Adnan Syed’s murder conviction still stands in ‘Serial’ case as court orders new hearing
Adnan Syed’s murder conviction still stands after Maryland’s highest court ordered the hearing to be redone.
At the age of 17, in 2000, Syed was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 17-year-old Hae Min Lee, his former girlfriend and classmate.
Ms Lee was strangled and buried in Baltimore Park in 1999.
Adnan Syed and his mother Shamim Rahman talking to reporters in October last year. Pic: AP
However, the 43-year-old was released in October 2022 after the Baltimore City State Attorney said DNA evidence supported his innocence.
Syed has maintained his innocence throughout and often expressed concern for Ms Lee’s surviving relatives.
But on Friday, Maryland’s highest court ruled that earlier proceedings violated the rights of the victim’s family – marking just the latest twist in a lengthy legal saga that gained fame through the hit podcast “Serial”.
The 4-3 ruling upheld a court decision in March last year that reinstated Syed’s conviction.
Justices did say that Syed can remain free as the case heads to a new lower court judge to again consider whether his conviction should be thrown out.
During the latest proceedings, the court weighed the extent to which victims can participate in hearings where a conviction could be vacated.
The majority of judges concluded that, in an effort to remedy what they deemed an injustice to Syed, prosecutors and a lower court “worked an injustice” against Ms Lee’s brother.
The court ruled that Young Lee was not treated with “dignity, respect, and sensitivity,” as required under Maryland law, because he wasn’t given reasonable notice of the hearing that freed Syed.
The court hoped to correct these shortfalls leading up to the new hearing.
But, the exact next steps remain unclear, in part because Baltimore elected a new top prosecutor in 2022, which could change how that office handles the case.
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The state’s attorney Ivan Bates said his office is reviewing the ruling.
Justice Michele Hotten argued the issue was moot because the underlying charges no longer exist.
“This case exists as a procedural zombie. It has been reanimated, despite its expiration. The doctrine of mootness was designed to prevent such judicial necromancy,” Justice Hotten wrote.
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David Sanford, an attorney who represents the victim’s family, said the ruling “acknowledges what Hae Min Lee’s family has argued: crime victims have a right to be heard in court”.
The case has most recently pitted criminal justice reform efforts against the legal rights of victims and their families, whose voices are often at odds with a growing movement to acknowledge and correct systemic issues – including historic racism, police misconduct, and prosecutorial missteps.
The UK-US trade deal has been signed and is “done”, US President Donald Trump has said as he met Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 summit.
The US president told reporters: “We signed it, and it’s done. It’s a fair deal for both. It’ll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.”
As Mr Trump and his British counterpart exited a mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies where the summit is being held, the US president held up a physical copy of the trade agreement to show reporters.
Several leaves of paper fell from the binding, and Mr Starmer quickly bent down to pick them up, saying: “A very important document.”
President Donald Trump drops papers as he meets with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Kananaskis, Canada. Pic: AP
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Sir Keir Starmer hastily collects the signed executive order documents from the ground and hands them back to the US president.
Sir Keir said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, adding: “So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength.”
Mr Trump added that the UK was “very well protected” against any future tariffs, saying: “You know why? Because I like them”.
However, he did not say whether levies on British steel exports to the US would be set to 0%, saying “we’re gonna let you have that information in a little while”.
Sir Keir Starmer picks up paper from the UK-US trade deal after Donald Trump dropped it at the G7 summit. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump also praised Sir Keir as a “great” prime minister, adding: “We’ve been talking about this deal for six years, and he’s done what they haven’t been able to do.”
He added: “We’re very longtime partners and allies and friends and we’ve become friends in a short period of time.
“He’s slightly more liberal than me to put it mildly… but we get along.”
Sir Keir added that “we make it work”.
The US president appeared to mistakenly refer to a “trade agreement with the European Union” at one point as he stood alongside the British prime minister.
Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries in April. At the time, he announced 10% “reciprocal” rates on all UK exports – as well as separately announced 25% levies on cars and steel.
