Adnan Syed, the man at the center of Serial’s 2014 investigation into the murder of high schooler Hae Min Lee, will get a new trial, NBC Washington reports. Although Syed was initially granted a new trial in 2016, the state appealed the decision. Today, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals decided it would uphold that ruling, paving the way for Syed’s new case.
In 2000, Syed was convicted for the first-degree murder of Lee, his ex-girlfriend. Lee’s body was found in 1999 in a Baltimore park, following her disappearance weeks earlier. During Serial’s first season, host Sarah Koenig and her investigative team dug into the circumstances around her death, as well as the questionable proceedings of the trial itself; Koenig’s reporting questioned the accuracy of the prosecution’s star witness, compared cell tower data against call records, and highlighted previously unheard testimonies from other parties.
Syed has unsuccessfully appealed his conviction before, but Serial’s breakout success helped refuel public interest in his case. Since the podcast’s first season, questions have arisen about Syed’s innocence, as well as how effectively his lawyer represented him in trial. Further information regarding Syed’s retrial, including a court date, has not been released.