Adnan Syed's Murder Conviction Will Stand, as Hae Min Lee's Mom Recounts Daughter's Last Words to Her

Mar. 15, 2025

Hae Min Lee, left, and Adnan Syed.Photo:Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty

Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty

The mother and brother ofHae Min Leespoke at a sentence reduction hearing forAdnan Syed, a day after prosecutors announced they would withdraw a motion to vacate his murder conviction.

Syed wasoriginally convictedof the 1999 murder of Lee, 18, his ex-girlfriend who was found dead in a Baltimore park nearly a month after she vanished.

Syed has long maintained his innocence and his case was thrust into the public consciousness when his case was the subject of the hit 2014 podcastSerial,which cast doubt on his conviction.

After spending more than two decades behind bars, Syed’s conviction was vacated in 2022 and Baltimore prosecutorsmoved to have theconviction vacated, having lost “confidence in the integrity of the conviction.” He was ultimately released from prison.

On Tuesday, Feb. 25, the new Baltimore State’s Attorney announced that it would withdraw its motion to vacate the conviction, saying that motion contained “false and misleading statements.” As such, Syed’s murder conviction will stand, though he currently remains out of prison.

At a court hearing to determine whether Syed’s sentence would be reduced to time served, Lee’s family opposed resentencing.

Lee’s mother, Youn Wha Kim, spoke in Korean via video. A copy of her remarks was shared with PEOPLE.

“There is a Korean proverb that says, when a parent or husband dies, you bury them in the ground, but when a child dies, you bury them in your heart so you get buried in the ground together when you die,” Kim said. “However, to me who could not even touch or see the body of my daughter, the only thing had was the last thing she said to me: ‘I love you, Mom.'”

Kim said that after her daughter’s murder, she struggled to find reasons to live. She further said she believed Syed was properly convicted and said she hoped the law would “punish the bad person.”

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Lee’s brother, Young Lee, also addressed the court, saying that his sister’s murder was a “nightmare” that was reignited upon the release ofSerial.

“My family is asking for justice,” Lee said. “Justice for us is transparency. If the evidence shows Mr. Syed innocent, let him be free. My family has no objection to that. We want the real killer to be behind bars. But I stand on the belief that evidence that was presented in the original trial was solid evidence for conviction.”

source: people.com