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. During trial the jury heard significant evidence that another person, Ms. Jinagas next door neighbor, may have murdered her on that tragic night.. 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. 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. According to residents of the apartment, Johnson appeared interested in Jinaga. He was read his rights. 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. 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. Perhaps the perpetrator(s) kicked in the door, then while leaving they shut it again. At his second trial, a jury found him not guilty. He had a prior history of violent sexual crimes. For three and a half decades, her disappearance was a mystery - a riddle neither authorities . The DNA on the motor oil and fleeing to Canada seems highly suspicious to me. 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 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. 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. He joined the publication in 2021 on the crime beat. link. According to reports, Fair accepted a plea agreement in 2004 while still maintaining his innocence. Coats is now a captain in the department. Potts, Jinaga and two others neighbors decorated and opened up their units to allow partygoers to go in and out freely. Suspect Might Be the Best True-Crime Podcast of the Year - Vulture Police staked out the house where he was staying, slowly rolled up on Fair and reportedly pointed guns at his chest. I covered for Emanuel because at the time I thought he was my friend, not because I was trying to cover for him for something he may or may not have done. According to court documents, Johnson called Jinaga around 3 a.m. but did not mention that to the police during his interview. Fair was staying with his friend Leslie Potts on Oct. 31, 2008, in Valley View Apartments when he attended the party that Potts and other neighbors organized. He helped set up and clean up, and had no wounds, no scratches or injuries. 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. . I thought I was gonna die, Fair told Rolling Stone. Then, due to inexcusable delays in Fairs trial and prolonged pretrial detention, he spent more than nine years in the King County Correctional Facility as an innocent man, in conditions of inhumane confinement that are well known to have a detrimental effect on mental health, the suit contends. Jinaga had moved to the Pacific Northwest about six months ago. His case went on trial in 2017, the jury deadlocked and there was a mistrial. In it, Ehlert stood firmly by the prosecuting teams decisions. 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. He was convicted of third-degree rape in 2004. Fair, a guest of another woman living in the building, met Jinaga and her neighbor that night. I just dont want to be around nobody, he said. 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. 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. Kyler Alvord leads PEOPLE's politics coverage as a news editor for the brand. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. 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. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. An online memorial for Arpana has been created, for family and friends to share pictures and memories, at crypticgirl.com. Residents said Fair appeared relaxed when he hung out at Potts apartment for three days over the weekend. 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. Her hands were covered in blue toilet-bowl cleaner, her body and other items were covered in motor oil. Meanwhile they raided Emmanuels stuff and according to his best friend on the podcast took almost ALL of his things. 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. In every community across Washington, families are facing the challenge of accessing and affording long-term care. Jinaga had been gagged with her underpants and duct tape, brutally beaten around the head. Jinagas phone and digital camera were missing from the scene and never recovered. Fair is seeking damages for the emotional stress he faced from when police investigated him until he was released. She had a keen interest in engineering and won several innovation competitions. 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. Coats and another Redmond detective confronted the neighbor about his calls to Jinaga, but then released him and returned his phone without examining it. Do we know how extensive the damage was? Jinagas neighbor, Johnson, was the prime suspect at first, as described in Fairs lawsuit documents. 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. Court records show prosecutors did not believe they had enough evidence to charge Jinagas neighbor, who met Fair the night of the homicide. Arpana Jinaga was murdered in her apartment in 2008 . They interrogated Fair on the car ride to the station without reading his rights. On Oct. 31, 2008, Fair took a bus to Redmond to stay the weekend with a friend at the Valley View Apartments. He said evidence about Jinagas neighbor raised significant questions for the jury. 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. The court documents detail negligence by detectives and the outsourcing of a famous psychic medium to opine on the case. Redmond Police have found no "firm suspects" in the brutal murder of Arpana Jinaga, a 24-year-old software engineer who was . Suspect (Podcast Series 2021- ) - IMDb Emanuel Fair was arrested in 2010. Some of the potential suspects were not interviewed. Fair also used Jinaga's bathroom. Eight Years in Jail With No Conviction: Emanuel Fair Files Lawsuit Johnson said he heard moaning sounds coming from Jinagas apartment around 3 a.m., and he assumed she was having sex. New true-crime podcast reexamines the unsolved murder of a Redmond Most people left Jinaga's apartment after 9pm to move to another apartment. The complaint alleges that police failed to properly secure and gather evidence. He had a list of nearby pawnshops in his car printed the day Jinaga was killed, the lawsuit says. 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. His lawyers said he suffers from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Around 3 am, Jinaga left a gathering in a ground-floor apartment and returned to her apartment on the third floor. Now, more than two years later, Fair is suing King County, the city of Redmond and Redmond Police Capt. 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. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. And thats hard.. He assumed Jinaga was either vomiting or having sex. The lab technicians simply could not exclude Fair as a match, and his DNA was found alongside other DNA matches. On Tuesday, that man, Emanuel Fair, 35, was found not guilty of first-degree murder with sexual motivation by a King County jury. My guess would be drugs. Fair spent six of the nearly nine years in jail, held by a seven-figure bond, isolated for 23 hours a day awaiting trial. Everyone seemed to have a good time, the lawsuit alleges. 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. Fair was later seen leaving the apartment that night. The neighbor invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Larson said. 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. Around 1am, Fair visited Jinaga's apartment to eat pizza. Fighting for justice: Two public defenders worked for years to get He appeared drunk and brought liquor. Most of the partygoers reportedly referred to the chocolate-skinned man as the Black guy in his police file. 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. He was one of the three individual's whose DNA was found . Arpana Jinaga, a 24 year old woman from India. I think that was the biggest reasonable doubt and no one could eliminate him [as the killer], the juror said of the neighbor. Maybe he sneezed or coughed while using it. Potts, Jinaga and two others neighbors decorated and opened up their units to allow partygoers to go in and out freely. Jinaga lived alone in an apartment at the Valley View Apartments. 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. A spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office said in an email, we look forward to addressing these allegations in a public courtroom, and we are confident in our case.. Jinaga was sprawled on the floor in her bedroom, bloody, naked, and drenched in bleach, toilet bowl cleaner, and motor oil. 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. The Wondery true-crime podcast Suspect centers on the murder of Arpana Jinaga as well as the trials of the wrongly imprisoned Emanuel Fair, who spent years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. Man jailed for nine years sues King County, Redmond after acquittal in Court files said there were also burn marks from an attempt to set the body or apartment on fire. After the jury in his first trial deadlocked in 2017, King County prosecutors tried Fair again in 2019. New episodes of the nine-part series will be released weekly on Tuesdays. -, Press J to jump to the feed. He scrubbed his phone right after the interrogation, the lawsuit says. The county, police department and Coats filed a response to Fairs initial complaint refuting the claims. The party was big enough that it spanned multiple apartments and drew many revelers. Jinagas bruised body was discovered covered with a cloth on Monday, Nov. 3, 2008. 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. Were they old friends? 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 party ended between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., around the same time witnesses saw Jinaga going back to her apartment. 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. A Real Life Halloween Horror Story - Arpana Jinaga - YouTube This is weird. 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. Jinagas father had asked a family friend to check in on her after she missed scheduled calls with family from India. She had it all going on, Coats said. 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. Suspect: With Matthew Shaer, Eric Benson, Matt Baglio, Ashley Fantz. Ben Goldsmith and Katharine Edwards advanced a straightforward theory about why Emanuel Fair should be acquitted in the murder of Arpana Jinaga, whose body was found in her Redmond apartment on Nov. 1, 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..