A slain Texas woman whose body was discovered on the side of a highway more than four decades ago has finally been identified.
The woman, who police say was killed June 21, 1979, and found along U.S. Highway 290 in Elgin, had been referred to as Jane Doe. Elgin is roughly 200 miles south of Dallas, east of Austin.
The initial investigation into the woman’s death was unsuccessful, but in 1984 self-proclaimed serial killer Henry Lee Lucas confessed to the slaying, according to the Bastrop County sheriff’s office. While incarcerated, Lucas claimed he committed hundreds of murders, although a Dallas Times-Herald investigation later proved that to be untrue and Lucas recanted some of his confessions.
Officials said last week that Lucas is still the primary suspect in the case and no other suspects have been identified, KEYE-TV reported, but they are keeping the investigation open for the time being.
Identifying Jane Doe
In May 2019, Bastrop County detectives began reexamining the case and the Texas Rangers’ previous investigation.
A month later, the woman’s body was exhumed from her grave in the Elgin Cemetery so DNA samples could be collected, but authorities were unable to create a full DNA profile.
A second exhumation was conducted in September 2022 with help from Othram Labs, and the lab used the new samples to successfully create a DNA profile at the beginning of this year.
The sheriff’s office was able to generate a family tree for the woman and eventually identify her using the newly created profile and a process called forensic genealogy.
The woman was identified as Kathy Ann Smith, police said. She was 22 years old.
Smith was born with a different name and adopted at a young age, police said, which added another element to the investigation in determining who she was.
“There’s a family that can rest in peace … and that’s a beautiful thing,” Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan Goertz said during a news conference last week.
