The Case Against Adnan Syed episode three aired last night (Tuesday, April 9) on SkyAtlantic now.The full documentary series is streaming on NOW TV in the UK and HBO now. Episode four concludes next week (Tuesday, April 16) at 9pm and there is still a huge amount of doubt surrounding Adnan’s case. One area of huge scepticism is the testimony of Jay Wilds.
Who is Jay Wilds?
Jay Wilds was one of the main witnesses in the trial of Adnan Syed.
He was also a classmate of Adnan’s and dated Adnan’s friend Stephanie McPherson.
Adnan is currently serving life in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in January 1999, something which he has always denied.
Adnan Syed was convicted in February 2000 of first-degree murder and was given a life sentence, plus 30 years.
Ever since the trial and the subsequent 2014 Serial podcast by Sarah Koening and now the new documentary, The Case Against Adnan Syed, huge doubts have been cast over Adnan’s case and what actually happened to Hae.
Speaking exclusively to press in London, including Express.co.uk lawyer and advocate for Adnan, Rabia Chaudry said: “I actually do think [we will find out what happened]. We are getting closer and closer really with every investigation and you know what, the investigation continues.
“Even now there are still things we are digging into and people we are talking to. In the United States, since the series has aired, more people have come forward and there has been some new information that we are getting.
“I really do have faith we will get to the truth.”
WILL ADNAN SYED BE RELEASED?
The testimony that Jay Wilds gave was the evidence used to convict Adnan of Hae's murder, despite there being no physical evidence.
As the documentary details, DNA samples did not produce positive results for Syed’s DNA in Hae’s cars, where police believe she was killed.
The fingerprints from the rearview mirror of Hae's car did not match Adnan’s and the location of the car threw up a whole lot of questions.
Jan Gorniak, a chief medical examiner looked at the autopsy report of Have and photographs of Hae’s body.
She argued that Hae’s body lay for around eight to 12 hours before she was buried, because of marking left by lividity.
Lividity is the settling of blood after you die and her assessment completely contradicted Will’s testimony that Hae’s body was buried five hours after she was strangled.
WHO IS STEPHANIE MACPHERSON?
As revealed in The Case Against Adnan Syed, Wilds' testimony is highly contradictory and very significant.
Wilds originally said he had helped Adnan bury Hae’s body on January 13, 1999, in his first police interview.
He also said he first saw Hae's body in a local street.
He also told police that earlier that day, Syed had to him that he intended to kill Hae.
In the second police interview, Wilds told police that Syed called him, asking to meet in a Best Buy parking lot.
Jay originally said it was in Best Buy where he saw Hae’s body in the boot of the car.
Prosecutors then went on to produce mobile phone records which they said confirmed Wild’s version of events in the second tap recording.
However, it was later revealed that these mobile phone records were unreliable as the data used only recorded outgoing calls.
Lawyers speaking in the documentary even go so far as to say the police coerced Jay’s confession.
Jay does not feature physically in the documentary, but he did give written statements to be used in the series.
Director of The Case Against Adnan Syed, Amy Berg said: “I have been speaking with Jay quite all actually but he is not in camera in the film, we tell his story through a lot of different means.
“Through his interviews with the police, through his partners and friends, so his story is very well fleshed out. “
The statement from Jay alleges that police had coached him in what to say in his second taped interview which was used to build a case against Adnan and later used as evidence in court.
The text on behalf of Jay in the documentary reads: “Jay maintained to the filmmakers that on the day of the murder, he borrowed Adnan’s car to buy his girlfriend a birthday present.
“In the police conversation, he contradicted past statements by suggesting he tried to return Adnan’s car at school, but couldn’t find him and left.
“Jay told filmmakers that Adnan showed up at his house and that’s where he saw Hae’s Body, not at Best Buy as he had previously stated.
“He said that the idea of best buy came from the police.
“Jay told the filmmakers that Adnan asked him to procure 10 pounds of marijuana. Jay claims that once he acquired the marijuana, Adnan threatened to turn him in if he didn’t help bury Hae’s body.”
Another issue from Jay’s testimony raised in the documentary is the location of Hae’s car.
Wilds had told police that he and Adnan buried Hae’s body and ditched her car on a grassy plot in a residential street.
However, this meant the car would be left there for six weeks and private investigators questioned the freshness of the grass, leading them to believe the car been delivery moved and had sat there for only one week.
WHO IS ADNAN SYED?
In 2003, Syed made an appeal which was unsuccessful and did not file an appeal for post-conviction relief until 2010.
It is claimed this was because of ineffective assistance of counsel.
It is further alleged that his defence attorney Cristina Gutierrez had failed to investigate Adnan’s alibi witness, Asia McClain.
His second appeal was denied in 2014, but in 2016, Judge Martin P Welch overturned Syed’s conviction and ordered a new trial.
On March 8, 2019, the Maryland Court of Appeals overturned the Maryland Court of Special Appeals decision to grant Syed a new trial.
Syed's attorney Justin Brown said in a statement that they are “devastated” by the decision “but we will not give up on Adnan Syed.”
Brown added: “There was a credible alibi witness who was with Adnan at the precise time of the murder and now the Court of Appeals has said that witness would not have affected the outcome of the proceeding.
“We think just the opposite is true. From the perspective of the defendant, there is no stronger evidence than an alibi witness.”
The Case Against Adnan Syed is streaming on NOW TV now
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently, see more details here.