how old was jay wilds in 1999

In February of 2000, 18-year-old Adnan Syed was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, who went missing the year before. Photo: Natasha Vargas-Cooper for The Intercept, Natasha Vargas-Cooper[emailprotected]theintercept.org@natashavc. I was also around a bunch of people earlier the day [at Cathys], and I didnt want them to get fucked up with homicide. I didnt tell the cops it was in front of my house because I didnt want to involve my grandmother. It all revolves around Jay," lawyer and Syed family friend, Wilds, who gave police multipleinterviews and testified in court, was first questioned on Feb. 28, 1999, just hours before police arrested Syed on suspicion of Lees murder. Wilds' testimony in the murder trial was central to the conviction of Syed due to the nature of his account of events. All Rights Reserved. In 2000, Syed was found guilty of the murder and given a life sentence as a result of Wilds' witness testimony. The following two series stepped away from the whodunnit intensity of the first, and went on to examine an American army deserter and the court system in Ohio. He said, Youve gotta help me, or Im gonna tell the cops about you and the weed and all that shit. And then he popped the trunk and I saw Haes body. Wherever her car was at the time I picked him up from Best Buy, it probably stayed there until he picked me up later that evening. .css-13y9o4w{display:block;font-family:GraphikBold,GraphikBold-fallback,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-13y9o4w:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.05rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.28598rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.39461rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.3;}}Every Song From the Daisy Jones' Soundtrack, 'Daisy Jones & The Six' Makes Some Major Changes, 'Sex/Life' Season 2 Features Even More Male Nudity, Hugh Jackman Could Play Multiple Wolverines, 'Ant-Man' Writer Responds to 'Quantumania' Theory. Family friend and attorney Rabia Chaudry asks McClain to write an affidavit after Syed is convicted, Serial reported. Went canoeing. It wasnt like, Oh, were down in the park, come on down.We were friendly, we were cool. Syed's classmate Jay Wilds, who said at trial that he helped Syed bury Lee's body, became the central figure in the national conversation over Syed's guilt. I think there was another dude or something, or whatever. . His evidence was crucial to the state's case. note: Adnan worked as an emergency medical technician, not a paramedic.]. They leave the car at a park-and-ride lot. He seemed a little bit more uptight than the other Muslim kids that I knew. Jay was likely not given a FULL check because he promised to present facts at Adnan's trial. In another interview, he said the body was on Edmondson Avenue, while a detective testified in court that Wilds told him the body was on Franklintown Road. However, Sarah Koenig, host and producer of the widely-acclaimed podcast titled Serial, covered the case in 2014. Then, at 4:15 they drop off Haes car at 1-70 Park and Ride; Wilds drops Syed off at track practice afterward, and then at 6:45 p.m. Syed calls Wilds on the cellphone to pick him up; at 7:15 p.m., after eating McDonalds and Syed receiving a phone call from police looking for Hae, they go to Wilds house to get a shovel and pick, return to Haes car, and then bury Haes body in Leakin Park. View our online Press Pack. This is the first part in a multipart interview. Jay claims that once he acquired the marijuana, Adnan threatened to turn him in if he didnt help bury Haes body. No one is quite sure what they are, but the timing of the taps on the recording seems suspicious. than she was letting on. Wilds has played an interesting role in this case. He was prompted to speak with detectives after a friend of Adnan and Jay, Jenn, told detectives that Jay told . October 11, 2022: Prosecutors drop charges against Syed. Wilds' first taped interview with police occurred on February 28, 1999. Number of seasons: Three. Maintenance worker Alonzo Sellers, known as Mr. Syed was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years on February 25, 2000 for first degree murder,kidnapping, false imprisonment and robbery. Wilds' shaky testimony was first highlighted in Serial, the 2014 podcast hosted by Sarah Koenig that brought Syeds case back into the public eye. I said, Isnt he a paramedic? And she said, Nah, hes cool, plus he wants to buy., I didnt trust him at first, since he wasnt like the people I knew pot smokers you know? Syed went on trial in February 2000 and was convicted of the murder of his girlfriend Hae Min Lee. Although her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed was sentenced to life plus 30 years in prision in 2000 (Syed's conviction was vacated in September 2022), there may be just as many questions surrounding the case now as there were then. