Hae Min Lee's Murder

 Disclaimer

Hi, I'm Erin, a 17-year-old high school student, passionate about true crime and law! This blog exists to be respectful while exploring true crime cases and social justice issues. Hate speech will not be tolerated.

Overview

    On February 12, 1999, The Baltimore Sun reported that the body of 18-year-old, Hae Min Lee, was found partially buried in Leakin Park. The autopsy revealed Lee died by a form of manual strangulation. At the time her body was found, Hae Min had been missing for nearly a month. Lee's ex-boyfriend, Adnan Masud Syed, was later arrested and put on trial for homicide, however, this arrest later became controversial after the 2014 Serial podcast made an episode about this case.

    This post was made to highlight the challenges that arose throughout the case including on the reliance of witness testimony and the impact media perception can have on public cases. My goal is not to sensationalize, but to understand.

Who Was Hae Min Lee?

    Hae Min Lee was an 18-year-old, Korean-American high school senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore, Maryland. She was born in South Korea in 1980 before she emigrated with her mother and brother to the United States to live with her grandparents. At Woodlawn High, Lee was a student athlete who was in the magnet program and participated in lacrosse and field hockey. Lee’s brother and other relatives described her as someone who cared deeply about family and looked out for other. Hae was a good student with plans to become an optician or into medicine. She was so much more than just a name in the headlines. Hae Min Lee was a devoted daughter, sister, friend, and a bright young woman with dreams that were never fulfilled.

Her Disappearance 

    On January 13, 1999, Hae Min Lee’s family reported her missing after she failed to pick up her younger cousin from daycare. She had last been seen by classmates at school around 2:15 p.m. The police called numerous friends of Lee to try and locate her, including her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed. The last time Syed claimed to have seen her was around the time classes ended at school. At around 1:30 the next morning, police reached Lee’s current boyfriend who said he had arrived home at 7 p.m. On February 6, police conducted a dog search around Woodlawn in attempts to find any trace of Lee however, they came up empty handed. A few days later on February 9, searches came to an unfortunate end when Lee’s body was found partially buried by fellow Baltimore resident, Alonzo Sellers. This heartbreaking end shattered Lee’s family, as her mother described it as feeling like she was in prison where she couldn’t breathe. Shortly after Lee’s body was recovered, Baltimore City Police received a call from, Jay Wilds, a friend of Adnan Syed. Wilds told the police Syed expressed wanting to kill Lee and after Syed confessed to her killing, Wilds helped him bury the body. The Baltimore police then applied for search warrants for access to Syed phone records shortly before he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

The Trials

    Syed’s first trail began in December of 1999 and his family hired defense attorney, Cristina Gutierrez. However, this trial ended in a subsequent mistrial after jurors overheard Gutierrez arguing with the presiding judge. Gutierrez interpreted a statement the judge made as claims that she was lying and told it as such, unaware the jury was within an earshot. The second trial for Syed began in January and lasted 6 weeks. On February 25, 2000, the jury found Syed guilty on counts of kidnapping, false imprisonment, robbery, and first-degree murder and he was later sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years. In result of the verdict, Syed’s family fired Gutierrez and he later lost an appeal of his conviction.

Post-trial Petition

    In May 2010, Syed sought post-conviction relief via petition as he felt Gutierrez failed to investigate a crucial witness to his alibi, Asia McClain, who claimed to be taking Syed to the library at the time prosecutors accused Syed of attacking Lee at the Best Buy. The petition was later denied 4 years later by Justice Martin Welch who claimed Gutierrez’s failure to investigate the witness was an act of strategy rather than incompetence as McClain’s timeline did not line up with the timeline Syed argued. Judge Welch later reopened Syed’s petition after his case was moved to the circuit court in 2015. In June 2016, Syed was later granted a retrial but denied the opportunity of bail. After numerous hearings, it was found that even with McClain’s witness testimony, it would not have done anything but argue what time Lee was accurately murdered rather than dispute Syed’s motive and opportunity to kill her. In 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected Syed’s appeal for a new trial. In response, Maryland Attorney General, Brian Forsh, stated the evidence linking Syed’s to Lee’s death was “overwhelming.”

Serial Podcast and Conviction Reinstatement

    For over two months, Hae Min Lee’s death and Adnan Syed’s trial became the subject of the first season of the podcast, Serial, hosted by Sarah Koenig. In light of the spotlight the Serial podcast received, another podcast, Undisclosed: The State v. Adnan Syed, was later created by Rabia Chaudry, Susan Simpson, Collin Miller. Chaudry said she was friends with Adnan from childhood while Simpson and Miller heard Serial and became interested in the case. The podcasts brought a significant amount of spotlight to the case and led to the production of numerous documentaries from both Investigation Discovery and HBO. After Serial ended, The Baltimore Sun revealed previous DNA tests were conducted and none of the results collected matched with Syed’s DNA. In March 2022, the Baltimore City State Attorney’s Office signed off on a motion filed by Syed’s defense attorney, Erica J. Suter. Later on, a judge ordered the Baltimore Police Department to send evidence to the Forensic Analytical Crime Lab in California within 15 days. In September 2022, the defense filed a motion to vacate Syed’s conviction. The motion stated the State committed violations of a Brady disclosure (“exculpatory or impeaching information and evidence that is material to the guilt or innocence or to the punishment of a defendant”).  The motion cited two separate Brady violations: the prosecution suppressed related to other potential suspects and the prosecution failed to disclose the identity of a suspect who previously threatened Lee’s life, who had the motive and opportunity to kill Lee. The motion was primarily based off a note from prosecutor, Kevin Urick, in which he stated: “He told her he would make her disappear; he would kill her.” However, Urick attested that his note was taken entirely out of context and that he was referring to Syed rather than an alternative suspect as the defense believed. On September 19, Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phil vacated Syed’s conviction and he was released from prison the same day. In response, Young Lee, Hae Min Lee’s younger brother, argued against Syed’s release, stating he was not giving adequate time or notice to testify or speak. Syed’s conviction was later reinstated by an appellate court that claimed the defense failed to provide adequate reason to throw out Syed’s conviction. Syed argued for the court to reconsider their decision but they denied the argument. As of 2025, Syed’s conviction has not been thrown out and is, in fact, reinstated, however his sentence was reduced to time served so he still remains free.

Reflection

        Learning about Hae Min Lee’s case made me realize how easy it is to get caught up in the details of true crime and forget there was a real person in the center of all of it. As I researched her story, it became more evident that, yes, Syed may be a victim of the system, but in the end, Hae Min Lee was the true victim. The victim who lost her life due to a senseless act of violence. I found myself thinking less about the courtroom drama and more about Hae as a person, a daughter, a sister, and a friend to many. Even with all the debates and spotlight about innocence, guilt, or justice, the fact remains her life was stolen, and that loss should never be overshadowed.

If you've made it this far: Thank you for reading with an open mind and heart! I ask that any comments, if any, remain respectful, not just for me, but for the memory of Hae Min Lee and others like her.