Though there was never any physical evidence that tied him to the scene, a jury found Tapp, who was 20 years old at the time, guilty of the crime based solely off of his confession, which had been obtained after more than 28 hours of interrogation.

But when he went before the judge, Tapp pleaded not guilty. He claimed the confession had been coerced. "I watch it and it's so frustrating," Tapp told 48 Hours of the tape. "You look at that 20-year-old kid, you know, and you realize, 'God, I was just an idiot.'"

As more and more people, including the Idaho Innocence Project, looked into Tapp’s case, the DA’s office offered up a deal in March 2017: Tapp would be released from prison and his rape conviction would go away, yet the murder conviction would still stand.

Tapp agreed to the deal, but was fully exonerated following Dripps’ arrest. "I've got a full-time job. I'm married," he told 48 Hours last year. "I've actually… become that productive member of society that I truly thought I could become."

New episodes of The Genetic Detective air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.