View source for Mia Zapata

{{short description|American singer (1965–1993)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name           = Mia Zapata
| image          = MiaZapata.jpg
| caption        =
| birth_name     = Mia Katherine Zapata
| alias          =
| birth_date     = {{Birth date|1965|08|25}}
| birth_place    = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date     = {{death date and age|1993|07|07|1965|08|25}}
| death_place    = [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], U.S.
| origin         = 
| genre          = {{hlist|[[Punk rock]]<ref name="austin">{{Cite web|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2000-12-08/79702/|title=The Gits|website=www.austinchronicle.com}}</ref>|[[hardcore punk]]<ref name="austin"/>|[[riot grrrl]]<ref name="austin"/>}}
| occupation     = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter}}
| years_active   = 1986–1993
| label          =
| past_member_of = [[The Gits]]
| website        =
}}

'''Mia Katherine Zapata''' (August 25, 1965 – July 7, 1993) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and lyricist for the [[punk rock]] band [[The Gits]]. After gaining praise in the emerging [[grunge]] scene, Zapata was raped and murdered in Seattle in 1993 while walking home from the [[Comet Tavern]] at the [[27 Club|age of 27]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://casefilepodcast.com/case-77-mia-zapata/|title=Case 77: Mia Zapata - Casefile: True Crime Podcast|date=March 11, 2018|work=Casefile: True Crime Podcast|access-date=June 21, 2018}}</ref> The crime went unsolved for a decade before her killer, Jesus Mezquia, was arrested in 2003. The following year, Mezquia was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 36 years in prison.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/34514-mia-zapatas-killer-sentenced-for-good-finally/|title=Mia Zapata's Killer Sentenced for Good, Finally|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=February 2, 2009 |access-date=September 12, 2016}}</ref>

==Life and career==
Mia Zapata born on August 25, 1965, in Chicago, Illinois and was raised in [[Louisville, Kentucky]], where she attended high school at [[Presentation Academy]]. She was of Mexican descent and was distantly related to [[Emiliano Zapata|Emiliano]] and [[Eufemio Zapata]].<ref name="LA Times">{{cite news |last1=Mendez |first1=Stephanie |title=Mia Zapata of The Gits is still influential 30 years after her death |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-01-31/mia-zapata-the-gits-is-still-influential-30-years-after-her-death |access-date=April 28, 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 31, 2025}}</ref> Zapata was the youngest of three children, with a brother named Eric and a sister named Kristen. Both of her parents, Donna and Richard Zapata, were television executives.<ref name="Seattle Times">{{cite news |last1=Pols |first1=Mary F. |title=Holding On To Mia's Magic -- Singer's Killing Leaves Grief In The 2 Worlds She Lived In |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19930826/1717883/holding-on-to-mias-magic----singers-killing-leaves-grief-in-the-2-worlds-she-lived-in |access-date=August 25, 2025 |work=Seattle Times |date=August 26, 1993}}</ref> Zapata learned how to play the guitar and the piano by age nine, and was influenced by [[punk rock]] as well as [[jazz]], [[blues]], and [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] singers such as [[Bessie Smith]], [[Billie Holiday]], [[Jimmy Reed]], [[Ray Charles]], [[Hank Williams]], and [[Sam Cooke]].<ref name="gitsweb">{{cite web
|url=http://thegits.com/?page_id=410
|title=Mia Zapata 1965-1993
|publisher=The Gits
|website=thegits.com
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406042509/http://thegits.com/?page_id=410
|archive-date=April 6, 2013
}}</ref>

In 1984, Zapata enrolled at [[Antioch College]] in [[Yellow Springs, Ohio]], as a [[liberal arts]] student. In September 1986, she and three friends formed the punk rock band [[The Gits]]. In 1989, the band relocated to [[Seattle]].<ref name="gitsweb" /> Zapata found a job at a local bar and the four band members moved into an abandoned house they called "The Rathouse".<ref name=":0" /> The band released a series of well-received singles on local [[independent record labels]] from 1990 to 1991. As the Gits were making a name for themselves in the local music scene, they often played shows with their friends' band [[7 Year Bitch]]. In 1992, the band released its debut album ''[[Frenching the Bully]]''. Their reputation progressively increased within the [[grunge]] scene in Seattle, before the band began work on their second and final album ''[[Enter: The Conquering Chicken]]'', released posthumously in 1994.

