An update on the Adnan Syed case comes as a witness confirmed the alibi of the convicted killer. Sarah Koenig of Serial continues the podcast on Syed's case to cover the three-day court hearing.
The testimony of a witness might win Adnan Syed a new trial for the 1999 murder that he was convicted for. People reported that Asia McClain, now Asia Champman, testified in a Baltimore court to confirm Syed's alibi during the supposed time of the murder of Hae Min Lee.
McClain claimed that she saw Syed at 2:15 PM in the Woodlawn Public Library on January 13, 1999. She said she talked with Syed until around 2:40 PM, the time prosecutors believed that Lee was being buried. Afterwards, McClain said that her boyfriend arrived and they left Syed in the library.
After Syed was arrested, McClain said she wrote Syed a letter reminding him of their conversation and suggested that the library surveillance video can prove his alibi at that time. She described Syed as calm when they talked with each other at the library. The next day, she wrote another letter, offering her help to Syed.
Syed's defense attorney C. Justin Brown said that McClain's testimony is important since it confirms Syed's alibi. McClain said that she did not speak up before because she was not aware of the importance of her timeline to Syed's defense. She added that Syed's previous lawyer, Cristina Gutierrez, did not reach out to her.
ABC2 News said that McClain was cross-examined in court. At one time, she reportedly broke to tears but her story remained consistent throughout. Doug Colbert, a law professor at the University of Maryland, said that McClain provided important testimony that could help Syed win a new trial.
Another argument that Syed's defense presented related to the cell phone towers. Circumstantial evidence gathered from the cell towers placed Syed at Leakin Park where Lee's body was found. However, defense argued that prosecutors ignored a cover letter with instructions from AT&T, saying incoming calls are not reliable for location status.
Syed was convicted over evidence presented by the cell-phone towers and Syed's supposed accomplice Jay Wilds. Colbert said that it would have been hard to arrest Syed with only Wilds' testimony to rely on.
Syed filed a petition for post-conviction relief in 2010. According to The Guardian, Syed's three-day court hearing will be covered by Sarah Koenig as continuation of her Serial podcast for the Adnan Syed case. Koenig said that McClain was very sure of herself and her memory of the day she saw Syed at the library.
Hosted by Koenig, Serial is a true-crime podcast that previously featured the Adnan Syed case. Its current season delves into the case of Bowe Bergdhal, a US soldier captured by Taliban for 5 years but was later rescued and later charged with life imprisonment.
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