In September, a legal team formed to represent Wilds and also quickly worked out a plea deal to testify against Syed. 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. Thats all it takes to support the journalism you rely on. In 1999 18-year-old high school student Hae Min Lee was murdered. A majority of the state's evidence against Adnan comes from Jay Wilds' testimony. Not just that, but prosecutors are also now saying a key witness -- Jay Wilds-- gave inconsistent accounts to cops. October 11, 2022: Prosecutors drop charges against Syed. He remains calm as handcuffs are being put on him, saying, I'll be alrightI have faith in the Lord. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. It wasnt like, Oh, were down in the park, come on down.We were friendly, we were cool. In The Case Against Adnan Syed, the filmmakers interviewed Jay in January 2019. I was also running [drug] operations from my grandmothers house. Lee had disappeared on Jan. 13, and almost a month later, on Feb. 9, her body was found by a passerby in Baltimore's Leakin Park. Even to Serial, the podcast that detailed nearly every part of Syed's case, Wild remained off the record to provide background information, according to Rolling Stone. Like, hes not in a car or anything. In. I didnt tell the cops it was in front of my house because I didnt want to involve my grandmother. Jay Wilds is a former classmate of Adnan Syed from Baltimore, Maryland. When the Serial podcast premiered in October of 2014, many listeners were shocked to find that almost the entirety of the prosecutions case to convict Adnan Syed for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee hinged on the testimony of one witnessJay Wilds. Joining is simple and doesnt need to cost a lot: You can become a sustaining member for as little as $3 or $5 a month. Feb. 1999: Police built a case against Syed, largely on the testimony of a man named Jay Wilds, who at the time had more than 20 run-ins with police -- including aggravated assault against a . This is the same day Adnan was arrested, at the age of 17. Speaking with The Intercept, Wilds said his assumption was . 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. According to the Undisclosed podcast, Lee goes on her first date with her LensCrafter co-worker Don Clinedinst, who happens to be the son of the store manager. What did you know about Adnan and his relationship with Hae Min Lee? Normal high school Im mad at her and Ill scratch her car sort of stuff. January 1, 1999: Lee and Don Clinedinst go on their first date. I also ran the operation out of my grandmothers house and that also put my family at risk. In it, Koenig talks to Syed who says hes innocent. They also highlighted the inconsistent statements of his co-defendant, Jay Wilds, who testified against him. I was also around a bunch of people earlier the day [at Cathys], and I didnt want them to get fucked up with homicide.. The following two series stepped away from the whodunnit intensity of the first, and went on to examine an American army deserter and the court system in Ohio. What the Undisclosed pod offers up for an explanation is that because Wilds himself came under investigation, he could not recover the money. Once the police made it clear that my drug dealing wasnt gonna affect the outcome of what was going on, I became a little bit more transparent. The Woodlawn man has maintained his innocence and the HBO series "The Case Against Adnan Syed" concluded. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Jay is the center of gravity in this case. It wasnt like, Oh, were going bowling, and lets call it in before we go bowling and call the rest of our friends and call Jay. I dont remember ever going to any kinds of functions or endeavors together, or any concerts or clubs together, you know. So where is Wilds today? Her remains were discovered buried in a park a month later. Take my car, take my cellphone. He said that the idea of Best Buy came from the police. He also claimedthat he felt like Koenig, whose account challenges his, tried to pressure him into giving an interview and created an evil archetype of him. Jay was likely not given a FULL check because he promised to present facts at Adnan's trial. Syed was 17 at the time that Lee was murdered in January 1999. Here, we piece together the accounts as they reportedly happened in the 1999 teen murder case: While their relationship was kept a secret because of both religious and cultural differences, classmates Syed and Lee dated in 1998, and broke up in December of that year, according to court records. And I looked real good again, and thats when I seen what looked like a foot. He later becomes a suspect because he walked 127 feet to find a place to use the restroom. Before you would just go down there for drafting, shop, and everyone would co-mingle, and all the students interacted. The student told the official that he was suppose[d] to get a ride home from the victim, but he got detained at school and felt that she just got tired of waiting and left, according to the 2019 appeal. No. Then, at 4:15 they drop off Haes car at 1-70 Park and Ride; Wilds drops Syed off at track practice afterward, and then at 6:45 p.m. Syed calls Wilds on the cellphone to pick him