#Jay serial podcast season 1 trial#
Additionally, by comparing the tower data against both the witnesses’ known events of the day, and with the movement of the cell phone as shown from the calls that occurred before and after, we can make a good prediction as to the accuracy of the tower data for each call individually.Īs there was no testimony at trial concerning the actual ranges of these towers, the below maps assume a conservative tower range of approximately two miles.Īdnan Calls Jay to Ask if Jay Has Gotten a Present for Stephanie Taken in the aggregate, however, the tower data is very useful for assessing the likely path followed by whoever had the cell phone that day. As a result, it should be assumed that some of the 31 calls made from Adnan’s phone that day were made or received from a tower other than the one the phone was closest to at the time of the call. The fact that any particular call may have been routed through any particular tower and antenna does not mean that the call was actually made or received from within the territory immediately adjacent to that tower/antenna calls can be routed through towers other than the one they are closest to for any number of reasons, and two calls made from the exact same location, within minutes of one another, could end up being routed through different towers. Moreover, the maps below use an oversimplified division of likely cell tower territories based purely on distances between towers, and does not take other factors into account. Provided below is a summary of the data from each of the 31 calls made to or from Adnan’s cell phone that day - including the time, who the call was to, the duration, and the cell phone tower that the call was routed through - and a summary of how that data compares to the testimony and statements given by key witnesses in the case.Ī note on the significance of the location data: It should be stressed that the tower data - that is, the record of the tower and antenna that a call was routed through - provides us with a probabilistic (and not determinative) location for where each call was made or received from. As a result, understanding what those cell records show, and do not show, is a highly significant part of the case. Other than Jay’s testimony, the only evidence that Adnan had any connection with Hae’s murder came from his cell phone records. But while the jury always has the right to determine whether a witness is telling the truth, it does not appear that, in this case, there was any objective basis for crediting Jay’s testimony against Adnan (as discussed in further detail at Serial: Why Jay’s Testimony Is Not Credible Evidence of Adnan’s Guilt).
An eye witness - Jay, Adnan’s weed dealer and casual friend - testified to his guilt. Legally, there was sufficient evidence to support Adnan’s conviction he’s not going to win any appeals there. But while there’s much we do not know about the the investigation into Hae’s murder and the state’s case against Adnan, based on what the show has covered so far, and what has been made publicly available about Adnan’s two trials, there are many reasons to be unsettled by his conviction. Even for those who think Adnan probably did plot and carry out the murder of his ex-girlfriend - and there are plenty who do - it is hard to say that there wasn’t room for some very reasonable doubts about his guilt. That’s unsurprising - after all, there’s a reason his case was chosen to be the subject Serial’s first season. The evidence against Adnan was complicated and deeply ambiguous.
Otherwise, the minutiae of these cell phone records won’t be interesting in the slightest.) (And if you haven’t listened to the podcast yet, turn back now and come back when you have. Her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder and kidnapping, and is currently serving a life sentence. For those who haven’t listened in yet, Serial is a weekly podcast covering the murder of 18-year-old Hae Min Lee, who was killed on January 13, 1999. Like everyone else in the world, I’ve been listening to Serial. However, I have not yet updated much of the accompanying text, and much of my current interpretation of the cellphone data is substantially different from what it was when this post was first written.]
This post has therefore been updated to add new and more accurate maps.
As a result, I have completely revised my opinion on numerous matters discussed herein. [ Edit, : In the two months since this post was written, substantially more evidence concerning the events of January 13, 1999, has been released.