This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/31/arts/television/case-against-adnan-syed-dna-hbo-finale.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
‘The Case Against Adnan Syed’: Finale Reveals New DNA Test Results ‘The Case Against Adnan Syed’: Finale Reveals New DNA Test Results
(1 day later)
This article contains spoilers for the four-part HBO documentary “The Case Against Adnan Syed.”This article contains spoilers for the four-part HBO documentary “The Case Against Adnan Syed.”
Did Adnan Syed kidnap and murder his ex-girlfriend and high school classmate Hae Min Lee in 1999? A Baltimore County jury in 2000 decided he did. Millions of listeners to the podcast “Serial” haven’t been so sure.Did Adnan Syed kidnap and murder his ex-girlfriend and high school classmate Hae Min Lee in 1999? A Baltimore County jury in 2000 decided he did. Millions of listeners to the podcast “Serial” haven’t been so sure.
Viewers of Sunday night’s finale of the four-part HBO documentary “The Case Against Adnan Syed” will continue to wonder. But they will do so armed with new facts. Chief among them: A series of new forensic tests found no traces of Syed’s DNA on the many samples taken from Lee’s body and car during the original investigation.Viewers of Sunday night’s finale of the four-part HBO documentary “The Case Against Adnan Syed” will continue to wonder. But they will do so armed with new facts. Chief among them: A series of new forensic tests found no traces of Syed’s DNA on the many samples taken from Lee’s body and car during the original investigation.
The series’s director, Amy Berg, made good on HBO’s promise to deliver big revelations on a 20-year-old murder case that “Serial” made famous starting in 2014. Like the podcast, the HBO series offered no definitive statements about Syed’s guilt, but it did raise numerous questions about the methods and conclusions of the state.The series’s director, Amy Berg, made good on HBO’s promise to deliver big revelations on a 20-year-old murder case that “Serial” made famous starting in 2014. Like the podcast, the HBO series offered no definitive statements about Syed’s guilt, but it did raise numerous questions about the methods and conclusions of the state.
What’s next? Whatever happens will arrive in a context very different from the one Syed faced less than a month ago, when the highest court in Maryland denied him a retrial, overturning the decisions of two lower courts. Here’s a quick look at the finale’s major revelations.What’s next? Whatever happens will arrive in a context very different from the one Syed faced less than a month ago, when the highest court in Maryland denied him a retrial, overturning the decisions of two lower courts. Here’s a quick look at the finale’s major revelations.
Many samples were taken from Lee during the original investigation, including fingernail clippings and material from necklaces and clothing. New tests performed at the defense’s request revealed that none of the samples tested positive for Syed’s DNA. His DNA also was not found among samples taken from Lee’s car, where prosecutors have said they believe she was strangled.Many samples were taken from Lee during the original investigation, including fingernail clippings and material from necklaces and clothing. New tests performed at the defense’s request revealed that none of the samples tested positive for Syed’s DNA. His DNA also was not found among samples taken from Lee’s car, where prosecutors have said they believe she was strangled.
[Read an interview about the series with its director, Amy Berg.][Read an interview about the series with its director, Amy Berg.]
No physical evidence against Syed was presented at his trial in 2000, so these findings could add heft to his innocence claim. Still, there is a major caveat: No one else’s DNA was found on Lee’s body or in her car, either. That means only that the killer, whether it was someone else or Syed, left no detectable trace among the areas sampled.No physical evidence against Syed was presented at his trial in 2000, so these findings could add heft to his innocence claim. Still, there is a major caveat: No one else’s DNA was found on Lee’s body or in her car, either. That means only that the killer, whether it was someone else or Syed, left no detectable trace among the areas sampled.
News about the DNA testing was first revealed Thursday by The Baltimore Sun, based on documents obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request. “These results in no way exonerate him,” a spokeswoman for the Maryland Attorney General’s Office told The Sun.News about the DNA testing was first revealed Thursday by The Baltimore Sun, based on documents obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request. “These results in no way exonerate him,” a spokeswoman for the Maryland Attorney General’s Office told The Sun.
According to the documents, one female DNA profile not matching Lee was found on a piece of rope found near the place where Lee was buried. But that profile did not match anyone’s DNA in law enforcement databases. The DNA of investigating officers, who might accidentally have left some material behind, was eliminated.According to the documents, one female DNA profile not matching Lee was found on a piece of rope found near the place where Lee was buried. But that profile did not match anyone’s DNA in law enforcement databases. The DNA of investigating officers, who might accidentally have left some material behind, was eliminated.
Latent fingerprints pulled from the rearview mirror of Lee’s car did not match Syed’s. The defense requested that they be compared with prints in the database.Latent fingerprints pulled from the rearview mirror of Lee’s car did not match Syed’s. The defense requested that they be compared with prints in the database.
They did not match with anyone’s prints in the system. Whoever left the prints has never been arrested and booked.They did not match with anyone’s prints in the system. Whoever left the prints has never been arrested and booked.