Zapata came from an affluent family but often lived without material comforts. As her father described it: "Mia [lived] in two different worlds. She lived on two different sides of the street—the straight side on one, with parochial schools, an affluent family, and tennis clubs. But when she crossed the street, material things didn't mean anything to her."<ref>Mary F. Pols, [https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19930826/1717883/holding-on-to-mias-magic----singers-killing-leaves-grief-in-the-2-worlds-she-lived-in "Holding On to Mia's Magic—Singer's Killing Leaves Grief in the 2 Worlds She Lived In"], ''Seattle Times'', August 26, 1993.</ref> Zapata's music often led to a rejection of financial comfort, but regardless of status, [[Valerie Agnew]] describes her as "commanding respect and interest immediately".<ref>The Gits: The Band The Music The Legacy. Dir. Kerry O'Kane. Perf. The Gits. 2008. DVD.</ref>

Zapata was well connected to her community. Peter Sheehy recalls: "Mia [was] the hub of several social circles; a magnetic personality who drew all sorts of people together who otherwise might never have met."<ref name="autogenerated2004">Tracy Johnson, [http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Singer-s-killer-gets-37-years-1143741.php "Singer's Killer Gets 37 Years; Mia Zapata's Friends Fill Courtroom for Sentencing of Jesus Mezquia"], ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', May 1, 2004.</ref> On his way to her wake in Seattle, Zapata's father became lost and recalls many people carrying yellow roses: the admission ticket to her service.<ref>Richard Zapata. The Gits: The Band The Music The Legacy. Dir. Kerry O'Kane. Perf. The Gits. 2008. DVD.</ref> Judge Sharon Armstrong, the judge during her killer's trial, highlighted Zapata as an "extraordinarily vibrant" woman, who was "obviously talented"; she was "struck by how closely Zapata had connected to so many people".<ref name="autogenerated2004"/>

==The Gits==
{{main|The Gits}}
The Gits, who included guitarist Andrew "Joe Spleen" Kessler, drummer Steve Moriarty, and bassist Matt Dresdner, met in Ohio in 1986. A few years later, the band decided to move to Seattle to engage in the city's burgeoning music scene.<ref name=":0" /> The band quickly developed a following within the local underground punk scene. The band as a whole and Zapata in particular became popular with the Seattle [[feminism|feminist]] community.

In 1990 the Gits went on a successful international tour without the support of a record label. In 1992, their first independent album, ''Frenching the Bully'', was released. The album had hits such as "Another Shot of Whiskey", "[[Second Skin (song)|Second Skin]]", and "Here's to Your Fuck", receiving positive reviews.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Gits Biography |first=Mark |last=Deming |website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-gits-mn0000077821#biography}}</ref> The band had planned a large U.S. and European tour as well a series of local shows and was being courted by various labels. Before the band could finish and release their second album, ''Enter: The Conquering Chicken'', Zapata was murdered.

After Zapata's death, the band continued to make music and found success in their second album with singles such as "Seaweed" and "Precious Blood".

==Murder and investigation==
[[File:Seattle - Comet Tavern 01.jpg|thumb|Comet Tavern in [[Capitol Hill, Seattle, Washington|Capitol Hill]]]]

