The mysterious death of a Seattle music scene icon | Forensic Files

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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website all that's been and all that's being
said it's not to my regret you got to face the edge of yourself and do they say if you go humor through it all
you'll find the will will to survive what seems like he'll take me to the water launch me out to bloody sea
because all you're going to do is release through these obstacles you've got to be take us to the water launch us
out to sea and may the drunken mad ones follow me [Music] [Music] born on August 25th 1965 Mia Zapata
lived with her brother sister and parents in Louisville Kentucky her father Richard Zapata took up a
manager's job with a local TV station and her nut McDonald worked as a manager at a radio station with two parents in
corporate TV and radio the family lived a comfortable life in Douglas Hills where the children had a free-spirited
in the carefree upbringing Mia was independent and even has a toddler it was common for her to wander off and do
her own thing she also liked to sing her voice was strong and husky for a kid and
people would often turn around in surprise to hear such a tone coming from someone so small a voice many thought
was destined for big things and Mayer destined to show the world what she was made of at school Mayer swam in Douglass
Hill swim team and was good enough to be nicknamed the bullet she had a lot of potential but she wasn't really into
sports she wanted to forge her own style and as her mother described it find her
own Avenue while her brother was a cool popular kid and her sister preppy may have found her groove by being
constantly creative she had a love of painting which she carried with her into adulthood her favorite was expressionist
portraits she also liked to alter her clothes and was often in trouble for messing with her school uniform high
school saw me as individuality grow her love of music expanded and along with it
her passion for poetry into writing me and her friends were known to write poems and passed them as notes in the
back of the classroom the grasp of words and expressing her feelings and thoughts
into poetry was an asset many saw from an early age she had a passion for sixties rock and idolized the Janis
Joplin who had a husky and strong voice like me she also loved her David Bowie and to
the pretenders Mia and her friends spent countless hours hanging out and singing
along to their favorite tracks and Mia could sing her journal became her songbook where she wrote lyrics
throughout her teenage years a small tight-knit group of friends got her creativity they weren't interested in
the fashion laws or pop music they were the nonconformist who gathered at the park or by the tracks and talked
about creative stuff but Mia never got herself into trouble she wasn't like that when her sister described her she
said quote you know when you meet people and they remind you of other people when
you met Mia she never reminded you of anybody else Mia's parents eventually separated her
father Richard moved to Yakima two hours from Seattle and her mother Donna moved
to New York Mia went off to Antioch University in Ohio known for its experimental curriculum and study
programs antiox less than traditional approach suited me oh and she thrived in the free-spirited environment it was
that Antioch uni that may have found her music family and her band the gits one night at a coffee shop open mic night
where Mia was singing a fellow student and that Dresner sat listening to her he felt her voice coming from somewhere
deep down and it moved him in a way that he'd never experienced before he knew immediately that he wanted to
start a band with her in 1986 the band was formed they called themselves the sniveling little rat-faced the kids mia
was the main lyricist frontwoman and spokesperson for the band matt dresden played bass joseline the guitar
and Steve Moriarty the drums there was also at Antioch that me and met Valerie Agnew
Valerie was a drummer in the college punk scene and with so much in common her Annamayya forged a strong friendship
Mia's love of the blues shined through not just in her lyrics but in her passion for the music
she was husky and unreserved like a punk musician with the soulful and intense spirit of Janis Joplin to me his friends
she was an intense thinker favoring her journal when moments alone in between a busy social life
she was Street tough while at the same time possessing a worldly compassion people rarely saw in others she held no
judgments on anyone her friends affectionately called her chicken woman she was double-jointed tall and skinny
with long legs in school she was teased and called chicken but as she grew older
and became a term of endearment anemia even wore a t-shirt with the words scrawled across a hand-drawn picture of
a chicken me is being shortened to their name to the kids and to they forged the
passionate relationship with their music from those early college days they didn't care about money or fame into
their punk roots cemented them as progressive but they weren't content with being labeled a punk band yet
lyrics and melodies were more soulful than that and too they carved to their own style with the influences of blues
and punk rock it was in 1989 that Mayer into the rest of the members of the gits
decided to move to San Francisco and a short time after that on to Seattle they wanted to get away from the Midwest to
somewhere with passion and where their alternative music and non-conforming style would fit in when mayor endo band
