Prosecutors in Baltimore filed a motion Wednesday seeking a new trial for Adnan Syed, whose case was the subject of the enormously successful first season of the podcast “Serial.”
The state attorney’s office issued a statement citing newly uncovered material.
“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 stated in the statement.
Syed received a life sentence after being convicted in February 2000 of first-degree murder, robbery, abduction, and false imprisonment in the death of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. For years, he has maintained his innocence and challenged his convictions.
“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 compromised,” Mosby said. “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 dismiss Syed’s conviction is granted, the state will urge that he be freed on his recognizance, awaiting the inquiry.
“We believe that keeping Mr Syed detained as we continue to investigate the case with everything that we know now when we do not have confidence in the results of the first trial would be unjust,” Mosby said.
According to the statement, the re-investigation uncovered information “about the suspected participation of two different individuals other than Syed.”
“The two suspects may be involved separately or together,” the statement claimed.
Adnan and Lee were students at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County when she vanished in January 1999. Three weeks later, her strangled body was discovered in a municipal forest.
Prosecutors are “not saying, at this point, that Mr Syed is innocent,” according to Mosby. Still, the state “lacks confidence in the integrity of the conviction” and believes Syed should be retried.
close conversation
In March, Syed and prosecutors submitted a combined application for post-conviction DNA testing, claiming that “DNA technology has evolved and improved dramatically” since the murder happened more than two decades ago.
According to the March petition, the victim’s clothing was tested for touch DNA, which was not accessible at the time of trial. Except for the victim’s fingernail clippings, the objects being examined were not previously tested in 2018, when the Baltimore City Police Lab tested numerous things for DNA, according to Mosby’s statement.
Mosby stated that the move to vacate was submitted in collaboration with Sentencing Review Unit (SRU) Chief Becky Feldman. Syed was a minor at the time of his conviction.
According to Mosby, the suspects were known people at the original inquiry “and were not appropriately ruled out nor revealed to the defence.”
The state is not releasing the suspects’ identities, but according to the trial file, one of them stated, “He would make her [Ms. Lee] vanish.” He’d murder her.”
According to the statement, the inquiry also showed that one defendant was guilty of assaulting a woman in her vehicle. According to the statement, the second suspect was convicted of repeated rape and sexual assault.
According to the statement, some of the material was known at the time of the trial, while others were discovered subsequently. It is unclear when these attacks occurred.
According to the statement, Lee’s automobile was discovered “right behind the house of one of the suspect’s family members.”
In April 2021, Syed’s attorneys brought the situation to the SRU’s notice.
According to Mosby’s statement, Syed’s counsel “discovered serious reliability difficulties surrounding the essential pieces of evidence at trial.”
An attorney for Syed stated in the 2019 HBO docuseries “The Case Against Adnan Syed” that his client’s DNA was not discovered on any of the 12 samples collected from the victim’s body and car. That testing was not part of the authorities’ formal inquiry. HBO is a division of Warner Bros.
Prosecutors relied on evidence from a buddy, Jay Wilds, who said he assisted Syed in digging a grave for Lee. Prosecutors submitted cell phone data and expert witness evidence to locate Syed near the spot where Lee was buried to verify his statement.
