Jay Wilds, who swore he helped Adnan bury Haes body. And perhaps Syed was actually in possession of his cell phone for much of the day? Wilds also admitted to lying about other details. Often, this means that the new evidence is "noncumulative," that it doesn't simply bulk up evidence already established at trial. The major plot details of his story, however, do appear to line up: That Syed called Wilds to pick him up from Best Buy, where he tells him he killed Lee; that Syed later showed him Lee's dead body in the trunk of her car; that they went to Leakin Park to bury her. Didn't say that much. After buying the gift, he says he went to his friend Jenn's house, then he says Syed called him, asking him to pick him up at Best Buy, where Syed apparently confesses to Wilds of killing Lee: Let's back up, tell me what happened when you arrived at the Best Buy to pick up Adnan. It was supposed to be a mental lull for Serial devotees and conspiracy theorists, before the gap between podcast fandom and real life court system machinations collided. The police confirm to the press that they are investigating her death as a homicide. Wilds says his portrayal in Serial as a "petty weed dealer" was inaccurate and that the stakes for him were larger than the podcast reported: It wasn't just like I was selling a nickel bag here and there. In the original trial, the State leaned heavily on Syeds cellphone recordsand specifically his incoming call logto determine his location on the day of Lees disappearance. Wilds' credibility was already in question at trial. WebA larger role in events by Jay Wilds than he has yet acknowledged is consistent with the reasonable, cautious approach to the facts that I am trying to take. Group, a Graham Holdings Company. For example, he says he lied to the cops when he said Adnan showed him Haes body outside of Best Buy; it was actually in front of his grandmothers home, but I didnt want to involve my grandmother, he says. Not saying we should start prepping but we should start prepping. We get into his car, and he drives up around the corner to Hae's car. The standard of proof a person must meet to get a conviction overturned is higher than the standard he must meet to get an acquittal. The case first received national attention in 2014 the hit podcast "Serial" raised questions about the prosecution. Both, in fact, are connected. Wilds alleged that Syed had told him he had murdered Lee. May 18, 2015:The Maryland Court of Special Appeals gave the case to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. The Circuit Court agreed to a new post-conviction relief hearing to cover several specific areas of argument: Asias testimony, the cell tower evidence, the allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel relating to both, and the possibility of prosecutorial misconduct during the original trial. We got in his car and start driving. In January, an appeal hearing will determine whether he qualifies for post-conviction relief. Feb. 28, 1999:Syed was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. It is highly unlikely that the state could have ever taken him to trial without Jay's confession, which was crucial to the prosecution's case. Jays post-Serial interviews with The Intercept: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Yes. Prosecutors agreed to DNA tests on clothes, hair and other evidence. Privacy Policy and "Jay From 'Serial' Gave An Interview That Might Actually Help Adnan Syed," read a headline on this website. If you can make head or tails of this latest swerve in the Serial universe, let us know. But does this Its in the evening after school, we never hung out in the morning. On March 28, 2023, Syed's original conviction was reinstated on claims that Hae Min Lee's family was not given sufficient notice of the hearing, which barred them from attending the hearing in person. BALTIMORE - Adnan Syed spent more than 20 years in prison following his conviction in the 1999 death of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. I dont know what occurred between [Hae and Adnan] that day, he says. All rights reserved. Be the first one to comment on this story. Wilds was Syed's classmate at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore. They were reportedly introduced to each other in 1998. According to Wilds, he and Syed were not incredibly close at school. What role did Jay Wilds play in Hae Min Lee's death? Wilds alleged that Syed had told him he had murdered Lee. This is the final stage in the States appeals process. Adnan, who was 17 at the time, was the main suspect in the murder. Syed was previously sentenced to life in prison. In Jays new telling, he did pick Adnan up from the Best Buy parking lot, but didnt see Haes body until later, in front of his grandmothers house. We were left to chew this all over. Jay Wilds assumed a private life after playing a pivotal role in the prosecutions case against Adnan Syed. Only a small percentage of us will know the t, I grew up in the golden age of the Disney Channel. It also led to theorists and supporters forming a social media movement. Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter, His interview raises more questions than answers for devotees of the popular podcast. Wilds told Vargas-Cooper he felt unfairly depicted by Koenig, and that he wants to correct the record. This is why Wilds' Intercept interview might not matter at all in Syed's legal efforts. I thought at worst he'd throw a rock through her window or something. "Why did you agree to help Adnan bury Hae?" He describes asking her for a business card, a pretty basic form of professional identification, and her failure to produce an accurate one. He reiterates that he agreed to help Adnan bury Haes body because he feared getting in trouble for petty drug-dealing. It was determined Lee was strangled to death. Wilds, Syed's former classmate, who claimed to have assisted the accused in disposing of Lee's body, stood out as the key witness in the accused's trial. Our kids were crying.. Adnan Syed, her ex-boyfriend, was arrested and eventually convicted of Jay Wilds is a former classmate of Adnan Syed from Baltimore, Maryland. March 10, 2019:HBO premiered a mini-documentary series"The Case Against Adnan Syed.". It only contributes to the fuzzy timeliness and general obscure picture of the days events that was already presented in Serial. We were in the car, we were riding, smoking. But after a conviction, the burden of proof shifts to the accused. It is the kind that is fairly standard for any good journalist attempting to be objective, but it does clearly convey that she is trying to give each source a fair shake. The enigma who at best gave inconsistent testimony and at worst put an innocent teen behind bars, says Serial doesnt change what he saw: I saw Hae dead in the trunk of the car.. Per the documents, prosecutors tested twelve items found at the scene in Leakin Park, including Lee's necklace, clothing, and fingernail clippings. He stresses over and over again during the interview that he was convinced the cops would nail him for drugs eventually and that Adnan held Jays pot dealings over him to force him into being an accessory to Haes murder. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. 2023 Met Gala Carpet Is Approved by Your Dentist. If you were going to commit a crime, he would potentially be more knowledgeable than the restor at least a high school kid might think that. .css-o05pt{display:block;font-family:Didot,Didot-fallback,Georgia,Times,serif;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;text-shadow:0 0 0 #000,0 0 0.01em transparent;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-o05pt:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-o05pt{font-size:1.18581rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.25rem;margin-top:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-o05pt{line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-o05pt{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-top:0rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-o05pt{font-size:1.39461rem;line-height:1.2;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}What to Know About 'The Hunger Games' Prequel, The True Story Behind Love & Death's Ax Murder, Elizabeth Olsen Isn't Here to Judge Anyone, Here's Kate & Will in 'The Crown' Season 6, 'And Just Like That' Season 2 Is Back This June, Succession's 'Quiet Luxury' Is Actually Attainable, List of Yellowjackets Season 2 Fan Theories. Maryland Attorney Generals Office spokeswoman Raquel Coombs said in a statement that these results "in no way exonerate" Syed. By the end, The wait is over: Netflix has finally commissioned a second season of Wednesday. Redditors have already pounced on seeming inconsistencies and highlighted new twists; for instance, Wilds now says he first saw Lees body not in front of Best Buy, but outside of his grandmothers house. But it seems that no one else is liking the minty-fresh look. As previously promised, Baltimore County's key witness in their case that led to the conviction of Adnan Syed for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee finally spoke to the media on-record about his role in the day Lee was killed in 1999just not with Serial, the podcast that documented his elusiveness and problematic account of the day. But I just thought he was just shooting off like everyone else shoots off when they're mad at their girlfriend. It was at least a week before she died, when he found out she was either cheating on him or leaving him, Jay says in the interview. Syed was put on trial in February 2000 and was convicted of the murder of his girlfriend They were reportedly introduced to each other in 1998. Koenig never comes remotely close to articulating this latter option, but the thought has probably crossed every listeners mind (and certainly is a theory espoused over Reddit). Wilds's testimony played a giant part in convicting Syed of murdering his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee in 1999. The trial, which resulted in a life sentence that was later overturned - has been reinstated on the basis that Maryland violated the victim's family's right to attend the hearing. Remembering one of fashions most problematic faves, Karl Lagerfeld. Heres What Will Happen to Your Fave TV Show If Theres a Writers Strike. Jan. 13, 1999:Hae Min Lee was reported missing when she didn't pick up her younger cousin from daycare. