Suspect Season 1 Episode 1. After her death, the killer had scrubbed Arpana's body with bleach in an attempt to destroy evidence, and investigators would later note that Arpana's hands had been stained blue by a "highly-acidic" cleaning agent. 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.". Days after the discovery of Arpana's body, a ceremony was held in Redmond, which had all of the customs of a Hindu memorial service and was attended by the many of dozens of lives that Arpana had impacted during her short time in the Pacific Northwest. In the weeks after Arpana's murder, Emanuel Fair was identified through photographs and eventually questioned. This Valentine's Day, prepare for a unique podcast experience! Listening notes for the top shows, from Vultures critic Nick Quah. By this point, Arpana had already started to make plans to accomplish all of these goals. 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. Mar. After all, he was the only one facing charges, and him facing charges for two people was - at its core - unconstitutional. We're not giving up.". claims to have woken up at around 10:00 AM. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Fair was held in jail for nine years and was twice tried but was never convicted. Its challenging in terms of race, in terms of policing, in terms of forensic science. 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. Other witnesses that knew C.J. Weve got romance, breakups, emotionally loaded dumplings this episode has a little bit of everything! He lost 9 years of his life simply waiting for a chance to prove his innocence. It quickly became evident that the door leading into the apartment had been forced open, and the door jam was broken. He was originally charged with Arpana's murder in October of 2010 and acquitted in June of 2019 - nearly nine years, in which there was little movement in Arpana's case. In June of 2005, Arpana was featured in the New Indian Express, in an article titled "Young Inventors." The latest episode of Suspect highlights a reason that IMO isn't talked about enough -- the problems inherent in the jury system. 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. What drew you to this story, and why now? 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). Alanis-Mejia was booked into Carrizales on Sept. 10, 2020, on an outstanding warrant, that alleges he was unaware of, according to the lawsuit. 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.. In it, she spoke about her love of working with computers and using them to innovate new and exciting things and spoke about working with companies in the future to do just that - innovate - before following in her father's footsteps to become a professor. 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. 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. 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. While Emanuel Fair was acquitted of the charges levied against him, the jurors that decided his fate claim that it had little to do with his innocence; but, rather, the level of reasonable doubt that his attorneys were able to raise. Can you please do me a favor? asks a man, previously designated as a person of interest, when approached in the third episode. Breaking down the contenders in the seasons most unpredictable Oscar race. claimed to not remember anything about them. 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. 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. Sheriff Conrado Cantu took office as sheriff in 2001 and oversaw Carrizales when it first opened in 2004," a portion of the federal lawsuit stated. Sign up for Vultures new recommendation newsletter 1.5x Speed here. For three and a half decades, her disappearance was a mystery - a riddle neither authorities . 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. was interviewed multiple times by investigators, and each time, was unable to remember certain details: including what he had been up to during the estimated time of the murder (3:00 - 8:00 AM). "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. It's also worth pointing out that the same evidence used against Emanuel Fair - the DNA evidence analyzed by TrueAllele - revealed that C.J. Together, they decided to enter Arpana's apartment to check in on her, but when they knocked on the apartment door, it swung open. - happened to be nearby. 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). 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. The case remains unsolved today. Thats where a lot of the drama is for us, and where we wanted to investigate what had happened. When officers and investigators had first arrived at Arpana's apartment, they made note of the smell of chemical agents throughout it. He is also seeking a jury trial. 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). Fair's attorneys would point out several gaps in the investigation. Phil Skelton, a member of the PNW Riders, spoke to the Redmond Reporter and said about Arpana: "When you met her, she would have you smiling within 15 seconds.". 2023 Vox Media, LLC. 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. According to investigators, they were also struggling to piece together a solid motive. 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. had even shown Fair a music editing software on his home computer. Episode 1: The Halloween Party | Suspect | Full Episode 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. 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. Friends recall that she spoke of opening an animal sanctuary for endangered species in the future. Investigators had seemed particularly hostile towards Fair and had not extended that hostility towards other white suspects (who may have had more of a motive to target Arpana). Not only was there just as much incriminating physical evidence implicating him in Arpana's death, but he had committed a ton of strange and bizarre acts around the time of her death that raised suspicion. You can listen early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App. I hope people think about that, but I also hope that they think about the way that justice is carried out or not, in cities across the country and in a really liberal place like Seattle. 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. One of Arpana's neighbors (Kyle R.) would later remark that at around 8:00 AM, he was awoken by a "horrible growling" sound, which persisted for about 20 seconds and was punctuated with a solid thud sound. 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). [In the 1980s], you really needed a lot of body fluid, so there was no ambiguity about whose DNA it was. does not exculpate Fair. Later on, during Emanuel Fair's first trial, prosecutors even alleged that this neighbor had been an accomplice in the murder. 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. While investigators had already analyzed the evidence and saw that it could feasibly implicate Emanuel Fair's involvement in the murder, it was anything but definitive (and could create reasonable doubt if brought up in trial). 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." Its absence led investigators to speculate that robbery had played some kind of motive, as the killer might have stolen the bike to flee from the scene, but police would later locate the motorcycle at a repair shop in Everett, where Arpana had taken it days prior. This area - Redmond, Washington - is a relative stranger to violent crime. Despite not even knowing how to ride a motorcycle at the time, she purchased a Suzuki and began attending classes to learn how to safely ride it. For the next two years, investigators would struggle to make sense of this case. Through clever investigating, O'Leary was later captured and ultimately linked to at least five violent rapes between Washington and Colorado: all of which he had photographed and documented, keeping mementos of the victims (such as their cell phones and cameras). Washington needs more than 1 million homes in the next 20 years Or it might not. 