[Haven’t yet seen the HBO series? Here’s what to know before watching.][Haven’t yet seen the HBO series? Here’s what to know before watching.]
The state’s key witness, Jay Wilds, a former friend of Syed’s, told the police that after he helped Syed bury Lee’s body, he went with Syed to ditch Lee’s car at a grassy lot in a residential area of Baltimore. Wilds led the police to the car about six weeks after Lee was killed.The state’s key witness, Jay Wilds, a former friend of Syed’s, told the police that after he helped Syed bury Lee’s body, he went with Syed to ditch Lee’s car at a grassy lot in a residential area of Baltimore. Wilds led the police to the car about six weeks after Lee was killed.
Private investigators hired by Berg asked Erik Ervin, a turf physiologist with a Ph.D. in horticulture, to examine the grassy lot, along with photographs of the car from the day police discovered it. Numerous factors — including the freshness of the tire tracks, the freshness of the grass blades visible in the treads and the condition of the grass beneath the car — led Ervin to believe that the car had been there for only a week at most. Private investigators hired by Berg asked Erik Ervin, a turf physiologist from the University of Delaware with a Ph.D. in horticulture, to examine the grassy lot, along with photographs of the car from the day police discovered it. Numerous factors — including the freshness of the tire tracks, the freshness of the grass blades visible in the treads and the condition of the grass beneath the car — led Ervin to believe that the car may have been there for a week or less.
The private investigators also spoke with Jan Gorniak, the chief medical examiner of Fulton County, Ga. She examined the autopsy report and photographs and surmised that descriptions of Lee’s injuries did not in many ways appear consistent with the theory that she died during a struggle in her car.The private investigators also spoke with Jan Gorniak, the chief medical examiner of Fulton County, Ga. She examined the autopsy report and photographs and surmised that descriptions of Lee’s injuries did not in many ways appear consistent with the theory that she died during a struggle in her car.
Because of markings caused by a phenomenon called lividity, which Gorniak described as “the settling of blood after you die,” she said that Lee’s body must have lain for eight to 12 hours somewhere other than where she was ultimately buried, in Baltimore’s Leakin Park. Her assessment contradicts the prosecution’s timeline, which has Syed and Wilds burying Lee’s body about five hours after the slaying.Because of markings caused by a phenomenon called lividity, which Gorniak described as “the settling of blood after you die,” she said that Lee’s body must have lain for eight to 12 hours somewhere other than where she was ultimately buried, in Baltimore’s Leakin Park. Her assessment contradicts the prosecution’s timeline, which has Syed and Wilds burying Lee’s body about five hours after the slaying.
Wilds gave two police interviews and testified at trial, and the contradictions among those accounts were well documented in “Serial” and in earlier episodes of the HBO series. (Click here for a useful comparison of the various timelines Wilds gave to investigators.) They are significant and many.Wilds gave two police interviews and testified at trial, and the contradictions among those accounts were well documented in “Serial” and in earlier episodes of the HBO series. (Click here for a useful comparison of the various timelines Wilds gave to investigators.) They are significant and many.
Berg contacted Wilds, who declined to be interviewed for the series. He did, however, provide statements.Berg contacted Wilds, who declined to be interviewed for the series. He did, however, provide statements.
In them, he made several new claims. One was that the police had coached him to say in his second taped interview that Syed first showed him Lee’s body, in the trunk of her car, at a Best Buy parking lot, not at a meeting point off Edmondson Avenue, as he had originally said.In them, he made several new claims. One was that the police had coached him to say in his second taped interview that Syed first showed him Lee’s body, in the trunk of her car, at a Best Buy parking lot, not at a meeting point off Edmondson Avenue, as he had originally said.
The Best Buy location matches a map drawn by investigators based on cellphone geolocation records. Those records have themselves been called into question — a factor cited in the lower courts’ decisions to vacate Syed’s conviction.The Best Buy location matches a map drawn by investigators based on cellphone geolocation records. Those records have themselves been called into question — a factor cited in the lower courts’ decisions to vacate Syed’s conviction.
In his statement to Berg, Wilds said that Syed showed up to his house in Lee’s car with the body in the trunk. This is new.In his statement to Berg, Wilds said that Syed showed up to his house in Lee’s car with the body in the trunk. This is new.
Also new: Wilds told Berg that Syed asked him to procure 10 pounds of marijuana. Wilds said that once the marijuana was acquired, Syed threatened to turn him in if he did not help bury Lee’s body.Also new: Wilds told Berg that Syed asked him to procure 10 pounds of marijuana. Wilds said that once the marijuana was acquired, Syed threatened to turn him in if he did not help bury Lee’s body.
The police and prosecutors have consistently stood by their methods and conclusions. According to Syed’s defense lawyer, C. Justin Brown, the state’s attorney general refused as recently as November to offer Syed any plea deal without a full admission of guilt and more prison time.The police and prosecutors have consistently stood by their methods and conclusions. According to Syed’s defense lawyer, C. Justin Brown, the state’s attorney general refused as recently as November to offer Syed any plea deal without a full admission of guilt and more prison time.