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. who has spent the past 15 years in jail for the murder of 17-year-old Hae Min Lee, . Jay firmly believes that he was wrongfully represented on the podcast. The Lord knows I didnt kill her, The Baltimore Sun reported. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. I follow him halfway back down the hill, park, smoke some cigarettes. Youre in this on your own. I asked him where were going and he says, Didnt you say everyone gets dumped in Leakin Park?. "The Case Against Adnan Syed" also notes that Wilds contradicted himself on the witness stand when it came to the story he told police about helping Syed dig the hole: At first, he said he met Syed at a mall parking lot and then went to Leakin Park to bury the body, but later, Wilds said Syed showed him Lees corpse in a Best Buy parking lot. They didnt have to go by us, except to come to lunch, and that was it. The five-day hearing includes witness testimonies from McClain, as well as a cell phone expert, Harpers Bazaar reported. However, Syed is not allowed out on bail while he waits for the new trial. Serial sought to dive deep into the potential failings of the criminal justice system and thoroughly re-examine Syed's case. 4. . Questions still remain about Lee's 1999 murder after her ex-boyfriend Syed was sentenced to life in jail, and the case received mass attention from the podcast 'Serial. Wilds stated that he helped the 17-year-old Syed, who was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999, bury her body, which was later discovered in Baltimore's Leakin Park. From the mall where he met Syed to the time, and even which friend's homes he visited the day of Lee's murder, there are questionable aspects of his testimony. We were in the car together during last periodhe was ditching the last period. Its where Im from. Though Wilds' testimony seemed to have been trusted implicitly by Syed's jury, the Serial podcast shining a light on the key details of Wilds' claims led many listeners to believe Wilds was. The case is reopened to take into account McClains new testimony, new cell phone data and allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel as well as prosecutorial misconduct, according to Harpers Bazaar. As for Lees family, all they knew was that she didnt show up to pick up her cousin, which is when they reported her missing. The podcast attracted global attention, and had gained more than 100 million downloads by June 2016. March 1, 1999: McClain writes Syed a letter. I believe she had a job also. Its not my job to figure that out. I was a bit of an outdoorsman, adventure seeker, fishing, camping, learned to ride a motorcycle. Just after his arrest, McClain writes a letter to Syed and details talking to him in the library on January 13, Serial reported. From the statements Wilds made in 2014 with The Intercept, it seems unlikely he would do so. on about your day, ask yourself: How likely is it that the story you just read would have been produced by a different news outlet if The Intercept hadnt done it? And the other thing about it, I mean, there looked like there was real hurt and pain. Number of episodes: 25+ (ongoing). For his testimony, Wilds was given probation instead of a jail sentence for his said involvement in the crime. Syed has maintained his innocence during his decades in prison, yet a 2019 attempt to hear an appeal for a new trial was turned down by the Supreme Court. The popular podcast detailed an investigation into the 15-year-old murder of . In Februaryof 2000, Syed was found guilty of murdering Lee. Fellow Woodlawn student Jay Wilds testified that he helped Syed bury Lee. Thats the best way I can account for the inconsistencies. 10:45-11:15 a.m. She looked kinda purple, blue, her legs were tucked behind her, she had stockings on, none of her clothes were removed, nothing like that. Posted on July 4, 2022 by . McClain in 1999 at the time of the murder was Syed's classmate at Woodlawn High School. Wilds was Syed's friend during the time of the murder. JayWilds and Adnan Syed may not have been close, butWilds' witness testimony would ultimately be key to convicting Syed of Hae Min Lee's murder. The taps on the recording, some have decided, may have been the sound of someone writing pen to paper very quickly on a hard surface, or just a little physical cue that Wilds needed to come up with the right answer fast. This is the same day Adnan was arrested, at the age of 17. March 9, 2019 7:21 PM. This is where people would have their house firebombed and still