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google "We are devastated by the Court of Appeals decision but we will not give up on Adnan Syed," Brown wrote in a statement. Arguments in the post-conviction relief case were heard in October of 2012, and two months later, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City denied Syeds petition for relief. The Baltimore Sun released documents relating to DNA testing that was carried out in the fall of 2018. After jurors accidentally overheard an exchange in which the judge called Syeds attorney Cristina Gutierrez a liar," a mistrial was declared. And then he popped the trunk and I saw Hae's body. After the guilty verdict, the burden of proof flips to the accused. And it's hard to imagine, right now, how anyone could be free of doubt about Jay's testimony," Vox's Ezra Klein wrote in an article headlined "Jay's Interview Shreds the Case Against Adnan Syed.". But this latest version of events is confusing rather than clarifying, another who-the-heck-knows account superimposed over recalcitrant cell phone records and diverging testimonies. Wilds struck a deal and claimed that Syed asked him to help bury Hae Min's body. Wilds never spoke on tape with Serial's host, Sarah Koenig, but after the podcast's final episode, he granted an interview to The Intercept, published in three parts last week. In that situation, he was the loser," Wilds told the Intercept. Her body was found in Leakin Park on February 9th, 1999, and was manually strangled. Koenig does an excellent job of showing how shitty humans are at remembering things and how easy it is for our minds to garble basic facts. "Nearly 15 years ago, the prosecution argued to the jury that it should ignore the 'inconsistencies' in Wilds' statements that the 'spine' of his story remained the same," Rabia Chaudry, Syed's main advocate, wrote in The Guardian. Seven bodies found just hours after Amber Alert for two missing girls, 'Cult mom' Lori Vallow's hair found on duct tape used to wrap son's body, Inside Jeffrey Epstein's private calendar including meeting with Noam Chomsky, Heartbroken family launch new lawsuit against Walmart over son's death, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Jay Wilds is a key witness in Adnan Syed's murder trial. The court ruled in a 4-to-3 decision that while Syed's defense lawyer had been "deficient" in not calling Asia McClain to testify, her deficiency was not enough to "prejudice" the outcome of the trial. For people who want closure, there may not be closure.". Somewhere up around a corner up a hill, parked in a strange neighborhood. I don't feel comfortable drawing conclusions like that. Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. The Baltimore City Police received an anonymous phone call advising them to investigate Lees ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for the murder. March 10, 2022: Baltimore City prosecutors agreed to new DNA testing that Syed's lawyers believed could clear his name. When I pick him up at Best Buy, he's telling me her car is somewhere there, and that he did this in the parking lot. That's about burying her. She looked kinda purple, blue, her legs were tucked behind her, she had stockings on, none of her clothes were removed, nothing like that. You cant start drawing conclusions like that.. That explanation is believablebut increasingly less so when you hear Jay talk about the nature of his relationship with Adnan. The Slate Group LLC. "In part because they occur later in time than the original testimony, and because they are going up against testimony that was under oath.". I dont know if she said something he couldnt handle, and he went off the edge or if he had been seriously speculating about [murder]. In production since 2015, "The Case Against Adnan Syed" re-examined Hae Min Lee's disappearance, from her relationship with Syed up to present-day, as Syed pushed for a new trial. February 10th, 1999 Haes body found by Alonzo Sellars as he pulls over on the side of the road and goes into the woods to urinate. Adnan also never describes himself as especially close with Jay, which begs the question: Why would Adnan choose Jay of all people to help him out with a murder? Terms of Service apply. Please enter valid email address to continue. Last month, Syed's murder conviction was vacated, and he was set free. I was also running [drug] operations from my grandmother's house," he tells Vargas-Cooper. Jays silence was deafeningly loud during the course of Serial. First published on October 11, 2022 / 1:11 PM. This is not a work of fiction, reads an eerie message at the beginning of every episode of ne, While Married At First Sight is a social experiment that challenges contestants to form a strong romantic relationship with another stranger, it also tests, In the Bridgerton Cinematic Universe the BCU, if you will its expected that glamorous balls, fancy gowns, and romantic longing will reign over a, Memeable red carpet serves, big budget performances, and memorable speeches with the obligatory smattering of awkwardness and technical difficulties ye, Spoilers ahead. When Adnan Syed was detained for murdering Hae Min Lee, he was only 17 years old and was convicted at the age of 18. Wilds says he was ditching last period of school that day with Syed when he borrowed Syed's car and phone to buy a gift for his then-girlfriend Stephanie at the mall. Those tests are far more sophisticated than anything available