At times the party veers out of control. Eventually, they would reach out to a family friend, Jay B. 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. Suspect premieres Aug. 17 on Wondery+ and Aug. 31 wherever podcasts are streamed. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, of course. Alanis-Mejia was allegedly beaten by jailers Raul Galarza and Mark Solis while . A new true-crime podcast delves into the complicated murder case of a rising 24-year-old software programmer in Redmond, Wash. The podcast currently has over 1,000 followers on Instagram and has over . We're not giving up.". Who knows how many lives she could have touched? After all, he was the only one facing charges, and him facing charges for two people was - at its core - unconstitutional. In 2019, he ultimately walked free after being acquitted of the murder charges. The resulting product is tight as hell, a listening experience of such efficiency that I couldnt help but compulsively move from each episode to the next. 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. Alanis Mejia is also accused of striking Galarza in the chest. (Arpana's neighbor, who would co-discover her body days later). 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." We didnt want to make a promise up front that we will reveal who did this or who didnt. 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.". Who knows, she might have even become a mother by now. Whoever had forced entry into the apartment had attempted to clean and cover up their crime afterward. 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. In fact, they posited throughout the first trial that he may have been an accomplice; an uncharged accomplice, but an accomplice nonetheless. 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. [In the 1980s], you really needed a lot of body fluid, so there was no ambiguity about whose DNA it was. In 2008, a 24-year-old Redmond-based software engineer named Arpana Jinaga was found strangled in her apartment after a Halloween party in her building. Meanwhile, Fair's attorneys would argue that this was not a valid argument: the state couldn't have their cake and eat it, too. All of this evidence made it virtually impossible for prosecutors to rule out C.J. 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. 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. 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. 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. "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. The autopsy revealed that Arpana had been strangled and asphyxiated to death, roughly two days before her body was discovered. "In 2004, a correctional officer, Lt. Hilda Trevino, blew the whistle on fellow guards' mistreatment of inmates. 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. 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. 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. "We still consider it early in the investigation. 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. 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. 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). 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.] 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). Later, police would figure out that Fair attended that same Halloween party as Arpana because of photographs that other partygoers had taken, some of which had been posted online to social media sites. Until such a time, they had to take the program and its parent company, Cybergenetics, at their word. In addition to joining a motorcycle club, Arpana also volunteered at the Redmond Fire Department, riding along to fires in the area; as well as animal shelters in Bellevue, where she helped care for and attend to unwanted pets. 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. 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. The analysis of this evidence had been performed by TrueAllele, making it the first criminal trial in Washington state that this was done; it had been used in prosecutions from other states - as well as exonerations in Washington - but never in this manner. After Dax Shepard asked her about her musical chairs relationship situation. Speaking to the Redmond Reporter, Lt. Doug Shepard said: "She did not make enemies, she just made friends and a lot of them. can also be characterized as an uncharged accomplice.". 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. 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. The description they gave to police more closely resembled C.J. A lot of stuff has not been analyzed yet. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 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. 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. What do you hope people will learn from this story, and what kind of impact do you hope it will have? 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. 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. 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. 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. Thats where a lot of the drama is for us, and where we wanted to investigate what had happened. Arpana Jinaga was a 24-year-old computer programmer, who had moved to the Pacific Northwest in March of 2008. The following Monday, her body would be discovered inside of her apartment, the victim of an apparent homicide. An apartment complex hosts a big Halloween party with themed rooms and costumed . When residents of the Valley View Apartments in Redmond, Wash . 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. Prosecutors implied that Fair had been lying about where he was during these vital hours, which remained unexplained nearly two years later. I hadn't seen her for months, I'd never thought about her like that [prior to the night of the Halloween party]". 