BALTIMORE — His convictions reinstated, Adnan Syed remains free while his legal saga continues in Baltimore Circuit Court. Whatever happens with his convictions, Syed could avoid a return to prison if a judge agrees with prosecutors that his sentence should be reduced to time served.
Since Syed’s arrest in 1999 in the killing of Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend, he has maintained his innocence through two trials, several appeals, an immensely popular podcast, and more than two decades in prison.
1999
Family reports Lee missing
Lee was last seen leaving Woodlawn High School at about 3 p.m. on Jan. 13, 1999. Her family reported her missing after she did not pick up a family member after school.
Lee’s body found in Leakin Park
A man walking in West Baltimore’s Leakin Park on Feb. 9, 1999 found Lee’s body partially buried. Baltimore Police proceeded to open a homicide investigation. Autopsy results would later find that Lee had been strangled to death.
Police arrest Syed, charge him with murder
Police arrested Adnan Masud Syed, then 17, at his Woodlawn home Feb. 28, 1999. Syed told police that he and Lee had kept their relationship secret due to religious differences.
Syed was charged as an adult for the murder of Lee, whose brother, Young Lee, told The Sun the family was “kind of surprised,” as Hae had told them the former couple was best friends.
“I feel more sad and shocked than when they found the body. I can’t believe that one of her friends was responsible,” Youn Kim, Hae and Young’s mother, said through her son.
Syed’s first trial ruled a mistrial
After several days of testimony in Syed’s first trial on murder and kidnapping charges in December, Baltimore Circuit Judge William Quarles granted defense attorney Cristina Gutierrez’s motion for a mistrial. She had filed the motion after Quarles had called her a “liar” during an argument at the bench, which a juror overheard.
2000
Second trial results in guilty verdict, life sentence
After a lengthy second trial in January and February 2000, jurors found Syed guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping charges. The main evidence for the prosecution, led by Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Urick, was cell phone records pinpointing the location of Syed’s phone, as well as testimony from Jay Wilds, a friend of Syed’s who testified that he helped Syed bury the body after his friend admitted to killing Lee. Wilds pleaded guilty to acting as an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to two years of probation.
In June, Baltimore Circuit Judge Wanda K. Heard sentenced Syed to life plus 30 years. Syed maintained his innocence at the sentencing hearing while his defense attorney, Charles H. Dorsey III, asked for mercy because his client “made a bad decision” and killed Lee in a “a crime of passion.”
“I would like to forgive Adnan Syed, but as of now, I just don’t know how I could,” Kim said through an interpreter at the hearing. “When I die, my daughter will die with me. As long as I live, my daughter is buried in my heart.”
2003
Syed’s appeal denied
The Maryland Appellate Court, then known as the Court of Special Appeals, rejected Syed’s first appeal of his conviction. Syed had appealed the previous year, with his attorneys arguing the prosecution suppressed favorable evidence and elicited misleading testimony about Wilds’ plea agreement, also arguing the judge had made reversible errors in several rulings.
2010
Syed asks for post-conviction relief
In May 2010, Syed filed a petition for post-conviction relief, asking a judge to grant him a new trial. He brought up nine allegations that his attorney had been ineffective during the trial.
2014
Petition denied
Syed’s 2010 petition for post-conviction relief was denied by Baltimore’s Circuit Court in January 2014. Weeks later, Syed’s attorneys appealed the decision to the Court of Special Appeals.
“Serial” hits the airwaves
A podcast hosted by Sarah Koenig, a former Sun reporter and producer for Chicago Public Radio’s “This American Life,” brought Syed’s case to national prominence.
Through interviews with Syed and others associated with the case, Koenig’s initial 12-part series explored the investigation of Lee’s murder and ensuing trial.
