The Key Witness From The 'Serial' Murder Case Says The Podcast Was Misleading
In an interview with The Intercept, which will be published in several parts, Jay said he was portrayed unfairly and that the "Serial" podcast was misleading.
Jay was a major focus of journalist Sarah Koenig's investigation into a 1999 Baltimore murder that became the wildly popular, 12-episode "Serial" podcast. Jay testified against his friend, Adnan Syed, who was later convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee when they were both high school students.
Jay was only identified by his first name in the podcast, and he became the focus of many conspiracy theories on Reddit, in part due to Koenig's criticism of his testimony. There were some inconsistencies in the statements Jay gave police after Hae's body was found, and the prosecution had no forensic evidence tying Adnan to the crime.
Jay stood by his story when he talked to The Intercept, saying Adnan talked about hurting Hae a week before she disappeared.
Her body was eventually found in a Baltimore park, and prosecutors argued that Adnan killed her because they broke up and he was jealous that she had a new boyfriend.
"[Adnan and I] were in the car, we were riding, smoking," Jay said. "He just started opening up. It's in the evening after school, we never hung out in the morning. Just normal conversation like, 'I think she's fucking around. I'm gonna kill that bitch, man.'"
He said he didn't take Adnan's threats seriously at the time and thought he was just blowing off steam.
Adnan is currently in prison for Hae's murder, but he is still trying to prove his innocence.
The Innocence Project at the University of Virginia is investigating the case and has reportedly identified several alternative suspects. They are now aiming to test previously untested DNA from the case to see if the evidence will exonerate Adnan.