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In a joint televised phone call in May, Sir Keir and Mr Trump announced the UK and US had agreed on a trade deal – but added the details were being finalised.
Ahead of the G7 summit, the prime minister said he would meet Mr Trump for “one-on-one” talks, and added the agreement “really matters for the vital sectors that are safeguarded under our deal, and we’ve got to implement that”.
US
Doctor to plead guilty to giving Matthew Perry ketamine before Friends star suffered fatal overdose
A Los Angeles doctor has agreed to plead guilty to giving Friends actor Matthew Perry ketamine in the lead up to his death from a fatal overdose, prosecutors have said.
Dr Salvador Plasencia, who will admit to four counts of distribution of ketamine, faces up to a maximum of 40 years in prison.
He is among five people charged in connection with the death of Friends star Perry, 54, whose body was found in his hot tub by his assistant in October 2023.
The medical examiner ruled that ketamine and other factors caused him to lose consciousness and drown.
The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal treatment for depression, but had begun seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him.
Salvador Plasencia. Pic: Malibu Canyon Urgent Care
Plasencia is accused of supplying the bulk of Perry’s ketamine in his final weeks. He and three other defendants, including another doctor, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for their cooperation.
Jasmine Sangha, who prosecutors allege was a major ketamine dealer, is alleged to have provided the dose that killed the actor and is the only defendant who has pleaded not guilty to the prosecution’s case.
About a month before the actor’s death, Perry found Plasencia, a doctor who allegedly asked another doctor, Mark Chavez, to obtain the drug for him, according to court filings in the Chavez case.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted Chavez, according to court filings from prosecutors.
Dr Mark Chavez has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry. File pic: AP
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The pair who practised in California met up the same day and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine, the filings said.
After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500 (£3,314), Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to” prosecutors said.
Chavez has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry.
Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing.
He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.
US
Suspect in killing of US politician went to homes of other lawmakers in same night, officials say
A man accused of killing a US politician and her husband went to the homes of other lawmakers that night, intending to kill them, officials said.
Vance Boelter, 57, meticulously planned his attacks, carrying out surveillance missions, taking notes on the properties and people he targeted and disguising himself as a police officer, according to Minnesota’s acting US attorney Joseph Thompson.
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Authorities believe Boelter wore a mask as he posed as a police officer and shone a torch in the face of some of his victims to disguise his identity.
The FBI released this image of Vance Boelter posing as a police officer. Pic: FBI.
“It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmare,” said Mr Thompson.
Boelter, 57, allegedly shot and wounded Senator John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in their Minneapolis home in the early hours of Saturday morning.
John Hoffman. Pic: Facebook/Senator John Hoffman
He then travelled to the home of another state lawmaker but she and her family were on holiday, so they didn’t answer the door, said Mr Thompson.
Video showed that Boelter rang the doorbell at around 2.24am on Friday but left when the family didn’t respond.
Vance Boelter. Pic: Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office/Reuters
He then drove to the home of an unnamed state senator, but after the Hoffmans’ adult daughter called emergency services to say her parents had been shot, a police officer was dispatched to conduct a wellness check.
That officer saw Boelter’s car parked up the street but thought he was another officer, said Mr Thompson.
Boelter had reportedly altered his car to make it look more like a police car.
He then left and drove to the home of lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, according to an FBI affidavit.
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Melissa Hortman. Pic: Instagram
Local police officers, also conducting a check, arrived to see Boelter fatally shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home, according to the document.
Melissa Hortman was found dead inside.
Boelter was arrested on Sunday evening after a huge manhunt in a rural area in Sibley County, southwest of Minneapolis.
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He faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the deaths of the Hortmans and the wounding of Mr Hoffman and his wife.
Before his arrest, the father of five texted his family group chat saying: “Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody,” according to the affidavit.
His wife got another text that said: “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation… there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around,” the document said.
Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were allegedly found inside his vehicle.
A Minnesota official said politicians who had been outspoken in favour of abortion rights were on the list.
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