A judge has ordered the release of Adnan Syed after overturning his murder conviction, which was the subject of the popular Serial podcast.
Syed was 17 years old when he was sentenced to life in prison for the 1999 murder of his girlfriend Hae Min Lee, who was strangled and buried in a Baltimore park in 1999.
A Maryland judge on Monday overturned the conviction after prosecutors said there were two other possible suspects who were never disclosed to the defence at trial.
Judge Melissa M. Phinn of the Circuit Court in Baltimore ordered Syed to be released from prison and put on home detention, she also ordered the state to decide whether to seek a new trial date or dismiss the case within 30 days.
Syed, now 41, maintained his innocence and has been appealing his conviction for years – with the case first brought to global attention by the 2014 hit podcast, which raised doubts about Syed’s guilt.