moved to Seattle in 1989 the city already had a huge underground abuzz alternative music had been a longtime
staple of Seattle possibly it was Seattle's isolation from the big commercial music scene of Los Angeles
leaving the city's artists performing individualistic and free-spirited scene of their own counterculture thrived in a
city like Seattle where a small clubs and intimate venues brought with it tight community values
artists felt no need to look outside their community for inspiration as they formed their own musical purpose they
had no interest in the big wide world of popular music the alternative scene was
about the music into their message in the early eighties hardcore punk and metal were amongst the most popular
genres in Seattle but the two scenes didn't get along fights often broke out between fans and venues would rarely put
on a hardcore band and a metal band on the same night for fear of an uproar but then a club opened up in Seattle that
brought the two genres together emerging of fans but also emerging of sound and so with the help of the venue guerilla
gardens the early influences of grunge began an old to screen movie theater was converted to a music venue where two
different and sometimes opposing acts were able to play on the same night patrons paid one fee which covered
admission for both bands and so that were really paying to support both genres as the nights went on the fans
who once didn't say eye to eye began listening to each other's music and hanging out together this mashing of
music became one of the major starting points for grunge influenced by rock punk and metal the
grunge sound was muddy unsettled and distorted lyrics were angst-ridden and vocals were raw songs shifted from quiet
emotive verses to lay out angry choruses the focus wasn't on technical prowess but on the message they were delivering
grunge was anti-establishment supporting blue-collar workers and community housing over Fame and money the gits
moved into the Capitol Hill district of Seattle where they spent a lot of time at a house nicknamed - the rat house it
became like a band and artist headquarters serving as an artistic space recording studio and occasional
place to crash the gits played local gigs around Seattle with the same passion and force of punk but they had
their own sound with the husky soulful and deep feeling voice of mayors of harder the summer of 1993 was a good
time to be a musician in Seattle the major music labels who had previously left the Seattle music scene alone
allowing the band's the shy away from mainstream popularity all descended on Seattle Alice in Chains Soundgarden
Pearl Jam The Melvins and Mudhoney were all local staples at the time who put Seattle on the map but the mainstream
interest was mainly due to the success of one band Nirvana nirvana had found a local fame in the mid to late 80s and by
1989 when the gets moved to Seattle Nirvana were touring internationally with 37 back-to-back shows across Europe
grunge was well and truly honest way to becoming a worldwide musical phenomenon and by 1993 it had completely exploded
the gits were part of this explosion their own style of punk blending perfectly into Seattle's grunge scene
they were on their way up and to that year 1993 they were set for national and international tours themselves and were
planning a new album after their Californian tour in June 93 the gates arrived the back to Seattle
over the fourth of July weekend the Californian tour had been a huge success in Damir was even invited to perform two
solo shows in LA the gates were only going to be home in Seattle for a few days before beginning a cross-country
tour across America following in the footsteps of some of the big Seattle bands before them they had also recently
had a lunch meeting with two executives from Atlantic Records the major label were keen to sign the gits and they
weren't the only ones they were also being scouted by MCA but the band was torn if they signed to a major label
they would be shedding some of their old values they were grappling with wanting
to succeed and gain recognition and worrying that fame and money would compromise what they hurt the passion
the authenticity would it disappear if they went with one of the majors they were nervous apprehensive and excited
all at the same time although they all lived apart me and her family were still close Mia and her father Richard caught
up a couple of times a month as he only lived a few hours from Seattle Mia's month owner visited Seattle and went to
one of the gits gigs when Mia told the crowd she was there every one yard out hi mum it was that sort of environment
Donna was proud of me oh they had always encouraged her creativity and her music
never believing me it should have been doing anything else but they did still worry about her and her lifestyle
Mia's siblings were also very supportive of her and they tried to catch up as much as possible
it was the Tuesday morning after the July 4th weekend 1993 the gets cross-country tour was due to kick off
in a few days by 11:00 a.m. Mia had rolled out of bed to meet her dad for lunch they went to a local Thai
restaurant where they talked about her tour and the officer in the band were considering from Atlantic Records after
lunch they browsed the racks at Tower Records before going to the Seattle Art Museum Richard dropped me off at her
Rainier Valley shared rental apartment around 3 p.m. that afternoon he said goodbye to her at the bottom of the
steps and then headed home himself Mia was planning on heading to the production studio later on to rehearse
so she used the afternoon to do her laundry and to walk the dog at around 6:30 p.m.
