Adnan Syed, a subject of the influential true crime podcast Serial, could be one step closer to freedom.
According to the Associated Press, Baltimore prosecutors filed a motion Wednesday seeking to vacate Syed’s conviction at age 17 for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee. The request came after prosecutors and the defense uncovered new evidence that points to alternative suspects.
“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.
In 2000, Syed was sentenced to life in prison for allegedly strangling his ex-girlfriend to death and burying her body in the city woods. The now-42-year-old has maintained his innocence ever since and has made repeated efforts to secure a retrial. In 2016, a lower Maryland court ordered a new trial on the grounds that Syed’s attorney—Cristina Gutierrez, who died in 2004—provided ineffective counsel and failed to contact an alibi witness. The Maryland Court of Appeals overturned the decision in March 2019, and just eight months later the United States Supreme Court declined to review Syed’s appeal.
The case was explored in Season 1 of Serial, Sarah Koenig’s investigative podcast that raised doubts about Syed’s involvement in Lee’s murder.
Prosecutors stressed that Wednesday’s filing did not suggest Syed was innocent; however, “for all the reasons set forth below, the State no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction,” the office of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said.
“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.
According to the AP, attorneys have identified two additional suspects who were not properly ruled out during the original investigation. Court filings state one of the suspects allegedly told Lee “he would make her disappear” and “would kill her.” Moby’s office also says the latest investigation “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 other suspects have not been charged in the case.
Mosby’s office recommended Syed be released as the investigation continues.
“Given the stunning lack of reliable evidence implicating Syed, coupled with increasing evidence pointing to other suspects, this unjust conviction cannot stand,” said Syed’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Erica Suter. “Mr. Syed is grateful that this information has finally seen the light of day and looks forward to his day in court.”
