Investigators with the Knox County Sheriff's Department have been made aware of some confusion with the Missing Persons case involving Lula Cora Hood.

in 2008, when Hood's family members came forward to give DNA standards for comparison, they advised their mother's birth name was Lula Cora Hood.  At this time the family was aware that their mother had also went b the last names of Phillips, Smith and Black in conjunction with various combinations of her first , Lula, and middle, Cora (used primarily) names.  Phillips was the name Lula Cora was using when she was last seen by the family in 1970 and this is the name that was most often used by the media in their coverage of the case in the 1990's.

There was no documention provided to Investigators in 2008  to be able to determine whether or not Lula Cora had legally changed her name or had merely assumed these last names.  When the remains were sent to the FBI Laboratory in 2008, the Investigators submitted them under the birth name, Lula Cora Hood.  This is the name officially associated with the Missing Persons case.  All other names are listed as aliases.

The unidentified human remains are being referred to as "Jane Doe" at this time.

Department Contact:

Sergeant Jason Landers
Investigations Division
(309) 345-3887