Who is Adnan Syed? All you need to know about famous killer, 'Serial' podcast

After spending 22 years in prison, Adnan Syed walked out of jail on Monday. A court in Baltimore ordered the release of the 41-year-old, who was convicted in 1999 for murdering his ex-girlfriend.

The case has been documented in a podcast series called 'Serial' that became extremely popular among listeners. Here's all you need to know about Adnan and the Serial.

Who is Adnan Syed, and What Did He Do?

At the time of his arrest, Adnan Syed was a high school senior in Baltimore, aged 17. Hae Min Lee, Adnan's ex-girlfriend, was found dead in Leakin Park four weeks after she went missing. Adnan was convicted of first-degree murder and sent to prison for 30 years.


Lee's body was found on February 6, following which the police marked Adnan as a suspect. After one of his friends allegedly confessed to helping him bury Lee's body, Adnan was arrested on February 28. Eventually, he was sentenced to prison in February 2000.

What was the Serial Podcast?

More than a decade after Adnan's arrest, a local Baltimore lawyer and a family friend of the Syeds, Rabia Chaudry, contacted veteran journalist Sarah Koenig to conduct an independent investigation of Hae Min Lee's murder. Sarah, known for the radio show This American Life, accepted the request.

Sarah started to work on the "Serial" podcast in 2013, and the first season premiered between October 3 and December 18, 2014. The show hugely impacted the case, and based on the new evidence presented in the podcast, Adnan was allowed a new trial in 2015. The first season of the Serial podcast has been downloaded over 300 times, making it arguably the most popular podcast in the world.

Sarah was also honoured with a Peabody Award for her outstanding contributions in April 2015. She was also named in TIME Magazine's "100 Most Influential People" in the same month. The Serial podcast has had three seasons: the second aired between December 10, 2015, and March 31, 2016, and the third between September 20 and November 15, 2018.

How was Adnan Let Free?

As the popularity of Sarah's podcast grew, Adnan was allowed a new trial in 2015. In June 2016, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Martin Welch vacated Adnan's conviction, though his request for bail was denied. The primary argument was the inability of Adnan's original attorney, Cristina Gutierrez, to render practical assistance to the accused. Nevertheless, the Maryland Court of Appeals reversed the decision and maintained Adnan's conviction.

However, the Baltimore City Circuit Court, headed by Judge Melissa M. Phinn, overturned the conviction after Adnan's attorneys filed documents questioning his original trial. None of them, though, claimed that he was innocent. The court has granted Adnan's release on the condition that he must remain on GPS monitoring and allowed the state prosecutors a 30-day window to file a petition to try him again.