It's also worth pointing out that the same evidence used against Emanuel Fair - the DNA evidence analyzed by TrueAllele - revealed that C.J. Just because it never happened doesnt mean they cant get back together. According to prosecutors, Emanuel Fair claimed to have gone back to his friend Leslie's apartment at around 1:00 AM but would make nearly two dozen calls to three separate women (none of whom were Arpana) between 2:00 and 5:00 AM. Or it might not. While O'Leary was ultimately arrested for crimes he committed in Colorado, he had committed earlier crimes in Washington; in particular, in the area where Arpana lived - where he lived, as well. Arpana moved to Redmond, Washington in the early months of 2008. Suspect takes up the unsolved murder of Arpana Jinaga, who was killed the night of a Halloween party at her Redmond, Washington, apartment complex in 2008. They dance and drink. After attending a prestigious university in India, she decided to broaden her horizons for post-graduate life. In a new Wondery podcast series called Suspect, career journalistsMatthew ShaerandEric Bensoninvestigate the story of Jinagas murder, Fairs conviction and the spiderweb of details around this story. Discover golden trading opportunities with FXTM, Laura B. Martinez, The Brownsville Herald, Texas. Cameron County officials did not respond to The Brownsville Herald for comment by press time. On November 21st, 2008 - three weeks after the murder - he spoke to investigators and admitted to being inside of Arpana's apartment during the Halloween party. Writing, research, hosting, and production by Micheal Whelan, Producers: Maggyjames, Roberta Janson, Ben Krokum, Peggy Belarde, Quil Carter, Victoria Reid, Laura Hannan, Gabriella Bromley, Amy Hampton, Steven Wilson, Scott Meesey, Damion Moore, Astrid Kneier, Marie Vanglund, Scott Patzold, Lori Rodriguez, Aimee McGregor, Sue Kirk, Sydney Scotton, Sara Moscaritolo, Thomas Ahearn, Seth Morgan, Alyssa Lawton, Marion Welsh, Jared Midwood, Patrick Laakso, Kelly Jo Hapgood, Meadow Landry, Rebecca Miller, Tatum Bautista, Travis Scsepko, Teunia Elzinga, Erin Pyles, Jo Wong, Jacinda B., Ryan Green, Consuelo Moreno, Kelly Harris, and Emi Coates, Music throughout the episode was composed by Jake Mooshian. Witnesses would recall this incident being "race-related," likely due to comments the man had made, but Arpana would quickly move on and seemed to enjoy the rest of the party. claimed to not remember anything about them. Listening notes for the top shows, from Vultures critic Nick Quah. Muhammad Ali, one of Arpana's co-workers at EMC in Bellevue, would attempt to call her but was unable to get through to her cell phone. "We still consider it early in the investigation. Can Anyone Predict Whos Going to Win Best Supporting Actress? Both jailers acted under color and are not entitled to qualify for immunity because the excessive use of force violated Alanis-Mejia's Fourteen Amendment constitutional rights, the lawsuit alleged. This was paired with several inconsistencies in Emanuel Fair's story; which included - but was not limited to - calls he had made during the time of Arpana's murder. When asked about this impromptu trip to the Canadian border, C.J. Things you buy through our links may earnVox Mediaa commission. During his interviews with investigators, C.J. Later that day - after being turned away from the Canadian border - C.J. Breaking down the contenders in the seasons most unpredictable Oscar race. Friends recall that she spoke of opening an animal sanctuary for endangered species in the future. According to this caller, the body had been found in an apartment just north of Marymoor Park, the scenic park and music venue east of Seattle, jutted up against Lake Sammamish. Inside the apartment, it became clear to investigators that a struggle had taken place. TikToks Favorite Celebrity Couple Is Kim Kardashian and Michael Cera. As they were walking to a jail cell where Alanis was to be housed, they continued to yell at him and at one point Galarza then proceeds "without provocation or justification to push Alanis forward," the lawsuit stated. Inside of Arpana's bathroom, investigators would find a white comforter from her bed, which had also been stained with blood. 6 episodes totalling 4 hours, 18 minutes. Shaer: It might be different from other types of true-crime shows that people are used to where theres an agenda as to who ultimately committed the crime or who didnt. C.J. Its challenging in terms of race, in terms of policing, in terms of forensic science. While Arpana didn't have any friends or family in the area, she didn't let that deter her from leaning into the community. But we got really all of those people. The team, led by Matthew Shaer and Eric Benson (who previously collaborated on Over My Dead Body), with further reporting by Natalia Winkelman, approaches every beat of the investigative documentary process with clinical precision and workmanly competence. The last episode is called Haunted because thats how everyone feels by what happened there. to give the unexplained injury an innocuous excuse. The series plays out in two halves: the first is a deep dive into the mystery of Arpana Jinagas murder, while the second walks through the events of Emanuel Fairs legal trials, which he endured while being wrongfully imprisoned for nine years. