Sarah Neilson is a freelance writer and book critic based in Seattle. ", "It was a brutal scene. - a former-student of Arpana's father in India, who had since become a professor in the states - and asked him to check in on Arpana at her apartment in Redmond. And when they wake up the next morning, one resident is dead. 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). and Nirmala Jinaga, a professor of computer engineering and a housewife, respectively. It was just gruesome. 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. According to police spokesmen early on, what investigators were finding indicated homicide - signs of a physical struggle and potential signs of sexual trauma - but they would remain tight-lipped in the days to come. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Joel Alonso Alanis-Mejia, alleges the county jail system has a history of jailers using excessive force against inmates. 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. There, she lived in Apartment 8946, on the top floor of the complex. Despite the insistence from the Redmond Police Department that this case was their top priority, that didn't bring forth any answers in the months to come, as the workable leads only led investigators to numerous dead-ends. She was 24-years-old when she was killed on November 1st, 2008, and would now be 35. Who knows what kind of things she might have accomplished by now? 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. theres no closure for them, certainly from the justice system. The only other murder that took place in Redmond that year (2008) involved a jealous spouse who murdered his estranged wife and then himself (Joseph and Melissa Batten). Lt. Brian Coats would later tell reporters about the crime scene: "It was a scene where the suspect or suspects spent a considerable amount of time covering the evidence of crime. - happened to be nearby. Let's talk about Jeff (Suspect, Episode 7) There are, sadly, myriad reasons why the average American should live in fear of ever having to deal with the criminal justice system, be they guilty of a crime or not. Those thoughts were welcomed by Arpana's family back home in India, who found it "heartening" to hear what an impact she had had on those in the Seattle area over just a few months. Suspect Season 1 Episode 1. Emanuel Fair spent 9 years in jail for a crime he did not commit proclaiming his innocence through two trials, numerous motions, and drawn out judicial delays. Follow Suspect Season 2: Vanished in the Snow on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. According to one of the jurors, who later spoke to the Seattle Times, the state's inability to reconcile the charges against Emanuel Fair with the evidence implicating C.J. might have been involved). The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. Cameron County officials did not respond to The Brownsville Herald for comment by press time. Speaking to the press, King County's Sr. Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Baird claimed: "The defendant opened the locked door to Jinaga's apartment, attacked her, stripped off her clothing, gagged her, assaulted her and finally strangled her to death.". Breaking down the contenders in the seasons most unpredictable Oscar race. Season 2: Vanished in the Snow chronicles the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews. can also be characterized as an uncharged accomplice.". 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.". For the next two years, investigators would struggle to make sense of this case. October 31st, 2008 - Halloween - had the rare fortune of falling on a Friday. After being held in custody for nine years, he was found not guilty of Jinagas murder and released in 2019. Can you please do me a favor? asks a man, previously designated as a person of interest, when approached in the third episode. Even Seattles prosecutors are far more liberal than prosecutors in other parts of the country in terms of their policies. 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. 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. But what I hope people also get from this is that theres a lot of vitality in the podcast it starts with Arpana and her being an extremely alive, curious person. 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. I hope that answers can still be found in this case, but until such a time, the story of Arpana Jinaga will remain unresolved. 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. While armed robberies and sexual assaults do happen there, they are very low in number compared to other similarly-sized cities. Listen to more of his music over athttp://soundcloud.com/mooshianThe outro song ("June") was written and composed by Kieran Marsh, Business Wire - Microchip Technology Names dsPIC Digital Signal Controller Design Contest Winners; Awards $30,000 USD in Prizes, Microchip Technology Incorporated - microSOLUTIONS - February 2005, The Seattle Times - Woman found dead in her Redmond apartment, DNA India - Pall of gloom descends on Arpanas home, The Seattle Times - Woman found dead in Redmond apartment had recently moved to the Northwest, Rediff India Abroad - Another Andhra student killed in US, The Economic Times - Whiz-kid