The ravaged body of 29-year-old Carolyn Muncey was found in a ravine near her Luttrell, Tennessee home on July 14, 1985. Muncey's neighbor, previously convicted rapist Paul House, was charged with and found guilty of the murder. The conviction was overturned on DNA evidence, however, in May 2009, after House had spent 22 years on death row.CNN.com: Man who spent 22 years on death row is cleared (May 12, 2009)

Friends of Muncey have claimed that her husband, Hubert Muncey Jr., privately confessed to accidentally killed his wife in a drunken rage.CBS News: Did Husband Kill Carolyn Muncey? (December 12, 2004)

Key to House's original conviction was the prosecutors' assertion that House's semen was found on Muncey's clothing and remnants of her hair was i her hand. Although proper DNA testing was not available at the time, the semen residue did match House's blood type. However, DNA tests conducted in the late 1990s matched the semen with Muncey's husband, Hubert Muncey, rather than House.CNN.com: Man who spent 22 years on death row is cleared (May 12, 2009) New DNA evidence also revealed that the hair found in Muncey's hand was not House's.Knoxville News Sentinel: Prosecutor Drops Murder Charges Against Ex-death-row... (May 12, 2009)

Although Muncey's blood was found on House's jeans, this was not considered to be sufficient evidence to prove that he murdered her. It has been theorized that House may have helped dispose of the body, or that the blood came into contact with the jeans when stored together as evidence.Knoxnews.com: Prosecutor drops charges; House's family 'on Cloud Nine' (May 12, 2009)