'Serial' Star Adnan Syed's Conviction Could Be Vacated: Prosecutors

BALTIMORE, MD — Baltimore City State Attorney Marilyn Mosby has filed a motion to vacate "Serial" star Adnan Syed's murder conviction after a year-long investigation revealed new information and identified two alternative suspects.

According to a statement released by Mosby's office, the motion also calls for a new trial in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee.

Syed, whose case was featured on the hit podcast "Serial" in 2014, is serving a life sentence for the murder of his ex-girlfriend while they were students at Woodlawn High School.

Syed, now 42, was found guilty in a 2000 trial of killing Lee, who died by strangulation on Jan. 13, 1999. Her body was found in Leakin Park in Baltimore after she was reported missing.

"To be clear, the State is not asserting at this time that Mr. Syed is innocent," a statement from Mosby's office read. "While the investigation remains ongoing, when considering the totality of the circumstances, the State lacks confidence in the integrity of the conviction and requests that Mr. Syed be afforded a new trial."

Last year, Syed's attorney brought his case before the state's Sentencing Review Unit. Because he was a juvenile and had spent more than 20 years in prison, prosecutors said Syed was a candidate for sentencing review under the Juvenile Restoration Act, which took effect in October 2021.

While reviewing his case, additional evidence emerged, prompting the state to conduct further analysis and forensic testing, according to Mosby's office.

As part of the investigation, prosecutors ordered the Baltimore City Crime Lab to conduct DNA testing of Lee's clothes and hair found around the crime scene. The testing was reportedly not available when the case first went to trial.

To date, no evidence has been obtained through DNA testing, according to Mosby's office.

In the last year, additional evidence also revealed the possible involvement of two additional suspects, according to court documents. The suspects were known to authorities during the original investigation but were not "properly ruled out," the motion read. At least one of the additional suspects reportedly threatened to kill Lee, according to court documents.

The investigation also found a separate document from the original trial file, in which a different person relayed information that can be viewed as a motive for that same suspect to harm the victim, prosecutors said. The information about the threat and motives to harm could have provided a basis for the defense and was not disclosed to the trial nor the post-conviction defense counsel, the state's attorney's office said.

Prosecutors also said new information revealed that one of the suspects was convicted of attacking a woman in her vehicle, and that one was convicted of engaging in serial rape and sexual assault.

The podcast "Serial" brought to light unreliable cellphone data and an alibi witness never called to the stand in the trial.

Syed's attorney failed to speak with Asia McClain, a classmate whose testimony could have exonerated him, the court said. McClain swore in March 2000 and January 2015 affidavits that she had seen Syed at the Woodlawn library from approximately 2:20 to 2:40 p.m. on Jan. 13, 1999.

At trial, where McClain was never called as a witness, prosecutors said Lee's murder occurred between 2:15 and 2:45 p.m. near Best Buy off Security Boulevard, about 1.5 miles from the library.

In March 2019, the Maryland Court of Appeals voted not to reopen the case. Several judges said they believed the testimony of McLain would not have changed the trial's outcome, and one said it may have been harmful to Syed.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review Syed's case in 2019.

In her office's statement, Mosby said Syed "deserves a new trial where he is adequately represented, and the latest evidence can be presented."

"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 to the family of Ms. Hae Min Lee and fully understand the person responsible for this heinous crime must be held accountable."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.