Adnan Syed, the subject of the hit podcast series Serial, walked out of court to cheers after a Maryland judge overturned his murder conviction and ordered his release after more than 23 years behind bars. Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn vacated the 41-year-old’s conviction and granted him a new trial on Monday. His conviction was overturned after prosecutors said a nearly year-long investigation had cast doubt on the validity of cell tower data and revealed new information about the possible involvement of two alternative, unnamed suspects. Officials now have 30 days to decide whether to drop the charges against Mr Syed entirely. There is reason to believe they will. Meanwhile, Mr Syed will remain in custody with a GPS bracelet tracking his movements. Syed was convicted in 2000 of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and imprisoning his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. Lee, 18, disappeared after leaving high school on January 13, 1999. Her strangled body was found in a shallow grave in a Baltimore park about a month later. Mr Syed has always maintained his innocence.

Basic points

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Who is Jay Wilds?

Adnan Syed’s conviction in 2000 was based largely on the testimony of his friend Jay Wilds, who claimed that Syed confessed to killing Lee and asked for his help digging a hole to bury her body in Baltimore’s Leakin Park . Wilds said he agreed to it because Said threatened to tell police he was running a drug operation, which he feared would lead to a heavy prison sentence. The serial podcast raised questions about the credibility of his testimony, saying he had changed his story several times — particularly about where he was when he saw Lee’s body. In 2019, Wilds spoke publicly for the first time in an interview with The Intercept where he continued to maintain that he saw Lee’s body and helped Syed dispose of it. But he changed parts of his story once again, saying he first saw Lee’s body in the trunk of a car outside his grandmother’s house — and not in the parking lot of a local Best Buy, as he said at trial. He claimed he lied to the police to protect his grandmother, who was dealing drugs out of her house at the time. “I didn’t tell the cops it was in front of my house because I didn’t want to get my grandmother involved,” she said. “I think I told them it was in front of Cathy’s [a psuedonym] house, but it was in front of my grandmother’s house. I know it didn’t happen anywhere else but my grandmother’s house. “I remember the freeway traffic to my right and I remember standing there on the pavement. I remember Adnan standing next to me.” He added: “At the time I was convinced I would go to prison for a long time if [Adnan] he took me in for drug dealing, especially to high school kids. I was running too [drug] operations from my grandmother’s house. So that would ruin her life too. I was also around a bunch of people earlier in the day [at Cathy’s]and I didn’t want them to fuck with murder.” Said accused Wilds of lying throughout the trial. In filing to dismiss Syed’s conviction, Baltimore prosecutors cast doubt on Wilds’ credibility as a witness. Rachel Sharp20 September 2022 16:50 1663687187

What we know about two alternative suspects in the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee

Adnan Syed walked free from court on Monday after a nearly year-long investigation revealed new evidence implicating two alternative suspects in the 1999 killing of student Hae Min Lee. On Monday, Baltimore City Judge Melissa Phinn vacated the 41-year-old’s conviction “in the interest of justice,” granted him a new trial and ordered him released under house arrest while the investigation into Lee’s killing continues. His release came days after Maryland prosecutors filed a bombshell request to overturn his conviction. On Wednesday — after more than two decades behind bars, where Syed has continued to maintain his innocence of any involvement — Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby filed a motion to toss out his conviction. He said “the state no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction” based on doubts about the validity of cellphone records as well as new information about two unnamed suspects. Wednesday’s court filing did not name the two alternate suspects in the case, citing the ongoing investigation. But prosecutors said the two alternate suspects were both known to the original investigation into the 1999 killing and were not properly excluded or disclosed to the defense. The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Adnan Syed Free: What We Know About Two Alternative Suspects In ‘Serial’ Murder

The serial podcast named Ronald Lee Moore, a career criminal and accused murderer from Baltimore, as a suspect in Hae Min Lee’s murder Rachel Sharp20 September 2022 16:19 1663685303

