Fourth appeal filed for man convicted of murdering Angie Dodge

A local public defender is not giving up on proving that a convicted murderer from Idaho Falls is innocent.

Friday, Christopher Tapp’s attorney, John Thomas, filed his fourth post-conviction relief petition.

A post-conviction relief is a motion asking for a new trial. You can find the entire appeal here.

Nearly 20 years ago, police found Angie Dodge brutally murdered.

About six months later, Tapp confessed to the crime.

Since Tapp’s confession, many have questioned if he really did it.

If he didn’t, the bigger question is, who murdered Angie Dodge?

“I have kids. I have a wife at home. I would never want whoever did this to Angie Dodge to do this to anybody else. That’s another part of my frustration is knowing that this person that killed Angie Dodge is still out there. There’s still somebody that needs to come to justice,” Thomas said.

Thomas said despite the fact police don’t know who killed Dodge in her “I” street apartment Tapp should be out of prison.

“Double our efforts and say ‘hey look, rather than spending all this time keeping an innocent man in prison, let’s go out and find the guy that actually did this,'” said Thomas.

Thomas said he is not giving up on justice.

He said the first allegation is a Brady claim, which accuses the state of not turning over crucial evidence in the original trial.

“They failed to produce three polygraph tapes. The three polygraph tapes show a pattern of he would take the polygraph test. He would fail the polygraph test. Then they would tell him what to say. Then he would change his story. Then he would take another polygraph test. He’d fail the polygraph test. He would change his story again to fit what he thought he would need to say to pass the polygraph test,” said Thomas.

Thomas believes the prosecution plans to say it did disclose the tapes.

“I’ve been working on this case for a number of years and these polygraphs came up. They were initially disclosed less than a year ago. So we started looking at it and thought ‘hey these could be crucial to the trial and the outcome of the case,'” Thomas said.

Results of polygraphs are not admissible in court. So how could these tapes make a difference?

“These polygraphs weren’t necessarily used to tell what a polygraph is generally used to tell. A polygraph is generally used to tell the truth, to see if somebody is telling the truth or not. The polygraphs in this particular case were used as more of a interrogation tactic that the police were using. They weren’t used to see if Chris was telling the truth or not,” Thomas claims.

He said the second part of the motion regarding the polygraphs explains a bigger picture as to why the verdict may have come back “not guilty.”

“It’s a due process allegation that shows the state was overreaching and overly coercive and effectively thwarted Chris Tapp’s ability to have a fair trial,” said Thomas.

He tells Local News 8/KIDK Eyewitness News it’s frustrating to try and piece together this case so many years later.

He said even though it’s a long road, Tapp is still in good spirits.

“Every day is a new day for him. You know, it’s a routine. At the same time he is hopeful that we’re going to get him out someday. He’s got plans for the future,” Thomas said.

Part of the challenge Thomas faces when filing these motions is that most of the people who worked the case no longer work for the county or city.

He said it’s not easy trying to understand what went through their minds nearly 20 years ago.

The state has 30 days to respond to the motion.

If you have any information regarding Angie Dodge’s murder call the Idaho Falls Police Department at (208) 529-1200.