The 41-year-old subject of groundbreaking podcast ‘Serial’ has spent 23 years behind bars for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee
Baltimore prosecutors have dropped their charges against Adnan Syed, who was in prison for 23 years for the murder of his high school ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee before his conviction was vacated last month. Prosecutors will not pursue another trial.
The Maryland Office of the Public Defender announced the decision Tuesday morning, saying DNA test results had confirmed Syed’s innocence. A representative for the State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed “the case has been dropped” but declined to elaborate, pending a press conference the office will hold at 1 p.m. ET.
When Syed was released from prison on Sept. 19, prosecutors had 30 days to decide whether they would try to take the case to trial again. Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said at the time that a final round of DNA testing on evidence from the 1999 homicide would determine that decision. “If that DNA comes back inconclusive, I will certify that he’s innocent,” she told a local CBS station. “If it comes back to two alternative suspects, I will certify that he’s innocent.” Mosby was referring to the revelation of two alternative suspects her prosecutors had identified after reviewing the case.
On Sept. 14, prosecutors filed a motion to vacate Syed’s 2000 conviction, citing the possibility of other suspects among other factors, including a loss of confidence in the state’s key witness and concerns about the accuracy of cell tower records, which played a major role in linking Syed to the crime.
Syed’s lawyer Erica Suter could not immediately be reached for an interview but said in a statement, “The DNA results confirmed what we have already known and what underlies all of the current proceedings: that Adnan is innocent and lost 23 years of his life serving time for a crime he did not commit.”
A lawyer for Lee’s family did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An appeal brought by the family in the Court of Special Appeals remains pending.
Syed had always maintained his innocence, and his case reached an international audience when the hit podcast Serial profiled it on their debut season starting in 2014.
This is a developing story…
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