Where Is Adnan Syed Now? What to Know About His Life After Being Released from Prison (and Why His Murder Conviction Still Stands) By Emily Blackwood

Adnan Syed has spent the past two decades fighting for his freedom.

The subject of the 2014 true crime podcast Serial was convicted of murdering his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 2000. His conviction relied heavily on the testimony of his friend, Jay Wilds, who claimed that he helped the then-17-year-old high school student bury Lee’s body in the park where she was later discovered, according to The New York Times. Syed was found guilty of murder, false imprisonment, kidnapping and robbery and was sentenced to life in prison.

Nearly 15 years after Syed’s conviction, Serial host Sarah Koenig investigated the case, reporting on inconsistencies and potential evidence that could have exonerated Syed — including a key witness who claimed to have been with him at the time of Lee’s killing. This revelation sparked public interest and raised doubts about Syed’s guilt, leading to a new trial being granted in June 2016, per The New York Times.

However, due to repeated appeals, it wasn’t until September 2022 that Syed’s conviction was vacated due to new information regarding “the possible involvement of alternative suspects,” according to The New York Times. He was released from prison and placed on home detention.

In March 2023, Syed’s murder conviction was reinstated after the Appellate Court of Maryland determined Lee’s brother, Young Lee, had his rights violated by not being given proper notice about the hearing to vacate the conviction, according to NBC News. However, in March 2025, a judge ruled that Syed would not spend any additional time in prison and would instead be credited with time served, plus five years of probation, per CBS News.

Syed’s ultimate resentencing was chronicled in the fifth episode of HBO’s The Case Against Adnan Syed, which will be released on Sept. 18. Here’s everything to know about where Adnan Syed is now.

Who is Adnan Syed?

Syed is a former Baltimore high school student who was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Lee, in 2000. At the time of his arrest, he was 17 years old.

In the The Case Against Adnan Syed, one of his fellow classmates said Syed was a good student who played football and was “tremendously popular.” Because of his Muslim background, he wasn’t allowed to hang out with girls. He kept his female friendships — and relationship with Lee — a secret by only talking to them on his cell phone.

“My mom just didn’t want us to date,” Syed said in the docuseries. “She said no girls.”

Lee and Syed started dating after he asked her to the junior prom. They broke up in 1998 — partly because she didn’t want to keep sneaking around. According to Lee’s diary entries, Syed didn’t take the split well and she wrote him a letter telling him to respect her decision.

On Jan. 13, 1999, Lee went missing after leaving school, and her body was found partially buried in a park 27 days later.

What was Adnan Syed convicted of?

Police arrested Syed on Feb. 28, 1999, in connection to Lee’s death, in part due to Wilds’ account, which he changed multiple times. Wilds claimed that Syed showed him Lee’s body in the trunk of her car on Jan. 13, 1999, and that he helped him bury the remains.

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Syed was charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, robbery and first-degree murder — and was found guilty on all counts in a trial later that year. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years, per CBS News.

Is Adnan Syed still in prison?

After multiple unsuccessful appeals, Syed’s request for a new trial was granted in June 2016.

Syed’s push for a new trial hit another snag in March 2019 when the Court of Appeals reversed the findings of the lower courts and denied his request for a new trial, according to The New York Times. In November 2019, the United States Supreme Court announced that they would not hear Syed’s appeal, per NPR.

However, in March 2022, prosecutors agreed to new DNA testing on previously untested evidence, according to WJZ News. On September 2022, Baltimore prosecutors filed a motion to vacate his conviction after DNA evidence pointed to two new suspects, per WJZ News.

At that time, Syed was released from prison after more than 23 years served.

“Just over the past 20, almost 24 years, it’s really hard for us,” Syed said at the time, per WJZ News. “It’s hard for my dad; it’s hard for my mom; it’s hard for my younger brother.”

Prosecutors dropped the case against Syed in October 2022 when the DNA results excluded him from the evidence in Lee’s murder, according to WJZ News. However, on March 28, 2023, his murder conviction was reinstated after the Appellate Court of Maryland found that the rights of Lee’s brother, Young Lee, were violated when he wasn’t given proper notice about the hearing to vacate Syed’s conviction.

In August 2024, the Maryland Supreme Court ordered a redo on the hearing that freed him, agreeing with the lower court that Lee’s family did not receive adequate notice about the hearing that led to Syed’s release, per NPR.

In March 2025, a judge ruled that Syed would not spend any additional time in prison and he was formally resentenced. Syed was sentenced to the more than 20 years he already served for his original conviction, plus five years of probation, per CBS News. His murder conviction still stands.

Where is Adnan Syed now?

As of March 2025, Syed was living in Washington, D.C., held a job and was taking classes at Georgetown University, according to CBS News.

Over the years, he has also participated in interviews for Serial and The Case Against Adnan Syed.

He was interviewed on video for the fifth episode of The Case Against Adnan Syed (in the first four episodes, he could be heard via audio), per The Hollywood Reporter. The new part will explore Syed’s first moments after being released from prison — including a reunion with his family — and his continued legal battles.