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| Photo Credit: AP. |
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Baltimore prosecutors asked a judge on Wednesday to vacate Adnan Syed’s conviction for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee — a case that was chronicled in the hit podcast “Serial.”
Baltimore’s
state’s attorney filed a motion in circuit court, saying a lengthy
investigation conducted with the defense had uncovered new evidence that could
undermine the conviction of Syed, Lee’s ex-boyfriend.
“The motion
filed today supports a new trial for Syed based on a nearly year-long
investigation that revealed undisclosed and newly-developed information
regarding two alternative suspects, as well as unreliable cell phone tower
data,” State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s office said in a news release.
Syed, 42,
has maintained his innocence for decades and captured the attention of millions
in 2014 when the debut season of the “Serial” podcast focused on the case and
raised doubts about some of the evidence, including cellphone tower data.
Prosecutors
on Wednesday said they weren’t asserting that Syed is innocent, but they lacked
confidence “in the integrity of the conviction” and recommended he be released
on his own recognizance or bail.
“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 results of the
first trial, would be unjust,” Mosby added.
The state’s
attorney’s office said if the court grants its motion it would effectively put
Syed in a new trial status, and his convictions would be vacated, but the case
would remain active.
“Whether the
State ultimately continues with a trial in this matter or dismisses the charges
will depend on the outcome of the ongoing investigation,” the state’s
attorney’s office said.
Prosecutors
said a reinvestigation of the case revealed evidence regarding the possible
involvement of two alternative suspects other than Syed. The two suspects may
be involved individually or may be involved together, the state’s attorney’s
office said.
One of the
suspects had threatened Lee, saying “he would make her (Ms. Lee) disappear. He
would kill her,” according to the filing.
“Given the
stunning lack of reliable evidence implicating Mr. Syed, coupled with
increasing evidence pointing to other suspects, this unjust conviction cannot
stand,” said Assistant Public Defender Erica Suter, Mr. Syed’s attorney and,
Director of the Innocence Project Clinic. “Mr. Syed is grateful that this
information has finally seen the light of day and looks forward to his day in
court.”
The suspects
were known persons at the time of the original investigation and were not
properly ruled out nor disclosed to the defense, prosecutors said.
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 of the suspects was convicted of
engaging in serial rape and sexual assault.
The state’s
attorney’s office declined to release information about the suspects, due to
the ongoing investigation.
Prosecutors
also noted unreliable cellphone data used during Syed’s court case to
corroborate his whereabouts on the day of the crime. The notice on the records
specifically advised that the billing locations for incoming calls “would not
be considered reliable information for location.”
“Evidence
proved that the State should not have relied on the incoming call evidence,”
the state’s attorney’s office said.
Syed has
served more than 20 years in prison for the strangling of Lee, who was 18 at
the time. Her body was found weeks later buried in a Baltimore park.
More than a
decade later, the popular “Serial” podcast revealed little-known evidence and
attracted millions of listeners, shattering podcast-streaming and downloading
records.
In 2016, a
lower court ordered a retrial for Syed on grounds that his attorney, Cristina
Gutierrez, who died in 2004, didn’t contact an alibi witness and provided
ineffective counsel.
But after a
series of appeals, Maryland’s highest court in 2019 denied a new trial in a 4-3
opinion. The Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that Syed’s legal
counsel was deficient in failing to investigate an alibi witness, but it
disagreed that the deficiency prejudiced the case. The court said Syed waived
his ineffective counsel claim.
The U.S.
Supreme Court declined to review Syed’s case in 2019.