IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Nearly four months after his death, Idaho's wrongfully-convicted Christopher Tapp appears in a post-mortem TV interview where he discusses the lengthy murder case, his false confession and the subsequent conviction that landed him in prison for 20 years for a murder he did not commit.
Christopher Tapp of Idaho Falls spent two decades in prison until his innocence was proven in 2017. After only 6 years of freedom, Tapp was found dead at age 47 in Las Vegas. His death is being investigated as a homicide.
Tapp's never-before-seen interview will air Friday, Feb. 23 in an episode of NBC's true crime show "Dateline," in which host Keith Morrison stated has a “chilling twist to come."
According to NBC, the episode titled “True Confession,” will include previously-aired interview footage of Tapp, as well as a new interview filmed in the fall of 2023, just before his death on Nov. 5, 2023.
Background of the case:
Christopher Tapp, of Idaho Falls, was wrongfully convicted in 1997 for the rape and murder of then-18-year-old Angie Dodge.
Tapp spent more than two decades behind bars before the Idaho Innocence Project and Angie Dodge's own mother took up his case, urging the courts to take another look. He was ultimately released from incarceration in 2017 after a judge agreed that there were problems with how investigators had obtained his confession.
Although freed, Tapp was not officially declared innocent of the murder until 2019, after advancements in DNA genealogy mapping allowed investigators to close in on the real killer.
DNA from a cigarette butt led detectives to find Angie Dodge's murderer, Brian Leigh Dripps.
He was arrested in 2019 and pleaded guilty to rape and first-degree murder. Dripps was sentenced to life in prison in 2021.
Dripps told police that he was drunk and high on cocaine when he broke into Angie Dodge's home on June 13, 1996, while she was asleep. He later claimed that he "only intended to rape her," but ended up slitting her throat so severely that she was nearly decapitated.
Dripps lived just across the street from the victim at the time, but investigators zeroed in on 20-year-old Christopher Tapp. Although DNA from semen found at the crime scene excluded Tapp, he became the primary suspect after confessing to the murder - a confession he later said was false and coerced by Idaho Falls police during the investigation.
Following Tapp's release from prison and eventual exoneration, Tapp joined The Idaho Innocence Project as a policy advisor, where he helped pass legislation to help wrongfully convicted people get compensation.
The legislation passed amounted to $62,000 per year.
After spending almost half his life in prison for a crime he did not commit, Tapp enjoyed a mere six years of freedom before his suspicious death in Las Vegas.
Dateline NBC's official episode synopsis reads: Idaho resident Christopher Tapp is sentenced to life after falsely confessing to the murder of his friend Angie Dodge. When the real killer is caught over 20 years later, the case appears to finally be closed until a chilling twist begins a new chapter in the decades-long saga. Friday’s two-hour episode features the latest developments, including correspondent Keith Morrison’s sit-down with Tapp.
The new episode “True Confession,” airs Friday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. MST
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.