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There are multiple apartments with parties and these two go to a car to listen to music?! Fairs lawsuit includes many of the same facts that his public defender, Ben Goldsmith, used to poke holes in the prosecutions criminal case. There was evidence of rape. I just dont want to be around nobody, he said. She had opened her third-floor apartment to Fair and dozens of other partygoers, who traipsed in and out during the festivities. He waited in jail while authorities tested his DNA. Most of Fairs jail term was spent away from the general population in administrative segregation essentially, solitary confinement. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. The lawsuit alleges there was heavy drinking at the party of 40 to 50 people. He scrubbed his phone right after the interrogation, the lawsuit says. They found her nude body on her bedroom floor, face-down on the carpet and partially covered with cloth. Fairs attorneys contend that some of the DNA evidence was not an exact match. DNA evidence was linked to three men and. 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. Jinaga, an outgoing Rutgers University grad, had moved to Redmond six months earlier to work as a software engineer at a Bellevue firm. Jinaga, a 24-year-old software engineer from India, had attended Rutgers University, won an international software award and was a rising star at the Bellevue company where she worked. Fair said he went inside Jinagas apartment various times throughout the party. The lawsuit also says Fair threw garbage in the dumpster where the robe and other items were found while helping with party clean up. The neighbor initially neglected to tell detectives about phone calls he made to Jinaga at 3 a.m. Later on the morning of her slaying, he drove to the Canadian border and attempted to cross it without a passport but was denied entry. 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. Fair was later seen leaving the apartment that night. 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 county, police department and Coats filed a response to Fairs initial complaint refuting the claims. Because of this, a judge limited the scope of questions the man could be asked during the trial. They also failed to look for evidence of a missing bootlace. At age 20, Jinaga moved from her native India to the United States and quickly found success. When residents of the Valley View Apartments in Redmond, Wash., decided to host a Halloween party nearly 13 years ago, nobody expected that it would end with murder. Detectives interviewed Fair three times in jail before the district attorney recommended a first-degree murder against him. The Murder of Arpana Jinaga, The Stickiest Heist In History, abnd The Crappiest Place on Earth Published December 28, 2021 at 12:01 AM EST Listen 12:50 The lawsuit alleges that a lighter was found in his apartment with a sticky substance on it, but investigators never collected it. He also successfully represented himself in a legal claim for an injury he sustained from handcuffs, receiving a $25,000 settlement from King County in 2017. He used the bathroom on one occasion. Potts covered for Fair because he had a warrant out for not updating his address with his parole officer. 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. According to the Rolling Stone report, most of the people at the party that night didnt remember Fairs name. Arpana and neighbors within the Valley View Apartment complex threw a large Halloween party. The prosecutors office told Rolling Stone: We look forward to addressing these allegations in a public courtroom; we stand by our case., Fair said that he was reluctant to file the lawsuit at first because Jinagas family still hasnt gotten justice: theres no resolution for this case, no resolution for her.. This is the last known independent witness sighting of the pair. The complaint alleges that police failed to properly secure and gather evidence. Johnson said he heard moaning sounds coming from Jinagas apartment around 3 a.m., and he assumed she was having sex. Some of the potential suspects were not interviewed. Cameron should have been the #1 suspect. His attorneys allege Fair was isolated as the main suspect for her murder because of his race and his past criminal record. Witnesses said Neil Marshall, a partygoer, was sexually aggressive toward Jinaga on Halloween. The party ended between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., around the same time witnesses saw Jinaga going back to her apartment. This is weird. According to reports, Fair accepted a plea agreement in 2004 while still maintaining his innocence. According to court documents, a neighbor who did not attend the party reported seeing a man with olive complexion and light stubble standing in Jinagas doorway, talking to someone inside around 3 a.m. Fair went inside Potts apartment between 2:30 and 3 a.m. after listening to music with Jinagas immediate neighbor Cameron Johnson. I felt like I was kidnapped, Fair said in last months interview, when explaining his decision to pursue his claims of negligence, civil rights violations and malicious prosecution. Was Kyle Rose ever questioned as a suspect? Jinagas neighbor, Johnson, was the prime suspect at first, as described in Fairs lawsuit documents. This is a person who is living her dream. Just to set the record straight. Court records show prosecutors did not believe they had enough evidence to charge Jinagas neighbor, who met Fair the night of the homicide. Police went to Jinaga's apartment after they were contacted by her friend, Redmond police spokesman Jim Bove said, adding police are investigating the death as a homicide. At approximately 8 am, Jinaga's next-door neighbor Kyle Rose, was awakened by sounds coming from her apartment. Kyler Alvord leads PEOPLE's politics coverage as a news editor for the brand. 