We're not going to put this to bed. Some of these individuals had not even attended the Halloween party, which made the discovery of their DNA at the crime scene that much more surprising. This isnt some true-crime podcast I can listen to and just have an opinion on.. 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. 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. Investigators would continue to reach out to Arpana's family and friends over the next several weeks, hoping to learn more about the days and hours leading up to her death. After attending a prestigious university in India, she decided to broaden her horizons for post-graduate life. At around 9:00 in the morning on Monday, November 3rd, 2008, police in Redmond, Washington were contacted by an individual informing them of a dead body. After Dax Shepard asked her about her musical chairs relationship situation. After all, he was the only one facing charges, and him facing charges for two people was - at its core - unconstitutional. In October of 2010, King County prosecutors announced that they were filing charges against Emanuel Fair for the murder of Arpana Jinaga, based on evidence they had accumulated over nearly two years of investigating. Breaking down the contenders in the seasons most unpredictable Oscar race. The two disgraced men have both been sentenced for sex crimes. A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for May 30 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald G. Morgan. In pretrial motions filed by Fair's attorneys, it was claimed that Emanuel Fair, a black man, had been treated very differently from other suspects or POIs (most of whom were white). But Suspect is often so uncomplicated in its telling, it almost seems anonymous. Instead, her life was brought to a violent and sudden end the morning after a Halloween party, and no one has been held to task for that. After making this gruesome discovery, Jay would begin dialing 911. The jailers are further accused in the lawsuit of fabricating their statements. lived right next-door to Arpana Jinaga, and by his own admission, had a pretty close relationship with her. Alanis-Mejia was allegedly beaten by jailers Raul Galarza and Mark Solis while . This likely resulted in his DNA being distributed throughout the apartment; in particular, in Arpana's bathroom, where he had cleaned himself up. These pretrial motions would also bring to light a discrepancy within the forensic analysis of the evidence, which would ultimately turn into the longest-lasting dispute in this case, carrying on over years and significantly delaying the state of Emanuel Fair's trial. What drew you to this story, and why now? The case remains unsolved today. C.J. His DNA had been found on a bottle of motor oil and on a bloody robe, both of which had been found inside of a plastic bag thrown into the apartment complex's dumpster. All that we know for sure is that Arpana had already lived a full life by the age of 24, and could have continued changing the world for the better. And the energy with which many of the people pursued this case it is tragic, what happened. Season 1 features a whodunit-style search for a holiday party killer. October 31st, 2008 - Halloween - had the rare fortune of falling on a Friday. Inside of Arpana's bathroom, investigators would find a white comforter from her bed, which had also been stained with blood. claimed to not remember anything about them. While Emanuel Fair was acquitted of the charges levied against him, the jurors that decided his fate claim that it had little to do with his innocence; but, rather, the level of reasonable doubt that his attorneys were able to raise. We're not giving up.". Season 2: Vanished in the Snow chronicles the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews. I hope I never have to investigate a case like this again.". Because the contents of "The Wretch" have not been cracked, investigators believe that it could hold proof of O'Leary committing more heinous crimes than he has been convicted of thus far, possibly even murder. 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. Marc Patrick O'Leary, an Army veteran, is a convicted rapist and home invader who you might know from the well-known book "A False Report: An Unbelievable Story of Rape" (which was later adapted into the Netflix series "Unbelievable"). In the weeks to come, it would be reported that several items had been sent to the Washington state crime lab, but it was estimated that it could take weeks - if not months - for items to be tested for any possible forensic evidence. 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. In addition to having at least one brief encounter with Arpana at the party, police were able to determine that Fair had spent time at the party with "C.J." Who knows, she might have even become a mother by now. Inside the apartment, it became clear to investigators that a struggle had taken place. 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. 