At his second trial, a jury found him not guilty. 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. 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. 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. -, Press J to jump to the feed. Its just another day. 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. 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. Shed been gagged, beaten and strangled during an apparent sexual attack. 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. Jinagas father had asked a family friend to check in on her after she missed scheduled calls with family from India. Fair said he went inside Jinagas apartment various times throughout the party. The defense also explained the innocuous opportunities Mr. Fair had to touch or indirectly transfer microscopic skin cells to these items during the party. Jinaga's neighbor Cameron Johnson showed up to the party in Jinaga's unit late. As her next-door neighbor this would have been obvious. Photos. Everyone seemed to have a good time, the lawsuit alleges. Most of the partygoers reportedly referred to the chocolate-skinned man as the Black guy in his police file. .but he doesnt mention it? And thats hard.. Coats ran a background check on the Fair and found the rape charge. He had bruises consistent with a sexual attack, tried to flee the country, and was researching pawn shops (which the police never really followed up onor seemingly got a real answer from him on why he was researchingpawn shops). 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. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. Goldsmith said evidence found at Jinagas apartment and produced during the investigation pointed to one of her neighbors as the likely killer. They also waited days to search a dumpster in the complex where a partial bottle of motor oil, a boot lace used to strangle Jinaga and her bed sheet and a bath robe were found. Sign up to receive The Atlanta Black Star Newsletter in your inbox. His DNA was on the roll of duct tape found on the couch, not the tape that covered her face and according to the podcast there's a photo of him using the duct tape to hang up decorations so yea he touched it they already know that. He attributed them to wrestling a stranger he met at another Halloween party the next day, the lawsuit alleges. But I dont have a desire to do that. 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. 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. 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. The neighbors DNA was found on a discarded bottle of motor oil, found in the same bag with the robe. The DNA on the motor oil and fleeing to Canada seems highly suspicious to me. 0:00 / 18:51 Halloween Party Host Murder Leads to Excess Suspects | Arpana Jinaga & Emanuel Fair Dr. Todd Grande 1.24M subscribers 67K views 2 months ago This video answers the question: Can I. Johnson said he heard moaning sounds coming from Jinagas apartment around 3 a.m., and he assumed she was having sex. Its got to be terrible for everybody it touched. 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. He attributed them to wrestling a stranger he met at another Halloween party the next day, the lawsuit alleges. 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. 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. Sunshine2018/BT - 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. She had been beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled. According to the Rolling Stone report, most of the people at the party that night didnt remember Fairs name. 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.. In August 2009, a man named Emanuel Fair was interviewed by police. He assumed Jinaga was either vomiting or having sex. He appeared drunk and brought liquor. Jinaga had been a prize-winner in a . In the apartment, there was a strong smell of bleach, and also bleach stains were found. and even burning of sheets, but then they would be so careless and stupid to just discard it all into the apartment dumpster. He also heard a thud on the floor but figured she was alright when he heard water running shortly after the noise. Arpana Jinaga Unresolved Arpana Jinaga In October of 2008, a 24-year-old computer programmer living in the Seattle area would attend a Halloween party in her apartment complex. Most of the partygoers reportedly referred to the chocolate-skinned man as the Black guy in his police file. He was her pimp, or as the podcast preferred to describe it, the person who placed craiglist ads for her escort services. She had opened her third-floor apartment to Fair and dozens of other partygoers, who traipsed in and out during the festivities. 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 initial investigation focused on Cameron Johnson, Jinaga's neighbor. 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. However, when Fair emerged as a suspect, his treatment can only be viewed as racial discrimination, his attorneys allege. Johnson's friends and family stated he said "what if I did the murder and I don't remember". A tech prodigy from an early age, Arpana seemed poised to achieve great things in life. 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. 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. 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 . 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. Do we know from the OP that it would have been obvious? Hes now struggling to reconstruct his life, Fair and his attorneys said. Shed been gagged, beaten and strangled during an apparent sexual attack. During the trials, the neighbor, whom prosecutors at one point granted immunity for information, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Suspect: With Matthew Shaer, Eric Benson, Matt Baglio, Ashley Fantz. Unidentified male DNA was also found on a bruise on Jinagas wrist. The medical examiner estimated Jinagas time of death was 8 a.m. On the night of Oct. 31, 2008, Arpana Jinaga and her neighbors at the Valley View Apartments, in Redmond, Wash., threw a party to celebrate Halloween. No one cleaning up reported seeing anything suspicious. 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. They also want him to be reimbursed for the attorney fees he incurred while fighting the charges. Jinagas phone and digital camera were missing from the scene and never recovered. 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. I dont think he killed Arpana. They found her nude body on her bedroom floor, face-down on the carpet and partially covered with cloth. 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. He helped set up and clean up, and had no wounds, no scratches or injuries. The party was big enough that it spanned multiple apartments and drew many revelers. Sunshine(2018) - Jinaga had been gagged with her underpants and duct tape, brutally beaten around the head. New episodes of the nine-part series will be released weekly on Tuesdays. 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. The party ended between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., around the same time witnesses saw Jinaga going back to her apartment. The complaint alleges that police failed to properly secure and gather evidence. Were they old friends? 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. Fairs attorneys contend that some of the DNA evidence was not an exact match. Fair filed a lawsuit against King County, Redmond, the Redmond Police Department and the lead detective on Dec. 29. He waited in jail while authorities tested his DNA. 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. Fair said he went inside Jinagas apartment various times throughout the party. The two discovered her locked door had been kicked in. 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. So its kind of messed up. beansbaxter. or felt they were? 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. Convicted sex offender charged in brutal 2008 Redmond homicide Fairs lawsuit includes many of the same facts that his public defender, Ben Goldsmith, used to poke holes in the prosecutions criminal case. They also failed to look for evidence of a missing bootlace. 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. But it seems Jinaga would quickly move on and return to enjoying the party. Johnson also said that he had driven to Canada on the day after the Halloween party and that he had been denied entry. 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. He was staying with Potts in the mostly white neighborhood that weekend, and his attendance at the party was impromptu. 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. 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. I think that was the biggest reasonable doubt and no one could eliminate him [as the killer], the juror said of the neighbor. Second trial in killing of Redmond woman ends with not-guilty verdict Photo: King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, 'Dr. Jinaga was. I lost a lot. Detectives interviewed Fair three times in jail before the district attorney recommended a first-degree murder against him. 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 . Now, more than two years later, Fair is suing King County, the city of Redmond and Redmond Police Capt. but Im not free.. Court files said there were also burn marks from an attempt to set the body or apartment on fire. More than a dozen people passed through Jinaga's apartment that night. 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. 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. Some guests were rowdy, but nothing out of the ordinary, it says. The neighbor, who later hired a lawyer and stopped cooperating, subsequently scrubbed his phone of call and text data, the suit states. Fair said the lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, is the closest thing to justice I can get.. This is only a fraction of the evidence exonerating Emanuel which was wide-ranging and persuasive. Some of the potential suspects were not interviewed. 14 years ago. 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. 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.