© Reuters FILE PHOTO: Convicted murderer Adnan Syed leaves Baltimore City Circuit Court in Baltimore, Maryland, February 5, 2016. In the year
(Reuters) – A judge on Monday will weigh a request by Baltimore prosecutors to dismiss Adnan Syed’s murder charge, a case that gained national attention when the podcast “Serial” cast doubt on his guilt.
Adnan Syed, 42, maintains his innocence and says he strangled his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, and buried her in a Baltimore park in 1999.
The Baltimore state’s attorney filed a motion Wednesday to vacate the conviction following a year-long investigation with the public defender representing Syed.
Prosecutors wrote that they are not proving Syed’s innocence, but that they lack confidence in the “correctness of the conviction” and that justice should at least grant Syed a new trial. Syed must be released from prison, where he has spent two decades, when prosecutors conclude their investigation and decide to seek a new trial.
For District Court Judge Melissa M. Prosecutors say they have new information about Finn and two potential suspects, who have not been named. They also found new information on cell phone data that prosecutors relied on at trial that cast doubt on the location of Syed’s murder.
“Serial,” a podcast produced by Chicago public radio station WBEZ, drew national attention to the issue in 2014.
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in a statement that her office had spoken with Lee’s family and “whoever is responsible for this heinous crime must be held accountable.”