The demeaning comments against Alanis continues and the guards purposely made the comments to cause him more stress, the lawsuit states. 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. A tech prodigy from an early age, Arpana seemed poised to achieve great things in life. Everything Everywhere All at Once leads with eight nominations tonight. I think one surprise for me was, we talked to three jurors. All rights reserved. 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. This isnt some true-crime podcast I can listen to and just have an opinion on.. By Monday, Arpana had not yet surfaced and she would fail to show up for work that morning. I hope we did something to draw attention to that. 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. 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. In any case, Suspects overarching narrative builds up to Fairs victory against wrongful imprisonment. 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. And who you can expect to see performing and presenting. 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. 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. Season 1 features a whodunit-style search for a holiday party killer. 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. Strangers come together. might have been involved). But it does leave me with a strong sense of want, and a feeling that the genre is long overdue for a quantum leap forward in its language. This eventually led to her moving to the United States to attend Rutger's University in New Jersey. throughout the episode - stating during the trial that: " the State's position is that [C.J.] Offscreen, he was one himself. C.J. For the next two years, investigators would struggle to make sense of this case. Was there anything that surprised you in your reporting of this story? Hes dangerous, hes terrifying, hes an extra in, How to Watch the 2023 Oscars Celebrate All 23 Categories Live Again. Still, I dont mean for this discussion of aesthetics to take us too far away from Suspects merits in and of itself. Among thousands of contestants, she was singled out as a top-20 performer and was the only participant from Asia to be featured in the subsequent awards. Athens podcast tracks murder of former UGA law student, autopsy 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). And they're a couple of names that you might be familiar with. An exclusive trailer for Suspect is below. 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. C.J. 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. Alanis was "left in that state for two hours, until he was taken to the Valley Regional Medical Center," according to the lawsuit. 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. showed up to the Halloween party rather late and was already heavily-intoxicated when he arrived. 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. for having any involvement in the murder, they were creating ammunition for the defense in the form of reasonable doubt. theres no closure for them, certainly from the justice system. Many had written off the case long ago, due to the belief that DNA had correctly tagged Fair as the killer back in 2010, but the truth is that the story is much more complicated than that. We didnt know that the King County prosecutors office was going to be willing to participate in the show. Episode 1: The Halloween Party | Suspect | Full Episode 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. That was surprising. 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. 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). He later told investigators that he was sexually attracted to Arpana, and was hoping to "hook up" with her that evening (his words, not mine). There, she lived in Apartment 8946, on the top floor of the complex. I hope that answers can still be found in this case, but until such a time, the story of Arpana Jinaga will remain unresolved. In the year since Emanuel Fair's second trial came to an end, the story has received close to no attention from the world-at-large. Later that day - after being turned away from the Canadian border - C.J. According to investigators, they were also struggling to piece together a solid motive. Im trying to tell the truth dont cut this podcast to make me look like a maybe suspect. Later, a woman who served as the jury foreperson in a pivotal trial talked about her responsibility as follows: I had to pay attention. 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. That said, the meta value of podcasts like this along with magazine features, documentaries, and other media formats more generally tends to be clustered in how it can drum up more real-world interest in the case to a point where it can maybe produce a chance of shaking up more meaningful leads. Mar. She Hosted a Halloween Party, Then Turned Up Dead: Podcast - MSN 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. Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza do not seem like a match made in action-comedy-chemistry heaven, but it somehow works. As you can imagine, this analysis was seen as invaluable to the prosecution, who saw this as being ironclad proof of Fair's guilt. They could try each of the men separately or together, but couldn't try one for the potential crimes of both. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. 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). Arpana's body was taken to the King County Medical Examiner's office for an autopsy, to determine the cause and manner of death. 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. The following Monday, her body would be discovered inside of her apartment, the victim of an apparent homicide. 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. Let's get this out of the way: Suspect is a very good listen. Suspect is a lot more successful in the latter mode, if only because the series wraps up with yet another genre convention: the original mystery resolves inconclusively. 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). 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. 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. Arpana Jinaga Unresolved After all, he was the only one facing charges, and him facing charges for two people was - at its core - unconstitutional. 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. Its challenging in terms of race, in terms of policing, in terms of forensic science. By January of 2009, it was reported that work on the case had started to stall, but investigators were still optimistic, due to the aforementioned physical evidence, which they were still awaiting the results of. 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). 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. 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). Mar. The team, led by Matthew . But a check of his online activity would reveal that at around 10:00, he had printed out maps for local pawn shops. However, without charging C.J. At some point in the evening, it would be reported that Arpana got into a verbal argument with a male partygoer. They then recalled the sound of running water for upwards of an hour; which they just assumed was Arpana taking a late-night shower but was probably the killer attempting to cover up the crime scene. 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. When asked about this impromptu trip to the Canadian border, C.J. The final stretch of the series lingers in the bittersweet of the triumph: Its justice, but it comes after great loss. The autopsy revealed that Arpana had been strangled and asphyxiated to death, roughly two days before her body was discovered. While Israel Keyes has become a boogeyman for numerous unsolved crimes - due to his habit of traveling the country and attempting to cover up any trace of himself - there is a compelling argument to be made in this case. 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. He then heard the sound of running water in Arpana's apartment, which lasted for about an hour, but wouldn't give these bizarre sounds any second thoughts in the days to come. - 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. 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. 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. Now inside, Jay and C.J. 