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Podcast changes public perception of murder case

Shamim Syed, whose son Adnan was convicted for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend and whose case is being revived in a wildly popular podcast, poses for a photograph in her home, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014, in Baltimore. A Maryland appeals court recently showed interest in the case and will hold a hearing in January weighing arguments that the man had ineffective counsel. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Shamim Syed, whose son Adnan was convicted for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend and whose case is being revived in a wildly popular podcast, poses for a photograph in her home, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014, in Baltimore. A Maryland appeals court recently showed interest in the case and will hold a hearing in January weighing arguments that the man had ineffective counsel. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Shamim Syed, whose son Adnan was convicted for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend and whose case is being revived in a wildly popular podcast, poses for a photograph in her home, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014, in Baltimore. A Maryland appeals court recently showed interest in the case and will hold a hearing in January weighing arguments that the man had ineffective counsel. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

By Associated Press 3 min read

BALTIMORE (AP) – Like more than 1 million other faithful listeners, the family of convicted killer Adnan Syed eagerly awaits the next episode of a podcast investigating his murder case.

For the family, though, this isn’t entertainment. It’s personal.

Ever since Syed, a smart, athletic, popular Baltimore County high school student, was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999 and sent to prison for life, his family has been broken, said his mother, Shamim Rahman. Syed’s father fell into a deep depression and his older brother became estranged. His younger brother, Yusuf, now 25, bounced from public school to public school before Rahman sent him to Pakistan to escape the harassment of fellow students.

“We had nothing left,” Rahman said.

But things are beginning to change for the family, which has suddenly found itself at the center of Serial, a podcast that has revived Syed’s case in weekly installments. It is hosted by veteran radio producer and former Baltimore Sun reporter Sarah Koenig, who unpacks and re-investigates the complex case in almost real-time.