Baltimore prosecutors drop charges against “serial” subject Adnan Syed in 1999 for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee

Baltimore prosecutors announced Tuesday that they had dropped all charges against Adnan Syed, the first subject of the award-winning podcast “Serial,” who is serving a sentence in the 1999 murder of his high school sweetheart Hae Min Lee has.

Last month, Syed’s life sentence was overturned by a Baltimore City District Court after a year-long investigation by the Baltimore City Attorney’s Office uncovered two alternative suspects – one of whom was never disclosed to Syed’s defense attorney – and new evidence.

Syed, 41, had been jailed since 2000 for allegedly kidnapping and strangling Lee, his former Woodlawn High School mistress, who was found buried on February 9, 1999 in Baltimore’s notorious Leakin Park.

The case gained national attention again in 2014 when “Serial” cataloged the case over a dozen episodes, pointing to inconsistencies in the prosecution and failings of his then-attorney, who was disfellowshipped in 2001 for misconduct.

Syed was released to house arrest last month after his conviction was overturned. Baltimore prosecutors then had 30 days to decide whether to try him again or drop the charges.

Attorney General and District Attorney Marilyn Mosby chose the latter. She had previously said her office was awaiting a final round of DNA testing to decide if they would drop the charges. It’s unclear whether tests, which had been inconclusive since Syed’s initial conviction in the 1990s, had yielded new results. Mosby will hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon to discuss the decision to drop the charges.

If Mosby certifies his innocence, Syed would be eligible for wrongful conviction compensation The Baltimore Sun.