824 Words4 Pages. 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. On January 13, 1999, Korean-American high school student Hae Min Lee, 18, was reported missing by her family after failing to come home. I say, Well we need to part ways. I dont remember if he dropped me off at my house or if I got a ride from somebody else. March 9, 2019 7:21 PM. J ay Wilds was the key eyewitness in the murder case against Adnan Syed, which Sarah Koenig explored in the course of her podcast-gone-viral Serial. Something definite in both media arguments is Wilds's change in story. The star witness at Syeds trial was Jay Wilds, a former classmate who testified that he helpedSyed dispose of Lees body. Thus, this article dives further into the details. But his case is now being reviewed after featuring in podcast Serial. Be the first one to comment on this story. Interviewed by other media, since Serial? Where was Haes car? December 29 2014, 12:55 p.m. On Jan. 13, 1999, Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old high school student from Baltimore, went missing. The police and prosecutors then laid their investigation on Adnan solely because that was the lead they wanted to believe for the sake of closing the case. The police arrested and charged Lee's ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed with the murder six weeks later. Youre in this on your own. Baltimore City Circuit Court judge Melissa M. Phinn vacated Syed's conviction, effectively setting him free. The five-day hearing includes witness testimonies from McClain, as well as a cell phone expert, Harpers Bazaar reported. I didnt tell the cops it was in front of my house because I didnt want to involve my grandmother. But she seemed to be more mature, like she was two, three, four years older than us. READ MORE ON CRIME The kind of reporting we do is essential to democracy, but it is not easy, cheap, or profitable. Jay Wilds spoke to The Intercept about the case for an article published Monday. Its not my job to figure that out. Judge Wanda K. Heard gives Syed a life sentence plus 30 years. CrimeStoppers rewards are apparently paid out the following month after the police report that months official indictments. Three days later, Baltimore Police received an anonymous tip that Syed was responsible for the murder. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. In it, Koenig talks to Syed who says hes innocent. Did you go to Leakin Park immediately after agreeing to help? Notably, Wilds declined to be a part of the podcast although he was offered an interview. Jay Wilds, who claimed he helped . 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. I was a bit of an outdoorsman, adventure seeker, fishing, camping, learned to ride a motorcycle. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Pusateris first statement to the cops said that shed gotten a call from Wilds on Syeds phone, while a later statement included information that Wilds had confessed to her that hed helped Syed bury Lee, though the police may have already been looking at him as an accomplice before theyd even spoken to Pusateri, and also bringing him him for questioning. Wilds's testimony played a giant part in convicting Syed of murdering his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee in 1999. Why has your story changed over time? Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. What was your life likeduring1998 and 1999? 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. Adnan Syed is a 36 year old who had been convicted of first degree murder at the age of 17 on February 28, 1999. Jay said that he and Adnan left Haes car in a grassy lot on January 13th, where it remained until Jay took the police there on February 28th. I don't know what happened, what occurred between them that day," he said of Lee's death. Jay told the filmmakers that Adnan showed up at his house and thats where he saw Haes body, not Best Buy as he had previously stated. As for Lees family, all they knew was that she didnt show up to pick up her cousin, which is when they reported her missing. From conviction to freedom: A timeline of the Adnan Syed case Photos from Serial: People to Know From the Adnan Syed Case - E! Online The thing is that the story Jay told at trial is not the same story Jay told police the first time.". If Wilds were meeting with the cops before this official interview, its completely possible he would have been coached, as Simpson suggests. We met over the weekend at his two-story suburban home. I dont know. Its in the evening after school, we never hung out in the morning. I had cops show up and harass me before at my house. Syed could be granted another trial, though, which could pull Wilds back into the spotlight. 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. She dated Adnan in. Supposed evidence of this relates to how the reward money was paid out. She just seemed like an older chick who happened to be in high school. It wasnt just like I was selling a nickel bag here and there. You Can Stream Every 'Rocky' Movie Right Now, 'WoF' Fans Say This Is the 'Biggest Choke' on Show, Daisy Jones & the Six Is a Rock Epic in 10 Parts, See Mariska Hargitays Emotional Tribute on IG. Did you make the anonymous call to the police to tip them off about Adnan? 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. I remember the highway traffic to my right, and I remember standing there on the curb. . I believe I told them it was in front of Cathys [not her real name] house, but it was in front of my grandmothers house. Adnan was convicted after Jay Wilds, a friend of Adnan's, said in court that he helped Adnan bury Hae Min Lee's body, . August 19, 2019: The Supreme Court is asked to look at the case. Photo credit: HBO. Syed has maintained his innocence since he was arrested for Lee's murder in February 1999, when he was a 17-year-old in high school. At the time,this was Maryland in the 90s, the drug laws were extremely serious. In the phone conversation, he contradicted past statements by suggesting he tried to return Adnans car at school, but couldnt find him and left. Wilds's testimony played a giant part in convicting Syed of murdering his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee in 1999. That night they bury Lees body in Leakin Park and leave her car in a residential parking lot. Wilds, who was an acquaintance of Syed, confessed to helping Syed bury Lee's body, though he originally denied having anything to do with the murder. I pick him up he doesnt have any car with him. She was still in the trunk. How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters werent on the beat? New information in The Case Against Adnan Syed that wasn't featured in What we do know for sure is this: 18-year-old Lee left her Baltimore high school before 3 p.m. on January 13, 1999, to pick up a cousin. Three days later, Baltimore Police, For instance, during one of his police interviews highlighted in The Case Against Adnan Syed,an officer asks Wilds, Youre sure its the 13, The whole Jay storywas so confusing. Prosecutors dropped all charges against Syed, eliminating the possibility of a retrial. By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. I thought at worst hed throw a rock through her window or something. Consider what the world of media would look like without The Intercept. What the Undisclosed pod offers up for an explanation is that because Wilds himself came under investigation, he could not recover the money. Syed went on trial in February 2000 and was convicted of the murder of his girlfriend Hae Min Lee. Adnan Syed Case Study - 824 Words | Internet Public Library HBO finale reveals Adnan Syed had been offered a recent - Baltimore Sun Where is Jay Wilds now? His secretive life detailed - OkayBliss Other contributing causes included the emergence of new suspects in the case. When 17-year-old Adnan Syed was arrested, then convicted for the 1999 murder of his high school ex-girlfriend, . April Wolfe. . The Case Against Adnan Syed: Who is Stephanie McPherson? This interview is the first time Jay has spoken publicly about events surrounding Lees death and the trial that ended in Syeds conviction. June 6, 2000: Lees mother gives an emotional testimony and Syed is given a life sentence. Adnan Syed, 41, was released from prison earlier this month after revelations proved that key information which could have proved his innocence was withheld from his defense counsel back then. And I found that to be a bit of a slap in the face. Lee's body was discovered in Baltimore's Leakin Park by a passerby, partially buried in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered buried in a park a month later. What happened on this particular day depends on who you talk to. Jay Wilds is a former classmate of Adnan Syed from Baltimore, Maryland. Love Island's Olivia Hawkins breaks silence as she returns to the UK, Loose Women star lined up to be Strictly's first contestant in wheelchair, GMB's Kate Garraway reveals crippling cost of caring for her husband Derek, Stephen Bear 'broke behind bars' as his company is shut down before he's jailed, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. They were introduced to each other in 1998. . Adnan Syed - Trial, 'Serial' & Release - Biography Were sitting there smoking and he receives a phone call from the police and gets all panicky. I wake up as soon as they put it on, he said. I might have sat next to him in a class, and joked or something. Jays post-Serial interviews with The Intercept: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Wilds, who was an acquaintance of Syed, confessed to helping Syed bury. The Serial podcast about the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee has been heard and debated by millions, yet there are still untold stories and perspectives from Woodlawn High School teachers who taught. The 18-year-old high school senior played varsity field hockey and lacrosse and managed the boys' wrestling team, and was due to graduate with honors with the class of 1999. I knew him because I knew Muslims in the community from playing basketball at the mosque. Heres abasic timeline of the eventsof Jan. 13,according to Wilds first sit-down with police on Feb. 28, 1999: He gets a call from Syed around 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 13; an hour later, Syed arrives at Wilds house in his car and they both go to Baltimores Westview Mall, where Syed tells Wilds hes going to kill Hae because hes angry about their breakup; at 12:30 p.m., Wilds drops off Syed at school and keeps his car; at 3:40 p.m., Syed tells Wilds to meet him at a strip off Edmonton Ave., and 20 minutes later Syed shows Wilds Haes dead body in the trunk of her own car. Jay Wilds, the only witness in the 1999 Maryland murder case that convicted Adnan Syed for the murder of 17-year-old Hae Min Lee, spoke with The Intercept, explaining his role in allegedly helping . how old was jay wilds in 1999 - mathtutorweeks.com November 20, 2014: Syeds family gives their first interview, Syeds brother Yusef talks to CBS This Morning and admits he listens to the show. As the state's star witness, Jay. A majority of the state's evidence against Adnan comes from Jay Wilds' testimony. Theyre gonna pin me to the fucking wall. He left in his car