Raynella Bernardene Large was born on October 25, 1948, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. She was the daughter of Annie Irene and Dewey Ernest Large, who was a nuclear scientist. Raynella grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She attended Oak Ridge High School and graduated in 1966. After high school, she went on to study and became a registered nurse.

In 1970, Raynella married Ed Dossett, who was the Knox County District Attorney. Together, they had three children and lived on a farm located west of Knoxville, Tennessee. Throughout her life, she also held a license for social work in Tennessee.

On July 9, 1992, her first husband, Ed Dossett, died in what was initially considered an accident. He was found in their corral, where it was believed he had been trampled by cattle. At the time of his death, Ed was suffering from terminal cancer. Even though there were doubts raised by the medical examiner about the circumstances of his death, it was ruled an agricultural accident.

Years later, on March 13, 2003, Raynella found her second husband, David Leath, dead in their bedroom. She called emergency services and indicated that he had committed suicide. The investigation revealed that three shots had been fired from a gun. Subsequent evidence suggested that David was likely killed by a second shot. After his death, Ed Dossett's case was reopened due to new findings.

In 2006, medical examinations showed that Ed’s body had extraordinarily high levels of morphine, suggesting he may have been given an overdose. As a result, Raynella was charged with his murder. In 2008, she was also charged with first-degree murder in the death of David Leath.

Earlier, in 1995, Raynella had been involved in an incident where she allegedly shot at a woman who had been in a relationship with her first husband, resulting in a charge of attempted murder. She took a plea bargain for a lesser sentence and served probation.

During her murder trials, Raynella maintained that David had taken his own life. The first trial ended with a hung jury, while the second trial once again resulted in no unanimous verdict. However, she was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to a lengthy prison term.

In 2016, Raynella requested a new trial due to issues related to judicial misconduct. In 2017, her retrial was held, and the judge decided that there was insufficient evidence against her. Consequently, the case against her was dismissed, and she was released from prison.