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. . Meanwhile, Fair's attorneys would argue that this was not a valid argument: the state couldn't have their cake and eat it, too. At points, C.J. This contemporary moment of true-crime-podcast ubiquity and cultural power presents greater opportunity for more ambition and formal innovation than were seeing across the board right now, I think. You can listen early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App. Podcasts are listed here in order of appearance: In this Part 2 Episode: 1. Sure, it grapples with several important ideas discriminatory policing based on race, the limitations of DNA evidence, the thorny relationship between the judicial system and actual justice but it doesnt end up being particularly about any of those things, nor does it substantially advance the conversation on any front. 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. I think one surprise for me was, we talked to three jurors. 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. Weve got romance, breakups, emotionally loaded dumplings this episode has a little bit of everything! According to the 15-year-old victim, Fair had raped her numerous times, but this culminated in a final incident in the city of Burien that saw Fair escalate in violence, choking the teenage girl at gunpoint. "Classic City Crime," a true-crime podcast hosted by Cameron Jay, centers around the tragic death of Tara Louise Baker. It is . C.J. Season 2: Vanished in the Snow chronicles the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews. The damage left behind made it evident that the killer had entered through brute force, and from there, had proceeded to struggle with Arpana. 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. In 2019, he ultimately walked free after being acquitted of the murder charges. Lets get this out of the way: Suspect is a very good listen. Just because it never happened doesnt mean they cant get back together. Keyes was a methodical serial killer who obsessively planned out his crimes ahead of time, but was also known to act impulsively. 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. They argued against the analysis performed by TrueAllele; at least, until they were able to look through the source code of the software to determine just how, exactly, the program had come to this consensus. However, investigators could not establish a specific time of death; instead speculating that she had died at some point early on Saturday morning, sometime between 3:00 and 8:00 AM. 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. It's also a lot more complicated than TV shows and movies would have us believe. Meanwhile, the shift in the podcasts emphasis does mean that Jinagas own story ends up fading into the background a little bit. You see the consequences of a decision, even a relatively small decision. and on their website: sarahneilsonwriter.com. 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. could see that things were in disarray, and briefly scanned the apartment before locating the body of Arpana lying on her bedroom floor, already in the process of decomposing. 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. The case is described to us as a true whodunit, one that relies purely on circumstantial and DNA evidence because there werent any witnesses to the killing. Rather than an 'other suspect,' [C.J.] Redmond Police spokesman Jim Bove would tell reporters later that day (Monday, November 3rd): "There were signs of trauma in the apartment We have booked it as a case of suspicious death.". 1 priority in the division. than any other suspect (including Emanuel Fair), and when asked whether or not he had gone next-door to Arpana's apartment after making his two phone calls, C.J. 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.Season 2: Vanished in the Snow chronicles the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google There is no apparent reason why someone would want to take this person from the prime of her life.". 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. Several items found inside of the apartment had also been burned by the killer, including a green blanket that belonged to Arpana, the red cape she had been wearing to the Halloween party, other pieces of her costume, a black sheet, and portions of carpet. This is perhaps another way Suspect embodies a core quality of the contemporary true-crime podcast experience: You might get a little more truth and even a little more justice, but youre still far from closure. In that case, police learned everything they needed to know from the crime scene itself. I hope people think about that, but I also hope that they think about the way that justice is carried out or not, in cities across the country and in a really liberal place like Seattle. It's an extra special, two-part, more than two-hour, Valentine's event. Speaking to the Bellevue Reporter, Lt. Doug Shepard of the Redmond Police Department said: "We're a safe community. 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. The two hung out often after Arpana moved to the Redmond area, but had begun to drift apart in the weeks before the murder (due to Arpana spending her free time volunteering and participating in her motorcycle club). Not only was there just as much incriminating physical evidence implicating him in Arpana's death, but he had committed a ton of strange and bizarre acts around the time of her death that raised suspicion. 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. C.J. Fair and C.J. Those pleas would continue to amplify months after Arpana's murder, when it became evident that answers were not readily available. They could try each of the men separately or together, but couldn't try one for the potential crimes of both. However, over the next several days, they would eventually bring themselves to a consensus, and delivered their findings the following Tuesday, June 11th: not guilty. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. At times the party veers out of control. 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 . 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. While jailed at the facility, Alanis-Mejia underwent suicide screening because he had recently lost his parents. While Arpana would show an affinity for art, writing, and even gymnastics from an early age, she seemed destined to follow in her father's footsteps, becoming a bit of a tech prodigy in her teenage years. 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. Unlike Emanuel Fair, he also had a prior relationship with Arpana, lived next-door to her, and had been noticeably resentful towards her in the weeks leading up to her death. 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. Prosecutors even asserted that Emanuel Fair might have acted in-tandem with an uncharged accomplice - Arpana's neighbor, who I've identified as "C.J." Alanis was "left in that state for two hours, until he was taken to the Valley Regional Medical Center," according to the lawsuit. One, that someone had broken into the third-floor apartment of the decedent by kicking in the front door, leaving behind the broken frame to be discovered by the 911 caller. A new true-crime podcast delves into the complicated murder case of a rising 24-year-old software programmer in Redmond, Wash. She would even join a local motorcycle club, the Pacific Northwest Riders, and many of those in the PNW Riders chat-room would later reminisce about her lack of knowledge when it came to riding bikes, but how she came prepared to take on the challenge with a smile on her face, and her participation on lengthy rides throughout scenic western Washington that summer. By Monday, Arpana had not yet surfaced and she would fail to show up for work that morning. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. He previously suffered a brain aneurysm on February 18, and was ultimately taken off life support. would admit that during this time, he had stopped taking his psychiatric medication. Together, they decided to enter Arpana's apartment to check in on her, but when they knocked on the apartment door, it swung open. In that sense, the end of Suspect could very well be the start of the rest of the story. Police would arrive at the apartment complex a short time later, and immediately noticed two things that stood out about this crime. But over the next few years, Emanuel Fair would fail to abide by the terms of his release and was later jailed on probation violations. Authorities seem to have put all of their eggs in a single basket, and that resulted in an acquittal more than a decade after the original crime. After all, O'Leary seemed to show little regard for his victims' age, ethnicity, or well being - targeting them for his pure enjoyment - and he has refused to crack on any of his crimes in the years since. In October of 2008, a 24-year-old computer programmer living in the Seattle area would attend a Halloween party in her apartment complex. 6 episodes totalling 4 hours, 18 minutes. 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. Arpana Jinaga. In any case, Suspects overarching narrative builds up to Fairs victory against wrongful imprisonment. 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. More than two dozen people would filter through the numerous apartments that evening, including Arpana's. as an uncharged accomplice). The actions caused Alanis to become startled and turn around, and this is when the attack by the jailers began. did nothing but create reasonable doubt (since he could no longer be referred to as an "uncharged accomplice"). 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. However, the notion of a robbery taking place did not end there. 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). Regardless, more than a decade has passed since the mysterious death of Arpana Jinaga, and no one has been held responsible for it. "This unwritten policy of permissible use of excessive force has deep roots going back decades to Carrizales' opening. An apartment complex hosts a big Halloween party with themed rooms and costumed . 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. The final stretch of the series lingers in the bittersweet of the triumph: Its justice, but it comes after great loss. 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. Investigators would never ask him what this medication was, or what mental illness it was treating (one of the many missteps that Emanuel Fair's attorneys referred to in their pretrial motions). Listening notes for the top shows, from Vultures critic Nick Quah. Since its release on Aug. 31,Suspecthas vaulted to the top spot on Chartables U.S. rankings of most listened to Apple podcasts. Arpana Jinaga was a 24-year-old computer programmer, who had moved to the Pacific Northwest in March of 2008. More than a decade later, no one has been held accountable for her murder. We didnt want to make a promise up front that we will reveal who did this or who didnt. was a similarly likely candidate to be Arpana's killer. However, the weekend after the party, Arpana would not answer any of their calls and would fail to call them back, which was very unlike her. Police would speculate that the killer had started using bleach there and then carried it towards the bedroom, based on a trail of bleached droplets that led down the hallway. for having any involvement in the murder, they were creating ammunition for the defense in the form of reasonable doubt. 