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. We're not going to put this to bed. 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. When officers and investigators had first arrived at Arpana's apartment, they made note of the smell of chemical agents throughout it. 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. 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. Authorities seem to have put all of their eggs in a single basket, and that resulted in an acquittal more than a decade after the original crime. 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. 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. 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." 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. Terms of Service apply. Arpana Jinaga - Spreaker 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). She Hosted a Halloween Party, Then Turned Up Dead: Podcast - MSN 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. 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. By October of that year, she had already scored a promotion to lead programmer and seemed destined for greater things. This likely resulted in his DNA being distributed throughout the apartment; in particular, in Arpana's bathroom, where he had cleaned himself up. 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.". For the next two years, investigators would struggle to make sense of this case. 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." But Suspect is often so uncomplicated in its telling, it almost seems anonymous. 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. Shaer and Benson previously collaborated on another true-crime podcast calledOver My Dead Body.. Police getting called out to a suspicious death in Redmond; one in which there was clear evidence of a struggle? Each host brings a new, love gone wrong true story to mix. "That same year, Gail Hansen, a chaplain ministering to inmates at Carrizales, provided evidence of commonplace illegal activities under Sheriff Cantu.". They can be found on Instagram @readrunsea; The Troubling Trial of Emanuel Fair | Seattle Weekly was their ultimate undoing, and it had been a problem of their own making (as they had hoped to try C.J. to give the unexplained injury an innocuous excuse. 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. There, she would receive her master's degree in electrical and computer engineering in December of 2007. 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). 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). As you can imagine, this analysis was seen as invaluable to the prosecution, who saw this as being ironclad proof of Fair's guilt. 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. What were the things that made that possible? This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. 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. 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. Not only was Keyes accustomed to Washington, having grown up in the northeastern corner of the state and serving at Ft. Lewis for a spell in the early 2000s (just south of Tacoma), but he did travel to the Seattle area on the weekend of Arpana's murder. 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. At some point in the evening, it would be reported that Arpana got into a verbal argument with a male partygoer. 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. There has been no sign of activity in the case in some time, due to the prolonged trials of Emanuel Fair. 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). There, she lived in Apartment 8946, on the top floor of the complex. 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 . Benson: I think no one feels satisfied with the outcome. 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.". 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 . 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. 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. 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. I hadn't seen her for months, I'd never thought about her like that [prior to the night of the Halloween party]". Police would arrive at the apartment complex a short time later, and immediately noticed two things that stood out about this crime. Justice has not been swift. 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. C.J. 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). "Classic City Crime," a true-crime podcast hosted by Cameron Jay, centers around the tragic death of Tara Louise Baker. 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. 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. 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. 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. In addition to the bleach, investigators would note that the apartment smelled faintly of motor oil, which had been dumped all around the crime scene; especially in the bedroom, on and around Arpana's body. 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. I think one surprise for me was, we talked to three jurors. It is unknown if Galarza and Solis are still employed by the county, and it is also unknown if they have hired attorneys to represent them. 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. He said his surgery was a success, but he needs time to heal before he can tour again. Hes dangerous, hes terrifying, hes an extra in, How to Watch the 2023 Oscars Celebrate All 23 Categories Live Again. 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. 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. 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.. 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). Again. Still, I dont mean for this discussion of aesthetics to take us too far away from Suspects merits in and of itself. O'Leary is currently serving out his sentence at the Sterling Correctional Facility and remains a possible suspect in this case. 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. Podcasts are listed here in order of appearance: In this Part 2 Episode: 1. 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. 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. 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. 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. It's also worth pointing out that the same evidence used against Emanuel Fair - the DNA evidence analyzed by TrueAllele - revealed that C.J. As a teen, she participated in an IEEE Hardware Design Contest that earned her some attention from universities and potential employers, and seemed to cement her down the path of computing. At points, C.J. Both were seen together, and this would come up later - which is why I mention it - but both claim that their interaction lasted no more than 30 minutes or so, and they hadn't seen each other before or since. The world is a sadder place without her but the people she touched while she was here will remember her for an eternity.". At that time, police didn't have anything incriminating linking Emanuel Fair to the murder. 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. Arpana moved to Redmond, Washington in the early months of 2008. C.J. 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. Guest on Suspect. 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. 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.". Since its release on Aug. 31,Suspecthas vaulted to the top spot on Chartables U.S. rankings of most listened to Apple podcasts. 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). 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 . Police had already determined that Arpana's body had been covered in that type of motor oil, so whoever had handled it had likely been involved in her death. might have been involved). 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). A witness that was returning home from work that evening at around 3:00 AM - who had not attended the Halloween party, but lived nearby - later told police that they saw a non-black individual standing in the doorway of Arpana's apartment at around 3:00 AM. A tech prodigy from an early age, Arpana seemed poised to achieve great things in life. 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. The case remains unsolved today. The damage left behind made it evident that the killer had entered through brute force, and from there, had proceeded to struggle with Arpana. 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. The oil would contribute to the odd smell throughout the apartment, and was reportedly found all over the carpet of the bedroom. Multiple witnesses had claimed to see Arpana return to her apartment at around 3:00 AM on November 1st, and shortly thereafter, some of her neighbors had recalled hearing "moaning" coming from her apartment (which they assumed was consensual sex taking place). The podcast currently has over 1,000 followers on Instagram and has over . can also be characterized as an uncharged accomplice.". Arpana Jinaga was a 24-year-old computer programmer, who had moved to the Pacific Northwest in March of 2008. Most of the guests left Arpana's apartment for her neighbors just after 9:00 PM, but there were a lot of moving pieces that evening, and no real comprehensive way to determine who was where at what time. By this point, Arpana had already started to make plans to accomplish all of these goals. 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. 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). 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. 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. Roughly two months after the trial began, after weeks of gridlock, the trial would end with a hung jury. In that sense, the end of Suspect could very well be the start of the rest of the story. For three and a half decades, her disappearance was a mystery - a riddle neither authorities . "In 2004, a correctional officer, Lt. Hilda Trevino, blew the whistle on fellow guards' mistreatment of inmates. 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. Gregory Hobbs, another member of the club, said in the same article: "She would strive to succeed in everything and she did just that. So I was really primed to be interested in that anyway. His DNA had been found on a bottle of motor oil and on a bloody robe, both of which had been found inside of a plastic bag thrown into the apartment complex's dumpster. A new true-crime podcast delves into the complicated murder case of a rising 24-year-old software programmer in Redmond, Wash. Crimelines True Crime on Apple Podcasts 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. 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. 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.