Killing of Hae Min Lee

Hae Min Lee (Korean: 이해민; born October 15, 1980)[1] was a Korean-American high school student who was last seen alive on January 13, 1999, in Baltimore County, Maryland. Her body was found four weeks later in Leakin Park; she had been killed by manual strangulation.

Quick facts: Killing of Hae Min Lee, Location, Date, Attac... ▼

Killing of Hae Min Lee
Hae Min Lee, the victim
Location	Leakin Park, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. (discovery of body)
Date	January 13, 1999 c. 3:15 p.m. (EST) (abduction) February 9, 1999 (discovery of body)
Attack type	Homicide by manual strangulation, kidnapping
Victim	Hae Min Lee (Korean: 이해민), aged 18
Perpetrator	Unknown
Accused	Adnan Masud Syed
Verdict	Guilty on all counts
Charges	First-degree murder Kidnapping False imprisonment Robbery
Sentence	Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole plus 30 years

Lee's ex-boyfriend, Adnan Masud Syed (born May 21, 1981),[2][3] was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.[4][5][6] In 2014, the podcast Serial covered the killing, which brought renewed attention to the case.[7] In 2016, Judge Martin P. Welch vacated Syed's conviction and ordered a new trial.[8] That decision was upheld by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in 2018,[9] but overturned by the Maryland Court of Appeals in 2019.[10] Following an investigation by prosecutors that uncovered new evidence, a judge again vacated Syed's conviction in September 2022.[11] On October 11, 2022, prosecutors announced that the charges against Syed had been dropped,[12] effectively exonerating him.[13][14][15] However, on March 28, 2023, Syed's conviction was reinstated by an appellate court; the court stayed the effective date of the decision for 60 days.[16][17] In May the Maryland Supreme Court extended the stay of the conviction reinstatement pending the resolution of the appeal.[18]