Alanis-Mejia is seeking $1 million in exemplary damages as well as the cost of attorney's fees. Her younger sister, Pavitra, would begin to follow in these footsteps as well, and later pursue a career in computer engineering after Arpana. could see that things were in disarray, and briefly scanned the apartment before locating the body of Arpana lying on her bedroom floor, already in the process of decomposing. But theres also a kind of incredible energy that went into every part of this; as much as it all sort of ended up with everyone feeling haunted, this was a lot of people trying to do what they thought was right, in most cases. The team, led by Matthew Shaer and Eric Benson (who previously collaborated on Over My Dead Body), with further reporting by Natalia Winkelman, approaches every beat of the investigative documentary process with clinical precision and workmanly competence. Now that Meredith is gone, it is business as usual at Grey Sloan Memorial. This area - Redmond, Washington - is a relative stranger to violent crime. Multiple witnesses had claimed to see Arpana return to her apartment at around 3:00 AM on November 1st, and shortly thereafter, some of her neighbors had recalled hearing "moaning" coming from her apartment (which they assumed was consensual sex taking place). The jury was unable to come to a consensus regarding Fair's guilt, resulting in a mistrial. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us. The power of that for potentially solving a crime, but also the potential shortcomings of DNA, was something everyone we talked to for this series has been really honest about. Shaer: This is a really challenging case to think about on lots of different levels. But because of his prior criminal record, he would remain at the top of their suspect list for some time until the results from the forensic analysis came back from the Washington state crime lab, which seemed to implicate his involvement in the murder. A lot of stuff has not been analyzed yet. The lawsuit alleges jailers Raul Galarza and Mark Solis began demeaning Alanis-Mejia and ridiculing him because he was crying over the death of his parents. I hadn't seen her for months, I'd never thought about her like that [prior to the night of the Halloween party]". TikToks Favorite Celebrity Couple Is Kim Kardashian and Michael Cera. Alanis Mejia is also accused of striking Galarza in the chest. You see the consequences of a decision, even a relatively small decision. The last episode is called Haunted because thats how everyone feels by what happened there. Breaking down the contenders in the seasons most unpredictable Oscar race. The most crushing thing of course is shes not here, but you can imagine it would be really difficult for her family to have that lack of closure. This is perhaps another way Suspect embodies a core quality of the contemporary true-crime podcast experience: You might get a little more truth and even a little more justice, but youre still far from closure. Investigators would never ask him what this medication was, or what mental illness it was treating (one of the many missteps that Emanuel Fair's attorneys referred to in their pretrial motions). Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix have broken up after he allegedly cheated on her with Raquel Leviss. Reply . When officers and investigators had first arrived at Arpana's apartment, they made note of the smell of chemical agents throughout it. We didnt know if anyone from the Valley View apartments or if the people in Arpanas life or the other people who at one point or another seem to have been at least persons of interest, if they were going to want to talk. Prosecutors made it clear that they'd be pursuing a life sentence, due to the brutality of the crime (not the standard 35-45 year sentence for 1st-degree murder). Police had publicly speculated that Arpana's killer - who had stolen her cell phone and digital camera - might have attempted to distribute the stolen items through pawn shops, so this seems to be more than pure coincidence. And there is nobody in prison or even charged with this murder right now. Chef Ethan Stowell buys a historic Seattle dive bar, 4 steep Seattle stair climbs to get you in shape for WA hiking season, WA volunteer details Colchuck Peak avalanche search-and-rescue effort, How one Ballard newbie became pinballs international rookie of the year, Restaurant review: Itsumono is making some of Seattles best food and great drinks, too, Arpana Jinaga was found strangled in her apartment, U.S. rankings of most listened to Apple podcasts, After nearly 11 years and two trials, killing of Redmond woman who had been living her dream remains unsolved, Woman found dead in Redmond was slain, police say, article about DNA forensic science for The Atlantic. While armed robberies and sexual assaults do happen there, they are very low in number compared to other similarly-sized cities. They argue and fight. Theres a narrative buildup toward the presentation of a maybe suspect being the likely culprit. While jailed at the facility, Alanis-Mejia underwent suicide screening because he had recently lost his parents. Rather than an 'other suspect,' [C.J.] Here was a case where a woman was murdered and there were years of investigation, years of pursuing various suspects, two trials. The description they gave to police more closely resembled C.J. This is when police learned about the argument Arpana had gotten in with another partygoer, which was described as being "race-related." "We still consider it early in the investigation. would later tell police that he was "kind of wanting to explore" and could offer up no further explanation for his bizarre actions. The residents of the Valley View apartments organize a big costume party. Im trying to tell the truth dont cut this podcast to make me look like a maybe suspect. Later, a woman who served as the jury foreperson in a pivotal trial talked about her responsibility as follows: I had to pay attention. Arpana Jinaga was a 24-year-old computer programmer, who had moved to the Pacific Northwest in March of 2008. You can listen early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App. This included the nearly two years it took them to single out Emanuel Fair as a suspect; during