2015
Appeals court allows another petition
The Court of Special Appeals in 2015 agreed to hear Syed’s plea for relief, which homed in on his attorney’s failure to investigate an alibi witness, who said she had seen Syed at the public library in Woodlawn during the time of the murder. Syed’s appeal attorneys also noted concerns over the reliability of cell phone tower evidence used at trial and that Gutierrez, who died in 2004, had failed to pursue a plea deal.
The court ruled that Syed’s case should be heard in Baltimore Circuit Court.
2016
Lawyers argue over new trial
In five days of hearings in February, attorneys made oral arguments for and against granting Syed a new trial. Then-Deputy Maryland Attorney General Thiru Vignarajah argued against the new trial, saying Syed was convicted based on “overwhelming evidence.”
Lee’s family, who did not comment on ‘Serial’ or in the media frenzy around the case that followed, broke their silence in a statement released by the Attorney General’s office.
“It remains hard to see so many run to defend someone who committed a horrible crime, who destroyed our family, who refuses to accept responsibility, when so few are willing to speak up for Hae,” the family said, noting that “those who learn about the case on the internet” and were pushing for Syed’s release were “misinformed.”
Syed’s conviction is vacated
In June, retired Baltimore Circuit Judge Martin Welch vacated Syed’s conviction and ordered a new trial.
Welch was not swayed by the potential alibi witness but instead made his decision from the cell phone records, which he said were key to Syed’s conviction, along with Wilds’ testimony.
Syed’s attorneys had put forward a fax cover sheet from AT&T in which the phone company raised questions about the reliability of technology at the time to pinpoint the location of a phone. A cell phone technician who testified for the prosecution in the 2000 trial submitted an affidavit in which he said the fax cover sheet could have changed his testimony.
Welch wrote that Syed’s attorney in the 2000 trial “rendered ineffective assistance when she failed to cross-examine the state’s expert regarding the reliability of cell tower location evidence.”
The Attorney General’s office appealed Welch’s decision, and Syed remained imprisoned.
2018
Higher courts hear state’s appeal
The Court of Special Appeals rejected the Attorney General’s office’s appeal of Welch’s decision in March, maintaining the circuit court’s holding that Syed should receive a new trial.
In their opinion, the appeals court wrote Syed’s attorney had failed him in deciding not to call the alibi witness at his trial but rejected the argument related to cell phone tower evidence, which had initially swayed Welch.
The Attorney General’s office appealed that decision, and the Court of Appeals, now the Maryland Supreme Court, heard the case in front of a packed courtroom with thousands of livestream viewers.
Syed offered plea deal
An HBO documentary released in 2019 revealed that Syed was offered a plea deal after his conviction was vacated. If Syed pleaded guilty to the 1999 murder, he would only have to serve four more years, pegging his release date in late 2022.
Syed rejected the offer and continued to maintain his innocence.
Prosecutors test DNA evidence
“The Case Against Adnan Syed,” the HBO documentary released in 2019, would reveal that prosecutors tested DNA evidence from about a dozen items in 2018. Documents obtained by The Sun showed that the items — fingernail clippings, blood samples, a liquor bottle and condom wrapper — did not connect Syed to the murder.
The Attorney General’s office maintained that the results did not exonerate Syed.
2019
HBO releases documentary about Syed case
A four-part series exploring Syed’s conviction was released throughout March 2019. Starting production in 2015 and announced in 2018, the docuseries recapped the case and its inconsistencies, leading up to Syed’s then-ongoing appeal process.
“The Case Against Adnan Syed” revealed the previously unknown 2018 DNA testing, as well as the 2018 plea offer which would have set Syed free in late 2022 if he confessed to murdering Lee.
The docuseries included video clips and recordings of the old case, drawing a rebuke from a Baltimore circuit judge for violating Maryland’s ban on broadcasting court proceedings.
Conviction is reinstated
In a 4-3 vote, the Court of Appeals reinstated Syed’s conviction in March 2019, reversing the rulings by the lower courts.
