She and several other residents in the complex opened the doors to their apartments for what was to be a night of fun. 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. 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. Brian Coats, who led the investigation into Jinagas murder as a detective 13 years ago. 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. 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. He had a lighter covered in gook that looked like motor oil which they took a photo of but never bagged it nor did they check his shoes for a missing lace. 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. Everyone seemed to have a good time, the lawsuit alleges. He made calls to a few friends, including apparently pocket-dialing Potts. 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. 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. The party was big enough that it spanned multiple apartments and drew many revelers. They interrogated Fair on the car ride to the station without reading his rights. 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. Johnson said he heard moaning sounds coming from Jinagas apartment around 3 a.m., and he assumed she was having sex. His attorneys allege Fair was isolated as the main suspect for her murder because of his race and his past criminal record. Most of the partygoers reportedly referred to the chocolate-skinned man as the Black guy in his police file. Brian Bundridge was in a motorcycle club with Jinaga. 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. 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. Fair was initially arrested for not updating his address with his probation officer. No one cleaning up reported seeing anything suspicious. The lawsuit alleges there was heavy drinking at the party of 40 to 50 people. The medical examiner estimated Jinagas time of death was 8 a.m. But I dont have a desire to do that. In the apartment, there was a strong smell of bleach, and also bleach stains were found. She practiced martial arts and participated in a motorcycle club. Emanuel, his family, and friends ask for privacy, as he works to rebuild his life, wrote Goldsmith. They also want him to be reimbursed for the attorney fees he incurred while fighting the charges. . 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. Fair said the lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, is the closest thing to justice I can get.. He scrubbed his phone right after the interrogation, the lawsuit says. On Halloween night, 2008, Jinaga and several other tenants hosted a Halloween party, attended by residents of the apartment complex and their relatives and friends from outside. Jinaga, an outgoing Rutgers University grad, had moved to Redmond six months earlier to work as a software engineer at a Bellevue firm. Jinaga was. The suit contends detectives aligned evidence to match their theory and disregarded half a dozen non-Black suspects in the case. Fair met Jinaga hours before she was killed at a Halloween party in her apartment complex. Maybe he sneezed or coughed while using it. Because of this, a judge limited the scope of questions the man could be asked during the trial. Fair met Jinaga hours before she was killed at a Halloween party in her apartment complex. 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. Ive been away for so long, I dont believe in holidays no more, he said. I fear and I worry that someone else may become a victim at some point in time, Ehlert said of Fairs acquittal during the 2020 interview. 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. I just want to be myself.. I dont think he killed Arpana. Were they old friends? Fairs attorneys contend that some of the DNA evidence was not an exact match. 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 is seeking damages for the emotional stress he faced from when police investigated him until he was released. 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 only a fraction of the evidence exonerating Emanuel which was wide-ranging and persuasive. 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). 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 . 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 county, police department and Coats filed a response to Fairs initial complaint refuting the claims. 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. She is suspected to have died from strangulation from a bootlace. In it, Ehlert stood firmly by the prosecuting teams decisions. Investigators focused on Fair after seeing him in photos of the party. 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. According to reports, Fair accepted a plea agreement in 2004 while still maintaining his innocence. Two days later, after Jinaga hadnt shown up to work or returned calls to her family in India, a family friend and Jinagas next-door neighbor found her door kicked in and her nude body on her bedroom floor. 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. Such remarks since his exoneration only demonstrate authorities defensiveness about mishandling the case, Fair said. The neighbor, who later hired a lawyer and stopped cooperating, subsequently scrubbed his phone of call and text data, the suit states. After the jury in his first trial deadlocked in 2017, King County prosecutors tried Fair again in 2019. He appeared drunk and brought liquor. 2008, in Marshall . On Tuesday, that man, Emanuel Fair, 35, was found not guilty of first-degree murder with sexual motivation by a King County jury. Some guests were rowdy, but nothing out of the ordinary, it says. The two discovered her locked door had been kicked in. According to the Rolling Stone report, most of the people at the party that night didnt remember Fairs name. She had been beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled. 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. 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. Her father, a head professor of engineering in India, encouraged he to move to the US to attend Rutgers University. During the trials, the neighbor, whom prosecutors at one point granted immunity for information, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. They interrogated Fair on the car ride to the station without reading his rights. The lab technicians simply could not exclude Fair as a match, and his DNA was found alongside other DNA matches. Some guests were rowdy, but nothing out of the ordinary, it says. After the sound stopped, Rose then heard steps and the sound of running water for 1 hour. Jinaga had been a prize-winner in a . 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. Arpana Jinaga was murdered in her apartment in 2008 . Such remarks since his exoneration only demonstrate authorities defensiveness about mishandling the case, Fair said. The DNA on the motor oil and fleeing to Canada seems highly suspicious to me. More than a dozen people passed through Jinaga's apartment that night. They messed up, he said. She had opened her third-floor apartment to Fair and dozens of other partygoers, who traipsed in and out during the festivities. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. So its kind of messed up. Fair was later seen leaving the apartment that night. Contribute to Atlanta Black Star today and help us share our narratives. 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. Coats is now a captain in the department. Jinagas bruised body was discovered covered with a cloth on Monday, Nov. 3, 2008. Johnson has denied any involvement in Jinagas death. 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. His lawyers said the ordeal has permanently damaged Fairs reputation, his emotional well-being, livelihood and relationships. During trial the jury heard significant evidence that another person, Ms. Jinagas next door neighbor, may have murdered her on that tragic night.. The evidence of Fairs involvement is compelling, Larson said this week. He told detectives he had a desire to explore. Canadian officials said Johnson tried to blow through the gates. 