Ehlert, in the 2020 interview, noted prosecutors were barred from including some key evidence at trial: Fairs past convictions and the possibility that he and the neighbor acted together in Jinagas killing because there wasnt evidence to support that theory a decision upheld by the state Court of Appeals after Fairs first trial. He had been in her apartment once earlier in the night too. In her spare time, she practiced taekwondo, learned to build her own motorcycle, and volunteered with neighbourhood groups. Was Kyle Rose ever questioned as a suspect? Emanuel Fair was arrested in 2010. Arpana Jinaga was murdered in her apartment in 2008 . Her apartment was decorated as a haunted forest, one of. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. After the party wound down, Jinaga was seen returning to her apartment about 3 a.m.; investigators believe she was killed at about 8 a.m. Nov. 1. His first trial, in 2017, ended in a hung jury because one juror said Fair looked like a thug with tattoos on his hands. The jury in the second trial acquitted him. This is only a fraction of the evidence exonerating Emanuel which was wide-ranging and persuasive. Suspect premieres Aug. 17 on Wondery+ and Aug. 31 wherever podcasts are streamed. The lawsuit alleges there was heavy drinking at the party of 40 to 50 people. Coats and another Redmond detective confronted the neighbor about his calls to Jinaga, but then released him and returned his phone without examining it. During trial the jury heard significant evidence that another person, Ms. Jinagas next door neighbor, may have murdered her on that tragic night.. In the investigation that followed, authorities scrambled to determine who would hurt the lovable young woman from India, a promising software programmer who volunteered at the local fire department and rode her motorcycle with friends in her free time. The two discovered her locked door had been kicked in. Then, due to inexcusable delays in Fairs trial and prolonged pretrial detention, he spent more than nine years in the King County Correctional Facility as an innocent man, in conditions of inhumane confinement that are well known to have a detrimental effect on mental health, the suit contends. Death' Surgeon Killed or Maimed 33 of His Patients Now His Victims Are Speaking Out, Ex-Boyfriend of Missing Md. Hes now struggling to reconstruct his life, Fair and his attorneys said. They messed up, he said. Emanuel Fair stayed in the King County Correctional Facility for nearly nine years for a crime he did not commit based on a botched and bizarre murder investigation driven by racial discrimination, a recent lawsuit alleges. He was her pimp, or as the podcast preferred to describe it, the person who placed craiglist ads for her escort services. Coats was asked during the podcast if the prior conviction was significant to his investigation. Most of Fairs jail term was spent away from the general population in administrative segregation essentially, solitary confinement. He slept with Potts in her bed and woke up the next morning before 10 a.m., after which he helped her and other neighbors clean up the complex, according to the complaint. According to reports, when lead Detective Brian Coats saw photos from the party, he narrowed in on Fair, who he referred to as theonly African-American male at the party on the podcast Suspect. I think he may have been involved; I think he may have lied to us, Ehlert said of the neighbor. Nobody heard from her in the following days, and that Monday, her body was discovered on the floor of her apartment, doused in chemicals and showing signs of strangulation. After-the-fact contentions about inadmissible evidence are a little disingenuous, said Dreveskracht, Fairs attorney, who noted police at one point consulted with a psychic medium who attempted to contact Jinaga beyond the grave. Around 2:30 am, Fair and Johnson went to Johnson's apartment and then down to Johnson's car to listen to music. Maybe they were running out of time (had to be somewhere? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. He scrubbed his phone right after the interrogation, the lawsuit says. His lawyers said he suffers from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The lab technicians simply could not exclude Fair as a match, and his DNA was found alongside other DNA matches. Suspect: With Matthew Shaer, Eric Benson, Matt Baglio, Ashley Fantz. Some of the potential suspects were not interviewed. I didnt know how to answer, so I just told her the truth: Im depressed. The lawsuit alleges that a lighter was found in his apartment with a sticky substance on it, but investigators never collected it. But I dont have a desire to do that. Her fingers and nails were cleaned and then covered in toilet bowl cleaner, and there was a heavy scent of bleach throughout the house. The Wondery true-crime podcast Suspect centers on the murder of Arpana Jinaga as well as the trials of the wrongly imprisoned Emanuel Fair, who spent years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. Its got to be terrible for everybody it touched. He made calls