up; at 7:15 p.m., after eating McDonalds and Syed receiving a phone call from police looking for Hae, they go to Wilds house to get a shovel and pick, return to Haes car, and then bury Haes body in Leakin Park. They leave the car at a park-and-ride lot. Jay Wilds was a crucial player in Adnan's conviction - he testified that Adnan confessed to him about killing Lee, saw Lee's body in the trunk of her car, and helped bury her body in Leakin Park. When I die, my daughter will die with me. In 2000, Syed was found guilty of the murder and given a life sentence as a result of Wilds' witness testimony. In part 2, Wilds shares his thoughts on the actions he took following the murder, as well as his choice to remain uninvolved as This American Life producers Julie Snyder and Sarah Koenig pieced. We got in his car and start driving. I met him while I was still at Woodlawn, so around 1998. So that would ruin her life too, Wilds told Vargas-Cooper. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. maison d'amelie paris clothing. Adnan says, Just help me dig the hole. And Im still thinking, Inner-city black guy, selling pot to high school kids. The cops are going to fry me. But that, according to what I learned later, is probably not what happened. "I guess I was being kind of a jury on whether or not people needed to be involved or whatever, but these people didn't have anything to do with it, and I knew they didn't have anything to do with it," he said. For our age group, she was really independent. On January 13th of 1999, a 17 year old Korean girl by the name of Hae Min Lee when missing after school in Baltimore, Maryland. When I pick him up at Best Buy, hes telling me her car is somewhere there, and that he did this in the parking lot. . How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters werent on the beat? On Jan. 13, 1999, Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old highschool student from Baltimore, went missing. Syed was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years on February 25, 2000 for first degree murder,kidnapping, false imprisonment and robbery. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. And people were starting to find out he was a loser, Oh, you and Hae arent together anymore. Lee had disappeared on Jan. 13, and almost a month later, on Feb. 9, her body was found by a passerby in Baltimores Leakin Park. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Lee was last seen alive on Jan. 13, 1999. 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. Getting them in trouble for anything that they knew or that I had told them I couldnt have that. He has a lot of public support and walking away is not an option.. He was prompted to speak with detectives after a friend of Adnan and Jay, Jenn, told detectives that Jay told . Because at the time I was convinced that I would be going to jail for a long time if he turned me in for drug dealing, especially to high school kids. Its been more than two decades since the body of Woodlawn High School senior .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Hae Min Lee was found at Leakin Park in West Baltimore, Maryland. Syed was actually convicted in February 2000. April Wolfe. The police arrested and charged Lee's ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed with the murder six weeks later. To which, Wilds responded, [T]his guy drove up in front of my grandmothers house, popped the trunk, and had his dead girlfriend in the trunk. What was your life likeduring1998 and 1999? And hes like, Ive gotta put her car somewhere. So I follow him around for a few minutes, and he just picks a place at random behind some row houses, leaves her car, gets into his car, takes me home. Instead, his words were shown on a screencap: Jay maintained to the filmmakers that on the day of the murder, he borrowed Adnans car to buy his girlfriend a birthday present. 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. I dont know. I worked a lot. And I said, Hey, I need to run to the mall cause I need to get a gift for Stephanie., He said then, No, I gotta go do something. This is the first part in a multipart interview. When did he first talk to you about hurting her? Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. 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.. I might have sat next to him in a class, and joked or something. Syed could be granted another trial, though, which could pull Wilds back into the spotlight. Number of episodes: 25+ (ongoing). Jay obviously picks and chooses what he tells, and at this point its created such a mess, she says in the documentary. At times he even apologizes, as though he were trained to say something specifically and had forgotten. I went to concerts, like anything from Wu-Tang to Warped Tour. Jay's story was wildly inconsistent. 