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. Family of Missing Black Woman, Last Seen Living with Man She Met on Craigslist, Frustrated By Lack of Response to Case: Were Not Trying to Annoy Anybody, Happened As a Result of Jealousy: New York Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Stabbing Black 16-Year-Old Boy In the Heart for Walking a Girl Home, I Wanted to be a Trailblazer: Zandra Flemister, the First Black Woman Hired as a Secret Service Agent, Enduring Years of Blatant Racism, Dies at 71. There were also other men in Jinagas life that detectives suspected of the murder, and some of their DNA was found at the crime scene. Subsequently, Johnson attempted to scrub his phone. 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.. 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 His lawyers said the ordeal has permanently damaged Fairs reputation, his emotional well-being, livelihood and relationships. After her graduation, she got a job as a software engineer at EMC, in a suburb of Seattle. My guess would be drugs. The neighbors DNA was found on a discarded bottle of motor oil, found in the same bag with the robe. Was Kyle Rose ever questioned as a suspect? 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. In the trial, the jury heard evidence that pointed to the neighbor as the possible killer. 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. Why didnt he tell police that her door was kicked in? 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. 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. If you have probable cause, you dont go to a psychic, he said. 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. Investigators focused on Fair after seeing him in photos of the party. Emanuel Fair stayed in the King County Correctional Facility for nearly nine years for a crime he did not commit based on a botched and bizarre murder investigation driven by racial discrimination, a recent lawsuit alleges. Maybe they were running out of time (had to be somewhere? The initial investigation focused on Cameron Johnson, Jinaga's neighbor. 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. Two days later, after Jinaga hadnt shown up to work or returned calls to her family in India, a family friend and Jinagas next-door neighbor found her door kicked in and her nude body on her bedroom floor. 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. Fair spent six of the nearly nine years in jail, held by a seven-figure bond, isolated for 23 hours a day awaiting trial. I dont think he killed Arpana. 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. Another apartment complex resident committed suicide just days after Jinaga's death, and his. He used the bathroom on one occasion. Fair was initially arrested for not updating his address with his probation officer. Some of the potential suspects were not interviewed. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/after-nearly-11-years-and-two-trials-killing-of-redmond-woman-remains-unsolved/, https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/woman-found-dead-in-redmond-was-slain-police-say/, https://www.courts.wa.gov/content/petitions/96468-8%20Petition%20for%20Review.pdf, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/emanuel-fair-trial-lawsuit-dna-murder-charge-1330251/, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59393415bebafb202cc26aba/t/5f0237f32005f03d23c6d73a/1593980918922/Defense-Motion-to-Compel-Source-Code.pdf. Jinaga lived alone in an apartment at the Valley View Apartments. I felt like I was kidnapped, Fair said in last months interview, when explaining his decision to pursue his claims of negligence, civil rights violations and malicious prosecution. Emanuel Fair: He was not a resident, but he was staying in the apartment of Leslie Potts. Jinaga and other tenants he hadnt met were co-hosting a large Halloween party in several units. 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. He was drunk and brought bottles of liquor. Its got to be terrible for everybody it touched. Fair and Johnson had actually just met that night. 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. Fairs lawsuit includes many of the same facts that his public defender, Ben Goldsmith, used to poke holes in the prosecutions criminal case. At age 20, Jinaga moved from her native India to the United States and quickly found success. The majority of criminals arent very bright. At approximately 8 am, Jinaga's next-door neighbor Kyle Rose, was awakened by sounds coming from her apartment. 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. Death' Surgeon Killed or Maimed 33 of His Patients Now His Victims Are Speaking Out, Ex-Boyfriend of Missing Md. So what else can they do but to continue to point their finger at me?. I thought I was gonna die, Fair told Rolling Stone. . Hes now struggling to reconstruct his life, Fair and his attorneys said. 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. She had opened her third-floor apartment to Fair and dozens of other partygoers, who traipsed in and out during the festivities. I think he may have been involved; I think he may have lied to us, Ehlert said of the neighbor. Brian Coats, who led the investigation into Jinagas murder as a detective 13 years ago. I didnt know how to answer, so I just told her the truth: Im depressed. The man was the last person to call her the night she was killed, he tried to destroy evidence of the calls, and he attempted to go to Canada after the homicide but was turned away, he said. Around 2:30 am, Fair and Johnson went to Johnson's apartment and then down to Johnson's car to listen to music. Court records show prosecutors did not believe they had enough evidence to charge Jinagas neighbor, who met Fair the night of the homicide. When Johnson was interviewed by police on Nov 3 and 5th, he was noticeably limping with elbow and knee issues, but claimed it was due to an arm wrestling incident. 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. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. But I dont have a desire to do that. Suspect is a true crime podcast that examines the murder of Arpana Jinaga who was killed at a Halloween party hosted by her apartment complex. He had a list of nearby pawnshops in his car printed the day Jinaga was killed, the lawsuit says. -, Press J to jump to the feed. In her spare time, she practiced taekwondo, learned to build her own motorcycle, and volunteered with neighbourhood groups. He was her pimp, or as the podcast preferred to describe it, the person who placed craiglist ads for her escort services. Cameron should have been the prime suspect and the one they took to trial. So what else can they do but to continue to point their finger at me?. Sign up to receive The Atlanta Black Star Newsletter in your inbox. The lawsuit says that Johnson also had a past of strange or violent behavior with women. The neighbor invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Larson said. 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. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. It was just gruesome, he said. 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. His lawyers said he suffers from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Photo: King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, 'Dr. 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. 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. DNA was found on a discarded bottle of motor oil (same bag as robe). According to reports, Fair accepted a plea agreement in 2004 while still maintaining his innocence. Jinaga and other tenants he hadnt met were co-hosting a large Halloween party in several units.