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. Jinagas hands were covered in blue toilet-bowl cleaner, her body and other items were covered in motor oil, her bed had been stripped, a blanket was partially burned and her soaked comforter was found in the bathtub. Fair said the lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, is the closest thing to justice I can get.. The case turned into a classic whodunit, and Jinaga's costumed party guests were the prime suspects. Preliminary reports said Arpana may have died on Friday evening. She had been beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled. Jinaga lived alone in an apartment at the Valley View Apartments. 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. lt also points out that Jinagas neighbor quickly emerged as the lead suspect in the case as inconsistencies in his story began to surface.. Jinagas phone and digital camera were missing from the scene and never recovered. I didnt know how to answer, so I just told her the truth: Im depressed. It was just gruesome, he said. Hes now struggling to reconstruct his life, Fair and his attorneys said. Suspect premieres Aug. 17 on Wondery+ and Aug. 31 wherever podcasts are streamed. After the jury in his first trial deadlocked in 2017, King County prosecutors tried Fair again in 2019. Unidentified male DNA was also found on a bruise on Jinagas wrist. I dont think he killed Arpana. No one cleaning up reported seeing anything suspicious. 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. 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. Jinaga had been a prize-winner in a . Coats is now a captain in the department. or felt they were? The neighbor initially neglected to tell detectives about phone calls he made to Jinaga at 3 a.m. Later on the morning of her slaying, he drove to the Canadian border and attempted to cross it without a passport but was denied entry. She is suspected to have died from strangulation from a bootlace. During the trials, the neighbor, whom prosecutors at one point granted immunity for information, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Do we know from the OP that it would have been obvious? Several people were at the party before Jinagas murder, so the scene was full of various DNA samples. More than a dozen people passed through Jinaga's apartment that night. 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. Not sure if there would be any visible damages. So what else can they do but to continue to point their finger at me?. The area she was living is considered an upscale area with a very low crime rate, and is the home to technology companies such as Microsoft and Nintendo. He heard "a horrible growling" for about twenty seconds until he heard a thud. Unidentified male DNA was also found on a bruise on Jinagas wrist. The DNA on the motor oil and fleeing to Canada seems highly suspicious to me. Bodicherla went to the apartment complex, where he encountered Cameron Johnson, who showed him the way to Jinaga's unit. 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. Photos. In her spare time, she practiced taekwondo, learned to build her own motorcycle, and volunteered with neighbourhood groups. Residents said Fair appeared relaxed when he hung out at Potts apartment for three days over the weekend. Police staked out the house where he was staying, slowly rolled up on Fair and reportedly pointed guns at his chest. I think that was the biggest reasonable doubt and no one could eliminate him [as the killer], the juror said of the neighbor. Maybe they were running out of time (had to be somewhere? Someone else murdered the young software engineer. 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. Most of the partygoers reportedly referred to the chocolate-skinned man as the Black guy in his police file. 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. Police attempted to identify the partygoers and interview them. 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. The lab technicians simply could not exclude Fair as a match, and his DNA was found alongside other DNA matches. Maybe he sneezed or coughed while using it. By Bill Christianson January 8, 2009 5:35 pm. Remembering Arpana Jinaga - this was the memorial DVD that was played at her funeral on October 6, 2008 in Bellevue, Washington. A bunch of residents of the apartment complex had decided to throw a big Halloween bash across something like four of the apartments, with each apartment decorated with a different theme. A suspect is identified, arrested, and convicted, but this morphed into a greater mystery when journalists began investigating the case years later. When contacted by police, Leslie Potts falsely claimed that she was alone, even though Emanuel Fair was staying with her. It's obvious why Fair is the number one suspect. Larson, the chief criminal deputy prosecutor, noted Fairs 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 a robe found in the apartment buildings trash bin. He also heard a thud on the floor but figured she was alright when he heard water running shortly after the noise. Such remarks since his exoneration only demonstrate authorities defensiveness about mishandling the case, Fair said. Brian Coats, who led the investigation into Jinagas murder as a detective 13 years ago. It was a party, Fair was all over her apartment like EVERYONE ELSE. Death' Surgeon Killed or Maimed 33 of His Patients Now His Victims Are Speaking Out, Ex-Boyfriend of Missing Md. He had been in her apartment once earlier in the night too. Fairs DNA was found on Jinagas robe and a roll of duct tape that was likely used to tape her underwear inside her mouth like a gag. Arpana was last seen in the early morning of Nov. 1 during a Halloween . In a 2020 interview, one of the prosecutors said Fair looked like the best suspect because his DNA was found on objects specifically related to the murder, not the aftermath. Atlanta Black Star is a narrative company. The officers allegedly did not change gloves between evidence collections, or between rooms or locations. Guests took silly photos, downed shots and smoked pot. 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 . Some guests were rowdy, but nothing out of the ordinary, it says. To pass time, he said he read books, wrote letters and drew pictures. Jinaga was. Police let Johnson go after his questioning. Contribute to Atlanta Black Star today and help us share our narratives. 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. DNA found at the crime scene was ultimately linked to three men, but only one was charged with murder. Fair spent six of the nearly nine years in jail, held by a seven-figure bond, isolated for 23 hours a day awaiting trial. The evidence of Fairs involvement is compelling, Larson said this week. At his second trial, a jury found him not guilty. The party ended between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., around the same time witnesses saw Jinaga going back to her apartment. Johnson also said that he had driven to Canada on the day after the Halloween party and that he had been denied entry. During the night, neighbors of Jinaga heard muffled moaning sounds, and assumed she and a partner were having consensual sex. Most of the partygoers reportedly referred to the chocolate-skinned man as the Black guy in his police file. After the jury in his first trial deadlocked in 2017, King County prosecutors tried Fair again in 2019. According to court documents, Johnson called Jinaga around 3 a.m. but did not mention that to the police during his interview. Arpana Jinaga, a 24 year old woman from India. The lawsuit alleges that a lighter was found in his apartment with a sticky substance on it, but investigators never collected it. Witnesses said Neil Marshall, a partygoer, was sexually aggressive toward Jinaga on Halloween. A tech prodigy from an early age, Arpana seemed poised to achieve great things in life. At one time, Emanuel Fair was the longest-serving inmate in the King County Jail, spending nine years behind bars without being convicted of a crime. Hes now struggling to reconstruct his life, Fair and his attorneys said. He was staying with Potts in the mostly white neighborhood that weekend, and his attendance at the party was impromptu. Ive been away for so long, I dont believe in holidays no more, he said. Detectives also found a trace of his DNA on the front of Jinagas neck that was so small that it had to be sent to a specialized lab for review. 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. 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. Her arm and a blanket also were partially burned and her comforter was soaking in a bathtub. Her fingers and nails were cleaned and then covered in toilet bowl cleaner, and there was a heavy scent of bleach throughout the house. Investigators focused on Fair after seeing him in photos of the party. In Suspect, journalists Matthew Shaer and Eric Benson (Over My Dead Body) return to the Valley View Apartments and interview party guests and authorities about the horrific series of events stemming from Halloween 2008. Fair, a guest of another woman living in the building, met Jinaga and her neighbor that night. The court documents detail negligence by detectives and the outsourcing of a famous psychic medium to opine on the case. Coats and another Redmond detective confronted the neighbor about his calls to Jinaga, but then released him and returned his phone without examining it. 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. He said evidence about Jinagas neighbor raised significant questions for the jury. 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. In the apartment complex's trash bin, was a bag containing Jinaga's Halloween costume, a bloodied robe, a discarded bottle of motor oil, and the bootlace. He had a lighter covered in gook that looked like motor oil which they took a photo of but never bagged it nor did they check his shoes for a missing lace. 