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 know I didnt kill her. As long as I live, my daughter is buried in my heart. The paper says she almost collapsed as she stepped off the witness stand and that her sobs from outside the courtroom could still be heard inside. She didnt look beat up. There was a reward of $3,075 from CrimeStoppers for information on the case leading to the indictment. Syed went on trial in February 2000 and was convicted of the murder of his girlfriend Hae Min Lee. . February 9, 1999 : Lee's body is found. According to Simpson, whenever Wilds cant recall a detail or pauses for a long period before answering a question, there can be heard a series of taps, after which Wilds always miraculously comes up with the right answer. Hae Min Lee was last seen at about 3pm on 13 January 1999. November 25, 2019: The Supreme Court rejects bid for a new trial, Without comment, the Supreme Court decided not to open a new trial. That would free Wilds to then collect the reward moneyafter detectives officially filed Syeds indictment to CrimeStoppers on October 1stin November. In both, Syed's guilt is questioned, as is Wilds's statements. I think that was his first real girlfriend, and I think thats why his reaction was so strong. August 19, 2019: The Supreme Court is asked to look at the case. I believe she had a job also. Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. 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. There is a specific point where I became involved in this. In one police interview, Wilds said he saw the body, it was in a car in the parking lot of a Best Buy. When did you two get closer to each other? Syed and Wilds were regularly with one another. And then I would only give them information pertaining to my interaction with someone or where I was. Something definite in both media arguments is Wilds's change in story. Questions still remain about Lee's 1999 murder after her ex-boyfriend Syed was sentenced to life in jail, and the case received mass attention from the podcast 'Serial. It also made household names out of its central characters, teenagers in Baltimore when the murder took place in 1999: Adnan Syed, the alleged killer; Hae Min Lee, the 18-year-old victim; and. 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. That night they bury Lees body in Leakin Park and leave her car in a residential parking lot. People had lives and were trying to get into college and stuff like that. At trial, he said Adnan killed Hae in the parking lot of Best Buy, and then he also said he helped Adnan bury her in Leakin Park, Chaudry notes during the episode. This is a moot point now, as Syed was granted a new trial in 2018. The other thing to understand is something about the culture of Baltimorethis is where the Stop Snitching video comes from. Following a six-week trial and two-hour jury deliberation, Syed is found guilty. Mr.. Heres everything we know about Jay Wilds before the premiere of HBOs documentary series, The Case Against Adnan Syed. Cathy has people over when we get there. He recalls a tense meeting with Koenig, who was attempting to persuade him into participating in the podcast, and remembers Koenig telling him that there were new developments in the case. I've known Adnan for many years, and I have. Well, according to Chaudra, Wilds attorney told her that the prosecutors threatened him by promising to prosecute him in a predominantly white county, and Wilds, who is black, was frightened enough to do what he was told. I saw the ATF and DEA take down guys in my neighborhood for selling much less than I was at the time. Other contributing causes included the emergence of new suspects in the case. To better understand this, we need to look back at Feb. 12 . Sellers had a previous record as an alleged streaker. I dont think it meant that much to her. Its while hes there that Officer Scott Adcock calls Syed asking if he knew where Lee was. 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. In another interview, he said the body was on Edmondson Avenue, while a detective testified in court that Wilds told him the body was on Franklintown Road. Photography class 9:15-10:40 a.m. English class 10:45 a.m. Adnan calls Jay and offers to lend him his car. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. He just couldnt come to grips with those feelings. Did you go to Leakin Park immediately after agreeing to help? Wilds' first taped interview with police occurred on February 28, 1999. Maintenance worker Alonzo Sellers, known as Mr. The motion to set aside Adnan's conviction stated prosecutors no longer trusted Jay Wilds's wildly inconsistent testimony. Jays post-Serial interviews with The Intercept: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Many questions remain about Wilds true role in the case, but theres no shortage of theories. Even documentary director Amy Berg openly admitted to questioning Wilds narrative of the events in the case after listening to Serial., The whole Jay storywas so confusing. Interviewed by other media, since Serial? He exited the Baltimore courthouse to deafening cheers. Were sitting there smoking and he receives a phone call from the police and gets all panicky. Wilds' testimony in the murder trial was central to the conviction of Syed due to the nature of his account of events. Yes we dig for about 40 minutes and we dig and dig, and hes digging less and less. Jay Wilds, a former classmate who claimed to have assisted Syed in disposing of the victim's body, was the key witness in his trial. Because Pusateris testimony corroborated Wilds (and also changed over time), many listeners came to believe that Pusateri also knew more (or less?) He calls me and says Im outside, so I come outside to talk to himand followed him to a different car, not his. Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly stated that Adnan Syed went to trial in December 2000. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Their accounts depart when Wilds says Syed showed him the body in the trunk of the car, and then Syed enlisted Wilds to bury Lee. Syed's release on September 19, 2022, was attributed to various factors, including the prosecution losing faith in Wilds' testimony. S on Serial, claimed he was drinking a 22-ounce Budweiser while driving when he made a pit stop. Please logout and login again. Though Wilds testimony seemed to have been trusted implicitly by Syeds jury, the Serial podcast shining a light on the key details of Wilds claims led many listeners to believe Wilds was not exactly truthful and that even the slightest bit of questioning could have unraveled his story. JAY WILDS. He has only given one interview since Syed's conviction. The thing is that the story Jay told at trial is not the same story Jay told police the first time.". The judge gave prosecutors 30 days to proceed with a new trial or drop the case. She looked kinda purple, blue, her legs were tucked behind her, she had stockings on, none of her clothes were removed, nothing like that. How old was Adnan when he went to prison in 1999? Police take evidence from the scene and interview several people in an attempt to find the killer. The kind of reporting we do is essential to democracy, but it is not easy, cheap, or profitable. Her body was found in a forest three weeks later. We were in the car together during last periodhe was ditching the last period. The taps on the recording, some have decided, may have been the sound of someone writing pen to paper very quickly on a hard surface, or just a little physical cue that Wilds needed to come up with the right answer fast. Maybe Jays a liar. Im pretty sure it was my fear of going to prison for having a bunch of weed in my grandmas house. A second court proceedings begin, the papers say. Psychology class 1:27 p.m. From the statements Wilds made in 2014 with The Intercept, it seems unlikely he would do so. Just normal conversation like, I think shes fucking around. In his testimony at the second trial, he says that he and Syed drove to Security Square Mall and claims that Syed reportedly told him he was going to kill Lee. In that situation, he was the loser. Koenig's account of the events that transpired at the time of Lee's murder, publicly rebuked Jay's version of what happened and his reasons for helping Adnan Syed and portrayed him as a petty weed dealer. Also Jay had no motive. It doesnt seem like enough of a reason to not talk to the police. But because of the specifics Wilds included in his testimony the Best Buy location that supposedly matches with call logs, strangling, the whereabouts of Lees car there wasnt much doubt Wilds was somehow involved, even if just peripherally. You cant start drawing conclusions like that. The podcast alleged that there were inconsistencies between his police statements and the testimony he gave at Syed's second trial. 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. The trial begins the second week of December and quickly ends as a mistrial, the court appeals papers say. Yeah. Adnan Syed is a 36 year old who had been convicted of first degree murder at the age of 17 on February 28, 1999. Wilds alleged that Syed had told him he had murdered Lee. Syed Adnan, then 17, was convicted of murdering Hae Min Lee, 18, in 1999 after a high school romance in Baltimore, MD. 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. But his case is now being reviewed after featuring in podcast Serial. November 6, 2015: The post-conviction relief case is reopened. Jay feels strongly that he was unfairly depicted by Koenig and that she painted a highly misleading portrayal of him and his role in the case. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. For instance, during one of his police interviews highlighted in The Case Against Adnan Syed,an officer asks Wilds, Youre sure its the 13th because we told you got these calls on the 13th? Jay responds in the affirmative. 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. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Why did you agree to help Adnan bury Hae? JayWilds and Adnan Syed may not have been close, butWilds' witness testimony would ultimately be key to convicting Syed of Hae Min Lee's murder. Im fucking done. And Adnans like, Oh, well, youre not going to help me move her are you? And Im like No, Im not gonna help you move her. He says, Ok, well, Im gonna need you to drive back to her car., Somewhere up around a corner up a hill, parked in a strange neighborhood. Wilds's testimony played a giant part in convicting Syed of murdering his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee in 1999. I remember Adnan standing next to me. Emotions have no IQ. I had friends but the groups were small. He came back with no tools or anything. Thats led to some wild and totally unproven ideas on reddit, notably that Adnan hired Jay as a kind of hitman. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC.