On The Case With Paula Zahn Season 22 Episode 8 Evidence Lost, Justice Found

On The Case With Paula Zahn is a true crime show that seeks to uncover some of the most brutal and perplexing criminal cases. In season 22 episode 8, titled "Evidence Lost, Justice Found," Paula Zahn delves into a case involving a young woman named Angie Dodge who was murdered in her apartment in Idaho Falls in 1996.

Despite several suspects being identified by the police, including a mentally disabled man, Chris Tapp, who falsely confessed to the crime, the murderer remained at large for over a decade. In 2006, detective Jared Fuhriman was appointed to lead the investigation. He had always believed that the perpetrator was the same person who had attacked another woman in the same apartment complex a year before Angie's murder and had left behind a semen sample. The DNA from the semen sample was not a match for Chris Tapp, the man who had been convicted for Angie's murder, which reignited the investigation.

As Paula interviews Detective Fuhriman and other key players in the case, she reveals how investigators used advances in forensic technology to identify a man named Brian Leigh Dripps Sr., a friend and neighbor of Angie Dodge's, as the true perpetrator. Dripps' DNA was a match for the semen left in Angie's apartment, and he subsequently confessed to the murder.

The episode not only focuses on the investigation and arrest of Brian Leigh Dripps Sr. but also on the aftermath of his arrest and how it affected the people involved in the case, including Chris Tapp, who was finally released from prison after serving 20 years for a crime he did not commit.

"Evidence Lost, Justice Found" is a gripping episode of On The Case With Paula Zahn that highlights the importance of DNA evidence in solving cold cases and shows how the perseverance of investigators can ultimately bring justice for victims and their families.