Adnan Syed is pictured enjoying his new freedom

Adnan Syed has been photographed enjoying his new freedom at home with his family and supporters. The 41-year-old, who was 17 when he was arrested and charged with murder, was released on Monday after 23 years behind bars. His freedom comes after lawyer and family friend Rabia Chaudry fought for his release for years, with his case finally gaining attention after she approached journalist Sarah Koenig. Ms. Koenig then went on to host the Serial podcast series about the case. Ms Chaudry shared a photo of herself and Syed smiling together inside his family home after the judge’s ruling on Monday. “I wake up full of joy #WeFreedAdnan,” he tweeted on Tuesday morning. Rachel Sharp20 September 2022 15:48 1663683356

Maryland’s new juvenile abatement law led to the case being brought to the DA’s office

It all started when Maryland’s juvenile rehabilitation law went into effect on October 1, 2021. The law allows offenders who were minors at the time of the offense to apply for a reduced sentence. According to the law, the offense must have taken place when the person was a minor and they must have served at least 20 years of the sentence. Syed was 17 when he was arrested and charged with strangling Lee to death in 1999. By 2022, he had spent 23 years behind bars. As soon as the law went into effect, his lawyers applied to have his sentence reduced. His case landed in the office of Becky Feldman, head of the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit, to review the request and she was “disturbed by the case,” according to the new episode of Serial released Tuesday. Rachel Sharp20 September 2022 15:15 1663681623

Adnan Syed was losing “hope” for freedom before he was released

Adnan Syed was “trying to diminish hope” that he would ever regain his freedom before his release on Monday, it was revealed. In a new episode of the Serial podcast, Sarah Koenig revealed that the 41-year-old had recently lost faith that his conviction would be overturned. Syed was 17 when he was arrested and charged with strangling Hae Min Lee to death in 1999. He had spent the last 23 years behind bars. On Monday, a judge overturned his conviction and ordered his release. Rachel Sharp20 September 2022 14:47 1663679645

Series reveals notes on another possible suspect that led to tossed conviction

The discovery of two handwritten notes about another possible suspect ultimately led to Adnan Syed’s conviction being tossed, according to a recently released episode. The podcast, which first brought the case to global attention and raised doubts about Syed’s guilt in 2014, published a new episode titled “Adnan is Out” on Tuesday morning – just hours after he walked free from court . In it, reporter Sarah Koenig revealed what ultimately led Baltimore prosecutors to reconsider the 41-year-old’s conviction for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. Earlier this year – 23 years after the brutal murder – Becky Feldman, head of the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit, came across two old, “messy” handwritten notes that contained the name of another possible suspect. The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Notes on possible suspects led to Said’s sentence being commuted, Serial reveals

Records revealed two separate phone calls from two different people who alerted prosecutors to another potential suspect more than two decades ago Rachel Sharp20 September 2022 14:14 1663677056

The series releases new episode about the release of Adan Syed

Serial, the hit podcast that propelled the case to international attention and cast doubt on Adnan Syed’s conviction, has released a new episode following his release. The episode titled “Adnan is Out” chronicles what led the prosecutor’s office to request that his conviction be overturned. Rachel Sharp20 September 2022 13:30 1663675213

ICYMI: How a podcast challenged Adnan Syed’s murder conviction

As Adnan Syed’s conviction is overturned, Clémence Michallon recalls the podcast that changed a genre.

How Serial Revolutionized True Crime and Cast Doubt on Adnan Syed’s Murder Conviction

As Baltimore prosecutors seek to overturn Adnan Syed’s conviction, Clémence Michallon recalls the podcast that changed a genre Sravasti Dasgupta20 September 2022 13:00 1663671774

More than two decades after being arrested for murdering his ex-girlfriend, Adnan Syed has finally been released from prison. Now, prosecutors have 30 days to decide whether to drop the charges or retry Syed. Rachel Sharp reports on the case that has been going on for more than two decades:

Timeline of Hae Min Lee’s murder and Adnan Syed’s court battle

Syed’s sudden release marks just the latest twist in a case that has dragged on for more than two decades Sravasti Dasgupta20…