to a few friends, including apparently pocket-dialing Potts. He had a list of nearby pawnshops in his car printed the day Jinaga was killed, the lawsuit says. When Johnson was interviewed by police on Nov 3 and 5th, he was noticeably limping with elbow and knee issues, but claimed it was due to an arm wrestling incident. Jinaga had been gagged, brutally beaten and most likely raped. His legal team expanded the lawsuit in late March, adding ten more pages of allegations and the prosecutor on the case and other detectives that handled the case to the list of defendants. The majority of criminals arent very bright. But I dont have a desire to do that. Court records show prosecutors did not believe they had enough evidence to charge Jinagas neighbor, who met Fair the night of the homicide. When youre in jail, you dont have a holiday. Coats ran a background check on the Fair and found the rape charge. Hes now struggling to reconstruct his life, Fair and his attorneys said. Police found that he had Googled pawn shops near the border. The lawsuit also says Fair threw garbage in the dumpster where the robe and other items were found while helping with party clean up. A new true-crime podcast from Campside Media and Wondery delves into the brutal unsolved murder nearly 13 years and two trials later. He scrubbed his phone right after the interrogation, the lawsuit says. The party ended between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., around the same time witnesses saw Jinaga going back to her apartment. To contaminate evidence, Jinagas hands had been doused in blue toilet-bowl cleaner and her body covered in motor oil. Fairs 23-page complaint, filed last month by his attorney, Ryan Dreveskracht, contends police and prosecutors botched the probe and wrongly targeted him because he was a Black man with a criminal record, despite evidence implicating Jinagas then-neighbor, who is white. She had been beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled. Just hours after that party ended, in the early morning of Nov. 1, 2008, one of the hosts of the Halloween party a 24-year-old software engineer and Indian immigrant named Arpana Jinaga . She had a keen interest in engineering and won several innovation competitions. Preliminary reports said Arpana may have died on Friday evening. His first trial, in 2017, ended in a hung jury because one juror said Fair looked like a thug with tattoos on his hands. The jury in the second trial acquitted him. In every community across Washington, families are facing the challenge of accessing and affording long-term care. I always knew I was going to get out; I just didnt think it would take as a long as it took, Fair, 38, said last month. All the while, Fair, whose family was unable to foot his seven-figure bail, said he had faith he would one day walk away free from a charge alleging he murdered Arpana Jinaga, 24, in her Redmond apartment after a Halloween party in 2008. He also drove to Canada the day of the murder and attempted to cross the border without a passport. In the intervening hours, neighbors who lived on either side of Jinagas apartment heard muffled moaning sounds but assumed she and a partner were having consensual sex. Redmond Police have found no "firm suspects" in the brutal murder of Arpana Jinaga, a 24-year-old software engineer who was . At his second trial, a jury found him not guilty. Jinagas neighbor, Johnson, was the prime suspect at first, as described in Fairs lawsuit documents. I hope I never have to investigate a case like this again.. I always knew I was going to get out; I just didnt think it would take as a long as it took, Fair, 38, said last month. The neighbor, who later hired a lawyer and stopped cooperating, subsequently scrubbed his phone of call and text data, the suit states. 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Jinaga, an outgoing Rutgers University grad, had moved to Redmond six months earlier to work as a software engineer at a Bellevue firm. On Oct. 30, 2010, Fair was placed in a Seattle holding cell while detectives gathered more evidence against him for the 2008 sexual assault and murder of a 24-year-old software engineer and Indian. Fairs attorneys contend that some of the DNA evidence was not an exact match. Such remarks since his exoneration only demonstrate authorities defensiveness about mishandling the case, Fair said. Ben Goldsmith and Katharine Edwards advanced a straightforward theory about why Emanuel Fair should be acquitted in the murder of Arpana Jinaga, whose body was found in her Redmond apartment on Nov. 1, 2008. The following Monday, her body would be discovered inside of her apartment, the victim of an apparent homicide. At approximately 8 am, Jinaga's next-door neighbor Kyle Rose, was awakened by sounds coming from her apartment. That decision was upheld by the state Court of Appeals following Fairs first trial. He replied: If youve done it before, youll do it again.. On Halloween night, 2008, Jinaga and several other tenants hosted a Halloween party, attended by residents of the apartment complex and their relatives and friends from