Mr. Syed, 41, had been serving a life sentence after he was convicted in the 1999 murder of his high school classmate Hae Min Lee. I got the feeling the few times of interacting with Adnan that there was this enormous pressure from somewhere trying to make him into something he didnt want to be. Lee had disappeared on Jan. 13, and almost a month later, on Feb. 9, her body was found by a passerby in Baltimore's Leakin Park. I was also running [drug] operations from my grandmothers house. He just couldnt come to grips with those feelings. February 12, 1999: Anonymous calls inform the police to look into Syed. This is the first part in a multipart interview. Wilds looms large in Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyders reporting about the trial. Syed's release on September 19, 2022, was attributed to various factors, including the prosecution losing faith in Wilds' testimony. So where is Wilds today? According to Wilds, he and Syed were not incredibly close at school. Baltimore City Circuit Court judge Melissa M. Phinn vacated Syed's conviction, effectively setting him free. According to the Undisclosed podcast, Lee goes on her first date with her LensCrafter co-worker Don Clinedinst, who happens to be the son of the store manager. On Monday, a Maryland judge overturned Adnan Syed 's first-degree murder conviction for the 1999 death of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. He was a little pompous, a little arrogant, but he seemed really driven as far as his academics, but all those magnet students were. And then in his Intercept interview, Wilds said the body was actually in front of his grandmas house, but he told police it was at the Best Buy, because he didnt want to involve his grandma. He seemed a little bit more uptight than the other Muslim kids that I knew. Going to work on February 9, 1999, a school maintenance worker stops at Leakin Park to urinate and finds Hae's body. He was magnet. Syed then picks up food on his way to meet his dad at the mosque for evening prayers, Serial reported. I think there was another dude or something, or whatever. Its not my job to figure that out. On January 13th of 1999, a 17 year old Korean girl by the name of Hae Min Lee when missing after school in Baltimore, Maryland. Syed is given the chance to overturn the Baltimore City Circuit Court ruling that denied him post-conviction relief, thanks to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Vulture reported. Wilds stated that he helped the 17-year-old Syed, who was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999, bury her body, which was later discovered in Baltimore's Leakin Park. For other inquiries, Contact Us. February 9, 1999 : Lee's body is found. Other cited factors include the discovery of new suspects and concerns about a detective who worked on Syed's case. I follow him halfway back down the hill, park, smoke some cigarettes. I dont feel comfortable drawing conclusions like that. Mr.. If Wilds were meeting with the cops before this official interview, its completely possible he would have been coached, as Simpson suggests. Lees mother, Youn Wha Kim, says she moved to America from Korea to give her kids a better life. On Monday afternoon, a Baltimore judge vacated Adnan Syed's murder conviction, freeing Syed after 23 years behind bars. I worked a lot. Syed could be granted another trial, though, which could pull Wilds back into the spotlight. He ends up waiting more than two years. It wasnt like, Oh, were down in the park, come on down.We were friendly, we were cool. of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999. 824 Words4 Pages. If you're a fan of Sarah Koenig's popular podcast, Serial, then you might already know that previously convicted murderer Adnan Syed whose case was the subject of the podcast's . This interview is the first time Jay has spoken publicly about events surrounding Lees death and the trial that ended in Syeds conviction. He exited the Baltimore courthouse to deafening cheers. Some days Ill be like, This is a really great episode, and some days Ill feel down and depressed., February 6, 2015: Syed can appeal the post-conviction relief denial. And I said, Hey, I need to run to the mall cause I need to get a gift for Stephanie., He said then, No, I gotta go do something. I dont know if she said something he couldnt handle, and he went off the edge or if he had been seriously speculating about it. Joining is simple and doesnt need to cost a lot: You can become a sustaining member for as little as $3 or $5 a month. The first season of Serial examined the complex case of the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, in which there seemed to be much evidence but no conclusive proof of what happened. Got called an Oreo. how old was jay wilds in 1999 Jay Wilds, who claimed he helped . Were sitting there smoking and he receives a phone call from the police and gets all panicky. It also made household names out of its central characters, teenagers in Baltimore when the murder took place in 1999: Adnan Syed, the alleged killer; Hae Min Lee, the 18-year-old victim; and. maison d'amelie paris clothing. Who Was Mallory Beach in 'Murdaugh Murders'? A star witness in the case against Syed was fellow Woodlawn High School student Jay Wilds, . Questions still remain about Lee's 1999 murder after her ex-boyfriend Syed was sentenced to life in jail, and the case received mass attention from the podcast 'Serial. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Posted on July 4, 2022 by . Jay obviously picks and chooses what he tells, and at this point its created such a mess, she says in the documentary. Following a six-week trial and two-hour jury deliberation, Syed is found guilty. Like, hes not in a car or anything. It was Jay's testimony that helped to put Adnan in prison with a life sentence for the February 1999 murder of his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. How old was Adnan when he went to prison in 1999? From Men's Health. