Adnan Syed spent 23 years in prison before Baltimore prosecutors asked the courts to throw out his murder conviction and set him free. His case captured interest around the world in the groundbreaking podcast “Serial.” But Syed’s release wasn’t the end. Officials continue to argue and litigate whether his release was proper.

Major updates:

Court allows appeal to continue challenging procedure around the release of Adnan Syed of ‘Serial’ podcast

By Tim Prudente and Dylan Segelbaum

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals is allowing an appeal from the family of Hae Min Lee to proceed on grounds they did not receive sufficient notice before prosecutors dismissed the murder case against Adnan Syed of the hit podcast “Serial.”


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Hae Min Lee’s family again asks appeals court for redo of Adnan Syed hearing

By Dylan Segelbaum
Adnan Syed when he was a student at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County. (Handout)
Adnan Syed when he was a student at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County. (Handout)

The family of Hae Min Lee on Wednesday again asked the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to order a redo of the hearing where a judge threw out Adnan Syed’s murder conviction, citing reporting from The Baltimore Banner about a dispute over a key piece of evidence.


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A decades-old note helped Adnan Syed get out of prison. The author says it was misinterpreted.

By Tim Prudente and Dylan Segelbaum
(Staff illustration/The Baltimore Banner)
(Staff illustration/The Baltimore Banner)

Some two decades ago, a Baltimore trial prosecutor conducted an interview about the murder of a high school girl and scribbled some notes on a yellow legal pad.

Today, that hurried handwriting has come to the center of debate over the decision to release from prison Adnan Syed of the hit podcast “Serial.”


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Attorney for Adnan Syed: Disregard ‘highly inappropriate’ affidavit from retired Baltimore chief judge

By Dylan Segelbaum
Assistant Public Defender Erica Suter, Adnan Syed's attorney and director of the Innocence Project Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law, center, in blue, is pictured outside the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse in Baltimore following a hearing on Sept. 19, 2022. Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn threw out Syed's conviction and ordered him to be released from prison. (Kaitlin Newman for The Baltimore Banner)
Assistant Public Defender Erica Suter, Adnan Syed's attorney and director of the Innocence Project Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law, center, in blue, is pictured outside the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse in Baltimore following a hearing on Sept. 19, 2022. Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn threw out Syed's conviction and ordered him to be released from prison. (Kaitlin Newman for The Baltimore Banner)

The attorney for Adnan Syed is asking the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to disregard an affidavit from the judge who presided over his second trial in support of an appeal in the case, calling it “nothing more than a highly inappropriate attempt by a former judicial officer” to condemn him.


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Retired Baltimore chief judge submits affidavit supporting appeal in Adnan Syed case

By Dylan Segelbaum

For six weeks, retired Baltimore Circuit Judge Wanda Keyes Heard wrote in an affidavit filed late Thursday night, she presided over the second trial of Adnan Syed, whose case later received worldwide attention with the release of the podcast “Serial.”


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Maryland Office of Attorney General questions ‘integrity of the process’ that freed Adnan Syed of ‘Serial’ fame

By Dylan Segelbaum
In this photo from Aug. 24, 2022, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh speaks at a news conference outside Tench Tilghman Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)
In this photo from Aug. 24, 2022, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh speaks at a news conference outside Tench Tilghman Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General on Tuesday criticized the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office for how it has treated the family of Hae Min Lee and questioned the integrity of the process that resulted in the freedom of Adnan Syed.


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What is touch DNA and how did it play a role in the case of Adnan Syed of ‘Serial’?

By Dylan Segelbaum
In this photo from Sept. 19, 2022, Adnan Syed, center, walks out of the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse in Baltimore after Circuit Judge Melissa M. Phinn threw out his conviction in the death of Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend and classmate at Woodlawn High School, whose body was discovered in Leakin Park in 1999. She was 18. The Baltimore State's Attorney's Office on Tuesday dropped the charges against Syed, who has always maintained his innocence.
In this photo from Sept. 19, 2022, Adnan Syed, center, walks out of the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse in Baltimore after Circuit Judge Melissa M. Phinn threw out his conviction in the death of Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend and classmate at Woodlawn High School, whose body was discovered in Leakin Park in 1999. She was 18. The Baltimore State's Attorney's Office on Tuesday dropped the charges against Syed, who has always maintained his innocence. (The Baltimore Banner)

In announcing the decision this week to drop all the charges against Adnan Syed, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby brought up the results of touch DNA testing on a skirt, pantyhose, jacket and pair of shoes.


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Court gives family of Hae Min Lee chance to argue why their appeal should not be dismissed in case of Adnan Syed

By Tim Prudente and Dylan Segelbaum
Center, Adnan Syed is escorted out of the courthouse after Baltimore Judge Melissa Phinn threw out Adnan Syed's murder conviction in light of new evidence that someone else could have strangled Hae Min Lee. (Kaitlin Newman/for The Baltimore Banner)
Center, Adnan Syed is escorted out of the courthouse after Baltimore Judge Melissa Phinn threw out Adnan Syed's murder conviction in light of new evidence that someone else could have strangled Hae Min Lee. (Kaitlin Newman/for The Baltimore Banner)

Attorneys for the family of Hae Min Lee have 15 days to argue why the courts should not dismiss their appeal of the order last month that released Adnan Syed from prison.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals on Wednesday directed the Lee family attorneys to explain why the court should still consider their appeal. Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby called their appeal “moot” Tuesday after her office dismissed the murder charges against Syed. His case was examined in the hit podcast “Serial” and captured attention around the world.


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Timeline of events in the case of Adnan Syed

By Dylan Segelbaum

The following is a timeline of events in the case of Adnan Syed, whose conviction received international attention with the release of the hit podcast “Serial.” The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office on Tuesday dropped the charges against him after receiving the results of DNA testing.


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Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office abruptly drops case against Adnan Syed of ‘Serial,’ citing DNA of others on victim’s shoes

By Dylan Segelbaum and Tim Prudente
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby speaks Tuesday about dropping murder charges against Adnan Syed.
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby speaks Tuesday about dropping murder charges against Adnan Syed. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)

With an unannounced, one-minute hearing Tuesday, Baltimore prosecutors abruptly dropped murder charges against Adnan Syed, the man whose case captured worldwide attention with the hit podcast “Serial.”


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Hae Min Lee’s brother to appeal judge’s decision to free Adnan Syed of ‘Serial’ podcast

By Tim Prudente

The brother of Hae Min Lee submitted notice to the Maryland courts that he intends to appeal the decision last week to overturn the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, the subject of the hit podcast “Serial.”


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‘This was a preordained event’: Family of Hae Min Lee distraught over hearing to throw out conviction of Adnan Syed, attorney says

By Dylan Segelbaum
Hae Min Lee is seen in this submitted photo. (Courtesy of HBO)
Hae Min Lee is seen in this submitted photo. (Courtesy of HBO)

Young Lee delivered an emotional statement to a packed courtroom in Baltimore on Monday, describing how he has experienced a “never-ending nightmare” since the murder of his sister, Hae Min Lee, more than 20 years ago.


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‘He helped me grow’: Men who served time with Adnan Syed celebrate his release from prison

By Ben Conarck and Hallie Miller
Willie Hamilton said his friendship with Adnan Syed stretches nearly as far back as the man’s conviction. They met at the former Maryland House of Correction-Annex, now known as the Jessup Correctional Institution, in 2000.
Willie Hamilton said his friendship with Adnan Syed stretches nearly as far back as the man’s conviction. They met at the former Maryland House of Correction-Annex, now known as Jessup Correctional Institution, in 2000. (Ben Conarck/The Baltimore Banner)

Just three months out from his release following a 30-year prison sentence, Willie Hamilton stood outside the Baltimore courthouse on Monday afternoon.

Word had spread that his longtime friend, Adnan Syed, was about to be released. Hamilton wanted a front-row seat.

Syed, whose case is chronicled in the popular “Serial” podcast and the HBO documentary, “The Case Against Adnan Syed,” has evolved into a household name among followers of the true crime genre. Fans from near and far crowded the courthouse Monday in anticipation of his walking free after more than two decades.


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‘Remove the shackles from Mr. Syed, please’: Adnan Syed walks free after Baltimore judge throws out his murder conviction

By Tim Prudente, Justin Fenton and Dylan Segelbaum
Adnan Syed emerges from a Baltimore courthouse Monday after Judge Melissa Phinn threw out Syed's murder conviction and ordered him released. (Paul Newson)
Adnan Syed emerges from a Baltimore courthouse Monday after Judge Melissa Phinn threw out Syed's murder conviction and ordered him released. (Paul Newson)

When the decision came, Adnan Syed bowed his head. There were gasps and cries in the Baltimore courtroom.

