Yesterday, November 21, Dateline: Raising the Dead aired on NBC. The episode showed a ghastly murder that shook Waupaca County, Wisconsin, in March 1992. Timothy Mumbrue and Tanna Togstad, 23 and 35 years old respectively, were stabbed to death in a farmhouse close to Royalton. The case remained unsolved for close to thirty years. In 2022, the murders were linked to DNA evidence, and Tony Haase was put on trial. The case had sparked interest across the state.The episode also showed how new forensic techniques and old pieces of evidence influenced the case in court. The verdict handed down by the jury on August 11, 2025, said that Haase was not guilty. The decision was unexpected as most people thought he was guilty. Jurors explained they saw flaws in DNA testing and police questioning and found reasonable doubt.Keep reading to know more about the story.Questionable DNA evidence chain of custody in Dateline: Raising the DeadThe jury’s first big reason for clearing Tony Haase was reasonable doubt about the DNA evidence. Viewers saw in Dateline: Raising the Dead that samples taken in 1992 were kept for thirty years, and questions grew about how they were handled. In 2022 testing, researchers indicated that the score was poor, and it could be improved. Despite these issues, the prosecutors used the DNA to implicate Haase in the crime.In Dateline: Raising the Dead, we saw the jurors continued to say that they could not trust the unreliable evidence. The supporters stated that the length of the delay and inadequate custody rendered the samples unreliable and even contaminated. Ultimately, the jury found him not guilty after concluding that the DNA evidence was insufficient.Coercive interrogation tactics & inconsistent confession View this post on Instagram Instagram PostAnother key reason for Tony Haase’s acquittal was the way police handled his interrogation in August 2022. Dateline: Raising the Dead explained that Haase confessed after hours of questioning, but the jury saw problems in how detectives pushed him. Jurors observed officers providing him with information and directing his responses during the three-hour video.One juror claimed the police fed him information for hours. Haase's responses were ambiguous and frequently just agreed with the police's suggestions. Initially, the jury was divided, but after rewatching the tape, more members decided the confession was weak and forced. The defense argued Haase had no memory of the crime, and the jury agreed.Unreliable palm print identification & alternative suspectsThe daughter of Jeff Thiel thought he had killed two people | Image via NBCA third reason for Tony Haase’s acquittal was the trouble with palm print evidence and the question of other suspects. Dateline: Raising the Dead explained that a palm print was found at the crime scene, but the automated system didn't match with anyone. Investigators conducted manual tests with a technician, but the results were uneven. While the second check claimed a match with Haase, the first check found none.In Dateline: Raising the Dead, jurors saw this as unreliable and doubted the process. The defense also pointed to other possible suspects, including Haase’s uncle, Jeff Thiel, who died in 1995 and was never fully investigated. They argued Haase was only 21 with no clear motive. Jurors agreed that investigators may have focused too much on Haase and overlooked stronger suspects.Follow Soap Central for more updates!