GUILTY ID - Angie Dodge, 18, brutally murdered at home, Idaho Falls, 13 June 1996 *Arrest in 2019*

[wenwe4]

Angie Dodge was brutally murdered in her home 6/13/96. LEO convicted one of three men they believed were involved in her Murder. Christopher Tapp has been in prison for the past 18 years and a new investigation into his case has now come to light to prove the "confessions" that Tapp made were false. According to the report from Judges for Justice (link below) outlines how the wrongful conviction stems from detectives interrogation techniques that were coercive. Tapp had initially denied any involvement but after 20 hours of investigation he named others who were involved in the murder with him - no DNA matched himself or anyone he named.

Angie's Mother continues to plead for help in solving her murder and finding her killer.


Latest developments:

http://www.localnews8.com/news/report-exonerates-man-convicted-for-1996-idaho-falls-murder/29019696

http://judgesforjustice.org/media/Tapp-Report.pdf



Dateline's 6 part story:

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/dateline/48786251#48786251

 

[bflocket]

What became of Ben Hobbs?

It's Tapp's knowing him that got Mr Tapp into this mess.

Whether he killed Ms Dodge or not, he's (intentionally or not) responsible for the assault on Tapp's freedom. It sucks when it turns out that two people are victimized and, at the end, nothing is accomplished.

 

[wenwe4]

I'm not sure where Ben is currently - however neither one can be connected to the murder of AD through fingerprints, dna, hairs, or any other objective evidence. They do have dna of the 1 perpetrator who committed this crime and all of the 3 people named in this "alleged confession" match the forensics.

The dateline segments were well done (IMO) and follow the findings of the Judges for Justice report filed in August 2014. The Judges report gives quoted text from printed transcriptions of the interrogations. Dateline provided videoclips from the "interrogation tapes" show the progression of how the Detectives dropped hints about the murder with promises of "immunity" if Tapp would name the offender(s) and tell them what happened. The Detectives showed Tapp pictures of the crime scene, took Tapp to the crime scene, and even corrected him when they had him draw a diagram of the home.

The dna and pubic hairs were processed by the same guy (from Boise State University) who worked on the Amanda Knox trial. He received a request from Judges for Justice and a letter from Angie's own Mother pleading for new dna testing. (see the Dateline video). Very touching story about how both Tapp's Mother and Angie's both know he was wrongfully convicted and have been strong supporters for Tapp to be released.

 

[chicagofa13]

What a sad story for all involved. I watched the Dateline episode again tonight. It's really unfortunate we have so many false confessions. The underlying theme always seems to be "give them what they want so they will leave me alone".

 

[wenwe4]

Great news . . . they are going to hire an independent investigator to (re)investigate the case!

http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/Outside-expert-to-look-into-1996-E-Idaho-killing-280228602.html

 

[Trvl4Lyfe]

Great news . . . they are going to hire an independent investigator to (re)investigate the case!

http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/Outside-expert-to-look-into-1996-E-Idaho-killing-280228602.html

Is this another investigation? Because wasn't his last request for a new trial unfortunately denied?

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Angie Dodge’s file on Idaho's Cold Case site:

http://eastidahocoldcasesinc.com/attention-hunters-and-outdoorsman/angie-dodge/

The DNA collected at the crime scene has never been matched to anyone. The DNA of Tapp and Hobbs is not a match.

In Loving Memory of Angie Dodge

 

[wenwe4]

Update!

http://www.localnews8.com/news/judg...campaign-to-overturn-tapp-conviction/35464786

"What we see in this clip is a continuation of what we see through out these recordings," says Dr. Charles Honts, a polygraph expert. "The police officer is using psychological, coercive tools to try and get a confession.When he says, 'you've got to save your life,' it is completely inappropriate."


Retired Seattle Judge Mike Heavey has been reviewing this case for two years. Heavey works for free studying cases he considers wrongful convictions. He says the public must push for the Tapp conviction to be overturned and the county public defender, John Thomas, agrees."