“At this time, we will remove the shackles from Mr. Syed, please,” the judge ordered.


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How a public defender-turned-prosecutor helped free Adnan Syed

By Justin Fenton
Becky Feldman, left, appears outside the courthouse with Baltimore State’s Attorney Marylin Mosby following a hearing Monday in which Adnan Syed was released after his murder conviction was thrown out.
Becky Feldman, left, appears outside the courthouse with Baltimore State's Attorney Marylin Mosby following a hearing Monday in which Adnan Syed's murder conviction was thrown out and he was released. (Kaitlin Newman/for The Baltimore Banner)

When Becky Feldman filed a petition last week to vacate the conviction of Adnan Syed, it set off a frenzy: For the past eight years, his murder conviction had been one of the most closely watched in the country, pored over in court challenges, podcasts and an HBO documentary.

Two days later, Feldman was spending Friday afternoon at a similar hearing without any fanfare, setting free a man who had served almost 30 years for a murder in Sandtown-Winchester that took place when he was 15 years old.


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Adnan Syed: What you need to know about Monday’s hearing to overturn his conviction

By Tim Prudente and Dylan Segelbaum

Adnan Syed, whose conviction and life sentence in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee was chronicled on the popular podcast “Serial,” could be released from prison as soon as Monday afternoon.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn has scheduled a hearing for 2 p.m. Monday to decide whether to grant a motion from prosecutors to vacate his conviction and release him on his own recognizance while authorities continue to investigate two other suspects.

The “Serial” podcast became an international phenomenon and numerous other true crime examinations of the case against Syed followed. The HBO documentary series “The Case Against Adnan Syed” and the podcast “Undisclosed” have explored whether Syed killed Lee, his ex-girlfriend and classmate at Woodlawn High School. That’s in addition to the book “Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial.”

Here’s what you need to know to get caught up.


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Adnan Syed hearing set for Monday on joint request to set ‘Serial’ podcast subject free

By Tim Prudente and Dylan Segelbaum
The Baltimore Circuit Court has scheduled a hearing for 2 p.m. on Monday to consider the joint request from prosecutors and defense attorneys to set free Adnan Syed, the subject of the popular podcast Serial whose case received international attention. (Handout)
The Baltimore Circuit Court has scheduled a hearing for 2 p.m. on Monday to consider the joint request from prosecutors and defense attorneys to set free Adnan Syed, the subject of the popular podcast "Serial" whose case received international attention. (Handout)

A Baltimore judge has scheduled a hearing for 2 p.m. Monday to consider the joint request from prosecutors and defense attorneys to set free Adnan Syed, whose murder case received international attention with the hit podcast “Serial.”


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As court considers freeing Adnan Syed, Baltimore Police to reinvestigate Hae Min Lee’s killing

By Tim Prudente and Dylan Segelbaum
Woodlawn High School student Hae Min Lee (left) was murdered in 1999 and her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, (right) was arrested and convicted of murdering Lee. (Handout)
Woodlawn High School student Hae Min Lee (left) was murdered in 1999 and her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, (right) was arrested and convicted of murdering Lee. (Handout)

At the request of prosecutors, Baltimore police will assign a detective to reinvestigate the murder of Woodlawn High School student Hae Min Lee, whose killing two decades ago was examined in the hit podcast “Serial” and a popular HBO documentary.


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With evidence of new suspects, Baltimore prosecutors seek to throw out murder conviction of ‘Serial’ podcast subject Adnan Syed

By Tim Prudente and Dylan Segelbaum
Adnan Syed was found guilty in Baltimore Circuit Court in 2000 of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment in the killing of Hae Min Lee.
Syed was found guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment in the killing of his ex-girlfriend and classmate at Woodlawn High School, Hae Min Lee. (Baltimore Police Department)

Citing new evidence of alternative suspects, Baltimore prosecutors are asking a judge to throw out the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, who is serving a life sentence in the killing of his ex-girlfriend and classmate at Woodlawn High School in a case that received international attention in hit podcasts and documentaries.


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