which time, investigators had hired a psychic to help point them in the right direction, which highlighted how adrift the investigators had been up until that point. claim that over the next several days and weeks, he made vague statements alluding to him going over to Arpana's apartment in his sleep; which, when you factor in him having quit psychiatric medication a short time prior, seems worrisome. Shortly after moving to Redmond, the 24-year-old Arpana decided to purchase a motorcycle. An apartment complex hosts a big Halloween party with themed rooms and costumed . Muhammad Ali, one of Arpana's co-workers at EMC in Bellevue, would attempt to call her but was unable to get through to her cell phone. Who knows how many lives she could have touched? While those at the party remember Arpana going home alone at around 3:00 AM, neighbors that lived on both sides of her unit would recall hearing what sounded like muffled moaning sounds shortly thereafter, which they assumed at the time was consensual sex (but, knowing what we know now, undoubtedly wasn't). Police had already determined that Arpana's body had been covered in that type of motor oil, so whoever had handled it had likely been involved in her death. She even participated in Taekwondo classes and dabbled in a couple of musical ventures (including singing in a band back east while attending university). There were really intense, long jury deliberations for the first trial and hearing about that from people who were truly going in cold to this case and this story, I thought it was really fascinating and not a place I really imagined that wed be going at the beginning. And when they wake up the next morning, one resident is dead. However, the notion of a robbery taking place did not end there. Police would arrive at the apartment complex a short time later, and immediately noticed two things that stood out about this crime. By Cameron Sheppard March 4, 2023 1:30 pm. Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: As part of your account, youll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. Emanuel Fair's defense attorneys would also contest the state's claims that he had acted alongside an accomplice; stating that he wasn't on-trial for crimes that he and/or someone else may have committed. was a similarly likely candidate to be Arpana's killer. Throughout the latter half of 2017 and the entirety of 2018, another lengthy legal battle would ensue. Arpana Jinaga - Spreaker They do unearth some new information and context, but this remains a story whose outcome can be easily Googled, even as Suspect underlines the details and the stakes with a more prominent shade. That dream that would ultimately turn into a nightmare for herself and her loved ones, who have had to endure years of trials and tribulations in the wake of their tragic loss. Fair's attorneys would point out several gaps in the investigation. She recalled one of these voicemails sounding like constant movement on the other end, but nothing verbally being said. It was the culmination of a long and tortured relationship with the criminal justice system. Thats where a lot of the drama is for us, and where we wanted to investigate what had happened. Not only had he been at the party, lived next-door, and had a close personal relationship with the victim, but evidence found at or near the crime scene also seemed to implicate him. Alanis-Mejia was allegedly beaten by jailers Raul Galarza and Mark Solis while . New episodes of the nine-part series will be released weekly on Tuesdays. Journalist Matthew Shaer, co-founder of Campside Media and Wondery, along with journalist Eric Benson, created a true crime podcast called "Suspect" which details this unsolved crime. Arpana moved to Redmond, Washington in the early months of 2008. Prosecutors even asserted that Emanuel Fair might have acted in-tandem with an uncharged accomplice - Arpana's neighbor, who I've identified as "C.J." This eventually led to her moving to the United States to attend Rutger's University in New Jersey. The linchpin of their case was forensic evidence: according to prosecutors, DNA from Emanuel Fair had been recovered at the crime scene, on several pieces of evidence that they believe the killer had touched. Hes dangerous, hes terrifying, hes an extra in, How to Watch the 2023 Oscars Celebrate All 23 Categories Live Again. They can be found on Instagram @readrunsea;
But over the next few years, Emanuel Fair would fail to abide by the terms of his release and was later jailed on probation violations. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Joel Alonso Alanis-Mejia, alleges the county jail system has a history of jailers using excessive force against inmates. as an uncharged accomplice). to give the unexplained injury an innocuous excuse. Paul Vernon, one of Emanuel Fair's defense attorneys, countered the state's claims; stating that if they were factoring in DNA evidence for the crime, then this neighbor of Arpana's would be just as guilty as Emanuel Fair (if not more so). It's an extra special, two-part, more than two-hour, Valentine's event. For Arpana's parents, they had to grieve not only the loss of their oldest daughter, but an inspiring and bright young soul that had managed to accomplish so much in such little time, and seemed poised to accomplish great things in the future - not only professionally, but personally. Follow Suspect Season 2: Vanished in the Snow on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Suspicious deaths, such as homicide, very rarely happen in Redmond: one of the wealthier suburbs on the outskirts of Seattle, which is known internationally for housing the U.S. headquarters for both Microsoft and Nintendo. Two, that there was a noxious smell emanating throughout the apartment, which indicated the widespread use of chemical cleaning agents, which now proliferated the small living quarters. The apartment was discovered in a state of disrepair different from how it had looked days beforehand (during the Halloween party), which made it clear that the struggle had ultimately led to Arpana's bedroom. TrueAllele was utilized heavily by this investigation and was able to come up with results that were far more definitive than anything the crime lab itself had been able to determine.