They were primarily interested in the Halloween party she had attended that Friday, which was held inside of four separate apartments and saw more than two dozen guests coming-and-going well into the morning hours (which is when Arpana had died). This isnt some true-crime podcast I can listen to and just have an opinion on.. 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. lived right next-door to Arpana Jinaga, and by his own admission, had a pretty close relationship with her. Now science has gotten very sophisticated. Can you please do me a favor? asks a man, previously designated as a person of interest, when approached in the third episode. 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 C.J. By Cameron Sheppard March 4, 2023 1:30 pm. 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). The podcast currently has over 1,000 followers on Instagram and has over . Chef Ethan Stowell buys a historic Seattle dive bar, 4 steep Seattle stair climbs to get you in shape for WA hiking season, WA volunteer details Colchuck Peak avalanche search-and-rescue effort, How one Ballard newbie became pinballs international rookie of the year, Restaurant review: Itsumono is making some of Seattles best food and great drinks, too, Arpana Jinaga was found strangled in her apartment, U.S. rankings of most listened to Apple podcasts, After nearly 11 years and two trials, killing of Redmond woman who had been living her dream remains unsolved, Woman found dead in Redmond was slain, police say, article about DNA forensic science for The Atlantic. It is . Arpana moved to Redmond, Washington in the early months of 2008. By the time she was reaching adulthood, Arpana had already become incredibly proficient in embedded systems (utilizing both hardware and software for specific functions) and gained international notoriety for her skills in 2005 when she participated in a design contest for Microchip. 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. Speaking to the Redmond Reporter, some of the club's members would remember Arpana as the fun-loving, ambitious young woman she had been - not just the victim she had become in local newspapers. Alanis was "left in that state for two hours, until he was taken to the Valley Regional Medical Center," according to the lawsuit. Shaer: This is a really challenging case to think about on lots of different levels. After Dax Shepard asked her about her musical chairs relationship situation. 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). Still, I dont mean for this discussion of aesthetics to take us too far away from Suspects merits in and of itself. Now inside, Jay and C.J. 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. That dream that would ultimately turn into a nightmare for herself and her loved ones, who have had to endure years of trials and tribulations in the wake of their tragic loss. To-date, Arpana Jinaga's murder remains unsolved. Its the best we can do forensically, but it still requires human beings to translate. Was there anything that surprised you in your reporting of this story? 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. It was soaking in the tub, in a mixture of water and bleach. That is where her body was discovered, nude and bloody, lying face-down on the floor beside her bed. 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. In June of 2005, Arpana was featured in the New Indian Express, in an article titled "Young Inventors." Travis Barkers Finger Is Now the Enema of Blink-182 Fans. 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.". And when you get to talk to all these different people who are involved in the case at different times, you see how that power manifests itself or doesnt. Shortly after moving to Redmond, the 24-year-old Arpana decided to purchase a motorcycle. 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. 6 episodes totalling 4 hours, 18 minutes. This Valentine's Day, prepare for a unique podcast experience! Season 2: Vanished in the Snow chronicles the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews. "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. The description they gave to police more closely resembled C.J. An exclusive trailer for Suspect is below. You see the consequences of a decision, even a relatively small decision. He previously suffered a brain aneurysm on February 18, and was ultimately taken off life support. Privacy Policy and 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. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. 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. 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. Whoever had forced entry into the apartment had attempted to clean and cover up their crime afterward. Its probably a spoiler to tell you at this point that the team doesnt end up solving Jinagas murder. 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 . Specifically, it is a software that uses thousands of algorithms to read DNA and translate it, essentially, into evidence that investigators and prosecutors can then use. 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. Alanis Mejia is also accused of striking Galarza in the chest. and on their website: sarahneilsonwriter.com. 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. If the state wanted to pursue charges against Emanuel Fair, then they were well within their right to do so, but attempting to convict both him and an uncharged accomplice for crimes that they might have committed together was unconstitutional. 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. The residents of the Valley View apartments organize a big costume party. After leaving work, she would stop by a store to pick up some Halloween decorations, and began covering her apartment as other people began returning home and donning their costumes. Arpana Jinaga was not the first young professional from India to be killed in 2008. These were the last calls or texts Arpana would receive that night, and when questioned about these phone calls, C.J. 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. says that he went back to his apartment at around midnight to go to sleep, his phone records would show that he called Arpana twice a few hours later: once at 2:56, and a second time at 3:02 AM. throughout this episode - who, it turns out, had been one of the investigation's main suspects early on. would later tell police that he was "kind of wanting to explore" and could offer up no further explanation for his bizarre actions. Each host brings a new, love gone wrong true story to mix. can also be characterized as an uncharged accomplice.". 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. had even shown Fair a music editing software on his home computer. Inside of Arpana's bathroom, investigators would find a white comforter from her bed, which had also been stained with blood. 