Adnan Syed, the 41-year-old who was the subject of the hit podcast series Serial, is set to appear in a Baltimore courtroom Monday after prosecutors asked to overturn his 2000 murder conviction. The hearing for the Maryland resident, who has been serving a life sentence for the past two decades, was reportedly prompted by new evidence uncovered by the prosecution team. “After a nearly year-long investigation examining the facts of this case, Said deserves a new trial where he will be adequately represented and the most recent evidence can be presented,” Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in a statement. Syed was convicted of the first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and imprisonment of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 2000. He has steadfastly maintained his innocence and denied any involvement in the young woman’s death. It’s unclear whether members of Lee’s family will attend, but a spokesman for the state’s attorney confirmed to The Baltimore Sun that they had been notified of Monday’s proceeding, which was quickly scheduled after a judge ordered Friday. Baltimore Magistrate Melissa Phinn set the hearing for 2 p.m.

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A press conference was announced on the case

A press conference is scheduled for the Adnan Syed case. Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby will hold the briefing outside the Elijah E. Cummings courthouse in Baltimore, Maryland, immediately following the hearing at 2:00 p.m. Syed is expected to appear in court in person for the hearing, where Judge Melissa Finn will decide whether to throw out his conviction. Rachel Sharp September 19, 2022 6:30 p.m 1663606817

What we know about two alternative suspects in the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee

Wednesday’s court filing did not name the two alternate suspects in the case, citing the ongoing investigation. But prosecutors said the two men were both known to the original investigation into the 1999 killing and were not properly excluded or disclosed to the defense. According to the new court documents, one of the suspects had threatened to kill Lee at the time of her murder. He said he “would [Lee] disappear. He was going to kill her,” the documents state. Although prosecutors did not name the two alternate suspects, there was one name that appeared on the Serial podcast as a suspect in Lee’s murder. Ronald Lee Moore, a career criminal and accused murderer from Baltimore, was released from prison just 10 days before Lee’s disappearance and death. The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Adnan Syed: What we know about two alternative suspects in the ‘Serial’ murder.

The serial podcast named Ronald Lee Moore, a career criminal and accused murderer from Baltimore, as a suspect in Hae Min Lee’s murder Rachel Sharp September 19, 2022 6:00 p.m 1663605017

The victim’s family remains silent

Hae Min Lee’s family has yet to speak since prosecutors asked a judge to free the man convicted of her murder. Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and SRU Director Becky Feldman filed a motion to vacate Adnan Seid’s conviction Wednesday. In a statement, Ms Mosby said Lee’s family had been informed. “We have spoken with Ms. Hae Min Lee’s family and [they] they fully understand that whoever is responsible for this heinous crime must be held accountable,” he said. Back in 2016, when Syed was granted his request for a new trial, Ms Lee’s family said they stood by the original verdict. “Although this made us relive a nightmare we thought was behind us, we thank the state for standing up for us and continuing to pursue justice,” they said in a statement. “We believe justice was served when Adnan was convicted in 2000 and we look forward to this chapter ending so we can celebrate Hay’s memory rather than the man who killed her.” Rachel Sharp September 19, 2022 5:30 p.m 1663603217

The request to overturn Adnan Syed’s murder conviction comes after a years-long legal battle in which Hae Min Lee’s ex-boyfriend has pleaded not guilty to any involvement in her 1999 murder. Syed was convicted of murder, robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison. In February 2015 – 15 years after the murder and a year after the serial podcast about the case was released – a Maryland jury finally agreed to hear an appeal of his conviction. That November, he was granted a new hearing that allowed his defense team to present new evidence in the case. In June 2016, Syed was granted a new trial but remained behind bars after a judge rejected a bid to be released on bail. The new trial was granted after his lawyers argued that Said’s original lawyer, who later died, was grossly negligent. The defense also presented new testimony from a witness who said he saw Syed in the library at the time of Lee’s murder. The state appealed the decision, but an appeals court sided with Syed once again in 2018 – upholding the decision to grant him a new trial and overturning his conviction. However, the Maryland Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision the following year, denying Syed a new trial and reinstated his conviction. The US Supreme Court then rejected a request to hear his case in November 2019. Now, in September 2022, the state and defense filed a joint motion asking a judge to overturn his conviction and release him from prison. Rachel Sharp19 September 2022 17:00 1663601417

What do we know about the two alternative suspects?

In Wednesday’s filing, prosecutors asked for Adnan Syed’s release based on doubts about the validity of cellphone records as well as new information about the possible involvement of two alternate suspects. Prosecutors said the two men were both known to the original investigation into the 1999 killing and were not properly excluded or disclosed to the defense. Both have criminal records, with one convicted of assaulting a woman in her car and the other convicted of serial rape and sexual assault. According to the new court documents, one of the suspects said at the time of Hae Min Lee’s murder that he “would [Lee] disappear. He would kill her.” Wednesday’s court filing did not name the two alternate suspects, citing the ongoing investigation. However, Ronald Lee Moore, a career criminal and accused murderer from Baltimore, was previously named as a suspect in her murder by the Serial podcast. Moore, who killed himself in a Louisiana prison in 2008, was convicted of burglary and was also a suspect in a string of other burglaries, unsolved sexual assaults and murders in Maryland. He was released from prison just 10 days before Lee’s disappearance and death. In 2020, Moore was identified as the killer of 23-year-old Shawn Marie Neal who was found strangled to death in her North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina apartment in 1996. No one was ever charged with her murder, and the case went cold, until DNA from the murder scene was finally linked to Moore nearly 25 years later. In 2013, Moore was also named as a suspect in the 1999 murder of Annelise Hyang Suk Lee in Baltimore. It is unclear whether Moore is one of two alternate suspects now suspected in Lee’s murder. DNA found at the crime scene and tested during the initial investigation did not match Moore or Said. However, thanks to advances in technology, a new DNA touch test was carried out in March. Prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday that the two people who are now suspects in the case “may be involved individually or may be involved together.” Rachel Sharp September 19, 2022 4:30 p.m 1663599617

New DNA technology could have led to a request to overturn the conviction

New DNA technology could have helped lead to calls for Adna Syed’s conviction to be overturned. In March, Syed’s defense team and state prosecutors filed a request for new DNA testing in the case. The motion called for victim Hae Min Lee’s clothing to be tested for touch DNA. Back in Syed’s trial in 2000, this DNA technology was not available. Syed’s DNA was not found on any of the 12 items tested at the time, according to his legal team. It is unclear whether the test yielded results. However, six months after the motion was filed, the state and defense are seeking to overturn Syed’s conviction. Rachel Sharp September 19, 2022 4:00 p.m 1663597817

Appeal for new trial based on cell phone records and two alternative suspects

Baltimore prosecutors filed the bombshell request to release Adnan Syed from prison based on doubts about the validity of cellphone records as well as new information about the possible involvement of two alternate suspects. On Wednesday, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said “the state no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction” and asked the court to overturn Said’s 2000 conviction. Ms Mosby said the 41-year-old should be given a new trial “at a minimum” and released on bail or recognizance while the investigation into the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee continues. The request comes after a nearly year-long investigation revealed new evidence about the possible involvement of two alternative suspects, prosecutors said. The two suspects – who have not been named – “may be involved individually or may be involved together” in Lee’s death, they said. The investigation also revealed the unreliability of cell tower data used as evidence to convict Said in his original trial. “After a nearly year-long investigation looking into the facts of this case, Said deserves a new trial where he is adequately represented and the most recent evidence can be presented,” Ms Mosby said. Prosecutors stopped short of saying the state believes Syed is…