ETA [video=youtube;9Y-g2nAMmwo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y-g2nAMmwo[/video]
Video outlining case

 

[RBQ]

Carol, as we miss Angie at this time of year I'm still amazed by your perseverance and determination, it's incredible and truly inspiring. You are a wonderful person. I'm very blessed to know you. We are here for you as always. :heartbeat:

 

[:+:MrTT:+:]

Update!

http://www.localnews8.com/news/judg...campaign-to-overturn-tapp-conviction/35464786

"What we see in this clip is a continuation of what we see through out these recordings," says Dr. Charles Honts, a polygraph expert. "The police officer is using psychological, coercive tools to try and get a confession.When he says, 'you've got to save your life,' it is completely inappropriate."


Retired Seattle Judge Mike Heavey has been reviewing this case for two years. Heavey works for free studying cases he considers wrongful convictions. He says the public must push for the Tapp conviction to be overturned and the county public defender, John Thomas, agrees."

ETA [video=youtube;9Y-g2nAMmwo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y-g2nAMmwo[/video]
Video outlining case

Video no longer available on YouTube. Just wanted to let you know. Any one have the video saved?

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

There's been some more updates over the last few months.

No match to Tapp in new DNA testing - July 2016

http://www.postregister.com/articles/news-daily-email-todays-headlines/2016/07/01/no-match-tapp-new-dna-testing

All of the DNA samples which could be sequenced point back to the still-unknown man who left semen, hair and skin cells at the crime scene. There has been no match to Chris Tapp, who is currently imprisoned for Dodge’s murder, or to Ben Hobbs, a man who police suspect was involved in the killing but has never been charged.

“It proves beyond a shadow of a doubt in my mind that he was not there,” Thomas said. “His DNA has never been found on any piece of evidence at the crime scene.”

Tapp has two active motions for post-conviction relief. One argues that some pieces of exculpatory evidence weren’t turned over to the defense at the time of trial, and the other has sought testing of previously untested DNA samples.

The argument of the second motion is that if Tapp were present at the scene of the murder, his DNA should turn up somewhere. And if it doesn’t turn up, then it’s hard to believe that Tapp was involved in the Dodge murder.

“We’re going to ask the court to overturn the conviction based on the new DNA evidence, which shows that Chris Tapp’s confession was false,” Thomas said.

New DNA tests don't connect convicted murderer to 1996 Idaho Falls murder - July 2016

http://www.kivitv.com/news/new-dna-tests-dont-connect-convicted-murderer-to-1996-idaho-falls-murder

Even the victim's mother didn't believe Tapp murdered her daughter.

Carol Dodge worked with the Idaho Innocence Project and Tapp's public defender to overturn his conviction.

Carol Dodge is left trying to find the person she thinks raped and murdered her daughter more than two decades ago.

"She told me last night she was up pacing around sure there is new technology that we can use to actually identify who killed her daughter," said Hampikian."She's a wonderful person. A real example to all of us to keep working really really hard to finish this case."

http://freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-state-as-accomplice-did-idahos.html

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Investigator questions Tapp's involvement in Angie Dodge murder

http://idahostatejournal.com/news/local/investigator-questions-tapp-s-guilt-regarding-angie-dodge-murder/article_92fe05d6-ffb4-523b-853b-02c0c06e9f4b.html

The Bonneville County Prosecuting Office has released the conclusions of an independent study regarding the 1996 murder of Idaho Falls resident Angie Dodge.

The end of the investigation's conclusion states: "Tapp at least witnessed the attack and the stab(s) to her chest area. He was present at least when her sweats were pulled down or at some point in time he saw her as she was found. In my review of the case, statements made by Tapp of his personal involvement in the death of Angie are either tainted, questionable, or unlikely."

Tapp investigation released

http://www.postregister.com/articles/featured-news-daily-email-west/2016/09/08/tapp-investigation-released

The report contains many serious criticisms of the Idaho Falls Police Department’s handling of the case, including findings that detectives seriously compromised the investigation by feeding Tapp nonpublic information about the crime, showing him crime scene photos and even making an unrecorded trip with him to the crime scene.

The report notes that then-Detective Jared Fuhriman, who would go on to serve as mayor of Idaho Falls, testified at trial that Tapp wasn’t given any specific information about the crime by police. But Robinson found that Tapp “was provided numerous details during his interrogation about the crime and the crime scene which should have been withheld by detectives.”

And the jury never saw the full 20-plus hours of interrogations and polygraph sessions during which Tapp was fed these details, including that a knife was used in the murder, that Dodge was killed at night and that a teddy bear was likely used to muffle her screams.

