Wise County District Attorney Drops Murder Charge Due To DNA Evidence

WISE COUNTY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - After making an arrest last September in the murder of a North Texas woman last July, investigators now realize they don't have the key piece of evidence they needed.

Rodney Aric Maxwell was arrested and spent months in jail for the murder of 32-year-old Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Lauren Whitener.

But DNA found in Whitener's home does not match Maxwell's.

The Wise County DA's office dropped the capital murder charge against Maxwell and investigators are back to trying to find the person who killed her.

She was found dead in her fire-damaged Lake Bridgeport home last year.

Investigators think the killer set her home on fire to try to conceal evidence.

FULL STATEMENT FROM MAXWELL'S ATTORNEY