THE SQUIZ
Eight years after the early true-crime podcast Serial made his case famous, Adnan Syed, the man convicted of killing Hae Min Lee, has been released from jail and had his conviction overturned. That came at the request of prosecutors in the US city of Baltimore after a year spent re-examining his case. City Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn concluded that prosecutors had failed to turn over crucial evidence and that 2 other suspects hadn’t been thoroughly investigated. A freed Syed was met with cheers from supporters, but Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby says he’s not in the clear yet. “We’re not yet declaring Adnan Syed is innocent… But we are declaring that in the interest of fairness and justice, he is entitled to a new trial,” she said yesterday.

BACK IT UP A BIT…
Syed was 19yo when he was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for premeditated murder, kidnapping, robbery and false imprisonment over the death of his ex-girlfriend. That followed the discovery of the body of 18yo Lee in the city’s Leakin Park in 1999. Prosecutors argued Syed was a scorned lover who strangled her with the help of friend Jay Wilds (who was given probation instead of a prison sentence after he confessed to helping bury Lee’s body), but mobile phone location data used to show Syed’s guilt has since been proven unreliable. Syed always maintained his innocence, and in 2014, doubts about his guilt were explored in the 12 episodes of Serial. It quickly became an international hit with its episodes downloaded more than 340 million times. Serial‘s producers tweeted they will release a new episode covering the latest developments.

SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Prosecutors have 30 days to decide whether to drop the charges against Syed for good or order a new trial, which experts say is unlikely given Syed is now 41yo and has already spent 23 years in prison. Until then, he is under house arrest. His lawyer said they “now know” that “Adnan’s trial was profoundly and outrageously unfair.” The 2 new suspects haven’t been named, but both have records of violence towards women. And while Syed’s family have expressed relief, Lee’s family say they were blindsided, with her brother Young Lee telling the hearing, “This is not a podcast for me… This is real life – a never-ending nightmare for 20-plus years. Whenever I think it’s over and it’s ended, it always comes back.”