throughout this episode - who, it turns out, had been one of the investigation's main suspects early on. 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. We didnt know if anyone from the Valley View apartments or if the people in Arpanas life or the other people who at one point or another seem to have been at least persons of interest, if they were going to want to talk. can also be characterized as an uncharged accomplice.". The twelve jurors, who had originally leaned 9-3 in favor of acquittal, had been sent back to deliberate before ultimately coming up with a split decision (6-6 in favor of guilty/not-guilty, 5 of whom believed that "C.J." The jailers "violently slammed Alanis into a wall and then tackled him to the ground with both officers leaping on top of him," the lawsuit stated. The most crushing thing of course is shes not here, but you can imagine it would be really difficult for her family to have that lack of closure. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The demeaning comments against Alanis continues and the guards purposely made the comments to cause him more stress, the lawsuit states. As the Seattle Weekly would point out, the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab found that Fair was 1,000 times more likely to have committed the crime than an unrelated African American, but TrueAllele found him to be 56.8 million times more likely. Thats depressing. 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. It would soon become clear to them that someone had attempted to scrub the apartment of their presence, wiping bleach onto several pieces of furniture, as well as a table in the living room (from which, fluid had spilled down onto the carpet, permanently staining it). Emanuel Fair's defense attorneys would also contest the state's claims that he had acted alongside an accomplice; stating that he wasn't on-trial for crimes that he and/or someone else may have committed. While C.J. While jailed at the facility, Alanis-Mejia underwent suicide screening because he had recently lost his parents. Just like in the first trial, the state leaned heavily upon the DNA evidence, which had been aided by the TrueAllele analysis and originally implicated Fair in Arpana Jinaga's murder. Later that day - after being turned away from the Canadian border - C.J. By October of that year, she had already scored a promotion to lead programmer and seemed destined for greater things. Friends recall that she spoke of opening an animal sanctuary for endangered species in the future. She recalled one of these voicemails sounding like constant movement on the other end, but nothing verbally being said. After her death, the killer had scrubbed Arpana's body with bleach in an attempt to destroy evidence, and investigators would later note that Arpana's hands had been stained blue by a "highly-acidic" cleaning agent. This is when police learned about the argument Arpana had gotten in with another partygoer, which was described as being "race-related." would admit that during this time, he had stopped taking his psychiatric medication. He lost 9 years of his life simply waiting for a chance to prove his innocence. 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. C.J. Investigators would later retrieve the cell phone's information from Arpana's provider, but its disappearance - as well as the absence of Arpana's camera - pointed to the likelihood of her killer being someone that she knew. Shaer: This is a really challenging case to think about on lots of different levels. claimed to not remember anything about them. Alanis-Mejia was allegedly beaten by jailers Raul Galarza and Mark Solis while . For Arpana's parents, they had to grieve not only the loss of their oldest daughter, but an inspiring and bright young soul that had managed to accomplish so much in such little time, and seemed poised to accomplish great things in the future - not only professionally, but personally. The genre, fueled by sheer abundance and the brute force of its popularity, has seeped deep into the culture, reaching a point where the form should probably be expected to engage more routinely in some level of self-reflexivity. Several suspects and persons-of-interest would be probed during that time, but for almost all of them, there was either something ruling them out entirely or not enough evidence to move forward with the case. was called to the stand during this trial to answer questions but was limited in what questions he could be asked, due to his privilege against self-incrimination. Multiple witnesses had claimed to see Arpana return to her apartment at around 3:00 AM on November 1st, and shortly thereafter, some of her neighbors had recalled hearing "moaning" coming from her apartment (which they assumed was consensual sex taking place). When residents of the Valley View Apartments in Redmond, Wash . 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. Follow Suspect Season 2: Vanished in the Snow on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. And who you can expect to see performing and presenting. 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. All rights reserved. Using the design kit allotted to each contestant, Arpana was able to design a communications jammer, which didn't win her the contest but showcased her ingenuity at such a young age (21). Some were also concerned about his emotional state at the time, due to his prior relationship with Arpana, and him seeming to have become resentful towards her because of her newer friendships. It was around 3:00 AM on November 1st (Saturday) when the apartment's Halloween party began to die down; at which point, Arpana began returning to her apartment to catch some sleep. This isnt some true-crime podcast I can listen to and just have an opinion on.. Alanis-Mejia was allegedly beaten by jailers Raul Galarza and Mark Solis while Alanis-Mejia was incarcerated at the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center in Olmito in September 2014, the lawsuit reads. October 31st, 2008 - Halloween - had the rare fortune of falling on a Friday. While O'Leary never killed any of his known victims, there are certain details about his crime spree that remain unknown to investigators: including the contents of an encrypted file on his hard drive, which has been nicknamed "The Wretch" by certain investigators. It was important for us to take the case as a whole and consider all the directions that it mightve gone, yes, but not to draw any conclusions. He was arrested for this crime and ended up pleading guilty to avoid a decade-plus prison sentence (pleading down from 2nd degree to 3rd-degree rape). Investigators and prosecutors feel