October 31, 1979. Williamson County, Texas. The nude body of a young woman is discovered in a concrete culvert next to Interstate 35. She has been strangled to death and is only clad in a pair of orange socks, but since she cannot be identified, “Orange Socks” becomes her nickname. Notorious serial killer Henry Lee Lucas eventually confesses to her murder and is sentenced to death, but there is strong evidence to suggest he was not actually responsible.

November 1, 1980. Walker County, Texas. The nude body of another young woman is discovered next to Interstate 45. She has also been strangled to death and sexually assaulted with a blunt instrument. Witnesses would recognize the victim and recall speaking with her the previous night as she asked for directions to the Ellis Prison Unit. In spite of some promising clues, investigators are unable to uncover the victim’s identity, so she simply becomes known as the “Walker County Jane Doe”.

Could the same perpetrator have been responsible for both these crimes? On this week’s episode of "The Trail Went Cold", we examine two unsolved cold cases about young women who were murdered in Texas one year apart, but have never been identified.

Please check out the Doe Network profile pages for “Orange Socks” and the “Walker County Jane Doe”, which contain facial reconstructions for both victims, their vital statistics, and contact information for the proper authorities should you happen to know who they are…

Orange Socks: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/33uftx.html

Walker County Jane Doe: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/91uftx.html

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Socks

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Identity-of-Orange-Socks-remains-a-mystery-1972763.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_County_Jane_Doe

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.