Murder of Hae Min Lee
| Hae Min Lee | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 15, 1980 South Korea |
| Disappeared | January 13, 1999 (aged 18) |
| Died | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Cause of death | Manual strangulation |
| Body discovered | February 9, 1999 in Leakin Park |
| Occupation | High school student |
| Employer |
LensCrafters (part-time employee) |
| Known for | Murder victim Subject of Serial (podcast) |
Hae Min Lee (Hangul: 이해민; 1980–1999) was a Woodlawn High School senior in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States of America, who disappeared on January 13, 1999. Her body was found February 9, 1999, in Leakin Park, the victim of murder by manual strangulation. Adnan Masud Syed, her ex-boyfriend, was convicted of first degree murder and given a life sentence plus 30 years. In July 2016, Judge Martin P. Welch vacated Syed's conviction and ordered a new trial.
Her murder initially only generated local interest until it was the subject of the podcast Serial in 2014, which brought international attention to Syed's trial.
Hae Min Lee was born in South Korea in 1980 and emigrated with her mother Youn Kim and her brother Lee to the United States in 1992 to live with her grandparents. Lee attended the magnet program at Woodlawn High School near Baltimore, Maryland. She was an athlete who played lacrosse and field hockey.
Lee disappeared on January 13, 1999, and her family reported her missing that day, after she failed to pick up her younger cousin from school at about 3:15 pm. On February 9, 1999, Lee's body was found by a passerby in Leakin Park. On February 1, 1999, the Baltimore County Police received an anonymous phone call suggesting that Lee's ex-boyfriend, Adnan Masud Syed, was responsible for her murder, and that Syed had threatened to kill Lee. On February 3, Baltimore Police received call records for a cell phone belonging to Syed. They noticed a number of calls on the day of Lee's disappearance to a woman named Jen Pusateri. When questioned, Pusateri told police that a friend of hers, Jay Wilds, who had known Syed from high school, told her that Syed had killed Lee. The police questioned Wilds, who told them that he had helped Syed bury Lee's body and dispose of her car. Syed was arrested on February 28, 1999, and charged with first degree murder. Officers also interviewed the man that discovered the victim's body.
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