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. He was originally charged with Arpana's murder in October of 2010 and acquitted in June of 2019 - nearly nine years, in which there was little movement in Arpana's case. The lawsuit alleges jailers Raul Galarza and Mark Solis began demeaning Alanis-Mejia and ridiculing him because he was crying over the death of his parents. The case remains unsolved today. After being held in custody for nine years, he was found not guilty of Jinagas murder and released in 2019. Suspicious deaths, such as homicide, very rarely happen in Redmond: one of the wealthier suburbs on the outskirts of Seattle, which is known internationally for housing the U.S. headquarters for both Microsoft and Nintendo. might have been involved). Two, that there was a noxious smell emanating throughout the apartment, which indicated the widespread use of chemical cleaning agents, which now proliferated the small living quarters. By January of 2009, it was reported that work on the case had started to stall, but investigators were still optimistic, due to the aforementioned physical evidence, which they were still awaiting the results of. Fair's attorneys claim that he had been treated negatively during interviews, while other suspects with more incriminating evidence pointing to their guilty were treated with metaphorical kid's gloves. But theres also a kind of incredible energy that went into every part of this; as much as it all sort of ended up with everyone feeling haunted, this was a lot of people trying to do what they thought was right, in most cases. By Cameron Sheppard March 4, 2023 1:30 pm. The final stretch of the series lingers in the bittersweet of the triumph: Its justice, but it comes after great loss. I hope I never have to investigate a case like this again.". Season 2: Vanished in the Snow chronicles the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews. Was it Jesus secretary? Suspect initially sticks to the costumed whodunit structure, chiefly to establish the gallery of possible suspects, but eventually jettisons that framing as it progresses through the outcome of the actual police investigation. Dispatchers would tell both of the men to leave the apartment but remain nearby, and wait for investigators to arrive. After nine years of awaiting his fate, 35-year-old Emanuel Fair was released from custody just hours after being acquitted in the death of Arpana Jinaga. They can be found on Instagram @readrunsea; However, without charging C.J. At the same time, her family was desperately trying to call her, having not heard from her since the prior Thursday. That was surprising. In the year since Emanuel Fair's second trial came to an end, the story has received close to no attention from the world-at-large. The description they gave to police more closely resembled C.J. Since its release on Aug. 31,Suspecthas vaulted to the top spot on Chartables U.S. rankings of most listened to Apple podcasts. Police had publicly speculated that Arpana's killer - who had stolen her cell phone and digital camera - might have attempted to distribute the stolen items through pawn shops, so this seems to be more than pure coincidence. Emanuel Fair's second trial began just last year, in 2019, and again, tried to reach a jury consensus regarding his guilt. It quickly became evident that the door leading into the apartment had been forced open, and the door jam was broken. Shaer: This is a story that found me rather than the other way around. Crime scene investigators with the Washington State Patrol would arrive at the scene roughly four hours after the 911 call was made, and began documenting what they found and where. That is, until roughly two years later when King County officials would throw together a press conference, where they announced the arrest of a suspect. The analysis of this evidence had been performed by TrueAllele, making it the first criminal trial in Washington state that this was done; it had been used in prosecutions from other states - as well as exonerations in Washington - but never in this manner. They do unearth some new information and context, but this remains a story whose outcome can be easily Googled, even as Suspect underlines the details and the stakes with a more prominent shade. Utilizing almost 200,000 lines of code, TrueAllele can analyze evidence with more than a half-dozen contributors, and determine who the most likely culprit is based on how many genetic markers are left on the evidence and where. After his release from prison in November of 2006, Fair would begin a three-year process of floating between prison and homelessness; this included the period in which Arpana Jinaga was murdered. The following Monday, her body would be discovered inside of her apartment, the victim of an apparent homicide. In October of 2008, a 24-year-old computer programmer living in the Seattle area would attend a Halloween party in her apartment complex. This Valentine's Day, prepare for a unique podcast experience! For three and a half decades, her disappearance was a mystery - a riddle neither authorities . It seemed more like a momentary argument to them than a sign of anything serious and didn't believe that it was linked to Arpana's death hours later. Sarah Neilson is a freelance writer and book critic based in Seattle. She had traveled the globe in pursuit of an exciting and adventurous life, made a name for herself in the notoriously-competitive tech sector by the age of 24, endeared herself to dozens of strangers and it had all ended with one senseless act of violence. And while TrueAllele had not yet been used by a prosecution in Washington state at this point, it had been used to obtain dozens of convictions all over the country and was seen as a reliable tool for law enforcement. [In the 1980s], you really needed a lot of body fluid, so there was no ambiguity about whose DNA it was. Suspect is an investigative series about mislaid justice and the kinds of weighty decisions that detectives, lawyers, and jurors make every day - decisions that, once made, are almost impossible to reverse. Her body was then flown back to India, to be properly buried by her family, who struggled to move on after her sudden loss. This likely resulted in his DNA being distributed throughout the apartment; in particular, in Arpana's bathroom, where he had cleaned himself up. In the apartment complex's dumpster, investigators would find a bottle of Castrol motorcycle oil, which the offender had likely found inside of Arpana's apartment and then sprayed all over the crime scene and her body. One of Arpana's neighbors (Kyle R.) would later remark that at around 8:00 AM, he was awoken by a "horrible growling" sound, which persisted for about 20 seconds and was punctuated with a solid