On January 13, 1999, eighteen year old high school student Hae Min Lee attended classes at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore, Maryland, just as she did every day. She was a good student, played lacrosse and field hockey, and was beloved by her classmates. At the end of the day she left the campus, and was never seen again.

Her family reported her missing later that afternoon when she failed to pick up her younger cousin from daycare. Hae was trustworthy and consistent, and it was unlike her to not do something she said she would do. Investigators began to look into her disappearance immediately, but they were unable to locate her.

Four weeks later, on February 9th, a man found the partially decomposed body of Hae in Leakin Park about 100 ft off the road near 3155 N Franklintown Rd. The man stated he had stopped there to relieve himself, and when he walked into the woods to be out of sight from the road, he found her body. Her body showed signs of strangulation, which was ultimately determined to be the cause of death. Although investigators initially suspected the man who found the body, they received an anonymous tip to look into Hae’s ex boyfriend, Adnan Syed, who had previously spoken about killing Hae. The tip also said that Syed had enlisted the friend’s help in getting rid of her body.

After requesting and receiving Syed’s cell phone records which police believed gave them a credible timeline, they arrested Adnan Syed on February 28, 1999 and charged him with first degree murder. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years, without the possibility of parole. There was no physical evidence to tie him to the crime, and DNA testing of biological material found with the body did not match Syed. Although the case has been subject to wide speculation, Adnan Syed’s appeals attempts ultimately made it all the way to the US Supreme Court, but have ultimately been unsuccessful and he remains in jail.