Dateline: Unforgettable season 5 episode 7- A complete case overview
Dateline: Unforgettable season 5 episode 7 chronicles the story of Christopher Tapp, a man who was falsely accused of the murder of Angie Dodge. The victim was an 18-year-old teenager, who was ra*ed and stabbed to death in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
It was in the morning of June 13, 1996, when her body was discovered at her apartment, covered in a pool of blood. Christopher Tapp and Benjamin Hobbs were part of a group of young people hanging along the Snake River, which was near Dodge's apartment. With rigorous interrogation, Tapp was forced to accept as the murderer, without committing the crime.
However, it was only 23 years later, when the real murderer of Angie Dodge was captured. Dateline: Unforgettable season 5 episode 7 explores the complete story behind investigating the culprit behind Angie Dodge's murder. The episode, titled True Confession, made its release on February 23, 2024. The official synopsis of the episode reads,
"The real killer of Idaho teen Angie Dodge is caught after 20 years; Chris Tapp, the man wrongly convicted in the case, sees a shocking turn."
Dateline: Unforgettable season 5 episode 7: What is the story behind Angie Dodge's murder?
As per the Innocence Project article, Angie Dodge was found dead at her residence on the morning of June 13, 1996. Investigators found the body at her apartment in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Idaho Falls Police began the investigation initially, however, it was only in January 1997, when they arrested a suspect.
On January 7, 1997, a man named Benjamin Hobbs was arrested for se*ual assault from Ely, Nevada. Christopher Tapp was one of Hobbs' friends who was a member of a hangout group called River Snake, known to follow the roads along the Snake River. Tapp was initially interviewed on January 7, 1997, and was released.
The Idaho Falls Police called him for another interview on January 10. However, when the authorities called him for a third interview on January 13, Tapp's parents said he would only be present in the station with his attorney.
However, without their consent, Tapp was arrested from his residence, and charged with his involvement in the murder. Initially, Tapp said that he knew nothing about the murder. But on January 15, he changed his story, adding that it was with Hobbs when he murdered Angie.
As per Dateline: Unforgettable season 5 episode 7, Tapp went through rigorous questioning by the authorities. During that time, his attorney noted down the complete interview, sitting in the next room.
As per the Innocence Project article, during Tapp's interrogation on January 15 and January 17, prosecutors offered him a series of immunity agreements. As per the terms and conditions, if he provided all true information about the crime, he would be charged with a lesser sentence.
However, when the DNA test results of the semen samples found in the victim's body arrived, it brought more complexity to the case. The DNA results did not match Tapp or the prime suspect, Benjamin Hobbs.
As per Dateline: Unforgettable season 5 episode 7, Tapp added another subject named Jeremy Sargis, to be involved in the crime. The DNA samples were again tested with Sargis but failed to match.
As per the Innocence Project article, it was on January 27, 1997, when the Prosecutor discarded the immunity agreement, furious with Tapp's constant lies. Three days later, Christopher Tapp underwent another polygraph test where he admitted being involved in the crime.
As per Tapp's story, he slit across the victim's breast, because Hobbs threatened to kill him otherwise. As per the Innocence Project article, Christopher Tapp was charged with r*pe and first-degree murder, on February 3, 1997.
Though Christopher Tapp's attorney tried to argue that his confessions had been coerced by the police, they lost the case. On May 28, 1998, the jury found Christopher Tapp guilty of r*pe, first-degree murder, and possessing a deadly weapon. A year later he was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment.
Christopher Tapp was released from prison after 20 years.
Over the next few years, Christopher Tapp's attorneys made several appeals to the jury, regarding the police involvement to coerce his statements. Most of the appeals were rejected, except in 2001, when the Idaho Court of Appeals reflected that Tapp's rights had been violated during the investigation.
As per the Innocence Project article, it was in 2007, that the Idaho Innocence Project began reinvestigating the Christopher Tapp case. The next year, they requested the authorities to test the DNA samples from the hair strands, found at the crime scene.
As per Innocence Project, mitochondrial testing was performed on the sample. They found that the hair strands and semen samples were from the same person.
It was during 2012, when the Idaho Innocence Project collaborated with the Idaho Falls Police Department, and restarted the investigation. After closely scrutinizing the recorded tapes from Tapp's interrogation, it was concluded that they were coerced.
It was in May 2016, when John Thomas from Bonneville County Public Defender's Office, with Tapp's attorneys submitted a proposal for post-conviction relief. It was on March 22, 2017, when John Thomas agreed with Attorney Danny Clark from Bonneville County District.
The r*pe conviction of Christopher Tapp was vacated. His sentencing was shortened to the time served, and Tapo was released.
The true culprit behind Angie Dodge's murder was found.
After Christopher Tapp was released, the Idaho Innocence Project continued its investigation to find Angie Dodge's killer. They collaborated with. Forensic technology company named Parabon Nanolabs, to identify the source of the DNA sample.
It was one of the first times when autosomal familial searching was used. They created a genetic portfolio from the retrieved DNA sample and ran it through genetic databases.
Eventually, they found samples of seven people from the generated family tree. They were among the people who lived near Idaho Falls at that time. Though six of them were eliminated until the seventh person became a subject of interest.
It belonged to a man named Brian Dripps, now living in Caldwell. During the time of the murder, Dripps used to live in the same neighborhood as Angie Dodge's residence. The investigators followed him, a managed to get his DNA from a cigarette butt.
When Parabon Nanolabs tested Brian's DNA against the DNA found at the crime scene, they matched completely. It was on May 15, 2019, when Brian Dripps was arrested for r*pe and murder. Upon interrogation, he confessed to killing Angie Dodge but said he committed the crime alone. Dripps was sentenced to life in prison, with a chance of parole after spending 20 years in prison.
It was on July 17, 2019, when the murder charges against Christopher Tapp were vacated. As per a Rast Idaho News article, published on June 9, 2022, Christopher Tapp sued Idaho Falls Police in October 2020. In June 2022, the lawsuit was settled for $ 11.7 million.
Check out our other articles to know more details about other cases on Dateline: Unforgettable.
