She died from ligature strangulation, a bootlace the suspected murder weapon. Police believe she was killed around 8 a.m. Two days later, a friend of Jinagas father went to check up on her because she hadnt answered phone calls from her family in India. Redmond police Lt. Brian Coats vividly recalls all that he learned about Arpana Jinaga, a Redmond woman who was strangled in her apartment in 2008, her body doused with bleach, toilet-bowl cleaner and motor oil in an apparent attempt to destroy DNA evidence of rape. 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. Around 2:30 am, Fair and Johnson went to Johnson's apartment and then down to Johnson's car to listen to music. He also heard a thud on the floor but figured she was alright when he heard water running shortly after the noise. The following Monday, her body would be discovered inside of her apartment, the victim of an apparent homicide. I fear and I worry that someone else may become a victim at some point in time, Ehlert said of Fairs acquittal during the 2020 interview. 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. On the evening of Oct. 31, 2008, Arpana Jinaga, a 24-year-old software engineer and Indian immigrant, co-hosted the holiday get-together at the Valley View Apartments in Redmond, a suburb of Seattle. Some of the potential suspects were not interviewed. Some guests were rowdy, but nothing out of the ordinary, it says. Police staked out the house where he was staying, slowly rolled up on Fair and reportedly pointed guns at his chest. Not sure if there would be any visible damages. We were limited in the way we were able to argue the case and we have to live with that We try cases and we accept we have to prove everything beyond a reasonable doubt. 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. The lawsuit also says Fair threw garbage in the dumpster where the robe and other items were found while helping with party clean up. He and Jinagas next-door neighbor who became a suspect in her slaying discovered her locked door had been kicked in and found her nude body on her bedroom floor. Her fingers and nails were cleaned and then covered in toilet bowl cleaner, and there was a heavy scent of bleach throughout the house. New episodes of the nine-part series will be released weekly on Tuesdays. I dont think he killed Arpana. Fairs attorneys contend that some of the DNA evidence was not an exact match. The DNA on the motor oil and fleeing to Canada seems highly suspicious to me. She had opened her third-floor apartment to Fair and dozens of other partygoers, who traipsed in and out during the festivities. He said evidence about Jinagas neighbor raised significant questions for the jury. Her apartment was decorated as a haunted forest, one of. On Oct. 31, 2008, Fair took a bus to Redmond to stay the weekend with a friend at the Valley View Apartments. To get in one of those cheap hollow core doors (if thats what the apartment had) by kicking, you dont need to kick a hole through, just knock it out of the lock. Fair had some criminal history: weapon and drug offenses as a juvenile, and a rape charge from 2004. She was outgoing and friendly, joining a motorcycle club, practicing tae kwon do, and volunteering at an animal shelter and fire department, all within eight months of moving to Redmond, he said. 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. Detectives relied on her to help them find Jinagas missing phone and camera and consulted her about the potential of Fair as a suspect, the lawsuit says. . Her finger and fingernails were cleaned. By Bill Christianson January 8, 2009 5:35 pm. 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. Maybe they realized only at the last minute that they should get rid of the sheets and empty oil bottle and without anyone seeing them do it? Preliminary reports said Arpana may have died on Friday evening. He was her pimp, or as the podcast preferred to describe it, the person who placed craiglist ads for her escort services. Family of Missing Black Woman, Last Seen Living with Man She Met on Craigslist, Frustrated By Lack of Response to Case: Were Not Trying to Annoy Anybody, Happened As a Result of Jealousy: New York Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Stabbing Black 16-Year-Old Boy In the Heart for Walking a Girl Home, I Wanted to be a Trailblazer: Zandra Flemister, the First Black Woman Hired as a Secret Service Agent, Enduring Years of Blatant Racism, Dies at 71. Jinaga had been gagged, brutally beaten and most likely raped. 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. Arpana Jinaga was a 24-year-old computer programmer, who had moved to the Pacific Northwest in March of 2008. The result, it claims, was a biased probe that caused Fair to be arrested and charged without probable cause for a murder he did not commit.. Alyndra Pandjipoetra 2018Dion Wiyoko,Rianti Cartwright,Laura Basuki,Jill Gladys,Sheila Dara Aisha,Junior Liem,Alyndra PandjipoetraSunshine ,SunshineSunshinemp4SunshineBT! He was read his rights. She had a keen interest in engineering and won several innovation competitions. Potts had not known Fair for a long time. Someone else murdered the young software engineer. Since his release two-and-a-half years ago, Fair said hes struggled to adjust to life outside of jail or find steady work. He used the bathroom on one occasion. He was convicted of third-degree rape in 2004. His case went on trial in 2017, the jury deadlocked and there was a mistrial. 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. The officers allegedly did not change gloves between evidence collections, or between rooms or locations. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 2008, in Marshall . 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. 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. 