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Arpana Jinaga. as an uncharged accomplice). While armed robberies and sexual assaults do happen there, they are very low in number compared to other similarly-sized cities. The Seattle Timesrecently spoke with Shaer and Benson over Zoom about the impetus for this podcast, what surprised them in their reporting and what their take-aways are from investigating this story. More than a decade later, no one has been held accountable for her murder. 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. 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. Who knows how many lives she could have touched? had gone down to a car so that they could listen to some music, and C.J. It's an extra special, two-part, more than two-hour, Valentine's event. 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. At that time, police didn't have anything incriminating linking Emanuel Fair to the murder. TrueAllele is a genotyping software developed by a company named Cybergenetics, which is utilized by law enforcement agencies all over the country. 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. It's also worth pointing out that the same evidence used against Emanuel Fair - the DNA evidence analyzed by TrueAllele - revealed that C.J. 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. The podcast currently has over 1,000 followers on Instagram and has over . Roughly two months after the trial began, after weeks of gridlock, the trial would end with a hung jury. 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. 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). Thats depressing. The following Monday, her body would be discovered inside of her apartment, the victim of an apparent homicide. 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. Everything Everywhere All at Once leads with eight nominations tonight. According to investigators, they were also struggling to piece together a solid motive. 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. She would begin working there in March of 2008, and a company spokesman would later say that during her brief six-month tenure at the company, she had cemented herself as a hardworking and bright employee, who was considered a "rising star" among the higher-ups at EMC. "In 2004, a correctional officer, Lt. Hilda Trevino, blew the whistle on fellow guards' mistreatment of inmates. How did that happen? Shortly after moving to Redmond, the 24-year-old Arpana decided to purchase a motorcycle. Or it might not. 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. 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). There is no apparent reason why someone would want to take this person from the prime of her life.". 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. 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). Speaking to the Redmond Reporter, Lt. Doug Shepard said: "She did not make enemies, she just made friends and a lot of them. 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. However, this case would prove to be much harder to solve for investigators; many of whom had not worked on a murder case in quite some time (if at all). 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. 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. 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. 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. It was soaking in the tub, in a mixture of water and bleach. So I was really primed to be interested in that anyway. Shortly thereafter, Fair would be arraigned on murder charges and entered a plea of not guilty. 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. The jailers "violently slammed Alanis into a wall and then tackled him to the ground with both officers leaping on top of him," the lawsuit stated. 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. 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. 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. Privacy Policy and Missing from the scene entirely was Arpana's motorcycle, a Suzuki GS 500, which quickly became a highly-sought-after item for Redmond Police. Listening notes for the top shows, from Vultures critic Nick Quah. 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. Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza do not seem like a match made in action-comedy-chemistry heaven, but it somehow works. 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. (Arpana's neighbor, who would co-discover her body days later). 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. 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. This entire process has become known as probabilistic genotyping, and it's become a pretty integral facet of forensic testing over the last decade or so. The series plays out in two halves: the first is a deep dive into the mystery of Arpana Jinagas murder, while the second walks through the events of Emanuel Fairs legal trials, which he endured while being wrongfully imprisoned for nine years. . Fair would begin serving out his four-year sentence in 2004 but was released by the end of 2006, serving less than three years and being labeled a "level one" offender (the ones that were least likely to re-offend). The description they gave to police more closely resembled C.J. In addition to being strangled-to-death by what appeared to be a bootlace, Arpana had endured other injuries before her death, which included (but was not limited to): a handful of blunt force blows to the head, the breaking of several teeth during the confrontation with her killer, being gagged by her own underwear (which the assailant had used duct tape to keep in place), and was then forcibly raped for an unknown extent of time. 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. Fair and C.J. We didnt know that the King County prosecutors office was going to be willing to participate in the show. The Wagner opera returns to the Met for the first time in 17 years. 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. 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. Season 2: Vanished in the Snow chronicles the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews. had even asked people whether or not he had killed Arpana, seeming to be unsure of the answer himself. The two disgraced men have both been sentenced for sex crimes. Alanis-Mejia was booked into Carrizales on Sept. 10, 2020, on an outstanding warrant, that alleges he was unaware of, according to the lawsuit. In terms of pure execution, it's probably the best narrative true-crime podcast I've heard all year. Fair was unable to recall these phone calls, stating that he had likely dialed this young woman's number on accident. During his interviews with investigators, C.J. Whoever had forced entry into the apartment had attempted to clean and cover up their crime afterward. Police getting called out to a suspicious death in Redmond; one in which there was clear evidence of a struggle? had even shown Fair a music editing software on his home computer. This likely resulted in his DNA being distributed throughout the apartment; in particular, in Arpana's bathroom, where he had cleaned himself up. You see the consequences of a decision, even a relatively small decision. to give the unexplained injury an innocuous excuse. 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). 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. does not exculpate Fair. On October 31st, 2008, Israel Keyes flew from Anchorage to SeaTac and was in the Seattle area until November 2nd, when he then flew from SeaTac to Boston. Season 2: Vanished in the Snow chronicles the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews. 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. 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. Lets get this out of the way: Suspect is a very good listen. 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. 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. C.J. 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 want to make a promise up front that we will reveal who did this or who didnt. Justice has not been swift. Fair was held in jail for nine years and was twice tried but was never convicted. Again. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. By Monday, Arpana had not yet surfaced and she would fail to show up for work that morning. I think one surprise for me was, we talked to three jurors. 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. In terms of pure execution, its probably the best narrative true-crime podcast Ive heard all year. The genre, fueled by sheer abundance and the brute force of its popularity, has seeped deep into the culture, reaching a point where the form should probably be expected to engage more routinely in some level of self-reflexivity. A handful of years before the murder of Arpana Jinaga, Emanuel Fair had been arrested and charged with raping a minor. Since its release on Aug. 31,Suspecthas vaulted to the top spot on Chartables U.S. rankings of most listened to Apple podcasts. 