Convicted sex offender charged with two-year-old Redmond slaying

Arpana Jinaga attended a Halloween party for residents of her Redmond apartment complex on Oct. 31, 2008.

The 24-year-old left the party around 3 the next morning. Police believe it was the last time anyone — other than her killer — saw her alive.

Two days later, Jinaga's body was found in her apartment after her family and co-workers were unable to contact her.

On Friday morning, King County prosecutors announced that a convicted sex offender currently in prison has been charged with killing Jinaga.

Emanuel Fair, 27, who in 2004 raped 15-year-old girl in Burien, has been charged with first-degree murder, prosecutors said. Fair was staying with a friend at Jinaga's apartment complex and attended the Halloween party the night she was slain, prosecutors allege in charging papers.

Police say Fair went to great lengths to conceal the crime.

Jinaga had been gagged while she was attacked and the killer used motor oil and bleach on her body, charging documents said. Her Halloween costume, a blanket from her bed and a portion of the carpet from her apartment had been burned.

The woman's hands were stained blue from being doused with a "highly-acidic" toilet bowl cleaner, police said.

"The defendant opened the locked door to Jinaga's apartment, attacked her, stripped off her clothing, gagged her, assaulted her and finally strangled her to death," Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Baird said in charging paperwork.

In March 2005, Fair pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree child rape for the attack on the 15-year-old and was sentenced to four years in prison. With credit for time spent in jail, Fair spent just under three years in prison, court records said.

Fair also has prior convictions for second-degree robbery, unlawful firearms possession and drug possession, according to King County Superior Court records.

Fair has been incarcerated at the McNeil Island Corrections Center for more than a year after being convicted of failing to register as a sex offender. A state Department of Corrections spokesman said that his earliest release date is February 2012.

Jinaga, a native of India, had moved to Redmond in April 2008 after being hired by EMC Corporation as a software quality-assurance engineer.

In 2004, she had been a prizewinner in a competition sponsored by Microchip Technology Inc., of Chandler, Ariz., in which she designed a communications jammer using a digital signal controller.

Jinaga received a master's degree in electrical and computer engineering from Rutgers University in New Jersey in October 2007, according to the university.

After moving to Redmond, Jinaga became involved in a variety of interests, her colleagues told The Times. She volunteered at Redmond Fire Department and at an animal shelter. She was also active in a motorcycle club.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this report.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com