In 1984, a 25-year-old woman was coming out of a convenience store when she was grabbed from behind and thrown into a vehicle. The assailant took her to a park and raped her and robbed her of money and cigarettes. She escaped, but the assailant got her again taking her to a nearby warehouse where he raped her again. He also cut her with a razor, blinding her in the left eye. The victim only saw the back of the assailant as he ran away. When police questioned her, she said the man was black, around 27 years old, about 5'7" or 5'8", that he was physically large, and his name was Willie. While still in the hospital, the victim was shown pictures of several men where she picked out Alan Newton's photo. The victim admitted that the assailant had ejaculated on her leg and specimens were taken to be tested. Newton requested that the sperm be DNA tested in 1994 and was denied because the kit "could not be located". When the specimen was found and finally tested, it excluded Newton as the source of the sperm. In July 2006, Newton was released and his conviction vacated.