outside. Another apartment complex resident committed suicide just days after Jinagas death, and his DNA was reportedly never compared to the crime scene. Ive been away for so long, I dont believe in holidays no more, he said. Fair was initially arrested for not updating his address with his probation officer. I just dont want to be around nobody, he said. Meanwhile they raided Emmanuels stuff and according to his best friend on the podcast took almost ALL of his things. Arpana Jinaga was a 24-year-old computer programmer, who had moved to the Pacific Northwest in March of 2008. Jinagas phone and digital camera were missing from the scene and never recovered. The officers allegedly did not change gloves between evidence collections, or between rooms or locations. Some guests were rowdy, but nothing out of the ordinary, it says. But as they worked through the evidence, jurors came to believe the state had not met its burden of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt, said the juror, a 35-year-old Bellevue software engineer who asked not to be named to protect his privacy, It was tough for us to vote not guilty because the family still doesnt know exactly who killed her, the juror said. After a background check revealed Fairs criminal record, including a third-degree child rape conviction, Fair quickly became the new prime suspect despite leads about the neighbor and other viable suspects, the suit states. Potts had not known Fair for a long time. The medical examiner estimated Jinagas time of death was 8 a.m. Her arm and a blanket also were partially burned and her comforter was soaking in a bathtub. Fair met Jinaga hours before she was killed at a Halloween party in her apartment complex. -, Press J to jump to the feed. According to reports, Fair accepted a plea agreement in 2004 while still maintaining his innocence. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Now working a security job and living with friends in Renton, he said hes often depressed, carries guilt for a younger brothers emotional troubles and avoids going out. Perhaps the perpetrator(s) kicked in the door, then while leaving they shut it again. He had a prior history of violent sexual crimes. After zeroing in on Fair because of his race and rap sheet, investigators relied on cherry-picked DNA evidence while disregarding other genetic findings and suspects as part of a gather facts that fit the theory strategy, the suit alleges. Those are times when you should be around family. According to the complaint, Johnsons fingerprints were found inside a window in Jinagas apartment, and his DNA was found on the motor oil bottle and a portion of wet carpet at the crime scene. A third mans DNA was on a bootlace, also found in the trash, but he had an alibi. Theres very little justice left to salvage., In a 2020 interview, the lead detective said Fair stood out to him because he was the only African-American male at the party and looked like an outsider.. There was forced entry into Jinaga's second-story apartment, signs of trauma to Jinaga and the apartment was in disarray. The neighbor, who later hired a lawyer and stopped cooperating, subsequently scrubbed his phone of call and text data, the suit states. He used the bathroom on one occasion. It was the second time Fair had been tried in connection with Jinagas killing: The first time, in 2017, the jury deadlocked and a mistrial was declared. Why didnt he tell police that her door was kicked in? Johnson has denied any involvement in Jinagas death. On Oct. 31, 2008, Fair took a bus to Redmond to stay the weekend with a friend at the Valley View Apartments. So its kind of messed up. Do we know how extensive the damage was? Host Matthew Shaer and and reporter Eric Benson go to the scene of the crime in an effort to discover if police identified the right suspect. The second trial was in 2019, where he got a not-guilty verdict. It's obvious why Fair is the number one suspect. They also failed to look for evidence of a missing bootlace. Fairs lawsuit includes many of the same facts that his public defender, Ben Goldsmith, used to poke holes in the prosecutions criminal case. Burn marks on her body and apartment suggest somebody tried to burn her. 2008, in Marshall . Indian immigrant and recent college graduate Arpana Jinaga was found brutally murdered in her Washington State apartment after co-hosting a Halloween costume party at her complex the evening of Oct. 31, 2008. On Thanksgiving, when he hadnt shown up to his familys dinner, Fair said an aunt called him to ask whether he was planning to come. Kyler Alvord leads PEOPLE's politics coverage as a news editor for the brand. DNA from the neighbor was found on a motor oil bottle, and from another man who wasnt at the party on a bootlace likely used to strangle Jinaga. . Ehlert also defended an immunity deal with the suspected neighbor, and the decision to solely prosecute Fair for first-degree murder with sexual motivation a charge that hinged mostly on trace DNA collected from a crime scene teeming with genetic evidence linked to multiple people. His attorneys allege Fair was