the same way about this individual because he was interviewed on more than four occasions in the weeks after Arpana's murder - more than any other suspect or POI - and at one point, investigators even wrote up probable cause paperwork to apply for this suspect's arrest. Regardless, more than a decade has passed since the mysterious death of Arpana Jinaga, and no one has been held responsible for it. Its probably a spoiler to tell you at this point that the team doesnt end up solving Jinagas murder. It quickly became evident that the door leading into the apartment had been forced open, and the door jam was broken. A handful of years before the murder of Arpana Jinaga, Emanuel Fair had been arrested and charged with raping a minor. Speaking to the Redmond Reporter, Lt. Doug Shepard said: "She did not make enemies, she just made friends and a lot of them. Emanuel Fair's trial would begin in February of 2017 - more than six years after he had originally been charged, and more than eight years after Arpana Jinaga's murder. I hope that answers can still be found in this case, but until such a time, the story of Arpana Jinaga will remain unresolved. However, without charging C.J. The case remains unsolved today. At the time of this announcement - in October of 2010 - he was incarcerated at the McNeil Island Correction Center in Steilacoom for failing to update his sex offender registration and was not expected to be released until 2012. Benson: DNA was kind of the selling point in terms of why this was going to be something that was current and hadnt been talked about a lot, because the DNA science has evolved very quickly. In any case, Suspects overarching narrative builds up to Fairs victory against wrongful imprisonment. 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. For three and a half decades, her disappearance was a mystery - a riddle neither authorities . Its got a lot wrapped up in it and I am just grateful that people are engaging with it. One of the more intriguing aspects of Suspect, a new nine-part investigative true-crime podcast, is the extent to which many of the people interviewed seem to express outward awareness about the fact theyre on a true-crime podcast and what that can mean. For three and a half decades, her disappearance was a mystery - a riddle neither authorities . Paul Vernon, one of Emanuel Fair's defense attorneys, countered the state's claims; stating that if they were factoring in DNA evidence for the crime, then this neighbor of Arpana's would be just as guilty as Emanuel Fair (if not more so). 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. The gap between practice and potential is further underscored by the many instances in which Suspect carries the genres various conventions and clichs. A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for May 30 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald G. Morgan. And still you have something that plays out like this did, where no one is currently arrested, indicted or in prison for this, and the investigation is nonexistent. Not only was Keyes accustomed to Washington, having grown up in the northeastern corner of the state and serving at Ft. Lewis for a spell in the early 2000s (just south of Tacoma), but he did travel to the Seattle area on the weekend of Arpana's murder. After all, not everything has to be about something bigger than itself, and theres something to be said about delivering the most polished version of a standard. - happened to be nearby. This entire process has become known as probabilistic genotyping, and it's become a pretty integral facet of forensic testing over the last decade or so. ", "It was a brutal scene. By the age of 24, Arpana Jinaga had already lived a full and rewarding life and seemed poised to leave a positive impact on the rest of the world. She was last seen by numerous people leaving an apartment on the first floor - where the party had ended up - and was heading back up to her apartment on the third floor (the top level of the complex). Together, they decided to enter Arpana's apartment to check in on her, but when they knocked on the apartment door, it swung open. Now inside, Jay and C.J. A new true-crime podcast delves into the complicated murder case of a rising 24-year-old software programmer in Redmond, Wash. 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. and Nirmala Jinaga, a professor of computer engineering and a housewife, respectively. Offscreen, he was one himself. While border officials were able to quickly stop him, they ordered a search of his vehicle and ultimately turned him away because he didn't have a passport on him. Even Seattles prosecutors are far more liberal than prosecutors in other parts of the country in terms of their policies. had gone down to a car so that they could listen to some music, and C.J. Erin Ehlert, the Senior Deputy Prosecutor, would claim that Emanuel Fair's DNA was found in places only the killer would have left behind a forensic footprint: on the piece of tape used to gag the victim, on her neck (where she had been choked), and then on a bloody bathrobe recovered by investigators. Fair would begin serving out his four-year sentence in 2004 but was released by the end of 2006, serving less than three years and being labeled a "level one" offender (the ones that were least likely to re-offend). Typically, when police recommend filing charges against someone, they don't follow that up with any investigation of their own and that's sadly what happened here. Investigators would later speculate that this was the time when the ambitious 24-year-old's life was coming to an end, and her killer was attempting to cover up his tracks. Can you please do me a favor? asks a man, previously designated as a person of interest, when approached in the third episode. In the year of our Lord 2021, you cant swing a cat without hitting a true-crime podcast. 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. Weve got romance, breakups, emotionally loaded dumplings this episode has a little bit of everything! 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. Redmond, a suburb on the outskirts of Seattle, is located just on the other side of scenic Lake Washington and is known as a bit of a tech mecca (having served as the homes for both Microsoft and Nintendo). Keyes later committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial, but police believe he may have committed as many as 11 murders (if not more, including out-of-country victims). An apartment complex hosts a big Halloween party with themed rooms and costumed . DNA evidence was linked to three men and ultimately used to charge Emanuel Fair, a Black man from Seattle. Shortly after moving to Redmond, the 24-year-old Arpana decided to purchase a motorcycle. This area - Redmond, Washington - is a relative stranger to violent crime. In fact, Suspect is as straightforward as a true-crime podcast can get. was their ultimate undoing, and it had been a problem of their own making (as they had hoped to try 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. Strangers come . Here was a case where a woman was murdered and there were years of investigation, years of pursuing various suspects, two trials. 