The neighbor, who later hired a lawyer and stopped cooperating, subsequently scrubbed his phone of call and text data, the suit states. I just dont want to be around nobody, he said. According to residents of the apartment, Johnson appeared interested in Jinaga. This is weird. 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. In the trial, the jury heard evidence that pointed to the neighbor as the possible killer. He had a list of nearby pawnshops in his car printed the day Jinaga was killed, the lawsuit says. However, phone records show that he was making many phone calls between 2am and 5am, including to Potts. Meanwhile they raided Emmanuels stuff and according to his best friend on the podcast took almost ALL of his things. 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. Preliminary reports said Arpana may have died on Friday evening. 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. 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. They messed up, he said. He went on afterwards, he got his degree, hes never had a crime., Fair, who had only met the neighbor at the party that night, said prosecutors immunity deal was just another biased action taken to strengthen the case against him that backfired, because the neighbor didnt even implicate me, he implicated himself.. The medical examiner estimated Jinagas time of death was 8 a.m. Jinagas neighbor, Johnson, was the prime suspect at first, as described in Fairs lawsuit documents. Just to set the record straight. 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 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 court documents, Johnson called Jinaga around 3 a.m. but did not mention that to the police during his interview. 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. Contribute to Atlanta Black Star today and help us share our narratives. She practiced martial arts and participated in a motorcycle club. But I dont have a desire to do that. The lawsuit alleges there was heavy drinking at the party of 40 to 50 people. To pass time, he said he read books, wrote letters and drew pictures. During the night, neighbors of Jinaga heard muffled moaning sounds, and assumed she and a partner were having consensual sex. He helped set up and clean up, and had no wounds, no scratches or injuries. When the night came to an end and the crowd began to disperse, Jinaga said what would be her final goodbyes. or felt they were? Suspect: With Matthew Shaer, Eric Benson, Matt Baglio, Ashley Fantz. Its just another day. In it, Ehlert stood firmly by the prosecuting teams decisions. Nearly a year later. During the trials, the neighbor, whom prosecutors at one point granted immunity for information, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He also drove to Canada the day of the murder and attempted to cross the border without a passport. Fair is seeking damages for the emotional stress he faced from when police investigated him until he was released. 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. Goldsmith said evidence found at Jinagas apartment and produced during the investigation pointed to one of her neighbors as the likely killer. 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. 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. During the trials, the neighbor, whom prosecutors at one point granted immunity for information, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. When youre in jail, you dont have a holiday. Arpana Jinaga was murdered in her apartment in 2008 . Her father, a head professor of engineering in India, encouraged he to move to the US to attend Rutgers University. 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. 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 the fact that Fair was the only black African American at the party and involved in this case, some are also accusing racial discrimination. If her rape was that violent he'd have had SOME scratches or scars. And the other DNA found was found on a robe that was likely in hanging in her bathroom, maybe he dried his hands on it while using the bathroom. Jinaga had been a prize-winner in a . 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. I think he may have been involved; I think he may have lied to us, Ehlert said of the neighbor. This is the last known independent witness sighting of the pair. She had been beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled. The prosecutors office told Rolling Stone: We look forward to addressing these allegations in a public courtroom; we stand by our case., Fair said that he was reluctant to file the lawsuit at first because Jinagas family still hasnt gotten justice: theres no resolution for this case, no resolution for her.. They interrogated Fair on the car ride to the station without reading his rights. The neighbor, who later hired a lawyer and stopped cooperating, subsequently scrubbed his phone of call and text data, the suit states. The officers allegedly did not change gloves between evidence collections, or between rooms or locations. The following Monday, her body would be discovered inside of her apartment, the victim of an apparent homicide. beansbaxter. Potts, Jinaga and two others neighbors decorated and opened up their units to allow partygoers to go in and out freely. After her graduation, she got a job as a software engineer at EMC, in a suburb of Seattle. Death' Surgeon Killed or Maimed 33 of His Patients Now His Victims Are Speaking Out, Ex-Boyfriend of Missing Md. 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. 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. The county, police department and Coats filed a response to Fairs initial complaint refuting the claims. If you have probable cause, you dont go to a psychic, he said. 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? 