isolated as the main suspect for her murder because of his race and his past criminal record. On Halloween 2008, Jinaga and several of her neighbors at the Valley View Apartments threw a large Halloween party, with guests moving between their units. Fair had some criminal history: weapon and drug offenses as a juvenile, and a rape charge from 2004. Poor victim was surrounded by shady people it seems. "Choices that, once made, are difficult to reverse.". After-the-fact contentions about inadmissible evidence are a little disingenuous, said Dreveskracht, Fairs attorney, who noted police at one point consulted with a psychic medium who attempted to contact Jinaga beyond the grave. In it, Ehlert stood firmly by the prosecuting teams decisions. Fair, a guest of another woman living in the building, met Jinaga and her neighbor that night. On Oct. 31, 2008, 24-year-old Arpana Jinaga dressed up in a Little Red Riding Hood costume and prepared for a Friday night to remember. Arpana dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and her apartment was one of four areas in the complex. Her other immediate neighbor, Kyle Rose, said he heard growling sounds around 8 a.m. The party was big enough that it spanned multiple apartments and drew many revelers. This is weird. 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. More than a dozen people passed through Jinaga's apartment that night. He assumed Jinaga was either vomiting or having sex. The prosecutors office also provided an uncut hourlong recording of an interview of former Chief Deputy Criminal Prosecuting Attorney Erin Ehlert in 2020 for a true crime podcast called Suspect, which examined the case. 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He scrubbed his phone after questioned about the call and could easily have hung around and taken time to clean her apartment/scrub the crime scene because their apartments shared a balcony and him taking out trash wouldn't strike anyone as weird or noticeable. Arpana Jinaga. lt also points out that Jinagas neighbor quickly emerged as the lead suspect in the case as inconsistencies in his story began to surface.. He also heard a thud on the floor but figured she was alright when he heard water running shortly after the noise. I dont think he killed Arpana. Its just another day. Another apartment complex resident committed suicide just days after Jinagas death, and his DNA was reportedly never compared to the crime scene. The case turned into a classic whodunit, and Jinaga's costumed party guests were the prime suspects. Around 3 am, Jinaga left a gathering in a ground-floor apartment and returned to her apartment on the third floor. New episodes of the nine-part series will be released weekly on Tuesdays. It seems odd to me that the killer(s) would go to such extremes to cover up DNA on her body and in her apartment with the motor oil and toilet bowl cleaner and bleach etc. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Ehlert also defended an immunity deal with the suspected neighbor, and the decision to solely prosecute Fair for first-degree murder with sexual motivation a charge that hinged mostly on trace DNA collected from a crime scene teeming with genetic evidence linked to multiple people. 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. He was drunk and brought bottles of liquor. Copyright 2023, The Spokesman-Review | Community Guidelines | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy, Police arrest man suspected of robbing downtown, South Hill banks, 82-year-old Mead man dies from injuries sustained in December crash near Whitworth , Family settles with Spokane County for $7.5 million in 2019 murder-suicide , Authorities in Oregon investigating incident that sent man with explosive device to Sacred Heart , Kohberger housed in small jail with mix of alleged criminals , Kohberger housed in small jail with mix of alleged criminals, Former Gonzaga guard Kyle Bankhead crafts game plan against alma mater, Family settles with Spokane County for $7.5 million in 2019 murder-suicide, McCarthy wins speakership on 15th vote after concessions to hard right. Jinaga lived alone in an apartment at the Valley View Apartments. At his second trial, a jury found him not guilty. In my opinion, and in my heart, I dont have any question about anything we did in regards to charging that Emanuel Fair killed Arpana Jinaga, she said. His phone records revealed that he had called Jinaga at 3am on the night of the murder, but he stated he did not remember making the calls. I thought I was gonna die, Fair told Rolling Stone. Emanuel Fair's DNA was found on Jinagas neck, a piece of duct tape used to gag her, a piece of toilet paper or paper towel found at the crime scene, and was mixed with Jinagas blood on her bathrobe robe (left in the apartment complex trash bin). All the while, Fair, whose family was unable to foot his seven-figure bail, said he had faith he would one day walk away free from a charge alleging he murdered Arpana Jinaga, 24, in her Redmond apartment after a Halloween party in 2008. Fair met Jinaga hours before she was killed at a Halloween