Jay Wilds, Maryland's key (and only) witness at Adnan Syed's 2000 trial for murdering Hae Min Lee — which was chronicled on the hotly debated Serial podcast, which launched in October 2014 and completed its 12-episode run earlier this month — has consented to a single interview (with The Intercept) in an attempt to tell his side of the story.
Rabia Chaudry, the Syed family friend and attorney who originally brought Syed's case to the attention of Serial host Sarah Koenig, today took to Twitter to point out what she sees as inconsistencies in the story Wilds is now telling compared to the account of events he offered at Syed's trial.
The first passage Chaudry highlighted comes back to the question of when or if Wilds knew Syed planned to murder his ex-girlfriend.
Losing track of how many times Jay's story has changed. #FreeAdnan
Then there's the matter of where Wilds saw Lee's dead body for the first time.
EGAD he cannot keep his lies STRAIGHT #FreeAdnan #ThanksJay!
Chaudry claims Wilds' account of how Lee's body was buried directly conflicts with his earlier testimony.
PERJURY ABOUNDS! #FreeAdnan #Serial #LyingMoFo!
And, lastly, she points out that an important car from the trial is now missing in his account of the day.
Ooh look, the second car disappeared! #TheJayInterview #ThankYouIntercept #FreeAdnan #PerjuryFTW
With Syed's case currently under review, Chaudry believes the timing of Jay Wilds' interview could not be better.
So yeah, i'm not sleeping tonight. My New Years just go SO HAPPY. #FreeAdnan #PerjuryFTW
An infographic is in order to keep track of Jay's lies. #FreeAdnan #MerryChristmas
I just can't even. That's where I'm at with this interview. But I thank #Jay deeply for proving how deep the bullshit is. #FreeAdnan
Not gonna lie. Been saying some special Islamo-prayers for Jay to open his mouth & exonerate Adnan. Hallelujah, it worked,keep talking buddy
Her take:
@YAmericanMuslim Analysis in a nutshell: He can't stop lying.
But there will be more:
In keeping with the Serial model, The Intercept says this was part one in a series of interviews with Wilds, so keep an eye on Chaudry's Twitter for further reactions. Chaudry herself has launched a legal defense fund on behalf of Syed and hopes to raise as much as $250,000 to cover the cost of a possible appeal.
When reached by BuzzFeed News, a representative of Serial had no comment in response to Wilds’ interview, in light of the fact that the full transcript has not yet been released.