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. This is only a fraction of the evidence exonerating Emanuel which was wide-ranging and persuasive. Most of Fairs jail term was spent away from the general population in administrative segregation essentially, solitary confinement. After hosting her event, software programmer, Arpana Jinaga, was found dead inside her home. The party ended between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., around the same time witnesses saw Jinaga going back to her apartment. Jinaga's killer had clearly gone to great lengths to destroy any biological traces linking him to the crime scene. At approximately 8 am, Jinaga's next-door neighbor Kyle Rose, was awakened by sounds coming from her apartment. 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 . The defense also explained the innocuous opportunities Mr. Fair had to touch or indirectly transfer microscopic skin cells to these items during the party. 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. They messed up, he said. Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Photos. Arpana Jinaga Memorial. 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. After the jury in his first trial deadlocked in 2017, King County prosecutors tried Fair again in 2019. 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. Jinaga was sprawled on the floor in her bedroom, bloody, naked, and drenched in bleach, toilet bowl cleaner, and motor oil. 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. They also want him to be reimbursed for the attorney fees he incurred while fighting the charges. 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. 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. Emanuel has steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout this case and he, his family, and friends are greatly relieved that justice was served by his acquittal, defense attorney Benjamin Goldsmith wrote in an email Friday. I think that was the biggest reasonable doubt and no one could eliminate him [as the killer], the juror said of the neighbor. Detectives interviewed Fair three times in jail before the district attorney recommended a first-degree murder against him. 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. Her arm and a blanket also were partially burned and her comforter was soaking in a bathtub. At his second trial, a jury found him not guilty. Cameron should have been the prime suspect and the one they took to trial. Brian Bundridge was in a motorcycle club with Jinaga. Police believe she was killed around 8 am. They also want him to be reimbursed for the attorney fees he incurred while fighting the charges. Jinagas father had asked a family friend to check in on her after she missed scheduled calls with family from India. He heard "a horrible growling" for about twenty seconds until he heard a thud. Jinaga had moved to the Pacific Northwest about six months ago. To pass time, he said he read books, wrote letters and drew pictures. Do we know he would have routinely passed her door going in and out of his apartment? Around 3 am, Jinaga left a gathering in a ground-floor apartment and returned to her apartment on the third floor. It was just gruesome, he said. No one cleaning up reported seeing anything suspicious. Fair ultimately was charged based on trace DNA evidence found on Jinagas neck; a piece of duct tape used to gag her; paper found in the apartment; and mixed with Jinagas blood on a robe recovered from the apartment buildings dumpster. Maybe he sneezed or coughed while using it. Police staked out the house where he was staying, slowly rolled up on Fair and reportedly pointed guns at his chest. Fair, a guest of another woman living in the building, met Jinaga and her neighbor that night. Detectives relied on her to help them find Jinagas missing phone and camera and consulted her about the potential of Fair as a suspect, the lawsuit says. 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. From the beginning, it was a complex case, complicated by the fact so many people had attended the party the night before she was killed, said Coats, the Redmond police lieutenant. 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. There was potential there that was just taken away., Citing pending litigation, a city of Redmond spokesperson declined to comment about Fairs lawsuit on behalf of Coats and the citys Police Department. Prior to that, she had attended Rutgers University on the east coast, but had grown up in the Indian city of Hyderabad as the oldest of two daughters. This is the last known independent witness sighting of the pair. Condition of the apartment: Jinaga's bed had been stripped, a fleece blanket was partially burned and her comforter was found in soaked the bathroom bathtub. Johnson also had injuries that detectives said were consistent with a sexual assault. If you have probable cause, you dont go to a psychic, he said. Johnson's friends and family stated he said "what if I did the murder and I don't remember". The county, police department and Coats filed a response to Fairs initial complaint refuting the claims. Some guests were rowdy, but nothing out of the ordinary, it says. -, Press J to jump to the feed. 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. Emanuel, his family, and friends ask for privacy, as he works to rebuild his life, wrote Goldsmith. 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. 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. Fairs lawsuit contends the probable cause affidavit used to support the murder charge omitted multiple facts, including that several other mens DNA also was found on crime scene evidence and items found in the dumpster. Court records show prosecutors did not believe they had enough evidence to charge Jinagas neighbor, who met Fair the night of the homicide. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts.