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. It was a brutal scene. Around 2:30 am, Fair and Johnson went to Johnson's apartment and then down to Johnson's car to listen to music. 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. Most of the partygoers reportedly referred to the chocolate-skinned man as the Black guy in his police file. Police attempted to identify the partygoers and interview them. He joined the publication in 2021 on the crime beat. A new true-crime podcast from Campside Media and Wondery delves into the brutal unsolved murder nearly 13 years and two trials later. It is reported in Seattle Times that a third male's DNA was found on the bootlace, but it is not reported as such in the court documents. The officers allegedly did not change gloves between evidence collections, or between rooms or locations. I think he may have been involved; I think he may have lied to us, Ehlert said of the neighbor. 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. This is weird. His attorneys allege Fair was isolated as the main suspect for her murder because of his race and his past criminal record. Arpana dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and her apartment was one of four areas in the complex. 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. Jinaga and other tenants he hadnt met were co-hosting a large Halloween party in several units. The defense also explained the innocuous opportunities Mr. Fair had to touch or indirectly transfer microscopic skin cells to these items during the party. Coats is now a captain in the department. 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 opened her third-floor apartment to Fair and dozens of other partygoers, who traipsed in and out during the festivities. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? 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. In addition, several neighbors in the complex told investigators that he had a sexual attraction to Jinaga, and he exhibited jealous behavior when she talked to other men at the Halloween party that night. He had a list of nearby pawnshops in his car printed the day Jinaga was killed, the lawsuit says. Fair said the lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, is the closest thing to justice I can get.. He had a prior history of violent sexual crimes. DNA was found on a discarded bottle of motor oil (same bag as robe). 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. To contaminate evidence, Jinagas hands had been doused in blue toilet-bowl cleaner and her body covered in motor oil. No one cleaning up reported seeing anything suspicious. 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. Jinagas neighbor, Johnson, was the prime suspect at first, as described in Fairs lawsuit documents. 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. I dont think he killed Arpana. Court records show prosecutors did not believe they had enough evidence to charge Jinagas neighbor, who met Fair the night of the homicide. In it, Ehlert stood firmly by the prosecuting teams decisions. Johnson has denied any involvement in Jinagas death. The second trial was in 2019, where he got a not-guilty verdict. Only one man was charged with murder. 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. 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. If you have probable cause, you dont go to a psychic, he said. 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. 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 complaint alleges that police failed to properly secure and gather evidence. Johnson's friends and family stated he said "what if I did the murder and I don't remember". Jinagas father had asked a family friend to check in on her after she missed scheduled calls with family from India. Jinaga lived alone in an apartment at the Valley View Apartments. Unidentified male DNA was also found on a bruise on Jinagas wrist. Jinagas phone and digital camera were missing from the scene and never recovered. 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. 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. 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. 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. The lab technicians simply could not exclude Fair as a match, and his DNA was found alongside other DNA matches. 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. Some of the potential suspects were not interviewed. Coats and another Redmond detective confronted the neighbor about his calls to Jinaga, but then released him and returned his phone without examining it. But of course, I imagine it must have been loud disturbance to kick in a door, which was apparently never reported. So what else can they do but to continue to point their finger at me?. A suspect is identified, arrested, and convicted, but this morphed into a greater mystery when journalists began investigating the case years later. Brian Bundridge was in a motorcycle club with Jinaga. Investigators said the lower half of the womans body was covered in motor oil. 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. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. She and several other residents in the complex opened the doors to their apartments for what was to be a night of fun. They also failed to look for evidence of a missing bootlace. Some of the potential suspects were not interviewed. Most of Fairs jail term was spent away from the general population in administrative segregation essentially, solitary confinement. Was Kyle Rose ever questioned as a suspect? They messed up, he said. She died from ligature strangulation, a bootlace the suspected murder weapon. Fairs lawsuit includes many of the same facts that his public defender, Ben Goldsmith, used to poke holes in the prosecutions criminal case. 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. Goldsmith said evidence found at Jinagas apartment and produced during the investigation pointed to one of her neighbors as the likely killer. She is suspected to have died from strangulation from a bootlace. 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. The officers allegedly did not change gloves between evidence collections, or between rooms or locations. 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. Her removed tampon alone had three separate unidentified male DNA profiles on it, according to Rolling Stones investigation. Around 2:30 am, Fair and Johnson went to Johnson's apartment and then down to Johnson's car to listen to music. 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. More than a dozen people passed through Jinaga's apartment that night. 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. Jinaga was. Hes now struggling to reconstruct his life, Fair and his attorneys said. Arpana Jinaga. 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. Johnson also had injuries that detectives said were consistent with a sexual assault. The Mysterious Death of a Young Mom Found Unresponsive in Her Bathtub, Inside the Case Against Bryan Kohberger: Legal Experts Weigh in on Idaho Murders, Will Bryan Kohberger Face Death Penalty if Convicted of Idaho Murders? His lawyers said he suffers from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. He also drove to Canada the day of the murder and attempted to cross the border without a passport. 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. Johnson engaged in a number of suspicious activities after the murder. He had been in her apartment once earlier in the night too. Kyler Alvord leads PEOPLE's politics coverage as a news editor for the brand. Fair and Johnson had actually just met that night. If you have probable cause, you dont go to a psychic, he said. The following Monday, her body would be discovered inside of her apartment, the victim of an apparent homicide. Jinaga had been gagged with her underpants and duct tape, brutally beaten around the head. Arpana was last seen in the early morning of Nov. 1 during a Halloween . It was a party, Fair was all over her apartment like EVERYONE ELSE. 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. Gifts processed in this system are not tax deductible, but are predominately used to help meet the local financial requirements needed to receive national matching-grant funds. Ive never seen a worse case, Corinne Sebren, one of Fairs lawyers, who specializes in civil rights cases, told Rolling Stone in a recent interview. His attorneys allege Fair was isolated as the main suspect for her murder because of his race and his past criminal record. "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. Police staked out the house where he was staying, slowly rolled up on Fair and reportedly pointed guns at his chest. Arpana Jinaga, a 24 year old woman from India. 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. Another apartment complex resident committed suicide just days after Jinaga's death, and his. -, Press J to jump to the feed. I just want to be myself., The Seattle Times closes comments on particularly sensitive stories. Fair was tried for Jinagas sexual assault twice and was acquitted after his second trial in June 2019. After the jury in his first trial deadlocked in 2017, King County prosecutors tried Fair again in 2019. At some point, though, things turned tense. .but he doesnt mention it? Photos. 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. Police believe she was killed around 8 am. Her apartment was decorated as a haunted forest, one of. Johnson also had injuries that detectives said were consistent with a sexual assault. 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. His DNA was also found, he was sexually interested in her, called her around 3am and said oh crap when caught in the lie, also matched the description of the guy seen at her door at 3am. Fair was initially arrested for not updating his address with his probation officer. He assumed Jinaga was either vomiting or having sex. 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. 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. As her next-door neighbor this would have been obvious. 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 said he heard moaning sounds coming from Jinagas apartment around 3 a.m., and he assumed she was having sex. 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.. A man by the name of Emanuel Fair was arrested in connection with her murder, but he has since been found not guilty of the crime. 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. Around 3 a.m. on Nov. 1, Jinaga left a gathering in a ground-floor apartment and returned to her apartment on the third floor. He was drunk and brought bottles of liquor. Her hands were covered in blue toilet-bowl cleaner, her body and other items were covered in motor oil. The medical examiner estimated Jinagas time of death was 8 a.m. 