Hae Min Lee was last seen on January 13, 1999 in her 1998 Nissan Sentra. Lee was on her way to pick up her 6-year old cousin and then go to work, but she never showed up to either. Her body was found at Leakin Park in West Baltimore. Her ex boyfriend, Adnan Syed, has been serving a life sentence plus 30 years after being convicted for her murder in 2000, but with the rise of a popular podcast, new information has made the case much more confusing.

December 1998: The Breakup

Due to cultural and religious differences, the relationship betwen Lee and Syed was kept a secret. Court records demonstrate that the couple began dating in 1998 and broke up in December of the same year.

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January 13, 1999: The Disappearance

Although accounts of this day differ depending on the person, Syed claimed that he went to his photography and English classes then left during lunch with his friend Jay Wilds. After being dropped back off at school, he was almost 40 minutes late to his psychology class. After class, he went to the Woodlawn Public Library to check his email and talk with his friend, Asia McClain, then proceeds to go to track practice. Wilds picks Syed up and they go to a friend’s house. While here, an officer calls Syed and asks if he knows the whereabouts of Lee. Syed claimed that she was supposed to drive him home but since he had gotten detained at school, he assumed she got tired of waiting and left. Syed then picked up food and met his father for evening prayers.

Wilds’ version of the story changed throughout his testimony: at his second trial, Wilds claim that him and Syed drove to Security Square Mall and claimed that Syed told him he was going to kill Lee. He then claimed that Syed asked him to pick him up at Best Buy (where Syed shows him Lee’s body in the trunk of her car). The boys left the body at a park-and-ride lot and later buried it in Leakin Park.

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February 9, 1999: Body Found in Leakin Park

Alonzo Sellers, a maintenance worker, claimed he was drinking a Budweiser while driving when he made a pit stop to use the bathroom. He walked around in the forest to find a secluded spot. Once he located somewhere to urinate, he noticed what looked like hair under dirt and also a foot.

February 12, 1999: Anonymous Calls Regarding Syed

Baltimore city police detective Darryl Massey received two anonymous phone calls telling them to investigate Syed as a possible suspect.

February 28, 1999: Syed is Arrested

Syed is arrested at his home at 6 in the morning. He was 17 at the time of his arrest and was charged with first-degree murder as an adult.

March 1, 1999: McClain’s Letter

McClain writes a letter to Syed confirming the details about talking to him in the libary on January 13.

February 25, 2000: Conviction

Syed is found guilty after a six-week trial and two-hour jury deliberation. He kept repeating at the time of his conviction that he did not kill Lee.

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November 6, 2015: Case Reopened

The case is reopened to take into account of McClain’s new testimony, new cell phone data, and allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel and prosecutorial misconduct.

Syed is still in prison awaiting to get a new trial regarding the case of Lee. With many different stories and timeline pieces, it has been a process trying to get new trials: the Supreme Court even denied Syed a new trial.

While Lee does not yet have justice, Syed’s family and legal team are attempting to do everything they can to prove his innocence and find out who actually murdered her.

Sources

https://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/adnan-syed-topic.html

https://serialpodcast.org/season-one

https://allthatsinteresting.com/adnan-syed-murder-of-hae-min-lee