Adnan Syed, 42, served more than 20 years in prison for the murder of Hae Min Lee. A circuit court judge overturned the murder conviction last month and released him after an inquest identified problems in the case, leaving prosecutors to decide whether to retried him.
On Tuesday, the Baltimore City Attorney’s Office said in an email that it had dropped the charges against Syed. His lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
Syed maintained he was innocent and did not kill Lee, who was 18 when she was strangled and buried in a Baltimore park. The “Serial” podcast, produced by Chicago’s public radio station WBEZ, brought the case to national attention in 2014.
Prosecutors filed a motion on September 15 to overturn the conviction after conducting a year-long investigation alongside a public defender representing Syed. The investigation revealed several problems with witnesses and trial evidence.
Four days later, prosecutors told Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn that they no longer had confidence in the “integrity of the conviction” and that justice required Syed to be given at least one new process.
Prosecutors said they uncovered new information about two other suspects, whom they did not name, one of whom had threatened to kill Lee, and both of whom have prior violent crimes against women. Their identities were known to the initial prosecutors but were not disclosed to the defense as required by law.
Phinn then ordered Syed’s release from prison, where he was serving a life sentence, and placed him under house arrest.