When she mentioned it to Wilds, "he quickly brushed it off: No ' [I was an] an accessory,' 'no, I did this, nothing," Horton says. And Wilds was also a professed accomplice to Syeds crime, which further complicated his role as the prosecutions sole witness. He never said anything like, Hey, what gauge gun should I use? or How many minutes am I supposed to hold somebody under the water for? or, Is there a statute of limitation on murder? I thought he was just blowing off steam and bullshitting. About a month later, police uncovered her body in a nearby park; an autopsywould later find that she was choked to death. The Intercept is an independent nonprofit news outlet. Who Killed Hae Min Lee if Adnan Syed Is Innocent? A Look - Newsweek This is where it was produced. Almost by definition, the testimony of someone who repeatedly lies to you is not beyond a reasonable doubt; it's testimony that you would be unreasonable, The secret delegate battle that will decide the 2024 Republican nominee. Discovery Company. The problem is that Jay was, well, a bit of a liar. And he wasn't talking. Anything that makes Adnan innocent doesnt involve me, he said. Even to Serial, the podcast that detailed nearly every part of Syed's case, Wild remained off the record to provide background information, according to Rolling Stone. Why did he lie? The first passage Chaudry highlighted comes back to the question of when or if Wilds knew Syed planned to murder his ex-girlfriend. 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. Football paid for everything at the school. "Even people who think maybe Adnan is guilty should conclude this shouldnt have passed muster in a court of law," says Chaudry. than she was letting on. Adnan apparently told Jay he killed Hae in her car, which was somewhere around, but Jay was doubtful -- he thought the car was somewhere else. Support our mission and help keep Vox free for all by making a financial contribution to Vox today. Read part one of the interview here, and part two here. 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. Did you go to Leakin Park immediately after agreeing to help? Interview with 'Serial' witness Jay Wilds stirs debate | CNN In one interview with police he tells them Adnan showed him Hae's body on Edmonson Avenue. By submitting your email, you agree to our, Serial revisited: Jay's interview shreds the case against AdnanSyed, I don't think Jay's lies prove Adnan's innocence. In both, Syed's guilt is questioned, as is Wilds's statements. Once the police made it clear that my drug dealing wasnt gonna affect the outcome of what was going on, I became a little bit more transparent. There is no mention of McDonald's or, again, the Park and Ride, in Jay's new timeline. "You have to remember Jay was a suspect in this case," she says. Syed was actually convicted in February 2000. He had to give hair and blood samples. When did you two get closer to each other? "If you imagine for a second someone you know and trust and love in your life and the story of someone like Jay is the only thing tying a person to the crime, do you believe that?" "I just felt like she was lying," Wilds says. You can also contribute via. And in the hours after Jay's interview broke, her Twitter feed was an almost unbroken celebration. A big part of the Serial podcast is to speculate on Adnans motive. Hae. Photo credit: HBO. We met over the weekend at his two-story suburban home. Did you encounter any technical issues? I believe I told them it was in front of Cathys [not her real name] house, but it was in front of my grandmothers house. It wasnt until they made it clear they werent interested in my procurement of pot that I began to open up any. The way Wilds tells it, Syed pressured him to help dispose of Lee's body. I had friends but the groups were small. I don't know Adnan, andI don't think Jay's lies prove Adnan's innocence. The part where he quotes Adnan as saying "Come get me, the bitch is dead" is just so made up. The first season of Serial ended this month, but the story is far from finished. I worked a lot. Why Nikisha Horton, Jay Wilds' Ex-Girlfriend, Matters In 'The Case "Jay testified early on that the police said were considering charging you with this murder. He seemed a little bit more uptight than the other Muslim kids that I knew. I guess I was being kind of a jury on whether or not people needed to be involved or whatever, but these people didnt have anything to do with it, and I knew they didnt have anything to do with it. Adnan left and then returned to my house several hours later, closer to midnight in his own car. Between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., there are outgoing calls made to Jay's friend Jenn, Adnan's friend Nisha, and two other friends (Phil and Patrick). Jay is either the killer or knows the killer. #FreeAdnan, Not gonna lie. To which, Wilds responded, [T]his guy drove up in front of my grandmothers house, popped the trunk, and had his dead girlfriend in the trunk. (Again. This is a moot point now, as Syed was granted a new trial in 2018. Hoo-boy, and then theres the motorcycle story that