Adnan Syed, subject of the popular podcast “Serial,” had his murder conviction reinstated Tuesday by an appeals court.
Syed’s conviction was overturned in September 2022, and prosecutors subsequently dropped all the charges against him.
However, victim Hae Min Lee’s brother appealed that ruling. Young Lee argued he had a right to participate in the Sept. 19 hearing that overturned Syed’s conviction. Lee said he’d been alerted on short notice and was therefore only able to appear by video.
The Appellate Court of Maryland sided with Young Lee on Tuesday in a 2-1 decision. The appeals court agreed that Lee received notice of the hearing too late.
“Allowing a victim entitled to attend a court proceeding to attend in person, when the victim makes that request and all other persons involved in the hearing appear in person, is consistent with the constitutional requirement that victims be treated with dignity and respect,” the judges wrote.
Syed, 41, was not immediately sent back to prison as a result of the ruling. The court said any consequences would be delayed 60 days so everyone involved would have “time to assess how to proceed in response to this Court’s decision,” according to the Washington Post.
Hae Min Lee was 18 years old when she disappeared in January 1999. Her body was found in a shallow grave in West Baltimore’s Leakin Park on Feb. 9, 1999.
On Feb. 25, 2000, Syed was convicted of killing Lee, his high school classmate and ex-girlfriend. He was 18 years old at the time of the conviction and sentenced to life in prison, plus 30 years.
The case against Syed hinged on testimony from one of his friends, who said Syed confessed the murder to him and claimed he helped Syed hide Lee’s body.
Investigators on the initial case also considered two other unidentified suspects. Prosecutors said those suspects were not “properly” ruled out and they “may be involved individually or may be involved together” in Lee’s murder.
Prosecutors dropped the charges against Syed after they “excluded Mr. Syed from the DNA recovered from the evidence.”
“It’s my duty to ensure justice is not delayed, justice is never denied, but justice be done,” Baltimore city attorney Marilyn Mosby said in October. “Today, justice is done.”