Murder of Hae Min Lee

Hae Min Lee, a Korean-American student at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, was reported missing on January 13, 1999, after failing to pick up her younger cousin from daycare. She had last been seen by fellow students around 2:15 p.m. that day. Her body was found partially buried in Leakin Park, Baltimore, on February 9, 1999, by Alonzo Sellers. An autopsy determined she had been killed by manual strangulation.

During the investigation, the Baltimore City Police Homicide Division received an anonymous tip on February 12, 1999, suggesting they focus on Lee's ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed. Syed's friend Jay Wilds told police that Syed had confessed to killing Lee and that Wilds had helped bury her body. Wilds later pleaded guilty to accessory to murder and received a five-year suspended sentence; his testimony was heavily relied upon in the state's case against Syed. Police obtained cellular-phone records tied to Syed on February 16, and Syed was arrested on February 28, 1999, and charged with first-degree murder.

Syed's first trial, in December 1999, ended in a mistrial. His second trial, beginning in January 2000, concluded on February 25, 2000, with a jury finding him guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and robbery. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.

The case drew renewed international attention after the 2014 podcast Serial examined the investigation and trial in detail. Syed subsequently pursued post-conviction relief, arguing ineffective assistance of counsel related to an uninvestigated alibi witness, Asia McClain, and disputed cell-tower evidence. In 2016, Judge Martin Welch vacated Syed's conviction and ordered a new trial; this was upheld by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in 2018 but reversed by the Maryland Court of Appeals in a 4–3 decision in 2019. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Syed's appeal later that year.

In 2018, prosecutors conducted DNA testing on evidence, and Syed's DNA did not match samples tested. In 2022, further DNA testing was ordered on additional items. Following a reinvestigation by the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office, prosecutors filed a motion in September 2022 alleging Brady violations, including suppression of evidence about alternate suspects. Judge Melissa Phinn vacated Syed's conviction on September 19, 2022, and he was released; charges were later formally dropped. Hae Min Lee's brother, Young Lee, appealed, arguing he had been denied adequate notice and opportunity to be heard as a victim. An appellate court reinstated Syed's conviction in March 2023, a decision upheld by the Maryland Supreme Court in August 2024, which also ordered a new hearing on the vacatur. In February 2025, the Baltimore State's Attorney withdrew the motion to vacate but supported a reduced sentence under Maryland's Juvenile Restoration Act. On March 6, 2025, Judge Jennifer Schiffer resentenced Syed to time served, leaving his conviction reinstated while he remains free.

In a 2016 statement, Lee's family said they remained convinced of Syed's guilt.