Longview. Joseph Wayne Burnett confessed to Dodd’s murder in 2018.