Shortly after 2:00&nbsp;a.m. on July 7, 1993, Zapata left the [[Comet Tavern]], a dive bar in Capitol Hill that was a popular hangout for the Seattle music community. She stayed at a studio space in the basement of an apartment building located a block away, and briefly visited a friend who lived on the second floor. This was the last time Zapata was seen alive. She may have walked a few blocks west, or north to a friend's apartment, or may have decided to take the long walk south to her home.<ref name="community.seattletimes.nwsource.com">{{cite news |author=Alex Tizon|title=Who Murdered Mia Zapata? No Arrests, Few Clues 5 Years After Slaying|work=Seattle Times|date=August 23, 1998 |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19980823/2768095/who-murdered-mia-zapata----no-arrests-few-clues-5-years-after-slaying }}</ref> Her body was discovered at 3:20&nbsp;a.m. near the intersection of 24th Avenue South and South Washington Street. Zapata had been beaten, raped, and strangled, and it is believed she encountered her attacker shortly after 2:15&nbsp;a.m. Her body was not initially identified as she had no identification on her when she was found. An episode of the cable television show ''[[Forensic Files]]'' revealed that she was identified after the medical examiner, who was a fan of the Gits and had been to their concerts, recognized her. According to the medical examiner, if she had not been strangled, she would have died from the internal injuries suffered from the beating.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/sol_mia_zapata.htm |title=mia zapata - An up and coming Seattle musician is murdered. |website=unsolved.com |publisher=Cosgrove-Meurer Productions, Inc |access-date=May 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521062501/http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/sol_mia_zapata.htm |archive-date=May 21, 2013}}</ref> According to court documents, an [[autopsy]] found evidence of a struggle in which Zapata suffered blunt impact to her abdomen and a lacerated liver.<ref name="boards.ancestry.com">[http://boards.ancestry.com/topics.obits2/48903/mb.ashx Ancestry.com]</ref>

The [[Seattle Police Department]] initially focused their investigation on Zapata's circle of friends, believing that her murderer must have been someone she knew. Frustrated by the lack of progress in solving the case, the surviving members of the Gits, the Seattle music community, including some of its most famous bands such as [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], [[Pearl Jam]], and [[Soundgarden]], helped raise $70,000 generated from benefit concerts and record sales, as well as their own money. They hired private investigator Leigh Hearon to supplement the police department's investigation. The funds dried up without any major breaks in the case, but Hearon continued to investigate on her own time. In 1996, the case gained national attention on an episode of ''[[Unsolved Mysteries]]'', and was later highlighted on several television programs, including [[A&E Network|A&E's]] ''[[American Justice]]'', ''[[Cold Case Files]]'', ''[[City Confidential]]'', [[CBS]]'s ''[[48 Hours (TV series)|48 Hours]]'', [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX's]] ''[[America's Most Wanted]]'', and [[TruTV]]'s ''[[Forensic Files]]''. In 1998, after five years of investigation, Seattle police detective Dale Tallman said: "We're no closer to solving the case than we were right after the murder."<ref name="community.seattletimes.nwsource.com"/>

==Arrest and trial==
In December 2002, a random [[DNA]] test conducted by the Seattle Police Department's Cold Case Unit and the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory identified the perpetrator as 48-year-old fisherman Jesus Mezquia. Mezquia, who had come from [[Cuba]] in 1980 in the [[Mariel boatlift]], lived in Seattle at the time of Zapata's murder, and was arrested and charged for the crime in 2003 based on [[DNA profiling|DNA evidence]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Police-make-arrest-in-1993-Mia-Zapata-slaying-1105109.php | work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] | first1=Tracy | last1=Johnson | title=Police make arrest in 1993 Mia Zapata slaying | date=January 10, 2003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90806&page=1|title=Rocker Murder Arrest Reopens Old Wounds|website=ABC News|date=February 10, 2003}}</ref> A DNA profile was extracted from saliva found on a bite mark on Zapata's breast and kept in cold storage until the [[Short tandem repeat|STR technology]] was developed for full extraction.<ref name="Johnson">Johnson, Gene (2003) "[https://web.archive.org/web/20141011101119/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9581110.html Florida Man Held for '93 Slaying of Punk Singer – Mia Zapata of The Gits was strangled in July 1993]", ''[[Yakima Herald-Republic]]'', January 12, 2003</ref> An original entry in June 2002 failed to generate a positive result, but Mezquia's DNA entered the national [[Combined DNA Index System|CODIS]] database after he was arrested in [[Florida]] for burglary and domestic abuse in 2002. Mezquia had a history of violence toward women including domestic abuse, burglary, assault, and battery. All of his ex-girlfriends, and his wife, had filed reports against him. There was also a report of indecent exposure on file against him in Seattle within two weeks of Zapata's murder. However, there was no known prior link between Mezquia and Zapata.

