Prosecutors drop charges in ‘Serial’ podcast Adnan Syed case, lawyer says

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Prosecutors dropped costs towards Adnan Syed on Tuesday within the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee, a case that was chronicled within the first season of the hit podcast “Serial,” in keeping with a lawyer affiliated with Syed’s case.

Laura Nirider, a co-director of the Middle on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker Faculty of Legislation who accompanied Syed when he walked out of jail final month, tweeted: “Breaking information: After the most recent spherical of DNA testing generated outcomes that, like earlier rounds of testing, excluded Adnan Syed, he has now been formally exonerated!”

Erica Suter, a lawyer who has represented Syed in courtroom throughout his push to be freed, confirmed the information to The Baltimore Solar.

The prosecutor’s workplace did not instantly reply to calls and emails searching for remark.

A Baltimore decide final month overturned Syed’s homicide conviction and ordered him launched from jail, the place the 41-year-old had spent greater than 20 years. Circuit Decide Melissa Phinn additionally gave prosecutors 30 days by which to resolve whether or not to retry Syed or drop the fees.

Phinn dominated that the state had violated its authorized obligation to share proof that might have bolstered Syed’s protection. After his launch, Syed was positioned on residence detention with GPS location monitoring.

SEE MORE: ‘Serial’ case: Adnan Syed freed, creator of hit podcast says proof was lengthy accessible

Syed has maintained his innocence for many years and captured the eye of tens of millions in 2014 when the debut season of “Serial” targeted on the case and raised doubts about a number of the proof, together with cellphone tower knowledge.

Prosecutors have beforehand mentioned {that a} reinvestigation of the case revealed proof relating to the potential involvement of two alternate suspects. The 2 suspects might have been concerned individually or collectively, the state’s lawyer’s workplace mentioned.

One of many suspects had threatened Lee, saying “he would make her (Ms. Lee) disappear. He would kill her,” in keeping with a courtroom submitting.

The suspects have been identified individuals on the time of the unique investigation and weren’t correctly dominated out nor disclosed to the protection, prosecutors mentioned.

Prosecutors additionally mentioned new info revealed that one of many suspects was convicted of attacking a girl in her automobile, and that one of many suspects was convicted of participating in serial rape and sexual assault.

Prosecutors additionally famous unreliable cellphone knowledge used throughout Syed’s courtroom case to corroborate his whereabouts on the day of the crime. The discover on the information particularly suggested that the billing areas for incoming calls “wouldn’t be thought-about dependable info for location.”

Syed served greater than 20 years in jail for the strangling of Lee, who was 18 on the time. Her physique was discovered weeks later buried in a Baltimore park.

Greater than a decade later, the favored “Serial” podcast revealed little-known proof and attracted tens of millions of listeners, shattering podcast-streaming and downloading information.

The video within the participant above is from an earlier report.