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. 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. But of course, I imagine it must have been loud disturbance to kick in a door, which was apparently never reported. 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. 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. When youre in jail, you dont have a holiday. His case went on trial in 2017, the jury deadlocked and there was a mistrial. "It's a series about cutting-edge science and mislaid justice, race and policing, and the kinds of weighty choices that cops and prosecutors make every day," Wondery states in a release. Two days later on Monday, Jinagas father in India was worried that her daughter was not answering her phone, so he asked family friend Jay Bodicherla in the US to check up on her. The two discovered her locked door had been kicked in. Fair was initially arrested for not updating his address with his probation officer. Coats and another Redmond detective confronted the neighbor about his calls to Jinaga, but then released him and returned his phone without examining it. The lawsuit also says Fair threw garbage in the dumpster where the robe and other items were found while helping with party clean up. In it, Ehlert stood firmly by the prosecuting teams decisions. 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. She had a keen interest in engineering and won several innovation competitions. Poor victim was surrounded by shady people it seems. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. She practiced martial arts and participated in a motorcycle club. 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. So its kind of messed up. It contends Fair was asleep at his friends apartment when Jinaga likely was attacked, and that he didnt attempt to leave the area: He helped clean up outdoor areas after the party and stayed with his friend at her apartment for two more days. He went on afterwards, he got his degree, hes never had a crime., Fair, who had only met the neighbor at the party that night, said prosecutors immunity deal was just another biased action taken to strengthen the case against him that backfired, because the neighbor didnt even implicate me, he implicated himself.. The neighbors DNA was found on a discarded bottle of motor oil, found in the same bag with the robe. The neighbor invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Larson said. According to court records and Chief Criminal Deputy Mark Larson, prosecutors were barred from arguing that Fair and the neighbor were both involved in Jinagas killing because there wasnt evidence to support the states theory the men acted as accomplices. They interrogated Fair on the car ride to the station without reading his rights. She had a keen interest in engineering and won several innovation competitions. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Jinagas naked body was discovered by a close friend and an immediate neighbor in her home on Nov. 1, 2008. 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. Since his release two-and-a-half years ago, Fair said hes struggled to adjust to life outside of jail or find steady work. An online memorial for Arpana has been created, for family and friends to share pictures and memories, at crypticgirl.com. Jinaga had been gagged, brutally beaten and most likely raped. He assumed Jinaga was either vomiting or having sex. 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. As a man who was incarcerated and released but not convicted, Fair left jail without the support and resources typically offered to exonerated people or parolees, such as job support and mental health services. 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. I lost a lot. Two days later, after Jinaga hadnt shown up to work or returned calls to her family in India, a family friend and Jinagas next-door neighbor found her door kicked in and her nude body on her bedroom floor. He had a prior history of violent sexual crimes. If you have probable cause, you dont go to a psychic, he said. After her graduation, she got a job as a software engineer at EMC, in a suburb of Seattle. 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. I just dont want to be around nobody, he said. The initial investigation focused on Cameron Johnson, Jinaga's neighbor. Fair, the second-longest-serving inmate in the downtown Seattle facility after being booked into jail in November 2010, was released Tuesday afternoon, three hours after the jury delivered its not-guilty verdict, according to a jail spokeswoman. Redmond Police have found no "firm suspects" in the brutal murder of Arpana Jinaga, a 24-year-old software engineer who was . Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. No one cleaning up reported seeing anything suspicious. According to court documents, a neighbor who did not attend the party reported seeing a man with olive complexion and light stubble standing in Jinagas doorway, talking to someone inside around 3 a.m. Fair went inside Potts apartment between 2:30 and 3 a.m. after listening to music with Jinagas immediate neighbor Cameron Johnson.