dressed in her cut-off denim jean shorts her black gets hooded sweatshirt socks and short black boots
Mia arrived at the 11th Avenue Winston apartments the production studio was out the back in a run-down three-story
wooden building the studio itself was dingy and dark with various rooms used by different bands and independent film
makers Mia spent the next two hours rehearsing with her ex-boyfriends bent it was a tense session her ex-boyfriend
David not his real name had only broken up with Mia recently and she was still upset about it they had once spoken
about marriage but near David was seeing someone else and me it wasn't ready for
it Mia sang backup vocals in David's band which is why she was rehearsing with him
after a hurtle Mia was looking forward to her first night out back in Seattle since arriving home from the Californian
tour at 8:30 p.m. she walked a block down the road to the comet Tavern in Capital Hill the neighborhood bar she
and her friends always hung out in the place where she had engraved her name in one of the wooden booths
she met up with some of her crew including her friend Valerie Agnew who she had met at Antioch University
Valerie had also moved to Seattle and she played in a band called seven-year [ __ ] Valerie and her band were out that
night marking the one-year anniversary of the death of their bent mate Stephanie Sargent who had died from
asphyxiation after a night of drinking and drugs Mia spoke about drawing on the good
memories they had of Stephanie as she consoled her friends while they drank at the bar Mia was good like that a
constant support for others even though she had her own [ __ ] to deal with Mia was still shaken up about the breakup
with David she wasn't over it and she decided to drown her sorrows that night she had been a big drinker for a while
she smoked pot and occasionally dabbled in some harder stuff - but generally her
voice was alcohol that had caused some issues with her bandmates internet recently asked her to ease up a
little so Mia had been off the booze for two weeks but that night she was drinking hard it was the night mixed
with nervous excitement for the future sorrow over her friend's anniversary and to anger over her recent breakup Mia and
a couple of mates then left the comet and walked a few blocks to pakoras pizza where Nia worked as a part-time waitress
they downed a few shots there and - then went back to the comet where she was seen making a call from the pay phone
according to court documents at 1:00 a.m. when the comet closed Mia went to the nearby apartment of a female friend
Jemma not her real name Jemma was the singer in David's band who Mia had rehearsed
with earlier that night Jenna's apartment was actually in front and above the rehearsal studio before going
up to the apartment Mia checked out the back in the studio to see if David was still there she wanted to talk and
thought he might have still been rehearsing but he wasn't a neighbor then saw mayor walking up a
wooden ramp to Jimmy's apartment Mia and Gemma talked for a while about the breakup and about other things me it was
really upset after spending an hour at Gemma's mayor left she told Gemma she was going to head two blocks west to a
gas station and get a cab home from there Gemma wanted me to crash at her place but Mia was adamant she would get
a cab home Mia left Gemma's apartment and walked down the central staircase towards the
exit doors there was 2 a.m. weather mayor really intended to get a cab or not is unknown
she loved walking and she had put her Walkman on which meant she may have been planning to walk south towards home
maybe intending to get a cab after sobering up a little she may have also gone to look for David again who didn't
live far away maybe she went to find another drink somewhere the reality is after Mia left to Jenna's apartment no
one knows where she went one hour and 20 minutes later at 3:20 a.m. a woman was walking along 24th Avenue South 1.6
miles southeast of Gemma's apartment at the time it was a small and isolated dead-end street between a church and
church community center and was a known location for sex workers and late-night drug deals the woman who was working
that street notice what she thought was a garbage bag on the footpath near the curb but as she walked closer the street
lamp lighting up her path she realized there was a body face up leg straight and crossed at the ankles
and arms stretched out to the sides the body formed across the woman ran to a nearby fire station for help when the
fire department arrived they found the body of a young woman still warm but lifeless she was declared dead at the
scene around 3:30 5:00 a.m. there was no ID on her body so they had no idea who she was the only identifiable feature
was a tattoo on her calf of a chicken she was partially dressed her black gets hoodie had been pulled up under her arms
in the hood pulled down over her face the cord removed and tied tightly around her neck there were fresh scuff marks on
the toes of her black boots and other scuff marks on her left hip and on her belt just below it there were some small
metal fragments on the ground by her body and around one foot from her head there was a tire residue mark that
appeared or been caused by a vehicle speeding away there were no signs of a struggle
it appeared that she was killed elsewhere and dumped at the scene her wallet underwear and bra had been shoved
into her shorts pocket the bra was ripped and one of the cups was missing her body was taken to the King County
Medical Examiner he recognized her the moment he saw her he often went to local venues to hear bands perform he knew it
was me as a Potter although initially held back from the public it was determined that Mayor had been raped
however no semen was found with ligature marks present on her neck it was confirmed she had been strangled with