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. As if that wasn't bad enough, the killer had then sprayed motorcycle oil and other chemicals all over the 24-year-old's body, which they had then attempted to light on fire, not knowing that oil isn't flammable. According to prosecutors, Emanuel Fair claimed to have gone back to his friend Leslie's apartment at around 1:00 AM but would make nearly two dozen calls to three separate women (none of whom were Arpana) between 2:00 and 5:00 AM. 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. 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.". "There have been multiple reports between 2012 and 2020 of Carrizales guards provoking inmates in order to get reaction from the inmate and then beat the inmate," the lawsuit stated. 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. 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. 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. This included the tape used to gag Arpana, DNA recovered from her neck (where she had been strangled), and a bloody robe found in the apartment complex's dumpster, which contained traces of Fair's DNA. Now, nearly two years later, Emanuel Fair was being charged with 1st-degree murder and was transferred to the King County jail to await trial. would attend a party at a friend's house in Everett, and while there, attempted to wrestle them. In fact, they posited throughout the first trial that he may have been an accomplice; an uncharged accomplice, but an accomplice nonetheless. Arpana B. Jinaga grew up in Hyderabad, one of the largest cities in all of India. While Arpana would show an affinity for art, writing, and even gymnastics from an early age, she seemed destined to follow in her father's footsteps, becoming a bit of a tech prodigy in her teenage years. 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. TrueAllele was utilized heavily by this investigation and was able to come up with results that were far more definitive than anything the crime lab itself had been able to determine. She was last seen by numerous people leaving an apartment on the first floor - where the party had ended up - and was heading back up to her apartment on the third floor (the top level of the complex). 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. She had traveled the globe in pursuit of an exciting and adventurous life, made a name for herself in the notoriously-competitive tech sector by the age of 24, endeared herself to dozens of strangers and it had all ended with one senseless act of violence. throughout the episode - stating during the trial that: " the State's position is that [C.J.] Prosecutors made it clear that they'd be pursuing a life sentence, due to the brutality of the crime (not the standard 35-45 year sentence for 1st-degree murder). Marc Patrick O'Leary, an Army veteran, is a convicted rapist and home invader who you might know from the well-known book "A False Report: An Unbelievable Story of Rape" (which was later adapted into the Netflix series "Unbelievable"). Posting comments is now limited to subscribers only. Police would speculate that the killer had started using bleach there and then carried it towards the bedroom, based on a trail of bleached droplets that led down the hallway. In terms of pure execution, it's probably the best narrative true-crime podcast I've heard all year. It would soon become clear to them that someone had attempted to scrub the apartment of their presence, wiping bleach onto several pieces of furniture, as well as a table in the living room (from which, fluid had spilled down onto the carpet, permanently staining it). ", "It was a brutal scene. Was there anything that surprised you in your reporting of this story? 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. Suspect on Apple Podcasts Cameron County officials did not respond to The Brownsville Herald for comment by press time. All that we know for sure is that Arpana had already lived a full life by the age of 24, and could have continued changing the world for the better. The description they gave to police more closely resembled C.J. Meanwhile, Fair's attorneys would argue that this was not a valid argument: the state couldn't have their cake and eat it, too. After nine years of awaiting his fate, 35-year-old Emanuel Fair was released from custody just hours after being acquitted in the death of Arpana Jinaga. During his interviews with investigators, C.J. So I just finished the Suspect podcast on Wondery +, and am finding myself feeling mislead by the hosts after doing some additional research after the fact. O'Leary is currently serving out his sentence at the Sterling Correctional Facility and remains a possible suspect in this case. Despite being a relative unknown in the public sphere, Fair was no stranger to law enforcement, having been arrested nearly a dozen times already, and serving sentences for at least six crimes: which included drug and firearms-related crimes, as well as sexual offenses. 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. The podcast currently has over 1,000 followers on Instagram and has over . The residents of the Valley View apartments organize a big costume party. (Arpana's neighbor, who would co-discover her body days later). as an uncharged accomplice). But we got really all of those people. But because of his prior criminal record, he would remain at the top of their suspect list for some time until the results from the forensic analysis came back from the Washington state crime lab, which seemed to implicate his involvement in the murder. Lt. Brian Coats would later tell reporters about the crime scene: "It was a scene where the suspect or suspects spent a considerable amount of time covering the evidence of crime. 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. Season 2: Vanished in the Snow chronicles the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews. 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 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. Even though Emanuel Fair and other defendants all over the country began to demand access to the software's underbelly, Dr. Perlin was willing to take the issue to court to preserve his company's share in the burgeoning forensic analysis market, having already scored deals with law enforcement agencies all over the country. But as the reporting got going in earnest, it became more about an opportunity to do something which Ive always wanted to do, which is really break down an investigation from beginning to end and see how these cases come together or dont. 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. 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. And there is nobody in prison or even charged with this murder right now. This was paired with several inconsistencies in Emanuel Fair's story; which included - but was not limited to - calls he had made during the time of Arpana's murder. 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. 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. According to an interview with Coats by Matt Shaer who retraced the steps of Coats' investigation in his podcast, Suspect, and whose interviews helped inform Fair's lawsuit he spotted . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google 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. 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. 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.". claim that over the next several days and weeks, he made vague statements alluding to him going over to Arpana's apartment in his sleep; which, when you factor in him having quit psychiatric medication a short time prior, seems worrisome.