and I was trying to collect myself at my [grandmothers] house. He asked me if I had shovels, so I went inside my house and got some gardening tools. Jay claims that once he acquired the marijuana, Adnan threatened to turn him in if he didnt help bury Haes body. Lets back up, tell me what happened when you arrived at the Best Buy to pick up Adnan. Its where Im from. .css-13y9o4w{display:block;font-family:GraphikBold,GraphikBold-fallback,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-13y9o4w:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.05rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.28598rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.39461rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.3;}}Every Song From the Daisy Jones' Soundtrack, 'Daisy Jones & The Six' Makes Some Major Changes, 'Sex/Life' Season 2 Features Even More Male Nudity, Hugh Jackman Could Play Multiple Wolverines, 'Ant-Man' Writer Responds to 'Quantumania' Theory. Syed's classmate Jay Wilds, who said at trial that he helped Syed bury Lee's body, became the central figure in the national conversation over Syed's guilt. Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. 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. Thats led to some wild and totally unproven ideas on reddit, notably that Adnan hired Jay as a kind of hitman. Adnan Syed freed after judge vacates murder conviction COMING NEXT: PART 2, Jays theory on the anonymous caller, why he agreed to testify in the states case against Adnan, and how Serial showed up at his front door. Jays wife and mother entertained the couples young children while Jay and I spoke in the family living room. The following has been edited and condensed for clarity. In the wee hours of the night, Lees car is found around 4:30 a.m. and around 6 a.m., Syed is arrested at his home on the 7000 block of Johnnycake Road. Adnan Syed trial: Jay Wilds witness stories and all the - Metro Wilds' shaky testimony was first highlighted in Serial, the 2014 podcast hosted by Sarah Koenig that brought Syeds case back into the public eye. They also highlighted the inconsistent statements of his co-defendant, Jay Wilds, who testified against him. But when they put the magnet wing in, it was kinda like these people were different from us. And they didnt have to interact with us anymore. It wasnt until they made it clear they werent interested in my procurement of pot that I began to open up any. He just couldnt come to grips with those feelings. Theres also the added fact that Wilds boss at the time told people Wilds had to leave work several times to talk with the police before the date of that official interview. He calls me and says Im outside, so I come outside to talk to himand followed him to a different car, not his. Wilds has played an interesting role in this case. Is Riley Keough Singing in Daisy Jones & The Six? Syed and Lee were seniors at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County when Lee disappeared in January 1999. The ins and outs of the timeline have been scrutinized and studied endlessly by professionals and amateurs alike. Though Wilds didnt participate in Serial, he did conduct a .css-16acfp5{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.125rem;text-decoration-color:#d2232e;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-16acfp5:hover{color:#000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;background-color:yellow;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}three-part interview with The Intercepts Natasha Vargas-Cooper, and attorney Rabia Chaudry (also Syeds childhood friend) launched the Undisclosed podcast, both of which add layers to the mystery enshrouding Wilds testimony. When Woodlawn put in the magnet thing, they took out all the vocational classes. 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.. Serial podcast gets a sequel as Jay Wilds breaks silence Syed is currently serving a life sentence. There were some big forces going on that didnt have anything to do with Hae. The Full Story Of Adnan Syed And The Murder Of Hae Min Lee - All That's Before you would just go down there for drafting, shop, and everyone would co-mingle, and all the students interacted. Jay Wilds is a former classmate of Adnan Syed from Baltimore, Maryland. Syed will know his fate by August. Jay Wilds is a former classmate of Adnan Syed from Baltimore, Maryland. According to Susan Simpson, another lawyer working on the Undisclosed podcast, the official recorded interviews between Wilds and the police reveal some strange auditory clues to why the police would lie about the date they began questioning Wilds. I dont know what happened, what occurred between them that day. Baltimore police were already focusing their investigation on Syed after an anonymous tip told them to look at Lees ex. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. in January 1999 . 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. 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. I dont think it meant that much to her. She had been strangled. I was also around a bunch of people earlier the day [at Cathys], and I didnt want them to get fucked up with homicide. Where Is 'Serial' Subject Adnan Syed Now In 2022? What To Know He might be needed back in court soon. They leave the car at a park-and-ride lot. Is that why you didntinitiallycooperate with the police? Jay is the center of gravity in this case. After the party, Adnan drove Jay home and then dropped Stephanie home afterwards. A second court proceedings begin, the papers say. Meanwhile, Wilds version of the day changed throughout his interviews and testimony.