the cord of her hoodie she had also received blows to her abdomen and body that badly injured her
internal organs so even if she wasn't strangled she likely would have died anyway there were fresh red marks and
what appeared to be bite marks on her right breast with evidence of Tate's ravings but the indentations were not
deep enough to obtain tooth impressions swabs were taken from the bite marks in the hope that then may have been
evidence of saliva when those results came back it showed they did contain saliva but the sample was too small to
use for DNA testing the medical examiner filed the evidence and put it into long-term storage in the hope that
future advances in forensic science would one day be enough to retrieve a DNA profile of the killer initially
police suspected the murder was drug related or connected to the area Mia was found in being a hotspot for sex work
but with the realization of who Mia was and her rising fame they began to look down other avenues when police went
public about her murder they held back the fact she had been sexually assaulted as well as the information about half of
her bra being torn off and missing like many police investigations they deliberately withhold information if a
suspect was later identified and questioned and denied possessed information that hadn't been released to
the public it could go a long way to closing the case it also helped identifying false confessions police
were also worried that if they mentioned the missing bra cup the offender might dispose of it
but Mia's friends weren't happy that not all the information was being made public they felt that as much as
possible should be shared in order to find out who was responsible the level of violence and the extent to which
Mayor was injured showed a desire to cause her great physical pain the police had to try and establish who would want
to do that and why they were adamant that she didn't die at the location she was found she could have been killed in
a vehicle or even in a house but without knowing exactly what mayor's plans were
asked a leaving Gemma's apartment and made it difficult to trace her steps not one person saw her or heard from her
after she left the apartment during the one hour and twenty minutes that were missing from the timeline she could have
been anywhere but the fact that her body was located southeast of Jenna's apartment did insinuate that she may
have begun walking towards home and not to the gas station why she said everyone
who knew Mia knew full well she wouldn't get in a car with anyone unless she knew
them and two there was a chance that if someone had stopped to offer her a lift she may have mouthed off and angered
them Mia could yell better than most and she was tough and able to stand up for herself so the lack of witnesses hearing
anything made her murder so much more perplexing police started to wonder if she accepted a lift from someone she
knew they interviewed all of her friends and acquaintances and many felt like they were suspects as police began
piecing together the timeline and colliding the information on all friends and acquaintances they realized just how
wide the net was it seemed like everyone knew mia somehow as a result of being famous and having lots of fans in a
small community wading through the personal histories of everyone was a huge task many of the people in the
music scene also had criminal histories some lengthy not necessarily for violent
crimes more often it was theft or drugs but the list was large had in the people who didn't know mayor
but lived in the vicinity of where she was last seen or where she was found and a list went into the hundreds with so
many people in the area having previously been in trouble with the law it came as no surprise that there was a
lack of witnesses coming forward me as ex David was one of the first to be called in for questioning Mia had
already tried to find him once that night what if she tried again after leaving Gemma's and was successful the
rehearsal studio when they had looked for him was fairly isolated at the back of the building and it was soundproof if
she was killed there no one would have heard a thing the studio was examined no forensic evidence was found but police
did locate Mia's microphone according to friends she always carried it around with her but no one could remember her
having it when she was out drinking so it's possible she just left it there after rehearsal
[Music] David was asked to provide a semen sample blood sample hair sample and he
participated in two polygraph tests many people in Mia's extended sofel weren't that forthcoming but David supported the
police without question and wanted to help any way he could he was devastated by Mia's death and he believed the
sooner police cleared him the more chance they had of finding the real killer not only did David cooperate fully he
also had a strong alibi for the entire night he had spent the evening with friends and his new girlfriend police
continued questioning everyone they could eventually all of me as male friends were asked to give DNA samples
but no matter how many people they spoke to they couldn't account for the missing
hour and 20 minutes Mia regularly caught cabs in to many of the local cab drivers
knew her but none of them picked her up that night maybe she had accepted a ride
from someone passing by after all the police had no leads and they still had no idea where Mia was actually murdered
after the initial shock fear said in to the local community the murderer was out
there was at one of their own someone who knew Mia a crazed fan a random act a serial killer
Mia's body being left what appeared to be deliberately in a religious pose and of the location between the church and
church Community Center created the suspicion that there was a religious motive police looked at the possibility
