Research Paper On Hae Min Lee's Murder

Aurora Carnes
Mr. Dais
English 11
18 May 2017
The Mystery of Hae Min Lee’s Murder
Hae Min Lee, a student at Woodlawn High School was found dead in Leakin Park in January of 1999. Adnan Syed was the main suspect due to the fact he is Hae’s ex-boyfriend, and Adnan's former friend Jay Wilds testified against him, securing Adnan's conviction. People who know Adnan describe him as a nice person, surely not capable of murder. Adnan should not have been convicted of this crime because his lawyer looked over key evidence, Hae’s diary says only positive things about Adnan, and there is no physical evidence linking him to the crime. Every day after school, Hae gave her younger cousin a ride home. When the school called Hae’s family, stating that the

In the first interview, Jay tells police he had nothing to do with burying Hae. Later, he tells investigators he was forced to help. Jay claims in his first interview Adnan showed him Hae’s body in the trunk of her own car at a strip mall. In the second interview and at trial Jay states he was shown the body in the Best Buy parking lot. Jay later changes his story for the third time, saying he saw Hae’s body in front of Jay's grandmother's house. Jay stated, "I lied about the location because I'm associated with murder, I figured there were cameras." If there were cameras, that would only help Jays case, proving his story. He has no good reason to lie if he's innocent. Sadly, there is no security footage to prove one way or the other. Jay also claims Adnan said he was going to kill Hae 4 or 5 days before, then the night before, then that day at lunch. Jay tells investigators that Adnan was carefully plotting Hae’s murder. Later he says he didn't believe Adnan was serious and thought it was all a big joke. When Jay is questioned on why he didn't come forward to prevent this murder, he says he was afraid that he would be put in jail for selling drugs. Jay also says he kept quiet because Adnan threatened to hurt Stephanie, Jay’s girlfriend. Keep in mind Jay’s testimony is the state's main indication Adnan is guilty. Jay cannot keep his stories straight, he’s a drug dealer, and worked at an adult film store. Jay is not a credible

Adnan states he liked Christina and believed she put a lot of effort into his case. Adnan had trust in the judicial system and pleaded his innocence. He believed if he told the truth, justice would be served. Christina was sick while representing Adnan. She had multiple sclerosis complicated by diabetes, ultimately dying in 2004. Christina failed to exhibit all of the evidence supporting Adnan's innocence. Adnan's new lawyer, Justin Brown, brought to the judge's attention the unreliability of the cell phone tower evidence. At the time of the murder, Adnan's cell phone was used near the burial site. Adnan states Jay had his phone. The state claimed that the cell phone tower evidence inferred Adnan murdered Hae. Jay Wilds claimed the murder took place around midnight, while the cellphone records linked him to the burial sight at 7:00pm. The case was already on edge of whether Adnan was innocent or guilty, and the cell phone tower evidence was the straw that broke the camel's back. One of Adnan's classmates, Asia McClain, claims she remembers talking with Adnan in the library during the time Hae was murdered. These facts were brought to Christina's attention, but were never used in court. Adnan’s case has recently been reopened to evaluate this new