By Bob Walsh
In 1996 Christopher Tapp, now 47 years old was convicted in Idaho Falls of murdering Angie Dodge, 18. Trouble is, he didn't do it.
Christopher Tapp: 1996 in (top) and 2017 out
He was cleared in 2019 when the dead woman's mother persuaded the cops to investigate further, via DNA testing and access to genetic DNA traces that were unavailable in 1996. A new suspect cropped up and Brian Leigh Dripps Sr. confessed to the crime and plead guilty in 2021. He is now doing life as a guest of the people.
At the time of the original rape/murder a friend of Angie Dodge was
arrested on an unrelated rape charge which involved the use of a knife.
Tapp was friends of that man and was considered a suspect himself.
The Innocence Project intervened on Tapp's behalf.
Angie Dodge was 18-years-old when she was murdered in June 1996
The city has
approved the payment to Tapp and is rehabbing their interview
techniques. The state attempted to pressure Tapp into confessing by
threatening a death penalty charge on him. The news article that I got
this info from wasn't real clear if Tapp confessed, or if he did so
after being coerced by threats of execution.
Besides the money the City Manager made an apology on behalf of the city government.
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