tell the police they knew nothing about it rather than to try to make some sense of whats going on. He just started opening up. . August 19, 2019: The Supreme Court is asked to look at the case. Wilds, who was an acquaintance of Syed, confessed to helping Syed bury Lee's body, though he originally denied having anything to do with the murder. Prosecutors dropped all charges against Syed, eliminating the possibility of a retrial. And thats not necessarily mebut that is my family, that is my uncles and cousins. Jay Wilds spoke to The Intercept about the case for an article published Monday. To better understand this, we need to look back at Feb. 12 . That would free Wilds to then collect the reward moneyafter detectives officially filed Syeds indictment to CrimeStoppers on October 1stin November. There was enough doubt for me to want to give this a real close look. She was still in the trunk. No. February 9, 1999 : Lee's body is found. How old was Adnan when he went to prison in 1999? Jay Wilds, Maryland's key (and only) witness at Adnan Syed's 2000 trial for murdering Hae Min Lee which was chronicled on the hotly debated Serial podcast, which launched in October 2014 and completed its 12-episode run earlier this month has consented to a single interview (with The Intercept) in an attempt to tell his side of the story. Is that why you didntinitiallycooperate with the police? We got in his car and start driving. The Serial podcast about the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee has been heard and debated by millions, yet there are still untold stories and perspectives from Woodlawn High School teachers who taught. We may earn a commission through links on our site. I dont feel comfortable drawing conclusions like that. Adnan Syed leaves the courthouse after Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, overturned his first-degree murder conviction in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee. Three days later, Baltimore Police received an anonymous tip that Syed was responsible for the murder. He was a little pompous, a little arrogant, but he seemed really driven as far as his academics, but all those magnet students were. It remains true today." The kind of reporting we do is essential to democracy, but it is not easy, cheap, or profitable. Jay also worked at the Drug Emporium store a short walk from his home. In the phone conversation, he contradicted past statements by suggesting he tried to return Adnans car at school, but couldnt find him and left. Consider what the world of media would look like without The Intercept. He did, after all, give multiple conflicting locations for where the murder took place and where the body was found. Her family reported her missing after she failed to pick up her younger cousin from daycare around 3:15 p.m. Lee had attended Woodlawn High School that day and had been seen by several people leaving the campus at the end of the school day. Didnt say that much. After the party, Adnan drove Jay home and then dropped Stephanie home afterwards. Her body was found in a forest three weeks later. of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999. It helped fan the flames of this story that people had already moved on from, Wilds told The Intercept. There is a specific point where I became involved in this. But look, if we start speculating what he was thinking that far ahead I dont know. Mr.. I've known Adnan for many years, and I have. How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters werent on the beat? What happened before that, I dont know.. What happened on this particular day depends on who you talk to. Though Wilds testimony seemed to have been trusted implicitly by Syeds jury, the Serial podcast shining a light on the key details of Wilds claims led many listeners to believe Wilds was not exactly truthful and that even the slightest bit of questioning could have unraveled his story. Hae was dead before she got to my house. He'd previously refused to take part in Sarah Koening's podcast, which attempted to retrace the steps taken in. When did he first talk to you about hurting her? Adnan did not know that Jay had spoken to the police. In July 2014, a cold case in Baltimore County was solved when new DNA evidence was tested. I know it didnt happen anywhere other than my grandmothers house. And then I would only give them information pertaining to my interaction with someone or where I was. I think and, look, its been 15 years about 6 p.m. Adnan Syed is currently serving life in prison, plus 30 years, for a murder he claims he didn't commit, and he may not have ended up there if it weren't for his former classmate, Jay Wilds. He exited the Baltimore courthouse to deafening cheers. The trial begins the