Adnan Syed Part I

As I prepare to post this, Adnan Syed has spent 7416 days incarcerated for a crime that I truly do not believe he committed. That’s also 7416 days without justice for the victim, Hae Min Lee. Adnan was arrested for the murder of Hae when he was 17-years old; he turned 38 in May of this year. He has spent more time in prison that he has outside those walls.  

The infuriating thing about Adnan, and so many just like him, is that the fight to get a new and fair trial is an uphill battle. It’s much easier to get a wrongful conviction than it is to win a new trial, much less freedom. There is so much to this case, and as much as I love to tell people about it, I just cannot relay all of the information. In fact, I had to break this case into two posts since I didn’t want to overwhelm you. It’s my hope that you’ll become interested enough after reading this that you will dig deeper and begin to champion for Adnan’s innocence and justice for Hae. So, please listen to the “Undisclosed Podcast” with Rabia Chaundry, Susan Simpson, and Colin Miller. When you’re done bingeing that, please watch the HBO series, “The Case Against Adnan.” I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with either, and instead will walk away asking, “What the…?”

Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee dated for approximately nine months while they attended Woodlawn High in Baltimore, Maryland. Neither of their parents knew about their relationship and eventually Hae tired of the secrecy, breaking it off in December 1998. They remained friends, hung around the same people, and each moved on to other love interests. They spoke often and remained friends. 

January 13, 1999 began as any other day for Adnan. It was his friend Stephanie’s birthday and he offered her boyfriend, Jay, the use of his car so he could go to the mall and get her a gift. The gist of the Jay-Adnan friendship was that they were acquaintances that smoked pot together. Since Jay was dating Adnan’s good friend, Adnan tolerated him more than many others did. Jay accepted his vehicle offer and Adnan’s life changed forever.

Adnan had bumped into Hae early in the school day, and asked her for a ride to track practice. Hae said she would, however, later in the day she told him she had somewhere she had to be and couldn’t give him a ride. It was common knowledge that Hae always picked up her cousin at 3:15 but she made it seem as though she had other plans as well. Adnan went to the library to check his email and then went to track practice. Hae never made it to pick up her cousin or to her Lens Crafter shift that evening. 

School was cancelled on January 14^th and 15^th due to inclement weather. The evening of the 15^th was their friend Krista’s 18^th birthday party, and when Hae didn’t appear for that, her friends started to get concerned but guessed that she was wrapped up in her two-week old relationship with her new boyfriend, Don. The following Monday was MLK day. This meant that many of Hae’s friends didn’t realize she was missing or at least they didn’t think very much of it. That Tuesday was Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan so Adnan wasn’t in school that day either. Once the police began interviewing Hae’s friends over the phone, they soon realized this was serious and that their friend was really missing.  

On February 9, 1999, Hae’s deceased body was found in Leakin Park in Baltimore, Maryland by Alonzo Sellers. Sellers had stopped on the side of the road to go to the bathroom, crossed the road, and then went pretty far into the woods, finally happening upon her body. He was never truly considered a suspect although it was determined the burial spot wasn’t obvious so some speculate he knew about it ahead of time. It was also later discovered that Sellers’ house was within walking distance of Woodlawn High where Hae was last seen. He is not considered a suspect and I am not suggesting he should be. 

Here is where the case goes awry.  The police seem to immediately focus on Adnan. They ran his driving records and vehicle details before her body was found. They developed tunnel vision and never really looked elsewhere. Three days after Hae’s body was found, an anonymous call to the police pointed them to Adnan and they began collecting his cell phone records – for a phone that was in the vehicle he lent to his acquaintance, Jay. Adnan had gotten a new phone the day before Hae’s disappearance but since he couldn’t bring it to school, he left it in the glove compartment, giving Jay permission to use it.  

Those phone records led police to Jenn Pusateri since she was called most frequently that day. Jenn was a close friend of Jays and they spent a lot of time together. During her interview, she informed police that Jay told her Adnan killed Hae. In Jay’s police interview, he told investigators that Adnan called him at approximately 3:35 and asked him to come pick him up. He also stated that Adnan showed him Hae’s body in the trunk of her own car and that helped to bury her body in Leakin Park. Jay then led them to Hae’s car and Adnan was arrested on February 28, 1999 for her murder.

Tragically, when Adnan was arrested, his charging documents listed his birth year incorrectly, therefore listing him as 18-years old. He was denied bail since this would have been a capital case, if he were actually 18. He’s been behind bars ever since. 

Tune in to the next post to read some of the numerous issues with this case!