party in her apartment complex. However, phone records show that he was making many phone calls between 2am and 5am, including to Potts. She had opened her third-floor apartment to Fair and dozens of other partygoers, who traipsed in and out during the festivities. Jinaga was. Cameron Johnson: a neighbour of Jinaga: he showed up to the party in Jinaga's apartment late. Fair was staying with his friend Leslie Potts on Oct. 31, 2008, in Valley View Apartments when he attended the party that Potts and other neighbors organized. At some point, though, things turned tense. If you would like to share your thoughts or experiences in relation to this story, please email the reporter or, Fire on Lake City Way in Seattle raises smoke, flooding concerns, WA to end masking requirement in health care, correctional facilities, Tacoma woman refusing tuberculosis treatment continues to face arrest, Be bolder to get light rail done, expert panel tells Sound Transit, Driver makes U-turn, hits pedestrian near Pioneer Square, police say. Since his release two-and-a-half years ago, Fair said hes struggled to adjust to life outside of jail or find steady work. Johnson was hanging out near Jinagas apartment when her friend arrived to check on her, and he helped the family friend identify the body, the lawsuit alleges. After the jury in his first trial deadlocked in 2017, King County prosecutors tried Fair again in 2019. The evidence of Fairs involvement is compelling, Larson said this week. According to reports, Fair accepted a plea agreement in 2004 while still maintaining his innocence. Johnson said he heard moaning sounds coming from Jinagas apartment around 3 a.m., and he assumed she was having sex. It was a party, Fair was all over her apartment like EVERYONE ELSE. Fair is seeking damages for the emotional stress he faced from when police investigated him until he was released. And thats hard.. Court files said there were also burn marks from an attempt to set the body or apartment on fire. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. The suit contends detectives aligned evidence to match their theory and disregarded half a dozen non-Black suspects in the case. Jinagas naked body was discovered by a close friend and an immediate neighbor in her home on Nov. 1, 2008. According to residents of the apartment, Johnson appeared interested in Jinaga. Shed been gagged, beaten and strangled during an apparent sexual attack. It was the combination of the various items that his DNA was on that pushed us to the point of saying we are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Emanuel Fair killed Arpana, Ehlert said in her podcast interview. It was the combination of the various items that his DNA was on that pushed us to the point of saying we are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Emanuel Fair killed Arpana, Ehlert said in her podcast interview. He was one of the three individual's whose DNA was found . He joined the publication in 2021 on the crime beat. He matched the description of the man the other resident saw around 3 a.m. at the murdered womans door and had a wide window of suspicion around him, the lawsuit alleges. According to the complaint, Johnsons fingerprints were found inside a window in Jinagas apartment, and his DNA was found on the motor oil bottle and a portion of wet carpet at the crime scene. The county, police department and Coats filed a response to Fairs initial complaint refuting the claims. On Oct. 30, 2010, Fair was placed in a Seattle holding cell while detectives gathered more evidence against him for the 2008 sexual assault and murder of a 24-year-old software engineer and Indian immigrant named Arpana Jinaga. Police believe she was killed around 8 am. Remembering Arpana Jinaga - this was the memorial DVD that was played at her funeral on October 6, 2008 in Bellevue, Washington. I dont think he killed Arpana. He told detectives he had a desire to explore. Canadian officials said Johnson tried to blow through the gates. So its kind of messed up. He was staying with Potts in the mostly white neighborhood that weekend, and his attendance at the party was impromptu. Arpana Jinaga. 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Theyre still crying about it 10 years later and they will be for the rest of their lives because it was such a horrible thing.. Police attempted to identify the partygoers and interview them. Detectives interviewed Fair three times in jail before the district attorney recommended a first-degree murder against him. Just to set the record straight. The lawsuit alleges that the department hired famous psychic medium Allison DuBois to help with the investigation around the time Fair was identified as the main suspect. During the trials, the neighbor, whom prosecutors at one point granted immunity for information, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He replied: If youve done it before, youll do it again.. We found [Fair] not guilty because of reasonable doubt, not because we thought he was completely innocent., The Seattle Times closes comments on particularly sensitive stories.