second week of December and quickly ends as a mistrial, the court appeals papers say. 1999, when police . When I pick him up at Best Buy, hes telling me her car is somewhere there, and that he did this in the parking lot. Now, the case: Undisclosed claims Wilds may have wanted the reward money to buy a motorcyle - something police may have known, too. He has only given one interview since Syed's conviction. I walked around through the bushes and everything and I got back that way and I was getting ready to urinate when I looked down I seen something that looked like hair, something was covered by the dirt. Speaking with The Intercept, Wilds said his assumption was . Normal high school Im mad at her and Ill scratch her car sort of stuff. January 1, 1999: Lee and Don Clinedinst go on their first date. According to the Undisclosed podcast, Lee goes on her first date with her LensCrafter co-worker Don Clinedinst, who happens to be the son of the store manager. A second court proceedings begin, the papers say. Matt Tinoco provided research for this interview. There was never a real friendship. The police and prosecutors then laid their investigation on Adnan solely because that was the lead they wanted to believe for the sake of closing the case. Ok, so you arrive at Cathys with Adnan after he tells you he murdered Hae? They also highlighted the inconsistent statements of his co-defendant, Jay Wilds, who testified against him. I dont necessarily know if he meant to kill Hae before he did it or if it was a sudden moment thing, but looking at his life, from what I saw, he seemed to be far out of his realm when it came to Hae leaving him. I said, Alright, cool. I dropped him off at school, went to the mall, then when I was done, I go back to my friend Jenns house, where I normally go, sit and smoke with my friend. The star witness at Syeds trial was Jay Wilds, a former classmate who testified that he helpedSyed dispose of Lees body. In the wee hours of the night, Lees car is found around 4:30 a.m. and around 6 a.m., Syed is arrested at his home on the 7000 block of Johnnycake Road. She had been strangled. In September, a legal team formed to represent Wilds and also quickly worked out a plea deal to testify against Syed. But this account somewhat differsfrom Jays second police interview, as well as his court testimony. For instance, during one of his police interviews highlighted in The Case Against Adnan Syed,an officer asks Wilds, Youre sure its the 13th because we told you got these calls on the 13th? Jay responds in the affirmative. In it, Koenig talks to Syed who says hes innocent. The hugely popular 12-part podcast "Serial" investigated the 1999 murder of teenager Hae Min Lee and the murder conviction the following year of her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, who is currently. Classmates last saw her leaving school around 2:15 p.m. February 9, 1999: Lee's body is found in Leakin Park. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! . JAY WILDS. But when they put the magnet wing in, it was kinda like these people were different from us. And they didnt have to interact with us anymore. Your login session has expired. He recalls a tense meeting with Koenig, who was attempting to persuade him into participating in the podcast, and remembers Koenig telling him that there were new developments in the case. December 29 2014, 12:55 p.m. On Jan. 13, 1999, Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old high school student from Baltimore, went missing. I had to go to the bathroom so I pulled over and I went further in the woods so no one could see me, he said on The Case Against Adnan Syed. I wasnt fully cooperating, so if they said, Well, we have on phone records that you talked to Jenn. Id say, Nope, I didnt talk to Jenn. Until Jenn told me that she talked with the cops and that it was ok if I did too. Im not a lawyer and Im not a cop. Wilds has stayed private since the 2014 interview. Im pretty sure it was my fear of going to prison for having a bunch of weed in my grandmas house. 