Undisclosed says confirms Wilds was the tipster. Jay says: He went to the mall alone. In HBOsThe Case Against Adnan Syed, Rabia Chaudry, a longtime friend of Adnan and host of theUndisclosedpodcast, talked about the impact of Jays testimony: Jay is the center of gravity in this case. Jay feels strongly that he was unfairly depicted by Koenig and that she painted a highly misleading portrayal of him and his role in the case. And the burden of proof for a crime like this is extraordinarily high: beyond a reasonable doubt. Jay Wilds' New Interview About 'Serial' Is So Completely Frustrating Jay's actions here may not be right. #FreeAdnan #MerryChristmas, I just can't even. Where is Jay Wilds now? His secretive life detailed - OkayBliss It was the great failing of Serial. Jay's interview also undermines very specific charges. (Although he could have used a different phone.). Sergeant Kevin Forrester BPD homicide sergeant p195, Jay Wilds testimony begins p12 They had to chase me around before they could corner me to talk to me, and there came a point where I was just sick of talking to them. A December 1999 trial ended in mistrial. "Anything that's going to make him innocent doesn't involve me. If you're a fan of Sarah Koenig's popular podcast, Serial, then you might already know that previously convicted murderer Adnan Syed whose case was the subject of the podcast's . 9:41 PM EST, Tue December 30, 2014. Judge Wanda Heards comments p15. Im gonna kill that bitch, man. Nothing real pointed or anything, not like, I know his name, or I caught her. But I just thought he was just shooting off like everyone else shoots off when theyre mad at their girlfriend. 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? Normal high school Im mad at her and Ill scratch her car sort of stuff. Wilds has stayed private since the 2014 interview. I pick him up he doesnt have any car with him. Jay Wilds is a former classmate of Adnan Syed from Baltimore, Maryland. )Jay testified that moment happened hours earlier at a completely different location. Wilds was also an adult who sold marijuana to high school kids, which made him vulnerable. Jay Wilds' New Interview About 'Serial' Is So Completely Frustrating. No. From the mall. He feared hurting his grandmother. Serial revisited: Jay's interview shreds the case against Adnan Syed He was then asked to wait while Adnan drove Hae's car, which was parked in a nearby neighborhood, to the burial site. A Warner Bros. In a piece for The Guardian newspaper, she argued there may be enough evidence for the state to pursue a perjury charge. So that would ruin her life too. Oops. Before you would just go down there for drafting, shop, and everyone would co-mingle, and all the students interacted. Im pretty sure it was my fear of going to prison for having a bunch of weed in my grandmas house. #FreeAdnan pic.twitter.com/4iCiYVHtFl, PERJURY ABOUNDS! He also stated that Adnan drove Hae's car from the I-70 Park and Ride to a nearby McDonald's, where Jay was waiting in Adnan's car. Then there is of the glaring lie that the state's witness Jay told the police everything they needed to know the 1st time they met. Us Weekly - Jay Wilds, the key witness in Serial, admitted - Facebook It's guilt that has to be proven. He says, OK, follow me halfway back down the hill [towards the grave site], so he doesnt have to walk all the way back up the hill to get back to me in his car. Another very important open lead is the crimestoppers reward. What Is Jay Wilds Doing In 2019? 'The Case Against Adnan Syed - Bustle Attorney for the Defendant: Maria Cristina Gutierrez. She just seemed like an older chick who happened to be in high school. A large portion of The Case Against Adnan Syed and Serial focuses on why Wilds would change his story so many times. So how do we explain Jay's involvement if Adnan is not guilty? But they don't need to. Wilds' testimony in the murder trial was central to the conviction of Syed due to the nature of his account of events. Jay From 'Serial': Sarah Koenig "Demonized" Me If Wilds were meeting with the cops before this official interview, its completely possible he would have been coached, as Simpson suggests. The retailers demise explained, Is UNICEF a good charity? I had cops show up and harass me before at my house. You follow me some of the way, and then Ill take care of it.. He just couldnt come to grips with those feelings. This content is imported from twitter. The motion to set aside Adnans conviction stated prosecutors no longer trusted Jay Wildss wildly inconsistent testimony. A detective testifies Jay told him he first saw Hae's body on Franklintown Road. Dorseys sentencing argument (Adnans new lawyer) p13 Almost by definition, the testimony of someone who repeatedly lies to you is not beyond a reasonable doubt; it's testimony that you would be unreasonable not to doubt. Syed's case has been publicized in the podcast Serial, as well as the HBO true crime documentary The Case Against Adnan Syed. Her ex-boyfriend and classmate, Adnan Syed, was tried and convicted in 2000. The reason I think @BaltimorePolice knew Jay/Jenn were lying (and were ok with it) is b/c they didn't try to find shovels till weeks later. March 9, 2019 at 2:00 PM. "He might really have just been bulls******* at the time. And while the story he told the Intercept's Natasha Vargas-Cooper is more believable than the one he told the police or Adnan Syed's juries, it also makes Jay, as a witness, less credible and thus it makes the case against Adnan much weaker. "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. Lets back up, tell me what happened when you arrived at the Best Buy to pick up Adnan. The reports of his ill health explained, How did Jung Chae-yul die? 