Andhra techie murdered in US, robbery suspected, The New Indian Express - Top techie from AP found dead in US, The New Indian Express - Kins hopes of seeing Arpana dashed, The Seattle Times - Woman slain in Redmond apartment had been strangled, Seattle PI - Medical Examiner: Redmond woman was strangled, Redmond Reporter - Talented techie strangled to death; no suspects yet, DNA India - Death of Arpana being probed as homicide, Seattle PI - Redmond victim was strangled, Great Andhra - FBI asked to probe killing of Indian students in US, Outlook - Ink Fresh On Their Passport, Only News Comes Back Home, Bellevue Reporter - Redmond Police have no firm suspects in murder of woman who worked in Bellevue, Redmond Reporter - Murder mystery continues nearly a year later: Redmond Police still have no firm suspects in homicide case, Seattle PI - Police follow leads in Redmond death investigation, Redmond Reporter - Redmond police continue investigating 2008 murder: Jinaga homicide not considered a cold case, Seattle PI - Two years after Halloween rape-killing, man charged in Redmond womans death, The Seattle Times - Sex offender charged in 2008 Redmond Halloween slaying, The Seattle Times - Convicted sex offender charged with two-year-old Redmond slaying, Seattle PI - Convicted sex offender charged in brutal 2008 Redmond homicide, Redmond Reporter - Convicted sex offender charged in brutal 2008 Redmond homicide, Seattle PI - Sex offender in Redmond murder case makes court appearance, Redmond Reporter - Convicted sex offender pleads not guilty to murder of Redmond woman, Seattle Weekly - The Troubling Trial of Emanuel Fair, The Seattle Times - Trial begins 8 years after Redmond woman raped, strangled, Redmond Reporter - Hung jury in Fair murder trial, Cross-Examination Blog - Cross-Examination of DNA Expert, Redmond Reporter - Fair murder retrial on hold, Wired - The Impenetrable Program Transforming How Courts Treat DNA Evidence, The Seattle Times - After nearly 11 years and two trials, killing of Redmond woman who had been living her dream remains unsolved, Redmond Reporter - Second trial in killing of Redmond woman ends with not-guilty verdict, Seattle Weekly - Second trial in killing of Redmond woman ends with not-guilty verdict, India West - Two Trials Later, Murder of Indian American Software Engineer in Seattle Remains Unsolved, KC Public Defense - Fighting for justice: Two public defenders worked for years to get their client acquitted, Kimberly Riley & Jeremy Britt-Bayinthavong, Paul Skiba, Sarah Skiba, and Lorenzo Chivers, June & Jennifer Gibbons (The Silent Twins). Jay arrived at the apartment complex at around 9:00 AM and made his way to Arpana's apartment, which one of her neighbors - who I'll nickname "C.J." When asked about this impromptu trip to the Canadian border, C.J. 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. At points, C.J. The resulting product is tight as hell, a listening experience of such efficiency that I couldnt help but compulsively move from each episode to the next. In fact, Suspect is as straightforward as a true-crime podcast can get. 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. As if that wasn't bad enough, the killer had then sprayed motorcycle oil and other chemicals all over the 24-year-old's body, which they had then attempted to light on fire, not knowing that oil isn't flammable. Things you buy through our links may earnVox Mediaa commission. So I just finished the Suspect podcast on Wondery +, and am finding myself feeling mislead by the hosts after doing some additional research after the fact. Speaking to the Bellevue Reporter, Lt. Doug Shepard of the Redmond Police Department said: "We're a safe community. Later, police would figure out that Fair attended that same Halloween party as Arpana because of photographs that other partygoers had taken, some of which had been posted online to social media sites. 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. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, of course. throughout the episode - stating during the trial that: " the State's position is that [C.J.] Other witnesses that knew C.J. A curious thing about Suspect, though, is that as much as some of its interviewees display awareness about the format theyre engaging with, the show itself largely resists doing the same. After Dax Shepard asked her about her musical chairs relationship situation. Listen to Suspect at https://wondery.fm/SuspectEpisode Description: The residents of the Valley View apartments organize a big costume party. had even asked people whether or not he had killed Arpana, seeming to be unsure of the answer himself. 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. 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). What do you hope people will learn from this story, and what kind of impact do you hope it will have? Let's get this out of the way: Suspect is a very good listen. Over the next hour or so, neighbors on both sides of Arpana would recall hearing what sounding like consensual sex taking place after the party: the neighbors would recall hearing what sounded like muffled moaning coming from her apartment shortly after 3:00 AM, which they were certain was coming from her apartment. Mar. 