SERIAL PODCAST - Adnan Granted a new Trial

Adnan Syed, the man sentenced to life in prison in a murder case re-examined through the wildly popular podcast "Serial," arrived at a Baltimore courthouse Wednesday morning for the start of a scheduled three-day hearing to determine whether he should be granted a new trial.

Syed, 35, entered the courthouse with his hands shackled in the front and wearing prison clothing.

Syed, whose last request for a new trial was denied in 2012 in a sparsely attended hearing, will appear in a packed downtown Baltimore courtroom with family members, supporters and representatives from more than 40 local and national media outlets.

A small crowd assembled in advance of the court's opening on Wednesday, including Sarah Koenig, the former Sun reporter who produced and narrated the 'Serial' podcast that focused on the Syed case.

Syed's attorney, C. Justin Brown, is expected to present an alibi witness and raise questions about cellphone evidence that linked Syed to the area where his Woodlawn High School classmate Hae Min Lee was buried.
Adnan Syed, of 'Serial,' returns to court Wednesday

Sun reporter Justin Fenton talks about Adnan Syed who was featured in the hit podcast "Serial" in 2014. Syed is returning to court in Baltimore on his murder case of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. (Kevin Richardson)

In the 2000 trial, prosecutors used the testimony of Jay Wilds, an acquaintance who said he helped Syed bury Lee's body in Baltimore's Leakin Park, and phone records they said tied Syed to the area. A jury found Syed guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment and he was sentenced to life in prison.

After Syed's arrest, Asia McClain, another Woodlawn High School classmate, wrote him letters in jail, saying she had seen him in a library on the day authorities say Lee was killed.

McClain told The Baltimore Sun last year that she has "no doubt" about when and where she saw Syed. She added that she did not want to speculate on whether he is guilty or innocent.
Years after murder, hope dims and stigma remains [Archives]
Years after murder, hope dims and stigma remains [Archives]

"I know that across offices and homes in America, and beyond, people have been discussing Adnan's guilt or innocence," she said in an emailed response to questions. "I can only tell you what it is I know. Whether this information means that Adnan is innocent, or deserves a new trial, is a decision for others to make."

Kevin Urick, who prosecuted Syed in 2000, testified at his 2012 post-conviction hearing that McClain told him she had written the affidavit "because she was getting pressure" from Syed's family.

But McClain said she didn't testify in the post-conviction hearing because Urick "discussed the evidence of the case in a manner that seemed designed to get me to think Syed was guilty and that I should not bother participating in the case."

Deputy Attorney General Thiru Vignarajah, who attended Woodlawn High School a few years ahead of Syed and Lee and is handling the case for the state, wrote that allegations that Urick improperly dissuaded McClain from testifying are "preposterous."

In challenging the cellphone evidence that was used to place Syed in the area where Lee's body was found, Brown has presented a memo that cellular carrier AT&T included with the cell tower data that warned about the data's reliability regarding incoming calls.

"Outgoing calls only are reliable for location status," the AT&T memo read. "Any incoming calls will NOT be considered reliable information for location."

In 2014, the "Serial" podcast raised questions about whether prosecutors were overzealous and Syed's defense attorney ineffective. Koenig said in the last episode that the evidence was "not enough, to me, to send anyone to prison for life."

Koenig declined to comment for this article. The second season of "Serial" began late last year, focusing on the case of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

Rabia Chaudry, a Syed family friend who brought Syed's case to Koenig's attention, tweeted last week that she is confident in Syed's chances for a new trial.

Brown, she wrote, "will win this."

Court officials said 40 media outlets have indicated they will attend the hearing. It will be held in the same courtroom as the recent trial of Baltimore Police Officer William Porter for the death of Freddie Gray. The court said there will be limited media seating and an overflow room, as at the Porter trial.

It's not known whether Welch will issue his ruling at the conclusion of the three-day hearing or at a later date.

This story will be updated

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