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. I don't feel comfortable drawing conclusions like that. I also ran the operation out of my grandmothers house and that also put my family at risk. But his manager was his mom. Went canoeing. Getting them in trouble for anything that they knew or that I had told them I couldnt have that.. Supposed evidence of this relates to how the reward money was paid out. But look, if we start speculating what he was thinking that far ahead I dont know. Because Pusateris testimony corroborated Wilds (and also changed over time), many listeners came to believe that Pusateri also knew more (or less?) 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. There is no call to Jay on Adnan's phone log in the evening. The cell records were used again and again to show the phone was in Leakin Park at 7pm. If that paragraph doesn't make much sense to you, then you probably haven't been following Serial, the wildly successful podcast in which Sarah Koenig reopens and reinvestigates the 1999 Baltimore murder case that put Adnan, who was then 17 years old, behind bars for the rest of his life. Serial: More Details About Jay's Transcripts Than You Could Possibly I dont know whether he calls me when hes on his way back to my house, or if he calls me right outside the house. What was your life likeduring1998 and 1999? Evidence from the Adnan Syed case | Previously undisclosed.wikispaces.com. Wilds also shares a follow-up email. Are Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney in love, or are they good actors? Syeds trial, and Jays testimony, became the focus of a This American Life spinoff series, the 12-part podcast Serial, broadcast in the fall of this year. Discussion re voir dire p3 PERJURY ABOUNDS! In the interview, Wilds described seeing Lee, dead in the trunk of a car. And it was really hard for him to deal with being on the losing end. Reporter Sarah Koenig pointed to several inconsistencies in Jay Wilds' statements to police. Stephanie [Jays girlfriend] came to me and said Adnan is pretty cool, plus he wanted to buy some weed. Adnan says, Just help me dig the hole. And Im still thinking, Inner-city black guy, selling pot to high school kids. The cops are going to fry me. Jay From 'Serial': Sarah Koenig "Demonized" Me Consequently, Wilds is a looming figure in Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyders reporting about the trial. #TheJayInterview #ThankYouIntercept #FreeAdnan #PerjuryFTW, So yeah, i'm not sleeping tonight. It began with his fear of being prosecuted for dealing pot in his high school. Rabia Chaudry is a lawyer and national security fellow at the New America Foundation. Wilds also called out Koenig, saying she "demonized him," and added that he felt if he had talked to her . I had a lot more on the line than just a few bags of weed. Will we start over? Nisha Adnans romantic interest p25 No. Romano Thomas BPD Mobile Crime Lab tech p103, Motion for mistrial granted p 255 You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Heres everything we know about Jay Wilds before the premiere of HBOs documentary series, The Case Against Adnan Syed. Your motion for mistrial is granted Judge Quarles, Judge:Wanda Heard, Associate Judge for Baltimore City Circuit Court. He has firsthand knowledge on how Hae was murdered (strangled), where she was buried (Leakin Park) and the disposal of the car (300 Edgewood St). At trial, he said Adnan killed Hae in the parking lot of Best Buy, and then he also said he helped Adnan bury her in Leakin Park. But she's also a family friend of the Syeds, and she brought the case to Koenig's attention. Ok, so you arrive at Cathys with Adnan after he tells you he murdered Hae? Everything We Know About Jay Wilds From HBO's Serial Documentary, 9 Celebs You Didn't Know Guest Starred On Seinfeld, police may have already been looking at him as an accomplice, an adult who sold marijuana to high school kids, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. After Jay Wilds, the key witness in Adnan Syed's 2000 murder trial and This American Life spinoff Serial, confessed to police he helped Syed bury his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999, he told . "The embarrassment is just going to keep growing over this," Laura Harth, the campaign director at Safeguard Defenders, told Newsweek. This fact cannot be disputed. Officer Scott Adcock County PD officer who responded to initial call on January 13 p37 Why has your story changed over