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Jay Wilds, key witness in Adnan Syed's murder trial, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). A majority of the state's evidence against Adnan comes from Jay Wilds' testimony. I knew him because I knew Muslims in the community from playing basketball at the mosque. When we were digging the hole, its not like Haes body was just lying next to us. Syed will know his fate by August. The taps on the recording, some have decided, may have been the sound of someone writing pen to paper very quickly on a hard surface, or just a little physical cue that Wilds needed to come up with the right answer fast. That afternoon, he says that Syed asked him to pick him up at Best Buy, where Syed shows him Lees body in the trunk of her car. Jay is the center of gravity in this case. There was never a real friendship. Wilds, a former classmate of Syed, has been relatively under the radar since the 2000 trial that sentenced Syed to life in prison plus 30 years on charges of . He failed; he lost the girl. He said that the idea of Best Buy came from the police. I dont necessarily know if he meant to kill Hae before he did it or if it was a sudden moment thing, but looking at his life, from what I saw, he seemed to be far out of his realm when it came to Hae leaving him. "Jay told the story that convicted Adnan.. When the Serial podcast premiered in October of 2014, many listeners were shocked to find that almost the entirety of the prosecutions case to convict Adnan Syed for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee hinged on the testimony of one witnessJay Wilds. They didnt have to go by us, except to come to lunch, and that was it. I only smoked with him two or three times. Her family reported her missing after she failed to pick up her younger cousin from daycare around 3:15 p.m. Lee had attended Woodlawn High School that day and had been seen by several people leaving the campus at the end of the school day. Adnan Syed: Overturned airs on ID this Tuesday, September 27, 2022, at 9 pm ET. It remains true today." Leesex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, 17, became the primary suspectin her homicide after an anonymous caller told the police to investigate him. He did, after all, give multiple conflicting locations for where the murder took place and where the body was found. Adnan questioned in the documentary why Jay would leave. The story Jay told police had problems, because it kept changing from telling to telling, Koenig says in the first episode of Serial. But they were able to bolster the main plot points using cell records from Adnans phone., Others think the inconsistencies point toward something else Chaudry says in the documentary that she thinks the police were helping [Wilds] craft the story.. He has a lot of public support and walking away is not an option.. I was also around a bunch of people earlier the day [at Cathys], and I didnt want them to get fucked up with homicide.. UFC's Raul Rosas Jr. 18-Year-Old Fighter . McClain in 1999 at the time of the murder was Syed's classmate at Woodlawn High School. Family friend and attorney Rabia Chaudry asks McClain to write an affidavit after Syed is convicted, Serial reported. He has come to prominence in recent months. It wasnt like, Oh, were going bowling, and lets call it in before we go bowling and call the rest of our friends and call Jay. I dont remember ever going to any kinds of functions or endeavors together, or any concerts or clubs together, you know. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Youre in this on your own. That would free Wilds to then collect the reward moneyafter detectives officially filed Syeds indictment to CrimeStoppers on October 1stin November. The popularised podcast series Serial has been central to shedding light on the Adnan Syed case. Im gonna kill that bitch, man. Nothing real pointed or anything, not like, I know his name, or I caught her. But I just thought he was just shooting off like everyone else shoots off when theyre mad at their girlfriend. Even though he and Syed were allegedlyjust acquaintances, Wilds police interviews and witness testimony would ultimately be key to convicting Syed despite his storys inconsistencies and contradictions. Im fucking done. And Adnans like, Oh, well, youre not going to help me move her are you? And Im like No, Im not gonna help you move her. He says, Ok, well, Im gonna need you to drive back to her car., Somewhere up around a corner up a hill, parked in a strange neighborhood. Adnan Syed leaves the courthouse after Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, overturned his first-degree murder conviction in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee. There is a separate page withdetails of Jays own court case for the murder of Hae Min Lee. I was a bit of an outdoorsman, adventure seeker, fishing, camping, learned to ride a motorcycle. Just after his arrest, McClain writes a letter to Syed and details talking to him in the library on January 13, Serial reported. But they were just as shocked. She also wasnt on the magnet side of the demographic. June 6, 2000: Lees mother gives an emotional testimony and Syed is given a life sentence. The star witness at Syeds trial was Jay Wilds, a former classmate who testified that he helpedSyed dispose of Lees body. Though Wilds testimony seemed to have been trusted implicitly by Syeds jury, the Serial podcast shining a light on the key details of Wilds claims led many listeners to believe Wilds was not exactly truthful and that even the slightest bit of questioning could have unraveled his story. S on Serial, claimed he was drinking a 22-ounce Budweiser while driving when he made a pit stop. Wilds . Adnan did not know that Jay had spoken to the police. The Woodlawn man has maintained his innocence and the HBO series "The Case Against Adnan Syed" concluded. Serial sought to dive deep into the potential failings of the criminal justice system and thoroughly re-examine Syed's case. Syed was sentenced to life in prison. There were several reasons given for his release on September 19, 2022, including the prosecution losing confidence in Wilds' evidence. Psychology class 1:27 p.m. From the mall where he met Syed to the time, and even which friend's homes he visited the day of Lee's murder, there are questionable aspects of his testimony. Justice Martin Welch vacates the original conviction, saying there should be a new trial. November 6, 2015: The post-conviction relief case is reopened. The only thing thats certain: The 18-year-old victim was last seen on January 13, 1999, driving her 1998 Nissan Sentra on her way to pick up her 6-year-old cousin and then head to her job at LensCrafters, The Baltimore Sun reported at the time. But, like I said, I dont know how to come up with this story about how Adnan did it, why he did it, what he was thinking, how he was thinking, and why he was thinking that. Based on Syeds indictment date, the CrimeStoppers reward should have been paid in June, but it was not paid until November. Heres everything we know about Jay Wilds before the premiere of HBOs documentary series, The Case Against Adnan Syed. As the state's star witness, Jay. Adnan says, Just help me dig the hole. And Im still thinking, Inner-city black guy, selling pot to high school kids. The cops are going to fry me. Moreover, a detective named Bill Ritz who repeatedly interviewed Jay Wilds was later accused in a separate case of manipulating and fabricating evidence and not disclosing exculpatory evidence. Take my car, take my cellphone. But she seemed to be more mature, like she was two, three, four years older than us. Years later, now that Wilds testimony has come under fire, even Pusateri doubts his version of events. The one interview Wilds gave was to The Intercept in 2014. Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. Syed went on trial in February 2000 and was convicted of the murder of his girlfriend Hae Min Lee.