The majority agreed that Syed’s attorney had been “deficient” for failing to pursue the alibi witness but said they disagreed the deficiency prejudiced Syed, saying the evidence against him was strong. Like the Court of Special Appeals, the high court was also not swayed by the cell tower evidence.
U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Syed’s case
Syed’s attorney, C. Justin Brown, appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, attempting to present the argument to the highest court in the nation. Attorney General Brian Frosh wrote to justices asking them to reject the bid. In November, the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal.
2022
Judge orders new DNA testing
In March, Baltimore prosecutors and Syed’s defense attorney asked a Baltimore circuit judge to order the Baltimore City Police Lab to test certain items that were collected during the 1999 investigation of Lee’s death. They requested for the items to be tested using technology that was not available during Syed’s original trials but is now used regularly by authorities to identify or exclude suspects.
Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn OK’d the motion, ordering police to send the items for testing within 15 days. The tests yielded inconclusive results.
Prosecutors move to vacate Syed’s conviction
Baltimore prosecutors filed a motion to vacate Syed’s murder conviction Sept. 14, 2022 following a yearlong investigation by prosecutors who worked alongside Syed’s attorney. The motion claimed prosecutors on the original case knew there was another alternative suspect who threatened to kill Lee but that the state did not disclose the information to defense attorneys — committing what’s known as a Brady violation.
It cited a handwritten note found in the original prosecutor’s files, where Kevin Urick wrote, “He told her that he would make her disappear. He would kill her.”
Later, while writing a transcription of the note for the Attorney General’s office in 2022, Urick claimed that current prosecutors were misinterpreting the note and that it referred to Syed — not an alternative suspect.
The motion also noted a second alternative suspect, who was cleared by Baltimore Police in 1999 after a pair of lie detector tests.
The motion also highlighted the “past misconduct” of William Ritz, a former Baltimore Police detective who worked on the investigation that led to Syed’s arrest.
The motion was supported by Syed’s defense, and Phinn agreed to a Sept. 19 hearing on the matter.
Syed goes home
In a packed courtroom during the Sept. 19 hearing, Phinn overturned Syed’s conviction.
She placed Syed on home detention and allowed him to walk out of the courtroom, his first taste of freedom in the 23 years he had been imprisoned.
Phinn gave prosecutors 30 days to decide whether to drop Syed’s charges or to try him again.
After Syed’s release, the Attorney General’s office slammed Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby for her office’s decision, saying there was not a Brady violation and there were “other serious problems” with the motion to vacate.
“Neither State’s Attorney Mosby nor anyone from her office bothered to consult with either the Assistant State’s Attorney who prosecuted the case or with anyone in my office regarding these alleged violations,” Frosh said. “The file in this case was made available on several occasions to the defense.”
Lee’s family appeals
Attorneys for Hae Min Lee’s brother, Young Lee, filed a notice Sept. 29, 2022 that they would appeal Phinn’s decision to vacate Syed’s conviction.
In a six-page motion, Lee asked for the Court of Special Appeals to halt further proceedings in the case because the family was not given enough notice about the hearing to overturn Syed’s conviction. The Attorney General’s office later joined the appeal.
The State’s Attorney’s office had emailed Young Lee on Sept. 16 about the Sept. 19 hearing. Young Lee lives on the West Coast and could not attend in person. He participated virtually after Phinn refused his request to postpone it for seven days so he could travel to Baltimore. The family claimed their rights as crime victims had been violated because they were given insufficient notice of the hearing.
Maryland law does not say how much notice must be given before such a hearing; it is expected that whatever notice is given should be “reasonable.”
Prosecutors elect to drop Syed’s charges
In an abrupt and unceremonious hearing Oct. 11, 2022, prosecutors elected to drop the murder and kidnapping charges against Syed.
At a press conference that followed, Mosby said the decision was based on DNA from Hae Min Lee’s shoes, which had never been tested. The results, which came in the Friday prior, showed DNA from four people on Lee’s shoes, but none of them were Syed.