that there was a hidden message for them they even started to consider whether the Green River serial killer had been
responsible the then on-court Green River Killer was known for raping and strangling his victims and sometimes he
left them in poses he was believed to be a religious fanatic and he was known to
leave his victims in areas away from where he killed them but the Green River Killer also had many differences and one
of those differences was the fact that Mia's body was dumped with the intention of it being found
she wasn't hidden from sight her possible connection was closely looked at but after much consideration police
moved away from the Green River Killer theory instead they concentrated on Mia's fan base as well as her peers in
the music industry the fact that the gits were succeeding did raise the question whether someone may have been
envious of me a success but that would suggest the person who had likely never killed before someone in her group or in
the industry that just had a grudge this type of murder didn't really fit with that theory according to the profile of
Mia's attacker the brutality and a level of violence she endured indicated that the person was likely to have had a
history of violence possibly someone who had assaulted females in the past not someone who had just decided to kill
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friends of mayors arranged an all-night vigil that was attended by over 1,000 people her murder shocked everyone those
in the Grunch scene were distraught and they were scared her friends spoke about
looking over their shoulders worried that they may be next on Saturday July 10 a few days after her murder
Mia's family and friends hold a private memorial service in Seattle before her body was taken back to Louisville for
burial she was remembered not just for her music but for her painting her writing
her friendship and for who she was as a person at one point Mia's father looked out the window and
watched the line of people grow all coming to pay their respects and remember Mia friends acquaintances
and fans gathered and the line began sneaking around the block a lot of them were carrying yellow roses Mia's
favorite flower Mia's parents Richard and Donna were completely overwhelmed by the amount of
kids as they called them they came to pay their respects a table was filled with the yellow roses they had brought
there was incense burning and poetry and photos of Mia were pinned to the wall some of her friends told me his parents
stories of our things Mia had done to help them away she had made a difference in their lives
Richard and Donna were surprised by how many people Mia had touched in her short
27 years they learned that she had helped people when they were homeless and helped friends recover from drug
addictions she was a rock for a lot of people as time went on many of Mia's friends kept the suspicious or wondering
if the killer was among them that were told by the police that although it could have been anyone there
was a good chance it was someone they knew many worried that it was going to happen again no one felt safe while the
killer was still out there everyone in the scene felt a dark cloud was hanging over them
Mia's friend Valerie Agnew said quote it's just surreal to see next to somebody you've been drinking with or
going to shows with for so many years and wonder did they do it friends put up posters all over Seattle hoping that
someone might have seen something handwritten in marker pen the posters read did you see Mia Tuesday night July
6 2 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. she was walking between 11th Avenue and Broadway at 2:00 a.m. she was found strangled to death on
25th Avenue between Yesler and Washington did you see her catch a ride talking to someone walking if you have
any info please call CrimeStoppers posted a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest police
started getting numerous calls from people with tips who wanted to help but also from people who just wanted to
insert themselves in the investigation by this stage me as celebrity status meant that there were people who wanted
to be involved purely on the basis that other famous people were offering their help despite the publicity of the case
nothing was moving the investigation along at all it had come to a standstill Mia's friends didn't rest though they
understood there were no leads but they weren't the type to just sit on their hands and do nothing after a couple of
weeks Steve Moriarty that gets drummer and a few friends became so frustrated that
they got together and hired a private investigator Leigh Hearon Leigh focused on the community and those close to me
she wanted to piece everyone together which she found hard initially as after her death just about everyone had
suddenly become Mia's friend Leigh interviewed women who worked the streets where Mia was found as well as every
person who lived in that area she also visited the clubs and hung out in the grand sing to try and get all the
information she could she quickly realized that the majority of people in Seattle's music scene lived nomadic
lifestyles it was normal not to have a phone or a steady job so pinning people down proved almost
impossible also people were paranoid still wondering if the killer was out there stalking his next victim so many
people were too scared to talk they discovered that the kids had a group of dedicated fans who followed
their band around Seattle and went to every show they performed she set her sights on this small group hoping bigger
the lead but nothing came up then Mia's roommates told Lee that Mia had made a new friend in the lead up to her murder
and a few days after she died the new friend was heard shouting the [ __ ] is dead why did I do it after looking into
this person Lee managed to obtain DNA samples from his car she also convinced the police to look
