Donna Gooden is an inhabitant of Dual Spires and also the town doctor, apparently specialized in many things. She is a descendant of one of the community's three founding families.
Shawn and Gus first see her on the beach next to Paula Merral's dead body, and she appears just as heartbroken as anyone else. The duo then visit her at her clinic in order to snoop around and learn more about Paula. Donna hints that Paula might have committed suicide by saying that Paula was a troubled young girl with a dark side who was not scared of anything, not even dying. She also says that she wishes she could have done more to help her, making it clear that she was Paula's psychiatrist. Shawn deduces from a picture of Donna, her husband and three Golden Retrievers that Donna cannot conceive.
Unfortunately, Shawn and Gus find out shortly afterwards that Donna's sadness and affection were completely faked. When Donna and Andrew Jackson show up at the cabin to kill our duo and Peter Westley by injection/gun shot, they reveal that they murdered Paula because she and Randy Jackson were planning to leave Dual Spires together. As Randy is the only one of his generation who is descended from one of the town's three founding families, Andrew and Donna considered him the only true future leader of the community and wanted to do their utmost to ensure that he would stay in Dual Spires and fulfill his purpose. When the two found out that librarian Maudette Hornsby knew about the murder, they killed her too by making it look like she hanged herself. Luckily, Lassiter and Juliet burst into the cabin before any more blood can be shed, and the murderous pair are taken away.
Trivia[]
- Donna is portrayed by Sheryl Lee, who played Maddy Ferguson and Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks. The coconuts in her clinic are a reference to her portrayal of Laura, as in the series Dr. Jacoby hides a tape from Laura in a coconut in his home.
- Donna's name is a reference to Donna Hayward, the daughter of doctor Will Hayward in Twin Peaks.
- She calls herself a woman of science, law and accounting.