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Mary Katherine Frye

Ms. Jae Haley
English 2 Honors
13 April 2015
Serial Argumentative Essay
According to reports and statistics from the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource
Center, about one in nine murders were committed by a youth under the age of 18 in 1999; Hae
Min Lee was one of the countless victims of this type of murder on January 13, 1999. Adnan
Syed was convicted of this murder by the state of Maryland in February of 2000. The main eye
witness in his trial was Jay Wilds, who the state bases their case off of based on his believable
storytelling involving the murder. Wilds claims to have aided Syed in the burial of Lee and to
have allowed Syed access to his car and shovels to bury Lee. Syed, however, in recent reports
and podcasts, has claimed to be innocent of the crime. Syed does not have much information
regarding the day of the murder and states, I cannot remember details that are so specific. Syed
also lacks any sort of alibi to disprove the states accusations. Given his lack of an alibi and the
evidence stacked against him, I believe Adnan Syed is guilty of the murder of Hae Min Lee on
January 13, 1999. I also believe that Jay Wilds is innocent of the murder of Hae Min Lee but did,
in fact, help Adnan Syed to bury her body in addition to providing false accusations to keep him
from running into trouble with the police over other matters, such as selling drugs to high school
teenagers.

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In trial, Aisha Pittman read a note written by Lee to Syed that said, Im getting annoyed
that this situation is going the way it is you know, people break up all the time. Your life is not
going to end. Youll move on and Ill move on. But apparently you do not respect me enough to
accept my decision. In episode six of Serial, Sarah Koenig mentions the note written by Lee
for Syed that was read in which led the jurors and prosecutors to suggest that Syed was clingy
and still had some unresolved feelings for her. The letter was read during Syeds trial and said,
Im getting annoyed that this situation is going the way it is Youll move on and Ill move on.
But apparently you do not respect me enough to accept my decision, (Koenig). Lee wrote this
letter prior to her death, obviously, in an attempt to help Syed move on from her most likely
because at the time, she was more interested in her coworker, Don, who she met at LensCrafters.
This led the state to assume that these unresolved feelings and jealousy of Don were the motive
for Syed to murder Lee. This note displays feelings of resentment that were present in both Syed
and Lee due to feelings Syed potentially still had for Lee following their breakup, despite the fact
that Lee had already moved on and had begun to pursue a new guy, following their breakup in
November that may have potentially been the motive needed for Syed to murder Lee. This letter
also demonstrates how the note was strong enough to persuade the state the possibility that Syed
was, in fact, the murderer of Lee even though there was a complete lack of physical evidence.
Lees note to Syed provides a hint to the state of Syeds motive to murder Lee. This also
demonstrates a lack of closure Syed felt towards his relationship with Lee because he was
willing to go to inconceivable measures just to be with her. Syed was more heavily impacted by
the breakup than he claims to have been which led to the motive to kill Lee.
In episode four of Serial Koenig describes Wilds testimonies and police interviews as
inconsistent and hard to believe. In this episode, Koenig mentions how Wildss statements and

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stories change as time passes between police interviews. For example, Wilds completely drops
the trip to Potapsco Park and adds the meeting with Syed in the Best Buy parking lot (Koenig).
Wilds, later on, admits to helping Syed to bury Lee. This most likely occurred because Wilds
needed to match his story with Jennifer Pusateri who the state interviewed shortly after they
interviewed Wilds. Wilds was unwilling to tell the police that he helped Syed bury Lee because
he wanted to protect his grandmother and to prevent potential trouble from being a drug dealer
for high school students (Vargas-Cooper). Wildss statements changed to match Pusateris story
and also to protect himself and his grandmother from further trouble. This shows how Wildss
stretched truths were made to merely protect himself and his grandmother, rather than lie to
cover up any other wrongful actions that could have occurred at the time. This also conveys
Wildss knowledge of what could happen to him and his drug buyers who could have later
caused him to run into some trouble with the police if Wilds had been prosecuted in the case of
Lees murder. I believe Wildss inconsistencies were due to the fact that he was trying to cover
up prior mistakes to protect those he sells drugs to and also his grandmother.
People are quick to believe Syed is guilty simply because the question of his guilt was
put forth just by the mere existence of a podcast about this case, one assumes it will end with
Koenig proving he was wronged, (Kane). Koenig shows a biased view towards Syed that helps
him throughout his innocence case. For example, in episode two of, Serial, Koenig states that,
I sort of forget where he is. This quote also demonstrates a biased point of view that Koenig
has for Syed which makes readers quick to believe that Syed is innocent regardless of how much
evidence is stacked against him and, conversely, how Syed lacks an alibi and any evidence to
disprove the states case. These quotes show how the power of persuasion can be strong enough
to convince people that an idea is correct regardless of whether or not they have seen both sides

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of the argument to gather a true understanding of an argument. These quotes also display feelings
of sympathy towards Syed due to the fact that Serial often poses him as innocent and
wrongfully accused of a heinous crime of murder. I believe Serial is told by Koenig in a biased
point of view that favors Syed over all other stories and accounts in regards to Lees case.
There is evidence that the state uses to prove Syeds guilt, Some of this evidence
includes the Nisha call and cell records. The Nisha call places both Syed and Wilds together at
the time of the murder of Lee and the cell records show that Syed never attempted to contact Lee
after her death (Why Adnan is Guilty (Using the Facts). The cell records played a crucial role
in the conviction of Syed in the states case. The Nisha call shows that Syed and Wilds were, in
fact, together and therefore, Wilds would know information that could be true and that Syed, or
at least his cellphone, was around Leakin Park where Lee was buried. This shows how the states
case was truthful and honest through the use of evidence such as cellphone record that cannot be
altered or changed. This also demonstrates, and disproves, allegations that race was a major
player in the conviction of Syed due to the fact that he was a Muslim in a black-majority case
setting. The state usual viable evidence in Syed that, I believe, should not be considered biased
towards racial minorities.
Serial is a podcast which tells the story of Adnan Syed who was found guilty for the
murder of Hae Min Lee by the state of Maryland. I believe that the state is correct with its
accusations for the motive Syed had for the murder in addition to trusting Jay Wilds who at the
time, was only making up lies to ensure the safety of himself and his grandmother.

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Works Cited
"Facts for Teens: Youth Violence." National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center.
Herkimer County. Web. 12 April 2015.
Kane, Vivian. "'Serial Discussion: Why Are We So Quick to Believe Adnan Syed Is Innocent?"
Pajiba. 10 Nov. 2014. Web Interview. 12 Apr. 2015.
Koenig, Sarah. The Case Against Adnan Syed. Serial. WBEZ Chicago, n.d. Podcast. 12 April
2015
---. Inconsistencies. Serial. WBEZ Chicago, n.d. Podcast. 12 April 2015
---. The Breakup. Serial. WBEZ Chicago, n.d. Podcast. 12 April 2015
Vargas-Cooper, Natasha. Exclusive: Jay, Key Witness From Serial Tells his Story for First
Time, Part 1. The Intercept. First Look Media, 29 December 2014. Blog. 12 April 2015.
Why Adnan is Guilty (Using the Facts). Reddit. n.p., January 2015. Blog. 12 April 2015.