into him the police asked him to come in for questioning during which he agreed to take a
polygraph test he passed a woman then came forward to police describing a man she had encountered a
few weeks after Mia's murder this woman was walking along the street near the comet tavern when she could sense a car
was coming up slowly behind her she thought the driver was about to offer her a ride but when she looked over she
saw the male driver was masturbating the woman got away and took note of the number plate but when she reported it to
police they said it wasn't something they could pursue in order to keep Lee Harun's private investigation going
people rallied to raise funds joan jett agreed to join the gits for a small tour
of benefit geeks as she had been personally touched on Mia's murder Mia's music friends got Warner Brothers
to front up the money for a benefit concert in Seattle with Nirvana toejam Courtney Love and Soundgarden involved
it gained enough publicity to keep made his case in the minds of the public as well as the police me his friends also
felt a sense that if Mia had some form of self-defense training she may have been able to get away from her killer
they decided to set up an organization called home alive which provided self-defense training and a gun classes
to women the publicity around the home alive organization also had the added benefit of keeping Mia's case in the
news the remaining members of the Gittes did what they could to keep the fires burning for the band but the reality was
they had lost their essence Mia their front woman was what made them their gits without her they were lost
when going through what they had from recording sessions for their second album they discovered that Mia had saved
some vocal tracks that they thought she had never recorded one of these songs was called sine of the crap it was a
song Mia had written only two months before her death the lyrics were eerily prophetic the song describes being
murdered at the hands of a stranger a section of lyrics reads quote anything to get me in and then get me killed
go ahead and slash me up spread me all across this town because you know you're the one who won't be found with what
they had already recorded the gits were able to release their second album in 1994 it's titled enter the conquering
chicken by mid 94 Seattle's music scene was reeling from further deaths of young and
beloved musicians that had started before mass murder in 1990 with the fatal heroin overdose of Andrew would
lead singer of Mother Love Bone two members of that band would go on to form Pearl Jam that was followed in 92 by the
asphyxiation death of Stephanie Sargent the guitarist from seven-year [ __ ] Mia's murder came a year after that
a year after Mia's death in 1994 Nirvana's Kurt Cobain died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound
two months later Kristin faff bassist for the band hole died of a drug overdose hole was the band fronted by
Kurt Cobain's wife Courtney Love it led to the media labeling grunge as the deadliest music genre but in 1995 the
remaining members of the gits had worked with numerous artists to produce albums
and play benefit gigs to continue raising money to keep the private investigator Leigh Hearon
going following three benefit shows where they had worked with rocker Joan Jett as their front woman they
collaboratively released an album titled evil Stieg the name is actually gets live spelled backwards
they had Joan Jett sing vocals and play with the band's releasing the album as a
cross-promotion between Warner Brothers and Jets black heart records Joan Jett had found fame as a teenager leading the
all-female group The Runaways and she was living in Seattle at the time of Mia's murder also known for her
feisty raspy and energetic voice she brought exactly what the gits felt was a very mayor style to their music the gits
then held the opening music slot for an AIDS benefit concert as well as contributing a new song to another album
this time a compilation also being used to raise funds this one was called home alive the art of self-defense and it was
dedicated to the organization that Mia's friends had set up to help provide self-defense classes to women
so many beings wanted to contribute to the home alive album it ended up becoming a 2-cd set all publishers
record companies and artists agreed to donate all royalties for use of the songs the home alive organization is
still in operation today three years after Mia's murder the white body outline on the pavement remained
faded after time but still there as a reminder of that night and a reminder to the community that a murderer was still
out there the police investigation had stalled but the private investigation by Leigh Hearon continued a woman contacted
Lee and told her she had met a man on an internet site and had recently begun a romance with him during an argument this
man told the woman that he would do to her what he had done to me as a partner when Lee looked into him she discovered
that he was known to watch young schoolgirls from his car Lee turned at the information over to Seattle police
and when they questioned him he said that he was staying with a friend in Olympia the night Mayor was murdered but
after digging further they discovered he was actually working as a taxi driver in
Capitol Hill that night so not only had he lied about his whereabouts he was working in the area where Mayor was
killed when confronted by police he broke down and confessed to having drug problems he
said he would never hurt me Oh though there was not enough evidence to make an arrest or press charges so the
investigation into the cab driver didn't go any further but Lee felt convinced he
had something to do with it by now the money had run dry and to me his friends weren't able to keep paying Lee
but she had become so invested in the case she agreed to work pro bono when this latest lead fizzled out the case