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. Shane Waters will introduce 14 crime podcast hosts, including Crimelines! The case remains unsolved today. I hadn't seen her for months, I'd never thought about her like that [prior to the night of the Halloween party]". When residents of the Valley View Apartments in Redmond, Wash . 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). In terms of pure execution, it's probably the best narrative true-crime podcast I've heard all year. The last episode is called Haunted because thats how everyone feels by what happened there. The power of that for potentially solving a crime, but also the potential shortcomings of DNA, was something everyone we talked to for this series has been really honest about. 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. Through clever investigating, O'Leary was later captured and ultimately linked to at least five violent rapes between Washington and Colorado: all of which he had photographed and documented, keeping mementos of the victims (such as their cell phones and cameras). These are just a couple of the most high-profile suspects I've uncovered while researching this case, but the answer may be more simple than that (it usually is). Over nine episodes, true crime podcast Suspect hosts Matthew Shaer and Eric Benson return to the scene of the 2008 crime over a decade later to uncover what happened, and speak with everyone about . And who you can expect to see performing and presenting. Those that remembered the incident thought that the man involved should be investigated as a suspect, but investigators probing this altercation didn't believe that there was anything to it. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. "Classic City Crime," a true-crime podcast hosted by Cameron Jay, centers around the tragic death of Tara Louise Baker. This meant that she had been killed sometime on the morning of Saturday, November 1st, which would correlate to the hours after the Halloween party. would later tell police that he was "kind of wanting to explore" and could offer up no further explanation for his bizarre actions. The autopsy of Arpana Jinaga was performed by the King County Medical Examiner's Office, and the results would be released roughly one week after Arpana's death (November 6th, 2008). The Wagner opera returns to the Met for the first time in 17 years. Because this individual has never been charged with any crime, I'll continue to refer to him as C.J., but there is a lot of evidence pointing towards him either having some kind of involvement in this case or, at the very least, knowing much more than he has publicly admitted. 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. Until such a time, they had to take the program and its parent company, Cybergenetics, at their word. Emanuel Demelvin Fair - who was also known as Anthony P. Parker - was 27 years old when charges were filed against him in October of 2010. Still, I dont mean for this discussion of aesthetics to take us too far away from Suspects merits in and of itself. "That same year, Gail Hansen, a chaplain ministering to inmates at Carrizales, provided evidence of commonplace illegal activities under Sheriff Cantu.". 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). 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. 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. Arpana Jinaga was a 24-year-old computer programmer, who had moved to the Pacific Northwest in March of 2008. throughout this episode - who, it turns out, had been one of the investigation's main suspects early on. All of this evidence made it virtually impossible for prosecutors to rule out C.J. It quickly became evident that the door leading into the apartment had been forced open, and the door jam was broken. Arpana Jinaga. Oh, you like podcasts? 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. 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. If there was any evidence that pointed to Emanuel Fair's guilt, then it should be considered; but evidence pointing towards the involvement of an "uncharged accomplice" did nothing more than raise reasonable doubt that Fair had even been involved. In June of 2005, Arpana was featured in the New Indian Express, in an article titled "Young Inventors." 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. was one of these neighbors, who claimed to have passed out on a couch jutted up against his and Arpana's shared wall, and he said that he was woken up shortly after 3:00 AM to the sound of moaning, before falling back asleep until 10:00 AM. The damage left behind made it evident that the killer had entered through brute force, and from there, had proceeded to struggle with Arpana. Its absence led investigators to speculate that robbery had played some kind of motive, as the killer might have stolen the bike to flee from the scene, but police would later locate the motorcycle at a repair shop in Everett, where Arpana had taken it days prior. A handful of years before the murder of Arpana Jinaga, Emanuel Fair had been arrested and charged with raping a minor. Writing the Atlantic story was a bit of a wake [up] call in all the different ways that DNA can be misused. female twins in mythology,
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