11:15-12:50 p.m. Free period 12:50-2:15 p.m. On Monday afternoon, a Baltimore judge vacated Adnan Syed's murder conviction, freeing Syed after 23 years behind bars. I told [Adnan] that I wouldnt touch her car, or any of her possessions, and I say, Fuck it. Heres abasic timeline of the eventsof Jan. 13,according to Wilds first sit-down with police on Feb. 28, 1999: He gets a call from Syed around 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 13; an hour later, Syed arrives at Wilds house in his car and they both go to Baltimores Westview Mall, where Syed tells Wilds hes going to kill Hae because hes angry about their breakup; at 12:30 p.m., Wilds drops off Syed at school and keeps his car; at 3:40 p.m., Syed tells Wilds to meet him at a strip off Edmonton Ave., and 20 minutes later Syed shows Wilds Haes dead body in the trunk of her own car. March 25, 2000: McClain writes an affidavit. The following has been edited and condensed for clarity. Her body was discovered in Baltimore's Leakin Park on Feb. 9, 1999. I say, Well we need to part ways. I dont remember if he dropped me off at my house or if I got a ride from somebody else. He left in his car and I was trying to collect myself at my [grandmothers] house. Im being manipulated into whats being done right now.. So that would ruin her life too, Wilds told Vargas-Cooper. According to Susan Simpson, another lawyer working on the Undisclosed podcast, the official recorded interviews between Wilds and the police reveal some strange auditory clues to why the police would lie about the date they began questioning Wilds. Jay Wilds was a crucial player in Adnan's conviction - he testified that Adnan confessed to him about killing Lee, saw Lee's body in the trunk of her car, and helped bury her body in Leakin Park. . Theres also the added fact that Wilds boss at the time told people Wilds had to leave work several times to talk with the police before the date of that official interview. Lees 16-year-old brother, Young Lee, speaking for his grandparents and mom, tells The Baltimore Sun that the news provided some closure and some peace." According to the podcast, there were discrepancies between the statements he gave to authorities and the testimony he delivered during Adnan Syed's trial. The group of people I hung out with were different from the group of people I was from. I really didnt know much about their relationship, if they hung out, where they hung out, when they hung out. Launch Gallery. The motion to set aside Adnan's conviction stated prosecutors no longer trusted Jay Wilds's wildly inconsistent testimony. Syed's case has been publicized in the podcast Serial, as well as the HBO true crime documentary The Case Against Adnan Syed. It wasnt like, Oh, were going bowling, and lets call it in before we go bowling and call the rest of our friends and call Jay. I dont remember ever going to any kinds of functions or endeavors together, or any concerts or clubs together, you know. He remains calm as handcuffs are being put on him, saying, I'll be alrightI have faith in the Lord. Jay Wilds. I was also running [drug] operations from my grandmothers house. We dont have ads, so we depend on our members 35,000 and counting to help us hold the powerful to account. We get into his car, and he drives up around the corner to Haes car. When 17-year-old Adnan Syed was arrested, then convicted for the 1999 murder of his high school ex-girlfriend, . The Intercept is an independent nonprofit news outlet. About a month later, police uncovered her body in a nearby park; an autopsywould later find that she was choked to death. I might have sat next to him in a class, and joked or something. February 12, 1999: Anonymous calls inform the police to look into Syed. Now, after years of controversy, a Baltimore court has overturned Syed's conviction after a judge ruled that the legal proceedings were violated during the initial trial. The trial, which resulted in a life sentence, has resurfaced after a judge overturned Adnan's conviction. In his first interview since the end of "Serial," Jay Wilds says he thinks he knows who . Wilds, who was an acquaintance of Syed, confessed to helping Syed bury. By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. What else could motivate you to choke the life out of someone you cared about? When asked about the inconsistencies in his stories, Jay Wilds told The Intercept_ that. I stonewalled them that way. "I guess I was being kind of a jury on whether or not people needed to be involved or whatever, but these people didn't have anything to do with it, and I knew they didn't have anything to do with it," he said. In. December 15, 1999: A mistrial is declared. So where is Wilds today? Years later, now that Wilds testimony has come under fire, even Pusateri doubts his version of events. Football paid for everything at the school. The Serial podcast threw some question marks over Wilds' version of events.. December 30, 2013: Syed's petition for post-conviction relief is denied. When we were digging the hole, its not like Haes body was just lying next to us. He also said he helpedSyed dispose of Lees body in Leakin Park, where she was found four weeks after she was last seen alive on January 13, 1999. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Before you would just go down there for drafting, shop, and everyone would co-mingle, and all the students interacted. In that situation, he was the loser.