Thursday 29 September 2022 05:59 PM Hae Min Lee's family files notice to appeal Adnan Syed's release after vacated ... trends now
The family of Hae Min Lee, the 18-year-old whose death was covered in the popular podcast Serial, are appealing a Baltimore judge's decision to release Adnan Syed.
Syed, now 41, had been in prison for over 23 years for strangling Lee and burying her body in a shallow grave, before prosecutors vacated his conviction on September 19 and he was released.
Attorneys for the Lee family filed a notice to appeal his release on Wednesday morning, they told The Baltimore Sun, saying they were not given proper warning to prepare.
'The fact that makes it hard for them to swallow is the fact that they were kept in the dark,' Lee family attorney Steve Kelly told CBS Baltimore. 'They trusted the state, and the state took such an abrupt turn without sitting down and explaining it to them.'
Young Lee, Hae's brother, had requested that the court push the hearing back so that he could fly in from California, but the court did not grant his request.
He instead appeared virtually during the hearing, speaking to the judge and the prosecutors over Zoom.
'Going through it again is like a living nightmare,' Young Lee said during hearing - cameras are not allowed in Maryland courtrooms, but reporters were present.
Hae Min Lee, 18, was murdered in Baltimore in 1999. The man convicted for her killing, Adnan Syed (right) was released from prison on Monday in a hearing which the Lee family said was sprung on them with little warning
Kelly said the family's appeal is 'the first step in seeking the Maryland Court of Special Appeals' to review 'potential violations of Maryland's victim's rights statutes in connection with the hearing.'
'Young Lee filed the notice of appeal based on violations of his family's right to meaningfully participate in the Sept. 19, 2022 hearing on the motion to vacate Adnan Syed's conviction.'
The Lee family received notice of Syed's September 19 hearing on September 16, less than one full business day out from when he would go before the judge. Young Lee had requested that the court push the hearing back so that he could fly in from California, but the court did not grant his request.
Lee's family claims that they were not given a 'reasonable' amount of time to prepare, bringing on litigation the day before the hearing.
According to Kelly, the swift proceeding violated the victims' rights law in Maryland.
Exactly much time a family should be given before a hearing, however, is not specified in the law.
Syed is greeted by supporters outside of the courtroom after his conviction was vacated
Syed, center, leaves the Cummings Courthouse on Septemeber 19 after a judge ordered his release
Marilyn Mosby, the state attorney for Baltimore City, says that the Lee family had a 'reasonable' amount of time to prepare for Syed's hearing on September 19
Prosecutors denied the claims made by Kelly, saying that they gave the family advance notice of the hearing and had been in contact with them before the motion had even been filed.
'We reached out to the family last week, we spoke with the brother of Hae Min Lee, we provided a copy of the motion, my attorney gave her cell phone number-- we provided counseling service,' said Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby in an "interview with TMZ.
'We then followed through and gave them, once we found out on Friday, when the hearing was set which was on Monday - the court set it in for Monday - we alerted them,' Mosby said. 'And not only did we go so far as to alert them so that they could appear, but we went and we asked the judge for a Zoom link so that they could be a part of the process.'
Syed, who dated Hae Min Lee while in high school, had been in prison since being convicted of the teenager's murder in 2000.
The now 41-year-old's case made major headlines in 2014 with the 'Serial' podcast, which examined the evidence both in support of his innocence and against it.
Syed was convicted of strangling Lee (with him above at prom). The two were high school classmates who had dated
Prosecutors now have 30 days to either dismiss the charges against Syed or continue with a new trial ordered by Judge Phinn.
Mosby said last week that they are waiting on DNA evidence to come back before officially dismissing the charges against the Maryland man.
According to a press release from Mosby's office, the newly tested DNA evidence includes touch-DNA from places such as fingernails, fingernail clippers, pubic hairs, underwear, bra and shirt.
The release indicated that 'trace-level male DNA' was found from some of these tests, but that 'no useful typing results were obtained from this analysis.'
Additionally, DNA tested from the shirt swab was ' so minimal it would not likely produce any results.'
Adnan Syed was just 17-years-old when he was arrested for the murder of Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend
'If that DNA comes back inconclusive, I will certify that he's innocent,' Mosby told Baltimore station WJZ News. 'If it comes back to two alternative suspects, I will certify that he's innocent. If it comes back to Adnan Syed, the state is still in a position to proceed upon the prosecution.'
The DailyMail.com reached out to prosecutors about the status of any new DNA tests that could yield a decision on whether to start a new trial, but did not immediately receive a response.
If exonerated, Syed could be entitled to compensation from the state after
