Galveston, Texas – Linda Mae Burnett, who was serving a life sentence for a heinous crime that shook Southeast Texas, has passed away in a Galveston hospital. Burnett, convicted of capital murder in 1979, was initially sentenced to death for her involvement in the shooting and killing of a three-year-old boy, along with other family members, who were buried in a common grave near Winnie.
The tragic incident occurred in 1978 when Burnett, along with her then-boyfriend Joe Dugas, carried out the horrific act in a misguided attempt to seek revenge. Dugas, fueled by anger towards the victim’s family for his failed marriage, orchestrated the violent attack that ended in multiple fatalities.
Despite initially facing the death penalty, Burnett’s sentence was eventually overturned, leading to her incarceration in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility in Gatesville. At the age of 75, she passed away in a hospital in Galveston, marking the end of a tumultuous chapter of crime and incarceration in her life.
Dugas, her accomplice in the tragic events of 1978, met his own demise in 1983 when he was shot and killed by a Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office investigator in Livingston. The fatal encounter occurred as Dugas attempted to escape during transport from a court hearing, adding another grim chapter to the already dark tale of violence and loss.
The details of the case continue to serve as a grim reminder of the consequences of unchecked rage and violence, leaving a community in mourning for the lives lost in a senseless act of retaliation. As Linda Mae Burnett’s life comes to a close, the scars of her actions remain etched in the memories of those affected by the tragedy she played a part in.