thud sound. The Seattle Timesrecently spoke with Shaer and Benson over Zoom about the impetus for this podcast, what surprised them in their reporting and what their take-aways are from investigating this story. It is unknown if Galarza and Solis are still employed by the county, and it is also unknown if they have hired attorneys to represent them. Instead of trying to solve Jinagas murder, Shaer and Benson use extensive interviews to weave a complex narrative around race, injustice, the place of forensic DNA evidence in the common perception of guilt and innocence and, ultimately, a tragic story with no real closure. Sheriff Conrado Cantu took office as sheriff in 2001 and oversaw Carrizales when it first opened in 2004," a portion of the federal lawsuit stated. It was also pointed out by the defense that Emanuel Fair - now standing trial for murder - had been involved in a small accident at the party that resulted in him getting a bloody lip inside of Arpana's apartment (which was verified by other partygoers). Prior to that, she had attended Rutgers University on the east coast, but had grown up in the Indian city of Hyderabad as the oldest of two daughters. For the next two years, investigators would struggle to make sense of this case. Not only had he been at the party, lived next-door, and had a close personal relationship with the victim, but evidence found at or near the crime scene also seemed to implicate him. And who you can expect to see performing and presenting. Suspect is a lot more successful in the latter mode, if only because the series wraps up with yet another genre convention: the original mystery resolves inconclusively. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. However, in that decade, we have learned about a couple of high-profile criminals that were active in the area at the time, who may or may not have committed this crime. Strangers come . This killer had kicked in the front door to the apartment, which had been locked beforehand by not only the doorknob itself but the deadbolt. The defense also pointed out how evidence found in the apartment complex's dumpster - which had ultimately implicated Emanuel Fair - was found nearly two days after the discovery of the victim's body, giving it several days of potential tampering before being documented by investigators. had even shown Fair a music editing software on his home computer. . The crime scene itself was a maelstrom of forensic evidence because more than a dozen people had been inside of Arpana Jinaga's apartment just hours before her death, attending the Halloween party. During that time, he had been couch-surfing with a friend at Arpana's apartment complex: a young woman named Leslie, who would actually lie to police about Emanuel staying there (claiming that she was home alone when questioned). However, the results obtained through TrueAllele pointed to Fair, in particular, as the killer; with the software saying that he was thousands of times more likely to have been Arpana's killer than other available suspects. Even Seattles prosecutors are far more liberal than prosecutors in other parts of the country in terms of their policies. Despite being a relative unknown in the public sphere, Fair was no stranger to law enforcement, having been arrested nearly a dozen times already, and serving sentences for at least six crimes: which included drug and firearms-related crimes, as well as sexual offenses. Alanis was "left in that state for two hours, until he was taken to the Valley Regional Medical Center," according to the lawsuit. Sign up for Vultures new recommendation newsletter 1.5x Speed here. In addition to joining a motorcycle club, Arpana also volunteered at the Redmond Fire Department, riding along to fires in the area; as well as animal shelters in Bellevue, where she helped care for and attend to unwanted pets. as a suspect which is why they ultimately presented a case that didn't do so. Whats Next for Convicted Sex Criminals Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly? Fair was held in jail for nine years and was twice tried but was never convicted. While those at the party remember Arpana going home alone at around 3:00 AM, neighbors that lived on both sides of her unit would recall hearing what sounded like muffled moaning sounds shortly thereafter, which they assumed at the time was consensual sex (but, knowing what we know now, undoubtedly wasn't). And they're a couple of names that you might be familiar with. Many had written off the case long ago, due to the belief that DNA had correctly tagged Fair as the killer back in 2010, but the truth is that the story is much more complicated than that. There is no apparent reason why someone would want to take this person from the prime of her life.". In fact, they posited throughout the first trial that he may have been an accomplice; an uncharged accomplice, but an accomplice nonetheless. More than a decade later, no one has been held accountable for her murder. (Arpana's neighbor, who would co-discover her body days later). After Dax Shepard asked her about her musical chairs relationship situation. He couldn't recall whether or not he had kicked in Arpana's front door, and was unable to explain why he had printed out a map of pawnshop locations the morning afterward. Gregory Hobbs, another member of the club, said in the same article: "She would strive to succeed in everything and she did just that. But as the reporting got going in earnest, it became more about an opportunity to do something which Ive always wanted to do, which is really break down an investigation from beginning to end and see how these cases come together or dont. We have a brutal murder with no suspect. Why did it play out like it did? Season 2: Vanished in the Snow chronicles the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews. Im trying to tell the truth dont cut this podcast to make me look like a maybe suspect. Later, a woman who served as the jury foreperson in a pivotal trial talked about her responsibility as follows: I had to pay attention.