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. Coats ran a background check on the Fair and found the rape charge. Several people were at the party before Jinagas murder, so the scene was full of various DNA samples. Fair was initially arrested for not updating his address with his probation officer. When Johnson found out Fair liked hip hop and wrote beats, Johnson invited him to his car to listen to some electronic music he had made. In the apartment, there was a strong smell of bleach, and also bleach stains were found. He made calls to a few friends, including apparently pocket-dialing Potts. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 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. New episodes of the nine-part series will be released weekly on Tuesdays. https://www.courts.wa.gov/content/petitions/96468-8%20Answer%20to%20petition.pdf. He also drove to Canada the day of the murder and attempted to cross the border without a passport. Theres very little justice left to salvage., In a 2020 interview, the lead detective said Fair stood out to him because he was the only African-American male at the party and looked like an outsider.. 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. 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. It was a party, Fair was all over her apartment like EVERYONE ELSE. Emanuel Fair was arrested in 2010. 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. 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. According to the Rolling Stone report, most of the people at the party that night didnt remember Fairs name. Source. It seems odd to me that the killer(s) would go to such extremes to cover up DNA on her body and in her apartment with the motor oil and toilet bowl cleaner and bleach etc. His lawyers said the ordeal has permanently damaged Fairs reputation, his emotional well-being, livelihood and relationships. And thats hard.. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. 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. Coats and another Redmond detective confronted the neighbor about his calls to Jinaga, but then released him and returned his phone without examining it. Guests took silly photos, downed shots and smoked pot. 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. Witnesses said Neil Marshall, a partygoer, was sexually aggressive toward Jinaga on Halloween. Johnson also had injuries that detectives said were consistent with a sexual assault. Cameron should have been the prime suspect and the one they took to trial. Jinagas father had asked a family friend to check in on her after she missed scheduled calls with family from India. 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. Fair met Jinaga hours before she was killed at a Halloween party in her apartment complex. Coats was asked during the podcast if the prior conviction was significant to his investigation. 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. My guess would be drugs. Another apartment complex resident committed suicide just days after Jinagas death, and his DNA was reportedly never compared to the crime scene. The defense also explained the innocuous opportunities Mr. Fair had to touch or indirectly transfer microscopic skin cells to these items during the party. I am far from shady. Why didnt he tell police that her door was kicked in? On Oct. 31, 2008, Fair took a bus to Redmond to stay the weekend with a friend at the Valley View Apartments. He went on afterwards, he got his degree, hes never had a crime., Fair, who had only met the neighbor at the party that night, said prosecutors immunity deal was just another biased action taken to strengthen the case against him that backfired, because the neighbor didnt even implicate me, he implicated himself.. 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. Jinaga's killer had clearly gone to great lengths to destroy any biological traces linking him to the crime scene. Was Kyle Rose ever questioned as a suspect? He was staying with Potts in the mostly white neighborhood that weekend, and his attendance at the party was impromptu. but Im not free.. 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 heard "a horrible growling" for about twenty seconds until he heard a thud. 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. They messed up, he said. To pass time, he said he read books, wrote letters and drew pictures. To contaminate evidence, Jinagas hands had been doused in blue toilet-bowl cleaner and her body covered in motor oil. Arpana Jinaga. 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. She had a keen interest in engineering and won several innovation competitions. 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. 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. At some point, though, things turned tense. DNA was found on a discarded bottle of motor oil (same bag as robe). The suit contends detectives aligned evidence to match their theory and disregarded half a dozen non-Black suspects in the case. 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. The party lasted until the early hours. I think that was the biggest reasonable doubt and no one could eliminate him [as the killer], the juror said of the neighbor. Fair was tried for Jinagas sexual assault twice and was acquitted after his second trial in June 2019. After the sound stopped, Rose then heard steps and the sound of running water for 1 hour. He had a prior history of violent sexual crimes. Those are times when you should be around family. According to reports, Fair accepted a plea agreement in 2004 while still maintaining his innocence. 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. 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 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. Jinagas father had asked a family friend to check in on her after she missed scheduled calls with family from India. 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.