"Serial" Star Adnan Syed Is Getting A New Trial

Adnan Syed, the subject of the much obsessed-over first season of hit podcast Serial, has one last chance to prove his innocence in court.

According to ABC News, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Martin Welch has granted Syed’s lawyers’ request for a new trial, agreeing that Syed had “ineffective assistance” from his original counsel.

As a result, the 36-year-old Syed’s murder conviction has been vacated.

Adnan Syed has been granted a new trial. Judge Welch's order: https://t.co/Io4HRRNWLt pic.twitter.com/CzT4LK2w79

— Serial (@serial) June 30, 2016

For those who didn’t listen along to the unfolding whodunit back in 2014: Syed was convicted of murdering his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999, for which he received a life sentence.

Serial host and journalist Sarah Koenig spent the first season of her podcast (which became the fastest podcast to pass five million downloads and streams on iTunes, on its way to 100 million downloads) poking holes in the state’s case against Syed, who has maintained his innocence.

One of the main points of contention in Syed’s conviction is his original lawyer’s failure to contact alibi witness Asia McClain Chapman. However, a previous attempt by Syed’s new lawyers to claim “ineffective counsel” based on this negligence was rejected.

Instead, Judge Welch acknowledged that Syed’s original lawyer should have cross-examined the prosecutors’ expert on the reliability of their phone tower location evidence. (It was this evidence that tied Syed to the location of Lee’s body, which was buried in Baltimore’s Leakin Park.)

The news will come as bittersweet to Serial’s many fans, many of whom agree Syed did not receive a fair trial, but still question his involvement in Lee’s disappearance and ultimate murder.

Serial, which wrapped its second season– on an entirely new subject: Bowe Bergdahl - earlier this year, acknowledged the update to Syed’s cast on Twitter.

Though Koenig returned to Baltimore for a series of mini episodes, documenting Syed’s newest court appearances, it’s not known if a future season of Serial will follow along with the latest developments in his case.

It’s also not known if there’s still a shrimp sale at the Crab Crib.

Next time, on Serial.

Photo: Serial.