Murder podcast and desperate prosecutor overturn 25 years of justice

Had it not been for a media phenomenon 14 years later, Adnan Syed's conviction for the murder of Hae Min Lee would never have made a splash. The evidence that led a jury to find Syed, of Woodlawn, Maryland, guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend was watertight. On the morning of her murder, a friend of Syed's testified that he had falsely obtained a ride from Hae by telling her he needed a ride to pick up his car.

In fact, both his car and his cell phone were in the possession of Jay Wilds, his accomplice in the murder. Wilds told police how Syed strangled Hae in the secluded parking lot of a local Best Buy, the same parking lot where Syed and Hae had romantic trysts in happier times.

Wilds, of course, was not entirely credible. His story changed and he downplayed his own involvement in the crime. But he was not the first person to tell police what Syed had done. That was Jennifer Pusateri, who had met Syed and Wilds in a shopping center parking lot on the night of the murder. Wilds was understandably distraught, and Syed had barely left the crime scene when he told him everything.

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Pusateri, who had no reason to lie and whose story remained consistent over time, eventually went to the police with her mother and lawyer and told everything. A cell phone analysis confirmed Wilds and Pusateri's story. When police searched Syed's cell phone records, they saw that the phone reached the Best Buy, the burial site, and the car lot on the day and night of the murder.

But that's not all. Wilds confirmed his story by leading police to a piece of evidence they desperately needed – Hae's abandoned vehicle. When police searched the car, they found a map book in the back with the page for Leakin Park – the site of Hae's burial – removed. Syed's fingerprints were on the map book. On top of the map book lay a single rose that had wilted in the weeks police had spent searching for the car. Syed's fingerprints were also found on the paper it was wrapped in.

The evidence suggests that Syed made a final attempt to win back Hae, who had only days before entered into a serious relationship with a co-worker. When she refused, Syed strangled her. A broken turn signal on the steering column testified to the violence with which Hae fought for her life. The motive for Hae's murder was as tragic as it was disturbingly common – she rejected a man who would rather kill her than let her go.

Simple. Uncomplicated.

But then came “Serial”.

The groundbreaking podcast that essentially started the true crime podcast genre, Sarah Koenig's compelling journalism combined with Adnan Syed's guy-next-door charm won millions of listeners over to Syed's cause. While “Serial” didn't produce much new evidence, it did create imitators. Inspired by either a genuine belief in Syed's innocence or a desire to replicate the success of “Serial,” other podcasts, YouTubers, bloggers, and an HBO documentary continued to champion Syed's innocence. And despite Syed's growing popularity, his legal situation remained unchanged. In the years that followed, Syed was forced to appear in court many times, but each time appeals were exhausted and cases closed, Syed remained in prison.

Enter Marilyn Mosby.

In the summer of 2022, Mosby, the Baltimore district attorney, had her own legal troubles. Earlier that year, a federal grand jury indicted Mosby on charges of alleged COVID-19 fraud. Mosby needed a win, and Syed provided an opportunity.

Mosby invoked a law that allows prosecutors to overturn a conviction if there is strong evidence of innocence, turning the state's position on its head. After her office defended Syed's conviction for more than 20 years, Mosby now argued for Syed's release.

Adnan Syed, center right, leaves the courthouse after a hearing in Baltimore on Sept. 19, 2022. His conviction was reinstated and the Maryland Supreme Court ordered the court to rehear the hearing that led to Syed's release. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP, file)

This was a shock, especially for Hae's brother, Young Lee. He asked the prosecutor for the opportunity to travel from California to Baltimore to attend a hearing on the motion to vacate the conviction. He asked for only one week. But this simple request was denied, despite Maryland's liberal laws enshrining victims' rights.

It's difficult to overstate the magnitude of this betrayal. The prosecutor is the only voice victims and their families have. Our system is designed to protect defendants and ensure their rights are upheld. There is little room for victims. In the rare cases where a conviction needs to be overturned, guiding the victim through the process is paramount. But in this case, Mosby turned his back on the Lees.

Why? It turns out the entire repeal process was a legal farce. If Lee had been able to attend the hearing, he wouldn't have seen much. The repeal decision was made behind closed doors, during confidential, closed-door meetings with the judge.

Whatever was said to have undermined the mountain of evidence against Syed was never presented publicly in court. No one was given a chance to challenge or cross-examine the evidence, and the public was kept in the dark about the merits of the motion. However, the court did allow the pre-planned press conference on the courthouse steps that Syed and his team had planned for the celebration after his release.

Adnan Syed's mother Shamim Syed listens as Maryland State's Attorney for Baltimore Marilyn Mosby speaks to the press after a judge overturned Syed's murder conviction and released him pending a new trial during a hearing at the Baltimore City Circuit Courthouse in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., September 19, 2022. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

Young Lee, who was only allowed to “attend” the hearing via Zoom, described how the outcome had taken him and his family completely by surprise. “This is not a podcast for me,” he said. “This is real life – a never-ending nightmare for over 20 years.” But Lee did not give up. Instead, he fought for his sister.

Lee appealed the reversal, claiming his rights as a victim had been violated. And the courts were unimpressed by the sham trial. An appeals court overturned the decision and vacated Syed's conviction, sharply criticizing the process that led to it. The Maryland Supreme Court went even further in its August 30 ruling. Lee was not only allowed to attend a new hearing. He was also given the opportunity to do something no one else was allowed to do: challenge the reversal on the merits and attack the substance of the alleged evidence presented to justify Syed's release.

Syed's future is now uncertain. His sentence has been vindicated and he is once again a convicted murderer. He will remain out of prison while the courts and relevant authorities decide what to do next.

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But his case has become bigger than just a murder conviction or the media phenomenon that has surrounded him for a decade. It is now about the rights of victims and whether those rights can be steamrolled by a popular defendant with a sophisticated media apparatus behind him.

It's about a prosecutor willing to manipulate the justice system for cheap PR points and a judge unwilling to take the time to actually examine the evidence. And it's about a reverse mob mentality that's becoming increasingly common in our country: the masses, egged on by podcasts, blogs, YouTube channels and 24-hour true crime coverage, demanding an outcome based not on the evidence or the outcome of the trial but on their own emotions and beliefs.

It took a jury two hours to find Adnan Syed guilty. It has taken 25 years and millions of dollars in media coverage to convince the majority of Americans of his innocence. But guilt and innocence are not determined by a popularity contest, and the evidence of what happened that day in 1999 has not changed.

Neither the talk of Syed's innocence, nor the revolution that Serial caused in the media, nor the political machinations of the prosecutor change the fact that Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old who still had everything ahead of her, had her life stolen. And none of it changes the simple fact that Syed is responsible for her murder.

Mosby invoked a law that allows prosecutors to overturn a conviction if there is strong evidence of innocence, turning the state's position on its head. After her office defended Syed's conviction for more than 20 years, Mosby now argued for Syed's release.

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Soon, the state of Maryland will get a second chance to do the right thing. Mosby is dead and now a convicted felon, but she is appealing her conviction. The Maryland Supreme Court has ordered that a new judge, unconnected with the previous farce of a hearing, should hear the case. And now Young Lee will have the opportunity to challenge the evidence and argue that Syed should go back to prison for his sister's murder.

Let's hope that this time, the prosecutor and the courts of Baltimore care more about justice for Hae Min Lee than what they will say in the next episode of “Serial.”

Alice LaCour is co-host of the weekly True Crime Podcasts “The Prosecutors” and “The Public Prosecutors: Legal Opinions”.

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