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

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IDAHO FALLS — A judge says that Brian Dripps must stay in jail without bail to await his 2021 trial.

Last week, Dripps attorneys Jim Archibald and Elisa Massoth asked District Judge Joel Tingey to release the 54-year-old man because of health concerns over COVID-19. On Wednesday, Tingey signed the order keeping the man charged with first-degree murder and rape behind bars.

On May 15, 2019, the Idaho Falls Police Department arrested Dripps in Caldwell after they say his DNA matched that left at the scene of the 1996 rape and killing of Angie Dodge. Police said that Dripps also confessed to the crime with specific details when interrogated.

Judge says Brian Dripps must stay in jail | East Idaho News
 
Justice for Angie, so long delayed. And justice for Chris Tapps, who was wrongly convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison.


https://www.kivitv.com/news/brian-dripps-pleads-guilty-to-the-rape-and-murder-of-angie-dodge

Brian Dripps says he never intended to murder Angie Dodge and had only planned on raping the 18-year-old. But in a change of plea hearing Tuesday morning, Dripps admitted to killing Dodge 25 years ago.


“All I really know is I went over there with the intent to rape her. I was pretty high on cocaine and alcohol,” Dripps said. “I had a pocket knife with me … I didn’t mean to murder her. I guess it just happened when I was there. I remember the rape part … that’s all I remember of that evening.”


Dripps said he doesn’t remember cutting Dodge’s throat but did not deny doing it. For nearly 23 years, he was a free man until his arrest in 2019 after DNA connected him to the crime scene.
Investigators began using genetic genealogy and teamed up with Paragon NanoLabs. On May 6, 2019, DNA experts determined Dripps was most likely the suspect in the case. Police learned at the time of the murder and rape, Dripps lived across the street from Dodge.


On May 10, 2019, investigators drove to Caldwell, where Dripps was living, and collected a DNA sample from a cigarette butt he threw into the road. Detectives ran into the road, collected the sample and sent it to the Idaho State Police lab. A positive match was returned within 24 hours.
 
I remember Angie’s mom from a Dateline (I think) episode several years back & she pleaded for Chris Tapps’ release when it was obvious to everyone that he had been unjustly jailed for Angie’s murder. She seemed like a very kind & caring woman who had suffered so much with Angie’s horrible murder. She begged for Chris to be released so he could finally spend time with his mother as a free man. She just wanted the actual murderer to be locked up & justice for her daughter’s horrific murder. IIRC Angie had just moved into her apartment & was so excited to be living on her own, which makes this even sadder. Heavy sigh.

RIP Angie.
 
An Idaho man has pleaded guilty to the 1996 rape and murder of Angie Dodge, a crime for which another man was wrongfully convicted nearly a quarter-century ago. Brian Leigh Dripps of Caldwell entered the guilty plea Tuesday morning as part of an agreement with prosecutors, the Post Register reported.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors will recommend to the judge that Dripps serve up to life in prison, but be eligible for parole after serving at least 20 years.
Idaho man pleads guilty in cold case that led to wrongful conviction in teen's murder
 
I see that 20/20 will have a show on tonight, 8pm MST. "Stranger Than Fiction: The Murder of Angie Dodge." Noveliist Scott Turow will discuss.
 
Excellent show. Goes through Chris Tapp's confession; Carol Dodge realizing he may be innocent and watcing all 60 hours of his interrogation tapes; his exoneration on the rape but not the murder charge, and his release from prison.

Continues with new prosecutor and detectives getting on board with trying to find the new killer, contacting CeCe Moore (Carol wrote to her nearly every day) and CeCe and team beginning work on the case. The DNA was so degraded they had a very difficult time. But eventually they came up with sons,six sons or grandsons, but only one lived in Idaho. But after getting some DNA, it wasn't a match.
 
Finally, through obituaries, CeCe finds that the suspect was carrying his step-father's name and LE tracks him to Caldwell, ID. Brian Dripps throws his cigarette out the window. But there are cigarette butts all over.

Then they try again, and this time they get the cigarette butt from the middle of the road. It's a match. It is interesting to hear first hand accounts from Carol Dodge, Chris Tapp, friends of Angie, CeCe Moore, and detectives.

If you folowed this case and even if you didn't, I recommend watcing it.
 
Watching this program on DVR right now. Such a sad sad thing for false imprisonment. So glad that they found out the perpetrator. Shame on those who pointed their finger at the person who ended up behind bars for 20 years. Is this case on the gedcom parabon link here at websleuth?
 
The sentencing hearing for the man accused of raping and killing Angie Dodge has been postponed due to COVID-19 at the Bonneville County Jail.

Brian Dripps, 55, was scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday morning after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and rape charges in February. His attorney, Jim Archibald, tells EastIdahoNews.com that inmates in Dripps’ jail pod were exposed to COVID-19. Dripps tested negative and has been vaccinated, but an order from the Idaho Supreme Court mandates that those exposed to COVID should not enter courthouses.


Because Dripps could receive a life sentence, the hearing cannot be held via Zoom and must happen in person. A new date had not been scheduled as of 4 p.m. Monday.


https://www.kivitv.com/news/dripps-sentencing-postponed-due-to-covid-exposure
 
www.eastidahonews.com

Christopher Tapp's death being investigated as homicide - East Idaho News

LAS VEGAS — Christopher Tapp’s death is now being investigated as a homicide by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The 47-year-old Idaho Falls man, who served 20 years in prison for crimes he did not commit, died Nov. 5 at a Nevada hospital. Medical personnel were called to a hotel on...
www.eastidahonews.com www.eastidahonews.com
 
I watched the Dateline show on this case. I'm surprised the initial investigating officers were not CHARGED. What's going to keep other officers from forcing witnesses to lie when they can do it and if they get caught nobody is going to do anything about it. JMO
 
Las Vegas Metro police said through phone calls and text messages, they learned Rodimer assaulted Tapp in a Resorts World suite because he was upset Tapp offered his adult stepdaughter cocaine.

Rodimer’s wife texted him, “I watched you murder somebody like let that sink in you psychopath,” according to police.

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Rodimer and his attorneys arranged for Rodimer to post bond as he turned himself in so he wouldn’t even spend the night in jail. Tapp’s mother, Vera Tapp, wasn’t ready to publicly speak about her son’s alleged murder. Thomas said she was disappointed she didn’t get to see Rodimer make a court appearance.

Las Vegas Strip death first reported as a ‘fall.’ Now a former politician is accused of murder

Updated: Mar 7, 2024
 
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