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. Benson: We didnt know that the Redmond [Police Department] was going to be willing to participate in the show. How Tyrel Jackson Williams Brought TikTok Cringe to, Its sort of a newer version of the L.A. actor ride that Kyle is on the first two seasons, but its worse.. 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. All of this evidence made it virtually impossible for prosecutors to rule out C.J. 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). It remains possible that both (or neither) were involved in this case - as investigators implied over the years - but a successful case has not been built around either. In 2019, he ultimately walked free after being acquitted of the murder charges. In that sense, Suspect is a little bit like the true-crime podcast version of a Gerard Butler movie or a really good episode of Law and Order: an exemplar of its genre, but not a revolutionary, which I sincerely mean as praise. 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. 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. Fair was held in jail for nine years and was twice tried but was never convicted. Youve got some Janning to do! 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. However, the notion of a robbery taking place did not end there. 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 . 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). During his career, the prolific actor inhabited an array of troubled characters. 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. Speaking to the Redmond Reporter, Lt. Doug Shepard said: "She did not make enemies, she just made friends and a lot of them. 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. 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. 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. Even though Emanuel Fair and other defendants all over the country began to demand access to the software's underbelly, Dr. Perlin was willing to take the issue to court to preserve his company's share in the burgeoning forensic analysis market, having already scored deals with law enforcement agencies all over the country. This would ultimately lead to a long and drawn-out dispute through the court system, as Cybergenetics CEO Dr. Mark Perlin refused to divulge the source code of his program, believing that doing so would bring risk to his company's trade secrets. If they did, youd probably see a news cycle about it by now. Justice has not been swift. Just because it never happened doesnt mean they cant get back together. 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. 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. 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. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. Editors note: A previous version of this story stated Emanuel Fair was convicted for the murder of Arpana Jinaga. claimed to not remember anything about them. Phil Skelton, a member of the PNW Riders, spoke to the Redmond Reporter and said about Arpana: "When you met her, she would have you smiling within 15 seconds.". However, when police revealed that they had obtained a log of his text messages and calls directly from his cell provider, he audibly responded "oh crap" and then claimed ignorance. This included the nearly two years it took them to single out Emanuel Fair as a suspect; during which time, investigators had hired a psychic to help point them in the right direction, which highlighted how adrift the investigators had been up until that point. 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). In that case, police learned everything they needed to know from the crime scene itself. would later tell police that he was "kind of wanting to explore" and could offer up no further explanation for his bizarre actions. She even participated in Taekwondo classes and dabbled in a couple of musical ventures (including singing in a band back east while attending university). 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). Whats Next for Convicted Sex Criminals Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly? And there is nobody in prison or even charged with this murder right now. was interviewed multiple times by investigators, and each time, was unable to remember certain details: including what he had been up to during the estimated time of the murder (3:00 - 8:00 AM). 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). More than two dozen people would filter through the numerous apartments that evening, including Arpana's. 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. Fair and C.J. They do unearth some new information and context, but this remains a story whose outcome can be easily Googled, even as Suspect underlines the details and the stakes with a more prominent shade. During his interviews with investigators, C.J. The apartment was discovered in a state of disrepair different from how it had looked days beforehand (during the Halloween party), which made it clear that the struggle had ultimately led to Arpana's bedroom. 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." 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. Missing from the scene entirely was Arpana's motorcycle, a Suzuki GS 500, which quickly became a highly-sought-after item for Redmond Police. throughout this episode - who, it turns out, had been one of the investigation's main suspects early on. In fact, she was the fifth student or worker from India to be murdered in the United States that year; a fact that ultimately led to the United States Hindu Alliance calling for the FBI to investigate this case, as they feared that it could be tied to a widespread rash of hate crimes sweeping the nation. We didnt want to make that kind of show. 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. TrueAllele was utilized heavily by this investigation and was able to come up with results that were far more definitive than anything the crime lab itself had been able to determine. Now, nearly two years later, Emanuel Fair was being charged with 1st-degree murder and was transferred to the King County jail to await trial. Alanis-Mejia was booked into Carrizales on Sept. 10, 2020, on an outstanding warrant, that alleges he was unaware of, according to the lawsuit. 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. 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. In terms of pure execution, its probably the best narrative true-crime podcast Ive heard all year. Prosecutors implied that Fair had been lying about where he was during these vital hours, which remained unexplained nearly two years later. 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). 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. After attending a prestigious university in India, she decided to broaden her horizons for post-graduate life. New episodes of the nine-part series will be released weekly on Tuesdays. "We still consider it early in the investigation. How did that happen? Later on, during Emanuel Fair's first trial, prosecutors even alleged that this neighbor had been an accomplice in the murder. Suspect podcast on Wondery : r/TrueCrimePodcasts - reddit 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.". There is no apparent reason why someone would want to take this person from the prime of her life.". 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. 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. Of course, for [Arpanas] family, its crushing. 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 . 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). His reason for making this trip has never been uncovered, but it is believed that he might have committed crimes in the Seattle area over this three-day span in which Arpana Jinaga ended up dead. Because of the scene left behind at the apartment complex, it was obvious that whoever had killed Arpana Jinaga had broken in and specifically targeted her, subjecting her to a violent assault and a rape (which would later be confirmed during her autopsy). 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 is when police learned about the argument Arpana had gotten in with another partygoer, which was described as being "race-related." Breaking down the contenders in the seasons most unpredictable Oscar race. 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.