New evidence reportedly found relating to the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, the subject of the "Serial" podcast's first season, has prompted prosecutors in Baltimore to call for a new trial.
“After a nearly year-long investigation reviewing the facts of this case, Syed deserves a new trial where he is adequately represented and the latest evidence can be presented,” Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in a statement.
Syed is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and imprisonment of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 2000. He has denied any involvement in the woman's death.
Who is Adnan Syed?
Syed and Lee were seniors at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County. In January 1999, Lee disappeared, and her body was found strangled and discarded in a city forest three weeks later.
Lee and Syed had dated and broken up prior to her disappearance and death.
An anonymous tipster called investigators and claimed that they should examine Syed as a possible culprit. Police followed that threat and eventually arrested him on charges of first degree murder, though Syed has maintained his innocence.
In February of 2000, Syed was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with an additional 30 years.
‘Serial’
In 2014, journalist Sarah Koenig released a podcast named "Serial", which focused on Lee's death and the subsequent conviction of her ex-boyfriend, Syed. The podcast explored the prosecution's argument and the evidence police used to link Syed to Lee's death.
The podcast became a massive hit. By February 2015, the first season’s episodes had been downloaded more than 68 million times, according to CBS News. That number rose to 80 million by the following year and 100 million by the summer of 2016.
“Serial” was frequently credited in the press as kicking off the true crime craze that dominated the late 2010s and continues to influence media today.
The show often tested and questioned official police and prosecutorial narratives, and built a compelling case, not necessarily that Syed was innocent, but that there was reasonable doubt in the state's case.
By the end of the podcast, Ms Koenig was left uncertain about the case, saying if she were a juror she would have likely voted to acquit Syed despite still having doubts about his innocence.
Following the success of “Serial”, the case became the subject matter for a number of other documentary projects. A second podcast, called “Undisclosed: The State vs Adnan Syed” dissected the state's case against Syed. There have also been two books, an Investigation Discovery special and an HBO docu-series that examined the case.
In the HBO docu-series, it was revealed that Syed turned down a plea bargain in 2018 that would have shaved years off of his sentence if he agreed to plead guilty.
New Evidence
After spending years appealing his convictions and refusing a deal to shorten his sentence, Syed's case may have broken open again.
On Wednesday, Baltimore prosecutors asked the court to vacate Syed's conviction and hold a new trial.
According to Ms Mosby, the prosecutors want to ensure the actual killer or killers of Lee are brought to justice, whether that actually is Syed or someone else.
“As stewards of the court, we are obligated to uphold confidence in the integrity of convictions and do our part to correct when this standard has been comprised,” she said in a statement. “We have spoken with the family of Ms. Hae Min Lee and [they] fully understand that the person responsible for this heinous crime must be held accountable.”
If the motion to vacate his conviction is granted, the state will ask that Syed be released on his own recognisance with the caveat that the investigation into Ms Lee's death is still pending.
According to Ms Mosby, new evidence "regarding the possible involvement of two alternative suspects other than Syed" drove the prosecutors to ask for the new trial.
“The two suspects may be involved individually or may be involved together,” the statement said.
The move does not necessarily mean the prosecutors think Syed is innocent, only that the new evidence is compelling enough that, had it been present during Syed's trial, it may have resulted in a different verdict.
The new evidence may be tied to the results of a DNA test Syed and prosecutors filed for in March.
The motion called for DNA from Ms Lee's clothing to be tested for touch DNA, which was not a test that could be run at the time Syed was tried. In the HBO docu-series, Syed's attorney claimed that none of his client's DNA had been found on any of 12 items tested. Those included items from Ms Lee's car and on her person.
Though the new suspects have not been named by prosecutors, Ms Mosby did note that the suspects were known persons at the time of the original murder investigation and "were not properly ruled out nor disclosed to the defense."
According to the documents seeking a new case, one of the unnamed suspects aid at the time that "he would make [Lee] disappear. He would kill her."
Both suspects have prior criminal histories, with one convicted of attack a woman while she was in her car, and another convicted of serial rape and sexual assault.