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. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Emanuel Fair's second trial began just last year, in 2019, and again, tried to reach a jury consensus regarding his guilt. Months later, members of the Pacific Northwest Riders, the motorcycle club that Arpana had joined, would organize memorial rides in her honor (which took them out to Snoqualmie Falls, one of Arpana's favorite places to visit in Washington). 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. Most of this reasonable doubt revolves around C.J., Arpana's neighbor, who also remains a very valid suspect (hence me not wanting to say his name throughout this podcast). The latest episode of Suspect highlights a reason that IMO isn't talked about enough -- the problems inherent in the jury system. 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. Even forensic analysis has its limits, as King County prosecutors and investigators in the Redmond area learned from this case. I hope we did something to draw attention to that. What do you hope people will learn from this story, and what kind of impact do you hope it will have? 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. 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. And they're a couple of names that you might be familiar with. All rights reserved. Here was a case where a woman was murdered and there were years of investigation, years of pursuing various suspects, two trials. However, these phone calls indicate that this was a lie, and he was already awake at the time this happened (and, at the very least, subconsciously thinking about Arpana). While Cybergenetics would later win the appeals to keep the TrueAllele source code a secret, several years would pass during the drawn-out legal battle during which time, Emanuel Fair continued to sit in jail, awaiting trial for charges that were nearly a decade old. 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." 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. Now inside, Jay and C.J. He only admitted to three crimes in particular - Bill and Lorraine Currier from Vermont in 2009, and Samantha Koenig from Alaska in 2012 - but is believed to have committed several other murders, as well as separate rapes, assaults, and bank robberies over an extended period (possibly decades). New episodes of the nine-part series will be released weekly on Tuesdays. 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. Suspect Season 1 Episode 1. The demeaning comments against Alanis continues and the guards purposely made the comments to cause him more stress, the lawsuit states. By this point, Arpana had already started to make plans to accomplish all of these goals. Whoever had forced entry into the apartment had attempted to clean and cover up their crime afterward. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, This password will be used to sign into all, Shania Twain Gives Rare Update on Her Ex-Husband and Ex-BFF, Journey Should Probably Go Their Separate Ways, 6 Stand-ups Analyze ChatGPTs Attempts to Steal Their Jobs, Rick Scott Is Unfortunately Kind of Right About Novak Djokovic, Rick Scott Is Unfortunately Right About Novak Djokovic, The 7 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend, Ke Huy Quan Continues His Winning Streak at the Independent Spirit Awards. I hope that answers can still be found in this case, but until such a time, the story of Arpana Jinaga will remain unresolved. And when they wake up the next morning, one resident is dead. Terms of Service apply. That is where her body was discovered, nude and bloody, lying face-down on the floor beside her bed. 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. That day, Arpana showed up for work as if it were any other workday, but told some of her coworkers about a party being held that evening at her apartment complex. 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. "Defendants Galarza and Solis acted unprofessionally and in a manner they knew would cause additional stress to Alanis' situation for no legitimate reason other than to bully Alanis because defendants Galarza and Solis were in a position of authority, power and control to do so," the lawsuit stated. Journalist Matthew Shaer, co-founder of Campside Media and Wondery, along with journalist Eric Benson, created a true crime podcast called "Suspect" which details this unsolved crime. However, without charging C.J. 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. This ultimately ended up impacting the jury, as they had not been informed about the details of Fair's prior mistrial, and the testimony of C.J. The Wagner opera returns to the Met for the first time in 17 years. Sarah Neilson is a freelance writer and book critic based in Seattle. We didnt know that the King County prosecutors office was going to be willing to participate in the show. Listen to Suspect at https://wondery.fm/SuspectEpisode Description: The residents of the Valley View apartments organize a big costume party.