“An interviewer should never disclose to a suspect any facts of the crime; especially what type of weapon was used,” Robinson wrote.

Robinson also found that detectives broke from sound investigative procedure by repeatedly telling Tapp that he would face the gas chamber.

Retired Judge Mike Heavey, co-founder of Judges for Justice, said he found the report “contradictory” and “underwhelming.”

“The conclusions are not supported by any credible evidence that Chris Tapp was present in that room,” he said.

Carol Dodge, Angie Dodge’s mother, found that equally unconvincing. She pointed out that Angie’s body was found by co-workers at Beauty for All Seasons, who had seen her clothing. And Angie was visited by several of her friends the night of her murder, who also would have seen her clothing, she said. What Angie was wearing had become common knowledge, she said.

The second site should have a link to the full report submitted.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Tapp appeal moves forward

http://www.postregister.com/articles/chris-tapp-coverage-featured-news-todays-headlines/2016/09/29/tapp-appeal-moves-forward

District Judge Alan Stephens has denied a motion filed by Bonneville County prosecutors seeking to have one of Chris Tapp’s appeals summarily dismissed. The decision allows Tapp’s appeal to move forward.

Tapp’s appeal (technically called a “motion for post-conviction relief&#8221 is based on the claim that prosecutors didn’t turn over video tapes of three polygraph sessions at the time of his original trial. During those sessions experts say Tapp was fed specific details about the crime that later turned up in his confession. The appeal also claims that a fourth polygraph video was never turned over and was likely lost or destroyed.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Two Tapp tapes found in defense files

http://www.postregister.com/articles/chris-tapp-coverage-news-daily-email-todays-headlines/2016/10/19/two-tapp-tapes-found

Two of three polygraph videos that Chris Tapp’s defense alleged weren’t turned over by prosecutors have been discovered in files possessed by the State Appellate Public Defender’s Office.

Following the discovery of the tapes, the Bonneville County Prosecutor’s Office has asked Judge Alan Stephens to reconsider his prior ruling, which allowed one of Tapp’s petitions for post-conviction relief to move forward.

“The court’s decision allows the petitioner to hide behind the discovery documents without providing any reliable evidence to support his contentions,” Dewey wrote.

In his motion to reconsider, Dewey argued that since two tapes which court discovery records don’t show were turned over turned up in files possessed by Tapp’s former attorneys, the discovery records are unreliable. If Thomas can’t produce evidence that the third tape wasn’t turned over, he argued, then the petition for post-conviction relief should be thrown out of court because the statute of limitations has passed.

A hearing on the motion to reconsider has been scheduled for Nov. 22.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Judges for Justice responds to Tapp report

http://www.postregister.com/articles/chris-tapp-coverage-featured-news/2016/10/24/judges-justice-responds-tapp-report

Wrongful conviction group Judges for Justice has issued a scathing response to Twin Falls private investigator Stuart Robinson’s review of the conviction of Chris Tapp.

“While the Robinson Report cannot ignore the obviously corrupt nature of any ‘confession’ by Christopher Tapp, Robinson fails in any way to comprehend the truth of the Angie Dodge murder,” the group wrote. “Instead, (Robinson’s) report is based almost completely on conjecture and invalid premises.”

“Statements made by Tapp of his personal involvement in the death of Angie are either tainted, questionable or unlikely,” Robinson wrote.

But Robinson, unlike other outside experts, concluded that Tapp must have been a witness to the crime. He didn’t point to many specific pieces of evidence which led him to that conclusion, saying instead it was based on his overall impression.

“While dismissing Tapp’s statements as ‘unreliable, tainted’ and ‘unlikely,’ Robinson inexplicably uses those very same statements to attempt to prove Tapp’s presence at the murder scene,” Judges for Justice wrote.

The response calls on Prosecutor Danny Clark to immediately move for Tapp’s release, citing a portion of the Idaho Rules of Criminal Procedure: “When a prosecutor knows of clear and convincing evidence establishing that the defendant in the prosecutor’s jurisdiction was convicted of an offense that the defendant did not commit, the prosecutor shall seek to remedy the conviction.”

The report also calls on the Idaho Falls Police Department to solve the crime.