Lee family appeal continues
In one of the Court of Special Appeals’ first rulings on the Lee family’s appeal, the court on Oct. 12, 2022 ordered for the Lee family to explain why their appeal should proceed in light of Syed’s charges being dropped. The court eventually ruled the appeal could proceed.
In his Dec. 9, 2022, brief, Young Lee’s attorney Steve Kelly requested for the appeals court to order a redo of the Sept. 19 hearing on the motion to vacate. He is seeking a hearing in which he can introduce evidence, call witnesses and argue against whatever evidence the state presents.
Syed’s attorney, Erica Suter, argued the point was moot because Syed’s charges had been dropped, also arguing that Lee does not have the right to participate in the hearing.
The Attorney General’s office agreed with Lee’s attorneys that the hearing should be redone but agreed with Syed’s attorneys that Lee cannot act as a prosecutor.
The court scheduled for oral arguments on the matter to start on Feb. 2, 2023.
Escalating their written argument before the oral hearing, Young Lee’s lawyers ramped up claims of impropriety in the proceedings that freed Syed, alleging that prosecutors and Phinn collaborated behind closed doors to “choreograph” the hearing, violating the legal principle of open court proceedings.
2023
Higher court hears Lee arguments, raises doubts
During oral arguments at the Appellate Court of Maryland on Feb. 2, 2023, a panel of judges expressed doubts they could reinstate Syed’s conviction, repeatedly asking Young Lee’s attorney why the appeal shouldn’t be dropped as Syed’s case was dismissed.
When the judges asked for case law that’d provide a basis for presenting evidence at a potential redo of Syed’s hearing, Young Lee’s attorneys had nothing to show. But judges also sympathized with Lee’s argument that Syed’s charges were dismissed in a time frame where Lee had asked the appellate court to put a pause on proceedings.
Appellate court reinstates Syed’s convictions
The Appellate Court of Maryland on March 28, 2023, reinstated the convictions of Adnan Syed, finding that a Baltimore judge violated the rights of the victim’s family to attend a hearing to decide whether to throw out his conviction. In May, the intermediate appellate court rejected Syed’s request for reconsideration. His attorneys appealed to the Maryland Supreme Court.
Maryland Supreme Court hears dueling appeals from Syed and Young Lee
After Hae Min Lee’s brother Young Lee filed his own appeal to Maryland’s highest court, arguing that the appeals court’s ruling didn’t go far enough for crime victims, the Maryland Supreme Court accepted and combined his and Syed’s dueling appeals. At oral arguments on Oct. 6, justices peppered lawyers for both parties with questions about their legal positions. Among the key questions before the court was whether Young Lee had a right to speak at the Sept. 2022 hearing that freed Syed.
2024
Maryland Supreme Court reinstates Syed’s convictions, lets Syed remain free as case continues
In a 4-3 decision issued Aug. 30, Maryland’s highest court reinstated Syed’s convictions. The court ruled that Young Lee should have had more notice of the hearing that cleared Syed’s convictions, as well as the opportunity to attend in person and speak. However, they disagreed that Lee or his attorney had the right to call witnesses or present evidence. The order, which did not require Syed to be incarcerated again, essentially restarted the process after the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office filed a motion to vacate Syed’s convictions. The new hearing would take place under a different state’s attorney, Ivan Bates, who said while campaigning that he believed Syed’s conviction was flawed and that he should be freed.
2025
Prosecutors against more prison time
In a Jan. 12 circuit court filing, Baltimore prosecutors agree with Adnan Syed that his life sentence should be reduced to time served. If approved by a judge, the filing means Syed would unlikely return to prison, regardless of how State’s Attorney Ivan Bates handles his predecessor’s motion to vacate Syed’s convictions. In an interview with The Baltimore Sun, Bates said he was not prepared to take a position on the motion but said it was clear that Syed had paid his debt to society and should remain free.
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