loading . . . The Day Hae Min Lee Disappeared | Part 1.2 This episode reconstructs the final day of Hae Min Lee’s life—13 January 1999—using the evidence, phone records, witness statements, and timeline later examined at trial.
Hae spent the night before on the phone with her new boyfriend, Don, writing in her diary that she believed she had found her soulmate. Meanwhile, Adnan made two brief calls to her home before finally speaking to her at 12:35 a.m. The next morning at school, multiple friends recalled Adnan asking Hae for a ride after class, something he later denied to investigators.
When Hae failed to pick up her cousin at 3 p.m., her family reported her missing. That afternoon and evening, Adnan gave police inconsistent accounts of whether he was expecting a ride from her. He also told the school nurse that Hae had called him the night before wanting to get back together—something contradicted by her diary.
This chapter traces the early timeline, the first contradictions, and the initial steps that shifted the investigation toward Adnan. Written by Andrew Hammel, it highlights the small but critical details that shaped the direction of the case.
This video is a direct narration of Andrew Hammel’s long-form essay, published in Quillette on 22 May 2023: https://quillette.com/2023/05/22/the-wrongful-exoneration-of-adnan-syed-i/
To explore more independent journalism and long-form analysis, visit Quillette.com and consider supporting our work.
Andrew Hammel is an American writer, translator, and lawyer living in Germany. He has published numerous books, scholarly articles, and essays on criminal law and policy in the United States and elsewhere.
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