“There is but one way to solve this murder, and bring the actual killer of Angie Dodge to justice: Find the DNA match. Continuing to waste time and resources defending a bad conviction distracts from that goal, and is an affront to the public interest.”

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Tapp appeal in the balance

http://www.postregister.com/articles/chris-tapp-coverage-featured-news-daily-email/2016/11/22/tapp-appeal-balance

A key hearing in one of Chris Tapp’s petitions for post-conviction relief ended without a ruling Tuesday. A final ruling is expected within the next few weeks.

Steve Drizin, legal director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions, is a nationally renowned expert who has worked on false confessions for more than 15 years. He previously told the Post Register that Tapp’s was the “most contaminated and least corroborated” confession he had ever seen.

Public Defender John Thomas prevailed at a September hearing, where he argued that since the tapes weren’t noted on court discovery records, it’s mostly likely they weren’t turned over.

Throughout the proceedings, Thomas has attempted to draw the attention of the court to the lack of evidence that Tapp committed the crime for which he has spent half his life behind bars.

“This guy’s innocent, and we know he’s innocent. But we’re going to let him rot in prison?” Thomas said.

If that’s how the system works, Thomas told Stephens, he’ll turn in his state bar card.

In response, Dewey argued that Stephens should only consider the narrow issues before the court: whether the tapes were likely turned over to the defense and whether the statute of limitations for raising the issue has expired.

“This is a court of law. … This is not the court of public opinion,” Dewey said.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Prosecutor: No release for Tapp

http://www.postregister.com/articles/chris-tapp-coverage-news-todays-headlines/2016/12/11/prosecutor-no-release-tapp

For more than a year, the Bonneville County Prosecutor’s Office has conducted a review of the evidence against Chris Tapp, who has served 20 years in prison for the 1996 murder of Angie Dodge.

On Thursday, Prosecutor Danny Clark finished that review.

Clark’s conclusion is that there isn’t evidence which persuades him to a high probability that Tapp is innocent.

“The question for the prosecution is not whether a defendant was afforded procedural due process as it relates to his confession, the voluntariness of his statements, or the admissibility of such at trial, but whether there is clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence,” he said in his conclusions.

Clark acknowledged that minimal evidence corroborates Tapp’s confession, that Tapp’s DNA is nowhere at the scene while one unknown man left multiple samples, and that Tapp was repeatedly threatened with the death penalty, offered leniency for cooperation and fed the details of the crime by police.

But Clark will not move for a new trial.

“I did what I felt, objectively, the evidence dictated,” he said in an interview.

Public Defender John Thomas blasted the report as inaccurate and said he will draft a response.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Tapp challenges to be heard in April

http://www.postregister.com/articles/chris-tapp-coverage-news-daily-email-todays-headlines/2016/12/14/tapp-challenges-be-heard

Chris Tapp’s two petitions for post-conviction relief will be heard in April, when two extensive evidentiary hearings will be held.

So April may be Tapp’s last, best chance to argue that he is innocent of the 1996 murder of 18-year-old Angie Dodge.

A key development is that Judge Alan Stephens will treat videos of Tapp’s polygraph sessions as new evidence. Tapp’s attorneys and a team of false confession experts claim that the polygraphs were used to coerce a false confession.

Tapp has two petitions for post-conviction relief before Stephens. One is based on DNA testing. Tapp’s DNA has never been found at the crime scene. All the DNA found so far matches one unknown man or others Dodge knew who have been cleared. Stephens blocked out a week between April 4 and April 10, when that evidence and expert testimony will be extensively reviewed.

Tapp’s second petition argues that a set of polygraph videos demonstrate that he falsely confessed under police coercion. Stephens scheduled a hearing on the false confession petition beginning April 24. He also indicated that he doesn’t plan to issue a ruling on either petition until he has heard both.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Is Bonneville County Preparing a Plea Deal for Wrongfully Convicted Man?

http://www.libertynewsdaily.com/blog-3851-is-bonneville-county-preparing-a-plea-deal-for-wrongfully-convicted-man?

The legal advocacy group Judges for Justice, which consists of retired judges, FBI investigators, and legal specialists, has learned of a potential plea deal in the case of Idaho Falls resident Christopher Tapp, who has been wrongfully imprisoned for more than twenty years for a murder he did not commit.