time? Reason 2: Jay is one of the alternate suspects. I didnt know that he planned to murder her that day. When did he first talk to you about hurting her? The problem is they completely undermine the state's case against Adnan. I dont feel comfortable drawing conclusions like that. There are also a few incoming calls at this point, but unfortunately, the records don't show us who they came from. It went national, but it was produced in Baltimore. We know: At trial, Jay says they both buried Hae.Jay testifies that he both helped dig the hole in Leakin Park and helped bury the body. At Vox, we believe that everyone deserves access to information that helps them understand and shape the world they live in. In Februaryof 2000, Syed was found guilty of murdering Lee. "I feel like [Koenig] created an evil archetype of me and sensationalized my motives. 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. Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly stated that Adnan Syed went to trial in December 2000. (Wilds would later lead the police to Lees car, parked on a residential street.) Jay suggested going to the mall to find a present for Stephanie, but Adnan said he had to "go do something," and told Jay to drop him at school, letting Jay borrow his car and phone. These interviews were set up by Urick, the state prosecutor, who gave an interview himself. By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. And they wouldnt stop interviewing me or questioning me. It wasnt just like I was selling a nickel bag here and there. We were in the car together during last periodhe was ditching the last period. And then in his Intercept interview, Wilds said the body was actually in front of his grandmas house, but he told police it was at the Best Buy, because he didnt want to involve his grandma. She quotes the prosecutor saying, "he tells police a consistent story about the defendant, he tells consistently the defendants involvement, the defendants actions on that day. 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. ", The argument for trusting Jay has been that while the details of his story change, "the spine," as Koenig put it, holds. Im not a lawyer and Im not a cop. We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and It was at least a week before she died, when he found out she was either cheating on him or leaving him. Koenig, the host of Serial, has not yet commented on Wilds interview. This led to Quarles declaring a mistrial. It took about 45 minutes for Adnan to finish burying Hae, according to Jay. This fact eliminates all random killer (s) (Roy Davis or Mr. S or Space Aliens). The case came down to the testimony of Jay, who claimed Adnan told him he was going to kill Hae, Adnan's former girlfriend. At the time,this was Maryland in the 90s, the drug laws were extremely serious. 'Serial' Subject Takes HBO, 'Serial' Subject Adnan Syed Will Get a New Trial, Secret Chinese Police Stations in Europe Are 'Tip of the Iceberg', Trump's Attorney Just Blew Carroll Rape Case, King Charles Says Royals Require 'Acting Ability', Ukraine Will Regain 'Significant Territory' From Russia, Florida GOP Paves the Way to Help Ron DeSantis Challenge Trump. The People List is a great way to find out more about someone in particular or to help find the name of someone youve partly forgotten. Jay says: He went to Jenn's house.Jay told The Intercept he remembered going over to his friend Jenn's to hang out after leaving the mall. That's why we keep our work free. But that testimony shifting and shot through with holes as it is is all the prosecution had. Many questions remain about Wilds true role in the case, but theres no shortage of theories. "She looked kinda purple," he said. Read the latest news, or follow the development of the legal case on the Appeals page. With Jay, it was more so kinda like -- in my mind I was like, "maybe the police are putting him up to this." Jenn Pusateri I said, "what was your involvement? When police were investigating Lees murder, CrimeStoppers offered a $3,075 reward for any information that would lead to the arrest of the murderer. Without Jays testimony, prosecutors have little chance of retrying Adnan. What we do know about Wilds and Syed, which Syeds testimony confirms, is that Wilds and Syed were together on the day of Lees murder, and Jay had Syeds phone and car for an unspecified period of time. He seemed a little bit more uptight than the. In another interview with police he tells them it was at a Best Buy. The thing is that the story Jay told at trial is not the same story Jay told police the first time.. Were sitting there smoking and he receives a phone call from the police and gets all panicky. Thats led to some wild and totally unproven ideas on reddit, notably that Adnan hired Jay as a kind of hitman. I believe she had a job also. CrimeStoppers rewards are apparently paid out the following month after the police report that months official indictments. She got a new boyfriend? And he didnt know how to deal with that. "However, I do have a note from Altemate Number 4, 'In view of that fact that you've