1999 Hae Min Lee murder case: A timeline of Adnan Syeds trials

Convicted in the 1999 murder of Korean-American high school student Hae Min Lee, Adnan Syed, who spent the last 22 years inside prison, was released on Monday, September 19, 2022, by a Baltimore judge. The judge ruled that the state had violated its legal obligation to exhibit evidence that could have strengthened the defense of Syed. Judge Phinn then ruled in favour of the release of Syed and put him on home detention with GPS location monitoring. 

Apart from the release, the judge also said that the state needs to decide whether it wants a new trial in the 1999 murder case of Lee or to dismiss its possibility within the next 30 days.

Also Read: ‘Serial’ case: Adnan Syed released after judge overturns 1999 murder conviction

“All right Mr. Syed, you’re free to join your family,” Judge Phinn at the end of the hearing on Monday.

A timeline

Lee was last seen alive by her fellow students of the Woodlawn High School, where she was a student, on January 13, 1999. Her corpse was recovered four weeks later in Leakin Park. After her disappearance on January 13, her family filed a missing complaint to the police, who called her friends, including ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed, who said that he last saw Lee after the end of classes on January 13.

Her body was recovered on February 9 in Leakin Park in Baltimore, in a partially buried state. The homicide department of Baltimore City Police was later tipped by an anonymous phone call that suggested looking into Lee’s ex-boyfriend, i.e. Adnan Syed.

Sometime after, one of Syed’s friends confessed that he had helped Syed bury Lee’s corpse, who had in turn confessed to killing her on January 13. Syed was arrested on February 28, 1999, and was subsequently charged with first-degree murder of Lee.

Defense attorney Cristina Gutierrez was hired by the family of Syed to represent him in the first murder trial, which started in December 1999. It ended in a mistrial three days later. The second trial into the murder started in January 2020 and after six weeks, on February 25, the jury found Syed guilty of first-degree murder, false imprisonment, kidnapping and robbery and he was subsequently handed life in prison plus 30 years sentence. 

An appeal was made by Syed against his conviction in 2003, which was not successful. He made another appeal in 2010, which was initially denied in 2014. However, on February 6 of the next year, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals approved Syed’s appeal for another hearing.

Also Read: Who is Sarah Koenig?

Judge Martin Welch of the Baltimore City Circuit Court ruled in favour of Syed’s conviction relief appeal in November 2015. The post-conviction relief hearing began on February 3 and continued till February 8, 2016. Judge Welch ordered a new trial into the murder case on June 30, 2016.

The US Supreme Court denied Syed’s appeal for a new trial in the case on November 25, 2019. However, Syed’s attorneys filed a motion on September 15, 2022, to vacate his conviction, which was granted by Judge Melissa Phinn four days later on September 19.