The group’s CEO, retired trial Judge Michael Heavey, recently learned that the Bonneville County Prosecutor is offering Tapp a deal that would likely involve an Alford Plea – under which he would assert his innocence while admitting that the prosecutor could prove his guilt in court. This would allow Tapp to be sentenced to the time he has already served, and perhaps a brief term of probation.

“If you accept an Alford deal, then you spent 20+ years in prison for nothing,” Judge Heavey explained in a letter to Tapp. Anything short of complete exoneration “is a big loss for you,” Heavey advised him.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Tapp is free

He was brought into the courtroom in handcuffs shortly before 11 a.m., dressed not in prison garb but in street clothes suitable for his new life. After a series of procedural questions to Tapp, Public Defender John Thomas and Bonneville County Prosecutor Danny Clark, Judge Alan Stephens reduced Tapp’s sentence to time served, vacated his rape conviction and ordered no probation. The bailiffs removed his cuffs.

“I wish you the best,” Stephens told Tapp.

The first thing Tapp did when his cuffs were removed was embrace the two women who have worked harder than anyone else to free him: Vera Tapp, his mother, and Carol Dodge, Angie Dodge’s mother.

The state of Idaho imprisoned Tapp for 7,353 days; more than 20 years, and roughly half of his life. In addition to the conviction remaining on his record, Tapp’s deal means he cannot seek any further challenges to his conviction or compensation for his imprisonment.

In a prepared statement, Clark said the deal “finalized the question of Christopher Tapp’s guilt.”

“Anyone who says the evidence proves Tapp is innocent is operating from a biased agenda or his or her own personal belief,” Clark said, adding that the state would continue to pursue justice for Angie Dodge.

Before Tapp was released, Carol Dodge took the stand to say her piece.

For years, she said, she thought Tapp killed her daughter.

“For 13 years they programmed my mind to believe you were part of my daughter’s death,” she said to Tapp.

But it isn’t true, Dodge said. Tapp’s DNA is nowhere among the several DNA samples from the crime scene that all point to the same unknown man. Dodge said it was unjust that Tapp would continue to have the murder on his record, that the deal would make him free, but only partly free.

Years ago Dodge went to visit Tapp in jail in Pocatello, and she demanded to know Angie’s last words. Today, she said, she knows that he has no idea what they were.

Dodge as the first to sit through the hours of police interrogation tapes, and she came out the other end believing Tapp knew nothing about the crime.

Christopher Tapp walks free —“I never thought this day would come"

Christopher Tapp walked out of the Bonneville County courthouse Wednesday afternoon to a crowd of people cheering.

“I never thought this day would come,” Tapp said. “Thank you, everybody, for supporting me all these years.

His attorney, public defender John Thomas, exclaimed. “This is it, Chris. Freedom!”

Clark told EastIdahoNews.com that Thomas approached him Saturday with an agreement that would allow Tapp to walk free.

The agreement stipulated the first-degree murder charge would remain on Tapp’s record, but the rape charge would be dismissed. He would be resentenced to serve 20 years for the murder but get credit for time served. Tapp would give up all rights to appeal, and the case would essentially be over.

Tapp’s mother, Vera, was one of the first people to arrive at the Bonneville County Courthouse.

“I never thought this day would come,” Vera Tapp said. “I’ve been praying for this day. I’m praying for both Christopher and Carol Dodge. If it wasn’t for Carol Dodge, we wouldn’t be here today. I’m excited to give him a hug – when we can be one to one.”

Moments later, Dodge entered the courthouse with her son, Brent.

“I’m so overwhelmed. I don’t know what to say,” Dodge said, trying to hold back tears. “I’m grateful for this moment. It’s been a long time coming. I’ve worked really hard to get it to come.”

She read from a letter she said Angie inspired her to write for Tapp.

“Today is a new chapter. Go forward without bitterness and without a hardened heart,” Dodge said. “From this day forward it’s up to you – the path that you choose. Stay clean and stay sober. Stay on track. When you feel strong, take big giant steps. When you’re weak, lean on your higher power. Your mother has loved you unconditionally through all of this, and now it’s time for you to give back.”

As she left the stand, the courtroom audience stood in silence.