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. In it, she spoke about her love of working with computers and using them to innovate new and exciting things and spoke about working with companies in the future to do just that - innovate - before following in her father's footsteps to become a professor. 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). "This unwritten policy of permissible use of excessive force has deep roots going back decades to Carrizales' opening. This likely resulted in his DNA being distributed throughout the apartment; in particular, in Arpana's bathroom, where he had cleaned himself up. had gone down to a car so that they could listen to some music, and C.J. 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). was a similarly likely candidate to be Arpana's killer. Guest on Suspect. The prosecution would quickly decide that they wanted to retry Emanuel Fair for the murder of Arpana Jinaga, and the court would set a date for that September. Meanwhile, the shift in the podcasts emphasis does mean that Jinagas own story ends up fading into the background a little bit. 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. 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. Keyes was a methodical serial killer who obsessively planned out his crimes ahead of time, but was also known to act impulsively. Even Seattles prosecutors are far more liberal than prosecutors in other parts of the country in terms of their policies. 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). Again. The final stretch of the series lingers in the bittersweet of the triumph: Its justice, but it comes after great loss. When officers and investigators had first arrived at Arpana's apartment, they made note of the smell of chemical agents throughout it. This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. 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. Writing the Atlantic story was a bit of a wake [up] call in all the different ways that DNA can be misused. For the next two years, investigators would struggle to make sense of this case. 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. throughout the episode - stating during the trial that: " the State's position is that [C.J.] 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. 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. More than a decade later, no one has been held accountable for her murder. claim that over the next several days and weeks, he made vague statements alluding to him going over to Arpana's apartment in his sleep; which, when you factor in him having quit psychiatric medication a short time prior, seems worrisome. Roughly two months after the trial began, after weeks of gridlock, the trial would end with a hung jury. Editors note: A previous version of this story stated Emanuel Fair was convicted for the murder of Arpana Jinaga. 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. Hes dangerous, hes terrifying, hes an extra in, How to Watch the 2023 Oscars Celebrate All 23 Categories Live Again. 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). 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). 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. 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 . 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. Since its release on Aug. 31,Suspecthas vaulted to the top spot on Chartables U.S. rankings of most listened to Apple podcasts. 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). After all, he was the only one facing charges, and him facing charges for two people was - at its core - unconstitutional. Sign up for Vultures new recommendation newsletter 1.5x Speed here. The team, led by Matthew . 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). DNA evidence was linked to three men and ultimately used to charge Emanuel Fair, a Black man from Seattle. He lost 9 years of his life simply waiting for a chance to prove his innocence. Benson: We didnt know that the Redmond [Police Department] was going to be willing to participate in the show. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us. That night, Arpana and at least three of her neighbors would open up their apartments for the party, which would move throughout the complex over several hours. 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? Another military veteran that has become a suspect in this story is none other than Israel Keyes, who was the focus of a very early episode of Unresolved from 2015 (and has since been covered more extensively in other books, documentaries, and podcasts). 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.". - happened to be nearby. In fact, Suspect is as straightforward as a true-crime podcast can get. October 31st, 2008 - Halloween - had the rare fortune of falling on a Friday. 1 priority in the division. 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. According to investigators, they were also struggling to piece together a solid motive. After attending a prestigious university in India, she decided to broaden her horizons for post-graduate life. This is a series whose internal universe pretty much stops at the very edges of its specific case. Even though he claimed to have gone home to his friend's apartment at around 1:00 AM to sleep, cell phone records indicated that Fair made dozens of phone calls to numerous women between 2:00 and 5:00 AM; including several calls to Leslie, the woman whose apartment he claimed to have been sleeping at. Weve got romance, breakups, emotionally loaded dumplings this episode has a little bit of everything! Whats Next for Convicted Sex Criminals Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly? 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). 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. The case remains unsolved today. 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). We didnt know that the King County prosecutors office was going to be willing to participate in the show. Shaer and Benson previously collaborated on another true-crime podcast calledOver My Dead Body.. 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). TikToks Favorite Celebrity Couple Is Kim Kardashian and Michael Cera. There, she would receive her master's degree in electrical and computer engineering in December of 2007. 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. Throughout the latter half of 2017 and the entirety of 2018, another lengthy legal battle would ensue. After being held in custody for nine years, he was found not guilty of Jinagas murder and released in 2019. 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. In the year of our Lord 2021, you cant swing a cat without hitting a true-crime podcast. 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. After all, nothing else of value had been stolen from the apartment, so someone might have been on the phone and camera that didn't want to be. 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. 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).