determined that Ms. Gutierrez is a liar, will she be removed? Jarett Wieselman is a senior entertainment editor for BuzzFeed News and is based in Los Angeles. We know: At trial, Jay said he went shopping with Adnan. I said, Drug dealers, people who get killed by drug dealers, and Im thinking to myself, When did I ever say that? So, as Im riding with him to the park and it starts raining and Im thinking to myself as he pulls overand Im thinking this is the spot hes chosen. Contact Jarett Wieselman at jarett.wieselman@buzzfeed.com. But there was a grand jury hearing on this case,andI have an idea who might have based on that hearing. There wasn't any physical evidence linking Adnan to the crime. We were in the car, we were riding, smoking. I know that he came from a very strict religious background and that he was uneasy with some of the things he was doing. I saw her body later, in front ofof my grandmothers house where I was living. Why I believe Jay Wilds. Drug law enforcement was harsh, he explained, and he "had a lot more on the line than just a few bags of weed.". Jay Wilds Some think Wilds could have killed Lee himself. Adnan took his own car, and Jay got home another way. We've finally heard from Jay Wilds, the key witness in the murder of Hae Min Lee. Philip Buddemeyer Baltimore City surveyor p93 After all, Jay did know where Hae's car was, and while Adnan didn't have much reason to kill Hae, Jay had even less reason to kill her. ", Chaudry ticks off the changes. Jay says: Adnan probably wasn't with Hae's car at Best Buy. And detective notes capped Browns interview with the word REWARD, written in all caps. Apparently, Wilds had been inquiring about the sale price of a teachers motorcycle, which Kelly Blue Book puts at $3,000. There was only Jay's testimony which seemed, at least in the prosecution's telling, to be backed up by cell phone records. And it's hard to imagine, right now, how anyone could be free of doubt about Jay's testimony. Support our mission and help keep Vox free for all by making a financial contribution to Vox today. That would free Wilds to then collect the reward moneyafter detectives officially filed Syeds indictment to CrimeStoppers on October 1stin November. The Dark Brandonmeme and why the Biden campaign has embraced it explained, Take a mental break with the newest Vox crossword, Sign up for the And hes like, Ive gotta put her car somewhere. So I follow him around for a few minutes, and he just picks a place at random behind some row houses, leaves her car, gets into his car, takes me home. I dont know what happened, what occurred between them that day. She pointed to several apparent discrepancies on Twitter. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. "It just makes me feel like, what else is he capable of from the situation that we've been through?" Episode 2 ends with Horton placing a call to talk to Wilds about what happened back in 1999. But they don't need to. All the trial transcripts in one place-Adnan Syed's first and second For his testimony, Wilds was given probation instead of a jail sentence for his said involvement in the crime. All of these ping towers are near Best Buy, Koenig states in Episode 5. Google Pay. Final part of the three-part interview is expected to publish Wednesday, "Serial," a popular podcast, detailed an investigation into the 15-year-old murder of Hae Min Lee, Her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was convicted, Key witness in the case against Syed was Jay Wilds, who spoke to The Intercept. 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. Motion denied p6 But I thank #Jay deeply for proving how deep the bullshit is. They did not tell the defense that someone got an actual cash reward that was handed to them by a detective on the case. Preliminary matters p2 Wilds told police that he helped Syed dig the hole where her body was buried and led police to her missing car. He said, Im gonna drive back down there [to the grave]. How old were you when you first met Adnan Syed? Jays testimony was critical to the states case; indeed,without his testimony its virtually impossible that the state could have even brought Syed to trial. Wilds also makes clear in the interview that Baltimore isnt the place where one who ran afoul with the law wanted to get hooked by the cops or work with them both options were not good. When we were digging the hole, its not like Haes body was just lying next to us. None of his friends thought he reacted particularly badly to the break-up. I don't think that's wrong, it's high school, you know. According to Simpson, whenever Wilds cant recall a detail or pauses for a long period before answering a question, there can be heard a series of taps, after which Wilds always miraculously comes up with the right answer. Jay Wilds, Key Serial Witness, Admits He Contemplated Suicide - Us Weekly The one interview Wilds gave was to The Intercept in 2014. ), In the new interview, Wilds explained his changing accounts of what happened as attempts to spare friends and family -- namely, the grandmother he lived with -- from any involvement in the case.