went cold and to the gets dissolved by 2001 detectives great Mixel and Richard Gagnon had been allocated cold cases at
the Seattle Police Department their job involved going through the enormous backlog of unsolved cases and
identifying those that had a chance of moving forward with new technologies in forensic testing when they went through
Mia's file they saw that a swab of saliva had been stored in 1993 it wasn't tested at the time because the sample
was too more nude for the technology available but by 2001 there had been enough advances in DNA technology in the
cold case detectives thought that although saliva had a very slim chance of producing a DNA profile it was worth
a shot at the time this possible DNA evidence police hat was not public knowledge
only the investigators knew about it Washington State Patrol crime lab technician Jody SAS performed the DNA
analysis on the swab using polymerase chain reaction and short tandem repeat methodology also known as PCR a new
technology and one that had just been awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry the discovery made it possible for DNA
to be extracted from very small biological samples and to then amplify it to allow them to obtain the DNA
information because of the sample taken from Mia's body was so small the crime lab was worried it would be destroyed so
they had to wait for the PCR process to be perfectly refined before they sent the sample for testing
when the swab was finally tested they were able to amplify it enter lab technician Jodi sass was able
to obtain two separate DNA profiles in equal concentrations from that she was able to extract a Mia's DNA profile
which then isolated a complete profile belonging to an unknown male it had worked they had the killer's DNA no
other DNA profile was obtained on any of the other material tested only the tiny
saliva swabs detectives Mixel and Gagnon immediately ran the DNA profile through the
Washington state database to find a match but the search came up with nothing as disappointing as that was it
did officially rule out everyone that was close to Mia who had provided a DNA sample during the investigation in June
2002 they were able to submit the DNA profile to the CODIS database maintained by the
FBI a national database containing the DNA profile of everyone who has committed a felony across the country
but they got no match there either the killer continued to evade them every week the system was automatically
rechecked in the hope that they would get a match from a new entry but week after week they came up empty the case
had stalled again six months later in December 2002 lab technician JD sass got a phone call from
authorities in Florida a new law had passed in Florida only months earlier and burglary was now
considered a felony as a result there was an influx of new DNA profiles hitting the system in Florida someone
had just entered the system who was at the time on probation following a recent conviction for possession of burglary
tools as a condition of his probation he was required to submit to cheek swab samples those cheek swabs had come back
as a match to the DNA found on Mia Zapatas body the chance of it being from anywhere else in the United States was 1
in 1.5 trillion they had their head forty eight-year-old hey-zeus mezquia was a cuban exile living in florida he
had convictions for aggravated battery of a pregnant woman in 1997 as well as kidnapping false imprisonment robbery
and indecent exposure in the early eighties in florida in california he had convictions in the late 80s and early
90s for battery of a spouse and assault to commit rape it was discovered that mezquia lived in Seattle between 92 and
94 during the time of Mia's murder he shared a home with a woman three blocks from where Mia's body was found and he
had a record for a speeding ticket in the same area on the night Mayer was murdered the woman he lived with was out
of town looking back through Mayer's police file that was discovered that Miss Kay's number plate was a match for
a car that had been reported during the investigation the incident where a woman
saw a man masturbating in his car not long after Mia was murdered the incident where the police said they
weren't able to investigate any further in Florida the u.s. marshals were informed in today placed hey-zeus
mezquia is home under surveillance until detectives Mixel and the Gagnon arrived from seattle but after a day
surveillance they weren't sure if he was home there hadn't been one sighting of him
none right County sheriff's deputies who were assisting with the case questioned
miss Kay's wife while she was at work she told them that mezquia had left town from Miami where he had a temporary job
on a fishing boat police moved quickly to track mezquia down in Miami going to an address provided by his wife when
they arrived they found his white van parked out the front and a few hours later hey Zeus mezquia was in custody
Miz Kia didn't resist or run he thought the police were just checking up on his probation he got the shock of his life
when he found out the real reason they wanted to speak to him late on January 10 2003 just shy of 10 years after Mia
Zapata was murdered 48 year old hey Zeus mezquia was arrested and charged with first-degree murder
miss kiya denied ever meeting knowing or killing me as a partner when the trial began may his family who gets being bait
into many of her friends attended court every day when mezquia walked into the courtroom they were instantly hit by the
enormous size of him 6 foot 4 and 240 pounds they realized that there was no way Mia would have
been able to defend herself against him overpowering him would have been impossible senior prosecuting attorney
Tim Bradshaw told the jury that the DNA taken from saliva on Mia's body matched a Zeus peskier