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. But a check of his online activity would reveal that at around 10:00, he had printed out maps for local pawn shops. There, she would receive her master's degree in electrical and computer engineering in December of 2007. Fair's attorneys would point out several gaps in the investigation. 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. Speaking to the Times, this juror recalled: "I think that was the biggest reasonable doubt and no one could eliminate him [as the killer] We found [Fair] not guilty because of reasonable doubt, not because we thought he was completely innocent.". Shaer: This is a really challenging case to think about on lots of different levels. Throughout the latter half of 2017 and the entirety of 2018, another lengthy legal battle would ensue. And they're a couple of names that you might be familiar with. 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. Cameron County officials did not respond to The Brownsville Herald for comment by press time. The state was attempting to build a case around the possibility of Emanuel Fair acting alongside an accomplice; who, they had alleged in the first trial, had acted alongside Fair to commit the crime but was not charged with anything for the time being. Was there anything that surprised you in your reporting of this story? Arpana's body was taken to the King County Medical Examiner's office for an autopsy, to determine the cause and manner of death. In terms of pure execution, it's probably the best narrative true-crime podcast I've heard all year. 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. It seemed more like a momentary argument to them than a sign of anything serious and didn't believe that it was linked to Arpana's death hours later. Arpana Jinaga was not the first young professional from India to be killed in 2008. 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. Later that day - after being turned away from the Canadian border - C.J. Now inside, Jay and 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. This likely resulted in his DNA being distributed throughout the apartment; in particular, in Arpana's bathroom, where he had cleaned himself up. 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. Shortly after moving to Redmond, the 24-year-old Arpana decided to purchase a motorcycle. 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). 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. 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. 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. 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. At points, C.J. had even shown Fair a music editing software on his home computer. 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. We're not going to put this to bed. How did that happen? 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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 one is not going away. and Nirmala Jinaga, a professor of computer engineering and a housewife, respectively. 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. - happened to be nearby. A tech prodigy from an early age, Arpana seemed poised to achieve great things in life. Roughly two months after the trial began, after weeks of gridlock, the trial would end with a hung jury. 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. I hope that answers can still be found in this case, but until such a time, the story of Arpana Jinaga will remain unresolved. does not exculpate Fair. 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. There were really intense, long jury deliberations for the first trial and hearing about that from people who were truly going in cold to this case and this story, I thought it was really fascinating and not a place I really imagined that wed be going at the beginning. Benson: DNA was kind of the selling point in terms of why this was going to be something that was current and hadnt been talked about a lot, because the DNA science has evolved very quickly. The two disgraced men have both been sentenced for sex crimes. 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 . Weve got romance, breakups, emotionally loaded dumplings this episode has a little bit of everything! Season 1 features a whodunit-style search for a holiday party killer. 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 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. They were able to follow the trail of maelstrom throughout the apartment down the hallway, towards the decedent's bedroom, where they discovered her body: that of a 24-year-old from India, who had come to America a few years prior to pursue her "American dream". They dance and drink. Missing from the scene entirely was Arpana's motorcycle, a Suzuki GS 500, which quickly became a highly-sought-after item for Redmond Police. It would be noted that those at the party recalled him arriving with a noticeable limp - which would be noted by investigators days later when they spoke to him - but when asked about where this limp had come from, he said it had come from the wrestling match at the party. 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. 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." She even participated in Taekwondo classes and dabbled in a couple of musical ventures (including singing in a band back east while attending university). 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. 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.". Suspect Season 1 Episode 1. 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. The empty bottle of motor oil was found inside of a plastic bag, which also contained Arpana's Halloween costume, a blood-stained bathrobe, and sheets from Arpana's bed, which were conspicuously missing from the crime scene. Over the next hour or so, neighbors on both sides of Arpana would recall hearing what sounding like consensual sex taking place after the party: the neighbors would recall hearing what sounded like muffled moaning coming from her apartment shortly after 3:00 AM, which they were certain was coming from her apartment. Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza do not seem like a match made in action-comedy-chemistry heaven, but it somehow works. While Arpana didn't have any friends or family in the area, she didn't let that deter her from leaning into the community. He previously suffered a brain aneurysm on February 18, and was ultimately taken off life support. The linchpin of their case was forensic evidence: according to prosecutors, DNA from Emanuel Fair had been recovered at the crime scene, on several pieces of evidence that they believe the killer had touched. TrueAllele is a genotyping software developed by a company named Cybergenetics, which is utilized by law enforcement agencies all over the country. 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. Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: As part of your account, youll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. 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. However, the results obtained through TrueAllele pointed to Fair, in particular, as the killer; with the software saying that he was thousands of times more likely to have been Arpana's killer than other available suspects. was their ultimate undoing, and it had been a problem of their own making (as they had hoped to try C.J. This file contains 75 GB of incriminating details about O'Leary that he has refused to budge on, even after being arrested and sentenced to life in prison. It was just gruesome. C.J. The lawsuit states abuse by guards also continued when Sheriff Omar Lucio took over in 2005, although Lucio had vowed to clean up jail abuses by guards. throughout this episode - who, it turns out, had been one of the investigation's main suspects early on. 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. Its the best we can do forensically, but it still requires human beings to translate. 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 . He said his surgery was a success, but he needs time to heal before he can tour again. 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. 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). 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). Police would arrive at the apartment complex a short time later, and immediately noticed two things that stood out about this crime. Later on, during Emanuel Fair's first trial, prosecutors even alleged that this neighbor had been an accomplice in the murder. There, she lived in Apartment 8946, on the top floor of the complex. 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. 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. Strangers come . 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. The team, led by Matthew . Emanuel Fair's defense attorneys, on the other hand, didn't see it that way. 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. Its got a lot wrapped up in it and I am just grateful that people are engaging with it. 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. In that sense, the end of Suspect could very well be the start of the rest of the story. 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. By October of that year, she had already scored a promotion to lead programmer and seemed destined for greater things. You can listen early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App. Oh, Loosey! 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. We have a brutal murder with no suspect. Everything Everywhere All at Once leads with eight nominations tonight. 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.. It gives me a little bit of hope, that something that is relatively complicated is being thought about and talked about in the way that it is. 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). Can you please do me a favor? asks a man, previously designated as a person of interest, when approached in the third episode. So I was really primed to be interested in that anyway. There are even awkward smash cuts to ads, a stylistic staple nowadays, where you dont quite realize youre listening to a host-read ad for the shows presenting sponsor (and not a continuation of the actual episode) until a few seconds into the read. The defense also pointed out how evidence found in the apartment complex's dumpster - which had ultimately implicated Emanuel Fair - was found nearly two days after the discovery of the victim's body, giving it several days of potential tampering before being documented by investigators. Its challenging in terms of race, in terms of policing, in terms of forensic science. Both jailers acted under color and are not entitled to qualify for immunity because the excessive use of force violated Alanis-Mejia's Fourteen Amendment constitutional rights, the lawsuit alleged. Her younger sister, Pavitra, would begin to follow in these footsteps as well, and later pursue a career in computer engineering after Arpana. These were the last calls or texts Arpana would receive that night, and when questioned about these phone calls, C.J. 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. Emanuel Fair's second trial began just last year, in 2019, and again, tried to reach a jury consensus regarding his guilt. Things you buy through our links may earnVox Mediaa commission. 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. 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. showed up to the Halloween party rather late and was already heavily-intoxicated when he arrived. lived right next-door to Arpana Jinaga, and by his own admission, had a pretty close relationship with her. It would later be found that other items were missing from the crime scene, including at least one of Arpana's ID cards, her Blackberry (cell phone), and her digital camera; none of which would ever be recovered. Shortly thereafter, Fair would be arraigned on murder charges and entered a plea of not guilty. What were the things that made that possible? Its probably a spoiler to tell you at this point that the team doesnt end up solving Jinagas murder. 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. 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).