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. She had a keen interest in engineering and won several innovation competitions. Most people left Jinaga's apartment after 9pm to move to another apartment. 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. 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. Witnesses said Neil Marshall, a partygoer, was sexually aggressive toward Jinaga on Halloween. DNA found at the crime scene was ultimately linked to three men, but only one was charged with murder. 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. 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. Coats and another Redmond detective confronted the neighbor about his calls to Jinaga, but then released him and returned his phone without examining it. So its kind of messed up. During the trials, the neighbor, whom prosecutors at one point granted immunity for information, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. When asked about the calls, Johnson reportedly said, oh crap, but he could not remember why he called Jinaga. Redmond Police have found no "firm suspects" in the brutal murder of Arpana Jinaga, a 24-year-old software engineer who was . When youre in jail, you dont have a holiday. Her other immediate neighbor, Kyle Rose, said he heard growling sounds around 8 a.m. This is a person who is living her dream. 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. She practiced martial arts and participated in a motorcycle club. Jinagas bruised body was discovered covered with a cloth on Monday, Nov. 3, 2008. Her other immediate neighbor, Kyle Rose, said he heard growling sounds around 8 a.m. They interrogated Fair on the car ride to the station without reading his rights. 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. The county, police department and Coats filed a response to Fairs initial complaint refuting the claims. According to court documents, Johnson called Jinaga around 3 a.m. but did not mention that to the police during his interview. Poor victim was surrounded by shady people it seems. Witnesses said Neil Marshall, a partygoer, was sexually aggressive toward Jinaga on Halloween. 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. He scrubbed his phone right after the interrogation, the lawsuit says. A third mans DNA was on a bootlace, also found in the trash, but he had an alibi. Everyone seemed to have a good time, the lawsuit alleges. At approximately 8 am, Jinaga's next-door neighbor Kyle Rose, was awakened by sounds coming from her apartment. Some guests were rowdy, but nothing out of the ordinary, it says. His case went on trial in 2017, the jury deadlocked and there was a mistrial. He also drove to Canada the day of the murder and attempted to cross the border without a passport. 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. The lawsuit alleges that a lighter was found in his apartment with a sticky substance on it, but investigators never collected it. At his second trial, a jury found him not guilty. The neighbors DNA was found on a discarded bottle of motor oil, found in the same bag with the robe. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. Her removed tampon alone had three separate unidentified male DNA profiles on it, according to Rolling Stones investigation. For three and a half decades, her disappearance was a mystery - a riddle neither authorities . According to the Rolling Stone report, most of the people at the party that night didnt remember Fairs name. I lost a lot. Such remarks since his exoneration only demonstrate authorities defensiveness about mishandling the case, Fair said. Contribute to Atlanta Black Star today and help us share our narratives. 2018Dion Wiyoko,Rianti Cartwright,Laura Basuki,Jill Gladys,Sheila Dara Aisha,Junior Liem,Alyndra PandjipoetraSunshine ,SunshineSunshinemp4SunshineBT . Brian Coats, who led the investigation into Jinagas murder as a detective 13 years ago. The lawsuit says that Johnson also had a past of strange or violent behavior with women. Witnesses said Neil Marshall, a partygoer, was sexually aggressive toward Jinaga on Halloween. Those are times when you should be around family. 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. He assumed Jinaga was either vomiting or having sex. Fair filed a lawsuit against King County, Redmond, the Redmond Police Department and the lead detective on Dec. 29. He replied: If youve done it before, youll do it again.. 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. Not sure if there would be any visible damages. 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. The neighbor, who later hired a lawyer and stopped cooperating, subsequently scrubbed his phone of call and text data, the suit states. . Fairs lawsuit cites a comment Coats made during his interview for the Suspect podcast that Fair was the only African American at the party in the photos. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Were they old friends? 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. Jinaga's neighbor Cameron Johnson showed up to the party in Jinaga's unit late. One juror said that when the jury began its deliberations on June 6, the 12-member panel was evenly split: Four thought Fair was not guilty, four thought he was guilty, and four were undecided. 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. Sign up to receive The Atlanta Black Star Newsletter in your inbox. Nearly a year later. 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