at the time of Syed's first trial. Koenig approached Jay, but he never let her record him. The court heard testimony from a number of key witnesses including Asia McClain and Gerald R. Grant, an expert witness on cell phone technology. Youre a person who went through a traumatic thingEven just meeting you yesterday for that short time, hearing you talk so forcefully about what you saw, and about Adnans guiltfor both Julie and me, that was powerful and clarifying.. Fifteen years after Adnan Syed was convicted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, the case became the basis for an immensely popular podcast, the This American Life spin-off Serial. The court later sent Syeds case back to the Baltimore City Circuit Court, where Syeds attorney filed a motion asking for the post-conviction relief case to be reopened. JAY Wilds was a key witness in a 2000 murder trial where Adnan Syed was charged for the murder of Hae Min Lee. I had never known anybody who had killed anybody else, so there's no way I could have known. December 1999:Syed's first trial started but ended in a mistrial after three days. He's gone with Hae's car. He had no idea it was going to be a 12-part series over three months (and, obviously, he had no idea it would become the most downloaded podcast of all time). He characterizes Adnan as a little pompous, a little arrogant really driven as far as academics more uptight than the other Muslim kids that I knew. He and Adnan werent close, he says, echoing Syeds own account of their relationship: There was never a real friendship. He remembers Lee, meanwhile, as independent and mature. Though Wilds tells Vargas-Cooper it isnt his job to speculate on Syeds motives, he cant help doing so a little bit anyway, positing that the man he helped convict just couldnt come to grips with being a loser and failing. But hearing from him now is a sharp reminder that while we may all like to play armchair detective when it comes to Serial, there are real lives at stakesand one that was lost. As Wilds begins to retell the sequence of the events that purportedly led to Lee's killing is when his previous known narrativesas collected by Koenig and Serial through court documents, police records, and trial testimonybegins to divert. Early February, 2016:The post-conviction relief hearing lasted five days. That podcast was downloaded more than 100 million times before June 2016. "You don't actually have to have the killer's blood or semen. (Jay says he left that part out of his testimony to protect her. Wherever her car was at the time I picked him up from Best Buy, it probably stayed there until he picked me up later that evening. To be fair, the main characters life in Netflixs Emily In Paris has always been a mess, as the series two previou, The Power (And Risks) Of Therapy On Reality TV, Can Someone Please Get A Licensed Therapist On The Set Of, All The Biggest Moments From The 2023 BRIT Awards, defense attorney that prosecutor Kevin Urick, Lee's family releases a heartbreaking statement, Maryland Court of Appeals hears arguments. The arrest came after police had subpoenaed Syeds cellphone records, and questioned two people from his call log: Jay Wilds and Jennifer Pusateri. Its unsurprising that Jay, as he reveals in part 1 of the interview, is pissed at the way he came across in Serial. 27 February: Jennifer Pusateri tells detectives Jay Wilds has told her that Syed killed Hae. She got a new boyfriend?' March 8, 2019:In a split 43 ruling, the Court of Appeals reversed the findings of the lower courts, denying Syed's request for a new trial, court records show. pic.twitter.com/QhE5vAxdtP, rabia chaudry (@rabiasquared) December 29, 2014, PERJURY ABOUNDS! Wilds declined Koenigs requests to speak on the podcast, though the two did talk and she reported on that conversation. His details on what they did with the body and what he and Adnan did that day were striking. Adnan Syed, center, sits in front of Hae Min Lee during their high school days. Vargas-Cooper asks. The graphic includes three of the timelines Jay described: his first taped statement to the detectives, his second taped statement to the detectives, and his testimony at the second trial. Contact Albert Samaha at albert.samaha@buzzfeed.com. In his written decision, Judge Welch noted that reopening the post-conviction proceedings would be in the interest of justice for all parties.". Once the police made it clear that my drug dealing wasn't gonna affect the outcome of what was going on, I became a little bit more transparent. So I said, 'Look man, I'm not touching [Hae]. A subsequent petition to allow Syed out of prison on bail until his new trial was denied. People Started Wondering If That Meant Syed Might Go Free, But the Legal Standard Is Different When It Comes to Overturning a Conviction Than It Is Obtaining One, There Are Lots of People in Prison Under Similar Circumstances. She kept saying, Its going to be in your interest to talk to me, and that just started to feel like a threat, like if I didnt talk to her it was going to be bad news for me.. Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said Wednesday her office is seeking a new trial after a nearly-year long investigation revealed two new possible suspects.

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