Has a podcast ever had a bigger impact than Serial? The OG true crime podcast that made Adnan Syed a household name by throwing severe questions about his guilt in the 1999 death of Hae Min Lee. Last month, Syed’s murder conviction was overthrown and the State’s Attorney’s Office weighed whether or not to re-try him for her death. Now, Baltimore prosecutors have announced that they are dropping the charges altogether.
Prosecutors say a new investigation has turned up new suspects in Lee’s death, according to the Baltimore Sun. One of those suspects wasn’t even disclosed to Syed’s defense attorney at the time, which sort of highlights what a mess this case was.
The Maryland Office of the Public Defender said that DNA testing had “excluded” Syed from further suspicion in the case. It also noted that the victim’s family will attempt to appeal the order.
“Finally, Adnan Syed is able to live as a free man,” said Syed’s attorney, Eric Suter. “The DNA results confirmed what we have already known and what underlies all of the current proceedings: that Adnan is innocent and lost 23 years of his life serving time for a crime he did not commit.”
