WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — The Williamson County Sheriff's Office is set to release the name of the victim in the "Orange Socks" cold case.
In 1979, someone found the victim's nude and bruised body in a concrete culvert on Halloween. For almost 40 years, no one claimed her. Due to no one knowing who she was, detectives gave her the name orange socks because that is all she had on her body. It was determined that she was strangled to death.
She has been identified as 23-year-old Debra Jackson from Abilene, TX. She had left her home in Abilene in 1977.
"She was not reported missing by her family as she had done so in the past. It was believed that she had just not returned," said Sheriff Robert Chody.
The sheriff's office said that her sister came forward after seeing the new sketch of "orange socks" released.
They are looking for people who lived in Abilene and Amarillo during the 70s when Jackson lived there.
Sheriff Chody announced that a crucial break was been made in the 40-year-old cold case earlier Wednesday. He said the DNA Doe project was the genealogy group that helped identify Jackson. The sheriff says that Jackson's identification is a starting point.
"This is a big deal," the sheriff said. "We are motivated."
Jackson's family said they feel like they can let her rest after this break in the case. They had been looking for all these years, but they just thought she had went her separate way.