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 can be found on Instagram @readrunsea; 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. 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. The best musical instrument is a love triangle. By October of that year, she had already scored a promotion to lead programmer and seemed destined for greater things. According to an interview with Coats by Matt Shaer who retraced the steps of Coats' investigation in his podcast, Suspect, and whose interviews helped inform Fair's lawsuit he spotted . 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. 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. 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." Weve got romance, breakups, emotionally loaded dumplings this episode has a little bit of everything! What drew you to this story, and why now? Hes dangerous, hes terrifying, hes an extra in, How to Watch the 2023 Oscars Celebrate All 23 Categories Live Again. Alanis' head was forcefully slammed to the ground and "Galarza violently punched and hit Alanis' head, face and body as his blood spilled to the ground.". 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. 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. Those pleas would continue to amplify months after Arpana's murder, when it became evident that answers were not readily available. In any case, Suspects overarching narrative builds up to Fairs victory against wrongful imprisonment. Inside the apartment, it became clear to investigators that a struggle had taken place. Inside of Arpana's bathroom, investigators would find a white comforter from her bed, which had also been stained with blood. 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. 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). She was the oldest of two daughters to her parents, B.C. 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. An exclusive trailer for Suspect is below. 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. He said that he met her briefly that night, and seemed to get along well with her; she briefly showed him photos from her bedroom computer, but that was about the extent of their interaction. Dispatchers would tell both of the men to leave the apartment but remain nearby, and wait for investigators to arrive. - 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. may have participated in the crime with Fair and that evidence implicating [C.J.] Suspicious deaths, such as homicide, very rarely happen in Redmond: one of the wealthier suburbs on the outskirts of Seattle, which is known internationally for housing the U.S. headquarters for both Microsoft and Nintendo. 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. 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. [In the 1980s], you really needed a lot of body fluid, so there was no ambiguity about whose DNA it was. But instead of returning home to India, she decided to take another huge leap and accepted a job as a software quality assurance engineer with the tech giant EMC (now known as Dell EMC). 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. I hadn't seen her for months, I'd never thought about her like that [prior to the night of the Halloween party]". Breaking down the contenders in the seasons most unpredictable Oscar race. lived right next-door to Arpana Jinaga, and by his own admission, had a pretty close relationship with her. 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. 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. "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. Prosecutors made it clear that they were seeking more than the recommended sentence - 45 years - which they were allowed to pursue because of the aggravated circumstances of her death. 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). Who knows, she might have even become a mother by now. 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. Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix have broken up after he allegedly cheated on her with Raquel Leviss. Whats Next for Convicted Sex Criminals Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly? 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. throughout the episode - stating during the trial that: " the State's position is that [C.J.] At points, C.J. Police had publicly speculated that Arpana's killer - who had stolen her cell phone and digital camera - might have attempted to distribute the stolen items through pawn shops, so this seems to be more than pure coincidence. 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. "Classic City Crime," a true-crime podcast hosted by Cameron Jay, centers around the tragic death of Tara Louise Baker. 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. Her younger sister, Pavitra, would begin to follow in these footsteps as well, and later pursue a career in computer engineering after Arpana. 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. 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.". 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. Was it Jesus secretary? Suspect initially sticks to the costumed whodunit structure, chiefly to establish the gallery of possible suspects, but eventually jettisons that framing as it progresses through the outcome of the actual police investigation. Emanuel Fair's innocence would be asserted by his defense attorneys in the months and years to come, who insisted that he receive proper treatment under the law; which, they alleged, prosecutors were refusing to give to him, as had the investigators from the very beginning of this case. The case remains unsolved today. Days after the discovery of Arpana's body, a ceremony was held in Redmond, which had all of the customs of a Hindu memorial service and was attended by the many of dozens of lives that Arpana had impacted during her short time in the Pacific Northwest. 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." 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. 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. After all, he was the only one facing charges, and him facing charges for two people was - at its core - unconstitutional. Until such a time, they had to take the program and its parent company, Cybergenetics, at their word. 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. 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. 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. They dance and drink. They argue and fight. 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. 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). 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. Shaer: This is a story that found me rather than the other way around. All rights reserved. This is a series whose internal universe pretty much stops at the very edges of its specific case. 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). 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. 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. 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. When I started talking to Emanuel and then to Ben Goldsmith, his attorney, I was like, Wow, this case is sort of exactly what Ive been thinking about. It was DNA that drew us to it initially. But a check of his online activity would reveal that at around 10:00, he had printed out maps for local pawn shops. Emanuel Fair's attorneys would argue that while there might have been DNA implicating him in the crime, there was just as much implicating others; including the neighbor that had been tied to this case from the very beginning, who I've identified as "C.J." That the murder took place around the time of a Halloween party lends a slightly surreal quality to the way law-enforcement types discuss the case on tape: Was it the gangster? 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. Youve got some Janning to do! The latest episode of Suspect highlights a reason that IMO isn't talked about enough -- the problems inherent in the jury system. 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. Meanwhile, the shift in the podcasts emphasis does mean that Jinagas own story ends up fading into the background a little bit. 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. Thats where a lot of the drama is for us, and where we wanted to investigate what had happened. Theres a narrative buildup toward the presentation of a maybe suspect being the likely culprit. C.J. 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 . The prosecution would paint a portrait of Fair as a repeat offender, who met Arpana at the Halloween party and then became infatuated with her.