Mezquia did not testify in his own [[defense (law)|defense]] and maintained his innocence. The prosecution theory was that he saw Zapata leave the bar and followed her a short distance before he attacked her. Her headphones covered her ears so she would have been unaware of any danger until he grabbed her and dragged her to his car, where he assaulted her in the back seat. On March 25, 2004, a jury convicted Mezquia of Zapata's murder and he was sentenced to 36 years in prison, the maximum allowed in the case under Washington state law.<ref name="JohnsonT">Johnson, Tracy (2004) "[https://archive.today/20130125064216/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-116137374.html Singer's Killer Gets 37 Years: Mia Zapata's Friends Fill Courtroom for Sentencing of Jesus Mezquia]", ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]'', May 1, 2004</ref> In August 2005, the state Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction, but reversed his sentence because the judge had exceeded the normal sentencing range without the jury's specific approval. Mezquia's case was sent back to the trial court for resentencing.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=State v. Mezquia |vol= |reporter= |opinion=No. 54246-0-1 |court=[[Washington Court of Appeals|Wash. Ct. App.]] |date=August 22, 2005 |url= https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/wa-court-of-appeals/1329872.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Chan |first=Sharon Pian |author-link=Sharon Chan (journalist) |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/singers-killer-sentenced-to-36-years-in-prison-again/ |title=Singer's killer sentenced to 100 years in prison again |newspaper=[[Seattle Times]] |date=January 30, 2009 |access-date=June 3, 2014}}</ref> However, after Mezquia waived his right to have a jury decide on his sentence, the trial court judge again imposed the same sentence of 36 years. Mezquia died in a hospital in [[Pierce County, Washington]] on January 21, 2021, at the age of 66.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=De Sola|first=David|title=Mia Zapata's Killer Has Died. Peers Remember the Gits Singer's 'True Independent Soul' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/mia-zapata-murderer-dead-1170206/|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=May 23, 2021 |access-date=May 23, 2021}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
Zapata's murder sent shockwaves through the underground music scene and caused a sense of defeat and fear within the community. The ''[[Seattle Times]]'' marked the murder as the moment "the Seattle scene lost its sense of invincibility."<ref>{{cite news|first=Nicole|last=Brodeur|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20040311/brodeur11m/what-might-have-been-for-zapata|title=What might have been for Zapata|newspaper=[[Seattle Times]]|date=March 11, 2004}}</ref> Cristen Storm recalls Zapata's death as a reality check, stating: "[They were] all very tough people and as a group of women, [they] are all really strong, outspoken, and hard-hitting, very opinionated women and that perception of, 'We're not victims at all in any way and this can't happen to women that aren't victims,' and I think [Zapata's death] shattered that myth for us, [and showed] that it happens to all types of women."

Following her murder, a number of women from the Seattle music scene began to meet and discuss the prevalence of violence against women within the community, and the lack of available resources such as self-defense classes, which were considered impractical and unaffordable. These informal meetings sparked heated arguments in the living rooms of those involved, as the group had trouble deciding on how to organize and agree on the best methods of training to teach, so they chose to bring in teachers to help direct the course of their learning.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rose|first=Cynthia|title=The Art Of Self-Defense -- Driven By The Killing Of Singer Mia Zapata, Home Alive Fights Back With A Star-Studded CD|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19960301/2316673/the-art-of-self-defense----driven-by-the-killing-of-singer-mia-zapata-home-alive-fights-back-with-a-star-studded-cd|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=March 1, 1996}}</ref> This led to the creation of the non-profit group [[Home Alive]], which subsequently organized benefit concerts and released albums with the participation of many bands, including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, [[Heart (band)|Heart]], and the [[The Presidents of the United States of America (band)|Presidents of the United States of America]]. [[Joan Jett]] also recorded an album with the surviving members of the Gits called ''[[Evil Stig]]'' ("Gits Live" backwards).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Himes|first=Geoffrey|date=November 24, 1995|title=Jett takes off with Evil Stig|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/11/24/jett-takes-off-with-evil-stig/f3608cac-1d5c-4df1-ba55-75179b2f10d5/|access-date=January 20, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Why Home Alive Is Facing Its Demise ... Again | url=http://www.seattleweekly.com/2009-02-18/news/why-home-alive-is-facing-its-demise-again/ | date=February 18, 2009 | first=Laura|last=Onstot | access-date=March 5, 2012 | newspaper=[[Seattle Weekly]] | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227223057/http://www.seattleweekly.com/2009-02-18/news/why-home-alive-is-facing-its-demise-again/ | archive-date=February 27, 2009}}</ref>