and that was proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he killed her quote the evidence that was previously left in
darkness has been illuminated and exposed to the light of the laboratory and will be exposed for your
consideration in the light of this courtroom the medical examiner testified that there was no doubt in his mind that
the saliva was from the accused and in addition there was no doubt that the saliva was left on Mia's body during the
attack the prosecution's case was that in the early hours of July 7 1993 hey-zeus
mezquia was cruising the streets in his car he drove past mayor who was unable to hear him pull up because she had her
headphones on he abducted her pulling her into his car she was bashed and sexually assaulted in
his vehicle had a deserted location and later dumped just a few blocks from Miss
Kay's home although at the time police questioned their religious significance that Mayor had been dumped next to the
church and in a religious pose they now believed that this was nothing but a coincidence that her pose wasn't
deliberate but it was just how she happened to end up after mezquia dragged her from the car and to left her in the
street they believed he had never met mayor before that night it was a random attack
during the trial after the state had rested its case a woman came forward and alleged that mezquia had assaulted her
about six months after Mia's murder while out on a jog in downtown Seattle at 4:30 a.m. mezquia knocked her to the
ground and she felt pain in her throat but she managed to get to her fate and run away she returned to her apartment
building and found mezquia standing at the corner of her building staring at her and masturbating
if it wasn't for two people sitting in a nearby car she may not have escaped following a two-week trial a jury took
over two days to reach their verdict they found hey Zeus mezquia guilty because of the extreme injury suffered
by Mia and based on the aggravating circumstance of deliberate cruelty the judge made the decision that although
the standard sentence ranged from 18 to 28 years there was legal justification for a 36 year sentence over and above
the standard mezquia appealed both his conviction and his sentence in 2005 when it went to appellate court the judge
overturned the sentence based on a US Supreme Court ruling known as the Blakely decision a decision that meant
that any factor that extended a sentence beyond its standard range must itself be
proven and approved by a jury but then something unusual happened something mezquia zone lawyers didn't
understand his reasoning for in 2009 when facing resentencing mezquia waived his right to have a jury determine
whether aggravating circumstances would justify the longer sentence allowing the
King County Superior Court judge to uphold his conviction and sentence had mezquia not a waive these right his
lawyers believed he would have received a reduced sentence instead he returned to prison to continue his 36 year
sentence his lawyer stated they had no idea why he had chosen to waive his rights during the initial trial a video
was played to the judge the jury and everyone in the courtroom in the video made his father Richard says the
following what I know of my daughter she was very quiet very reserved ultra ultra
shy the last person in the world who would call attention to herself and yet put a microphone in her hand
March her up on a stage and she was just magnetic after closing Mia's case cold-case
detective Gagnon spoke about the pall of cold cases they still had waiting for them and to the killer's they were yet
to catch quote the clocks always ticking you're not a free man maybe someday on the road they'll be a knock on the door
if you're having trouble sleeping at night I think we've done our job [Music] [Music]
[Applause] [Music] we can and instead it's not my own the only thing I was waiting on my car
[Music] many [Music] - waiting for my temple man to come well maybe they can't hear
[Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it's a mistake I can show you there
[Music] the show [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]
[Applause] [Music]

Case 77: Mia Zapata

Born on August 25, 1965, Mia Zapata lived with her brother, sister and parents in Louisville, Kentucky.

The family lived a comfortable life in Douglass Hills where the children had a free-spirited and carefree upbringing…

Opening poem titled; ‘Slaughter of Bruce’, written by Mia Zapata.

Closing song titled; “Bob - Cousin O” performed by The Gits, written by Mia K Zapata, Matthew F Dresdner, Andrew L Kessler and John Stephen Moriarty © Fishheadhotdogburrito Music, licensed courtesy of Rogue Octopus.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anna Priestland Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-77-mia-zapata

Brief Summary

Mia Zapata's life, murder, and the investigation into her death are discussed, highlighting her impact on Seattle's music scene.

Key points

Introducing Mafia Podcast. A new podcast exploring America's criminal underworld and the lives of notorious gangsters.
Mia Zapata's Early Life. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Mia had a free-spirited upbringing and a passion for music.
The Gits' Rise in Seattle. The Gits moved to Seattle, blending their punk roots with the emerging grunge scene.
Mia's Last Night. Mia's final hours before her tragic end, filled with friends and memories.
Mia's Vigil. Over 1,000 people attended an all-night vigil for Mia, reflecting the impact of her murder.
Home Alive Organization. Mia's friends established Home Alive to provide self-defense training for women after her murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

You got to face the edge of yourself.

A reflective moment about survival.

1:38WatchNov 20, 2018

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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