The Case of Adnan Syed: 24 Years After His Arrest

Photo by Matthew Ansley on Unsplash

The opinions reflected in this OpEd are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, faculty and students of The King's College.

(OPINION) There are nearly 210,240 hours in 24 years, and Adnan Syed spent those 210,240 hours in prison proclaiming his innocence before his eventual release in 2022. Syed woke up on Jan. 13, 1999, likely thinking it would be a normal day. However, his life completely changed when his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee went missing that evening. Weeks later, her body was found, and Syed became the prime suspect.

The story surrounding the disappearance and eventual death of Lee is murky. The facts aren’t clear, the time doesn’t add up and the one compelling source claimed to have helped bury the body: Jay Wilds, the prosecution's star witness, and Syed’s friend. Wilds claims that he helped Syed bury Lee’s body but confessed to nothing else. 

How did Syed continue to declare his innocence? Two decades after his initial arrest he was exonerated of all crimes, but it is important to delve into the details that made his 2022 release possible. 

However, as I move forward, I must place this all in the first person. It is important that I give my opinion before discussing the facts that lead to Syed’s release. What happened to Hae Min Lee was a tragedy, and I hope that justice will finally be served in her case, but I do not believe that Adnan Syed committed this murder with the facts presented. 

First, the prosecution relied on one person alone to corroborate the story: Wilds. He was the shaky key to Syed’s conviction.

It was speculated that the murder occurred in broad daylight, in the parking lot of a Best Buy. It was mid-afternoon after school was released, yet not a single person was a witness to the actual killing. 

Furthermore, Wilds changed his story repeatedly. He couldn’t seem to lock down where he saw the body: was it in the parking lot of Best Buy or in front of a random pool house? Or maybe it was in front of his grandmother’s house, or perhaps it was in front of his friend Cathy’s house? 

That part of the witness’s account has changed multiple times, and no one knows where he first saw the body. How is it that he couldn’t remember such a vital moment? It was the body of his classmate. He’s changed his story too many times to be a reliable source. Lee's empty car was the only material evidence he provided. That same day, Syed lent his car and phone to Wilds for several hours - a big mistake. 

The bugging question here is why Wilds would lie about something that could send him to jail. What is his motive for incriminating Syed? I have my ideas. 

Wilds was a known dealer at his high school in Woodlawn. He was described as being a little different from the other Black students. In his interview with The Intercept, he says he was called an “oreo,” played lacrosse, and went to concerts like the Warped Tour. In the same interview, he says he and Syed weren’t technically friends. 

If you aren’t friends with an individual, why would they call you to help dispose of a body? I want to believe Wilds might have committed the murder, but the facts don’t support that assumption. That day he had Syed’s car, and Wilds said Hae’s body was in that trunk. It seems too convenient for him to have borrowed the car that carried the body.

Next, the prosecution relied heavily on cell phone records to solidify Wilds’ version of events on the day of the murder. During the trial, Wilds provided times when he and Syed were driving around town with phone conversations they were having. These times corresponded with their phones pinging different cell towers. 

However, communication forensics expert Gerald Grant testified that these phone records were unreliable. Therefore, they couldn’t conclusively place Syed at Leakin Park, where Lee’s body was buried. 

It’s important to remember that Wilds borrowed Syed’s phone that day. How could the prosecution rely on cell phone records when it was not solely in Syed’s possession the entire day? 

If the two main pillars of the case are unreliable, it leaves me with the same nagging questions: Who killed Lee, and why did Wilds confess to covering up this crime? 

A DNA test finally cleared Syed of the crime. Items from the crime scene had never been tested before, and when they finally were, the results came back clean – nothing matched his DNA.

“The fundamentals of the criminal justice system should be based on fair and just prosecution,” said Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby at a press conference, “and the crux of the matter is that we are standing here today because that wasn't done 23 years ago.” 

It was the last thing needed to completely tear apart the prosecution's argument from two decades ago. However, Mosby said one other interesting thing at the press conference. She stated that DNA mixtures of multiple contributors were found on Lee’s shoes. This only contributes to discounting Wilds as an unreliable and untrustworthy source for what happened in January 1999.

The DNA results should leave everyone feeling confident, but I still struggle at times with my belief that Syed is fully innocent. What does Wilds gain in the end? There’s no physical evidence of Syed committing this crime, but Wilds implicates himself as an accomplice. There’s no one to answer this question because both individuals stand firm in their innocence. Where does that leave Wilds’ testimony? It means something. He took the police to Lee’s car, not Syed’s. Wilds knew where the body was and constantly had all the answers. Wilds is the anomaly in this case. He knows more than anyone else. 

We also have to take a step back from examining Syed and Wilds to remember who the true victim is here. Syed has received national coverage, a dedicated podcast backed by the New York Times and a 4-part HBO special dedicated to unraveling the messy court proceedings. However, Lee has faded into the background. She is the victim. 

While we discuss whether Syed actually did it or not, the focus should be placed on finding the individual who committed this gruesome act. 

A young life was taken, and Lee’s family is devastated by the exoneration of Syed and is currently attempting to reverse it. The family had to stand to the side, silent, as Syed was allowed to walk away a free man. They weren’t given adequate notice of the appeal and weren’t given a chance to talk to the 3-man court. Lee deserves justice. Her family deserves to know the truth. Up until now, they haven’t been given that truth.

Twenty-four years ago, Syed went to prison for a crime he did not commit. Today, he walks a free man. Now, the prosecutors say they have two other lead suspects for the case moving forward. Where have they been for the last 24 years? 

As the case progresses, the one hope I have is that the truth will come out. Who killed Lee? Why was Syed implicated? And, most of all, is Wilds a liar?

Amara Pierre is the Culture Editor of the Empire State Tribune. She is a senior at The King’s College studying Media, Culture and The Arts.