A judge has overturned the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, the subject of the "Serial" podcast's first season, after Baltimore prosecutors filed a motion for a retrial based on new evidence.
Syed, 41, was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and imprisonment of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.
After he continuously denied any involvement in the woman’s death over 23 years behind bars, on 16 September prosecutors called for Syed to face a new trial following a year-long investigation that uncovered new evidence.
Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn ruled in favour of the prosecution on Monday (19 September) and vacated Syed’s conviction “in the interest of justice”, marking the latest dramatic twist in a case that has captured attention across the globe.
Here’s what you need to know about the case:
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’ puts Syed in the national spotlight
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 docuseries, 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 sparks retrial request
After spending years appealing his convictions and refusing a deal to shorten his sentence, a major development in the case came on 16 September when Baltimore prosecutors made the bombshell request for the court to vacate Syed's conviction and hold a new trial.
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby filed a motion saying that “the state no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction”, after an almost year-long investigation raised serious doubts about the case.
Ms Mosby cited doubts about the validity of cellphone tower data which was used in the original trial to place Syed at the scene of the crime.
She also pointed to new information about the possible involvement of two alternate unnamed suspects.
The two suspects, who were not named because of the ongoing investigation, were both known to the initial 1999 murder investigation and were not properly ruled out or disclosed to the defence, prosecutors said in the court filing.
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.
The new evidence may also be tied to the results of a DNA test Syed and prosecutors filed for in March.
The motion called for DNA from 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 Lee’s car and on her person.
Ms Mosby said 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.”
Syed walks free after conviction vacated
The prosecutors’ motion was brought before Judge Phinn on Monday (19 September).
She agreed to vacate the conviction, paving the way for a new trial. Under state law, prosecutors now have 30 days to decide whether to drop the charges against Syed or to retry the case.
After being released under home detention while the investigation continues into Lee’s murder, Syed walked out of the courtroom a free man, telling his attorneys he “can’t believe its real”.
He was met by a chorus of cheers when he descended the courthouse steps, smiling and flashing a peace sign before entering a waiting vehicle.
Reacting to the decision outside the courthouse, Ms Mosby, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney, told reporters: “We are not yet declaring Adnan Syed is innocent but we are declaring, in the interest of fairness and justice, he is entitled to a new trial.”