[[7 Year Bitch]], who were close friends with the band, released their second studio album ''[[¡Viva Zapata!]]'' in May 1994 on [[C/Z Records]], as a tribute to Zapata. The album cover depicts Zapata wearing bullet sashes, and some of the songs such as "M.I.A." and "Rock A Bye", directly address her murder. Jett and [[Kathleen Hanna]] wrote a song called "Go Home" that was later released on Jett's 1994 album, ''[[Pure and Simple (Joan Jett album)|Pure and Simple]]''. A music video for "Go Home" was also released, which depicts a woman who is being stalked and attacked but is then able to defend herself against the assailant.

In May 2005, ''The Gits Movie'', a documentary about Zapata's life, the Gits, and the Seattle music scene, premiered at the [[Seattle International Film Festival]]. Another version of the film was screened two years later at the 2007 [[SXSW Film Festival|SXSW (South By Southwest) Film Festival]]. The final cut was theatrically released in over 20 cities in [[North America]] on July 7, 2008, the 15th anniversary of Zapata's death. The following day, the film was released on DVD along with a ''Best of the Gits'' CD. In February 2013, a play called ''These Streets'', inspired by the stories of and featuring music by Zapata and other female musicians in Seattle, debuted at the [[ACT Theatre]] in Seattle.<ref name=ACT>{{cite web|author1=ACT Theatre|title=These Streets Play|url=http://thesestreets.org/these-streets-the-play/|publisher=These Streets website|access-date=June 2, 2014|date=February 19, 2013}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Zapata is often cast as a symbol for feminist activism, a martyr, and an angel. Dresdner said "[Mia] was sainted, and that was very peculiar... she became this icon for feminism and all kinds of things that she had very little to do with in her actual life." Margaret O'Neil Girouard, who wrote her thesis on Zapata, believes she is an example of female artists being classified based on the perceived motivations behind their art.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book|first=Margaret O.|last=Girouard|url=http://fans.thegits.com/?post_type=reviews&p=1222|title=Heavy Angel: Mia Zapata; Exploring the Living Memory of a Seattle Legend|publisher=[[Sarah Lawrence College]]|location=Yonkers, New York|via=thegits.com|date=2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021003847/http://fans.thegits.com/?post_type=reviews&p=1222 |archive-date=October 21, 2017 }}</ref> Moriarty wrote that "[Mia wanted] to relate to people on a personal level in her lyrics [rather] than on a political level."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> It has been speculated that this association may be due to her presence as a "charismatic female musician" in the Northwest, who was performing throughout the emergence of the [[riot grrrl]] movement.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Zapata is interred at [[Cave Hill Cemetery]] in Louisville.

==In popular culture==
Zapata's murder was the subject of the episode "The Day the Music Died" of the television series ''[[Forensic Files]]''. It was also featured in episode 9 of the eighth season of ''[[Unsolved Mysteries]]'' in February 1996. She was featured in second season, episode 2 in the Discovery ID show ''[[Dead of Night (TV series)|Dead of Night]]''.

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Further reading'''
* Johnson, Tracy. "[http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/11-years-later-justice-for-slain-singer-Zapata-1140617.php 11 years later, justice for slain singer Zapata]". ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer''. March 26, 2004.

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://thegits.com/|The Gits official website}}
* {{Discogs artist|Mia Zapata}}
* {{Find a Grave|6840130}}

{{The Gits}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zapata, Mia}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:American punk rock singers]]
[[Category:American musicians of Mexican descent]]
[[Category:Antioch College alumni]]
[[Category:Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery]]
[[Category:Deaths by strangulation in the United States]]
[[Category:Violence against women in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:American women punk rock singers]]
[[Category:American murder victims]]
[[Category:Singers from Louisville, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Singers from Washington (state)]]
[[Category:People murdered in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:Rock musicians from Kentucky]]
[[Category:Women musicians from Kentucky]]
[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
[[Category:Women in Seattle]]