Introduction
In the first episode of the first season of the podcast series Alibi, Sarah Koenig talks about how she conducted questioning of students one day. Sarah needed to find out what the teenagers were doing on January 13, 1999. On that day, Hae Min Lee disappeared, and a month later, her body was found, the cause of death being strangulation by hand. Her boyfriend, named Adnan Syed, was charged in court. “I wasn’t a detective, but I was a reporter on a case about a lawyer who mistreats his clients, part-time attorney for Adnan” (McNally and Mabitsela, episode 1). Sarah received a letter asking for help in the case from Rabia Chaudhry, who was Adnan’s best friend’s sister and thought he was innocent.
Discussion
Adnan was a child of a Muslim family and had been dating Hae in secret from his parents, and the state used this against him. Later in the episode, Adnan’s friend, Jay, is mentioned. The author assumed someone was lying, so she took the case enthusiastically. Later, Sarah includes a recording of an interview with Jay in which the guy accuses Adnan of murder. This story does not match Adnan’s testimony, he has a very vague recollection of that day. Sara points out that Adnan doesn’t look like the killer.
Later, it turns out that a girl named Asiyah remembers the guy being in the library on the day of the murder. At first, the narrator assumes that Asiya is lying and wants attention. After talking to her ex-boyfriend, the girl concluded that Asiya’s testimony might be true. Sara finds the girl and has a conversation with her that confirms Adnan’s alibi, but it contradicts Adnan’s testimony. Asia called Sarah back and said she wanted to help free Adnan. The girl hopes Adnan isn’t manipulative and isn’t guilty of murder.
In the second episode of the podcast, Alibi, Sarah reads a copy of Hae’s diary. In it, she finds out details about the girl’s relationship with Adnan. The teens have had minor quarrels, after which they quickly reconcile, but they have had a good relationship for the most part. The girl feels bad because she thinks she is standing between Adnan and his religion, but Adnan denies this. He has joked several times that the girl is the cause of his sins, but he has never said it seriously, but the court has argued otherwise.
Sarah goes back to her interview with Jay again, in which he talks about how Adnan’s main motive was that Hae broke his heart. But almost everyone Sarah has spoken to, Adnan’s friends and teachers, and the psychologist said he took the breakup as well as anyone else. No one at the time indeed described Adnan as obsessive or threatening. Not even Aisha, Hae’s close friend. And in her diary, Hae never expresses any concern about Adnan’s behavior after the breakup.
Conclusion
Later, Adnan’s conversation with a policeman is mentioned a few hours after Hae’s disappearance. Hae said he asked for a ride home, a request that the girl refused. A few days later, another detective called Adnan, and the guy said that he couldn’t ask for a ride because he drove his car to school. Sarah is perplexed as to why Adnan’s testimony is so different: “I wondered why Adnan was so confused about the statement” (McNally and Mabitsela, episode 2). Doubts creep into her heart, further fueling her interest in the investigation.
Work Cited
McNally, Paul, and Freddy Mabitsela. “The Alibi.” Serial, New York Times Company.