Sarah Koenig, host of the hit podcast “Serial,” didn’t say anything publicly at first when news broke that Adnan Syed, the subject of the podcast, would be getting a new trial.
Tuesday, however, she published a blog post, describing exactly what happened when she heard the news.
“I happened to be on Skype with our Executive Producer Julie Snyder, and both of us did exactly the same involuntary thing of sucking in our breath and then putting our hands over our mouths,” she wrote. “We weren’t so much shocked because of the legal arguments, but because it was such a long shot, this outcome.”
In light of the judge’s decision to grant a retrial, Sarah looks back at her first taped conversation with Adnan. https://t.co/DIQU85ynwf
— Serial (@serial) July 5, 2016
Koenig said she could “only imagine” that the family of Hae Min lee, the girl whom Syed was convicted of killing, was still grieving.
In her blog post, Koenig did not say whether or not she had spoken with Syed since news of the new hearing broke. Instead, she reflected on her very first conversation with him.
“At the time, it seemed to me Adnan was spinning optimistic,” she wrote. “Possibly falsely so. I mean, his legal options, by any clear-eyed assessment, were moribund.”
She gave credit to the “Undisclosed” podcast, started by Syed family friend and attorney Rabia Chaudry and attorney Susan Simpson, who found a problem with Syed’s original trial that lead the judge to take another look.
Koenig did not say in her post whether or not she’d follow the new trial for “Serial.” When Syed was going through the hearing for a new trial, she traveled to Baltimore and interrupted season two of the podcast for updates.
The state has 30 days to appeal the judge’s decision to grant a new trial.
If the State of MD thinks Adnan's defese has played it's last card, they are sorely mistaken. Much more up our sleeves. We wait.#FreeAdnan
— rabia chaudry (@rabiasquared) July 5, 2016
In a statement released through the office of the Attorney General, Lee’s family asked for privacy and thanks for the people who supported them.
““We do not speak as often or as loudly as those who support Adnan Syed, but we care just as much about this case,” the statement said. “We continue to grieve. We continue to believe justice was done when Mr. Syed was convicted of killing Hae.”
In a July 1 tweet, Syed’s lawyer said that Adnan was aware of the decision and “extremely happy” about it.
Adnan has been informed of the decision. He's extremely happy about it, but he understands we still have a long way to go. #FreeAdnan
— Justin Brown (@CJBrownLaw) July 1, 2016
