The strangled body of Hae Min Lee lay buried in a shallow woodland grave for almost four weeks before a passing stranger discovered it. Smart, sporty, beautiful and popular, the 18 year old had disappeared on January 13, 1999, sending shockwaves through the community of Woodlawn, Baltimore, US.A few days after her remains were found, an anonymous phone call to police pointed the finger at Hae’s ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed. He was 17 and, like Hae, a senior at Woodlawn High School. Police interviews led them to a friend of Adnan’s called Jay Wilds, who claimed Adnan had confessed to him that he’d murdered Hae.
Despite Adnan’s protestations of innocence, in February 2000 he was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison. Apart from the grief of Hae’s heartbroken family and friends, the murder was all but forgotten. Case closed.
Until last year, that is, when Adnan’s friend, lawyer Rabia Chaudry, contacted American journalist Sarah Koenig and asked her to look into it. The result was a podcast that investigated the murder in 12 weekly episodes – and swiftly became a worldwide phenomenon that has now been downloaded an incredible 84 million times.