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. Guest on Suspect. They dance and drink. And soon, she was able to build an entire social circle around herself, due to her bubbly personality and her willingness to try anything at least once. He said that he met her briefly that night, and seemed to get along well with her; she briefly showed him photos from her bedroom computer, but that was about the extent of their interaction. Suspect premieres Aug. 17 on Wondery+ and Aug. 31 wherever podcasts are streamed. Privacy Policy and That is where her body was discovered, nude and bloody, lying face-down on the floor beside her bed. Alanis was "left in that state for two hours, until he was taken to the Valley Regional Medical Center," according to the lawsuit. He was also a longtime friend of Omar Norman, a convicted killer that had received a 52-year sentence for murdering a man in October of 2005. C.J. "It's the No. She had been posthumously covered in numerous liquids, including bleach and motor oil, which the killer had undoubtedly use to try and cover up the crime scene. Oh, Loosey! According to an interview with Coats by Matt Shaer who retraced the steps of Coats' investigation in his podcast, Suspect, and whose interviews helped inform Fair's lawsuit he spotted . In a new Wondery podcast series called "Suspect," career journalists Matthew Shaer and Eric Benson investigate the story of Jinaga's murder, Fair's conviction and the spiderweb of details . Its the best we can do forensically, but it still requires human beings to translate. But just a few days before the retrial was set to begin (September 11th, 2017), the trial was placed on hold pending a discretionary review by the Court of Appeals. This included the tape used to gag Arpana, DNA recovered from her neck (where she had been strangled), and a bloody robe found in the apartment complex's dumpster, which contained traces of Fair's DNA. 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. Even forensic analysis has its limits, as King County prosecutors and investigators in the Redmond area learned from this case. Emanuel Fair's innocence would be asserted by his defense attorneys in the months and years to come, who insisted that he receive proper treatment under the law; which, they alleged, prosecutors were refusing to give to him, as had the investigators from the very beginning of this case. Roughly two months after the trial began, after weeks of gridlock, the trial would end with a hung jury. How did that happen? Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix have broken up after he allegedly cheated on her with Raquel Leviss. 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. Still, I dont mean for this discussion of aesthetics to take us too far away from Suspects merits in and of itself. Meanwhile, Fair's attorneys would argue that this was not a valid argument: the state couldn't have their cake and eat it, too. Was there anything that surprised you in your reporting of this story? She would begin working there in March of 2008, and a company spokesman would later say that during her brief six-month tenure at the company, she had cemented herself as a hardworking and bright employee, who was considered a "rising star" among the higher-ups at EMC. Short of clear leads and smoking guns, the authorities ultimately pin the crime on the lone Black man at the party, Emanuel Fair, who had a prior criminal record. Six years after charges were filed, Fair, now 33, spends his days shuffling between the King County Superior Court and the county jail while his two defense attorneys . It gives me a little bit of hope, that something that is relatively complicated is being thought about and talked about in the way that it is. This eventually led to her moving to the United States to attend Rutger's University in New Jersey. On Thursday, June 6th, 2019, the 12 members of the jury began deliberating, and originally found themselves deadlocked yet again (split into groups of 4: innocent, guilty, and undecided). Meanwhile, Emanuel Fair's defense attorneys Benjamin Goldsmith and Katharine Edwards emphasized creating reasonable doubt; mostly, by pointing the blame at Arpana's neighbor, C.J., whom, they believed made a more convincing suspect. The Washington State Department of Commerce on March 2 released its final housing needs projections, which suggest the state needs to add 1.1 million homes over the next 20 years and more than half of those homes need to be affordable for residents at the lowest income levels. may have participated in the crime with Fair and that evidence implicating [C.J.] They argue and fight. They can be found on Instagram @readrunsea;
Speaking to the Times, this juror recalled: "I think that was the biggest reasonable doubt and no one could eliminate him [as the killer] We found [Fair] not guilty because of reasonable doubt, not because we thought he was completely innocent.". By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Id written anarticle about DNA forensic science for The Atlantic, and I was like everybody else I thought that DNA worked like it did on Law & Order, where its a green light. Sign up for Vultures new recommendation newsletter 1.5x Speed here. 4A former Cameron County inmate is suing the county and two of its jailers for $1 million alleging he was beaten by the jailers while incarcerated. At the same time, her family was desperately trying to call her, having not heard from her since the prior Thursday. This is a series whose internal universe pretty much stops at the very edges of its specific case. 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. 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. Prosecutors made it clear that they were seeking more than the recommended sentence - 45 years - which they were allowed to pursue because of the aggravated circumstances of her death. Shortly thereafter, Fair would be arraigned on murder charges and entered a plea of not guilty. "There have been multiple reports between 2012 and 2020 of Carrizales guards provoking inmates in order to get reaction from the inmate and then beat the inmate," the lawsuit stated.