Prosecutors drop charges against Adnan Syed, the subject of 'Serial' podcast

Adnan Syed (center), leaving court on Sept. 19. He was released after a judge overturned his conviction in the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee.
Adnan Syed (center), leaving court on Sept. 19. He was released after a judge overturned his conviction in the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee.
Brian Witte | AP

Prosecutors in Baltimore have dropped charges against Adnan Syed, the man who was released from prison last month after having served 22 years for the murder of Hae Min Lee, his former girlfriend. Lee's death and Syed's conviction were the subject of the hit podcast Serial.

When Syed's conviction from 2000 was overturned last month, prosecutors in the city State's Attorney's Office had 30 days to decide whether or not to dismiss his case entirely or to retry him. The news was first reported Tuesday morning by The Baltimore Sun.

In a motion filed last month, the office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City stated that a year-long investigation had revealed new information about two potential other suspects in Lee's murder. The names of those suspects were not made public in that motion, as the investigation was still ongoing. Prosecutors noted in last month's filing that at least one of those suspects was not disclosed to Syed's attorney at the time of his trial.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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