Adnan Syed
Convicted of killing Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend. He was 17 and a senior at Woodlawn High School when he was arrested. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Aisha
Classmate and best friend of Hae. Remembers Adnan being possessive with Hae.
Asia
Classmate of Adnan. Claims she saw him in the public library at the time the murder supposedly took place. Her statement never made it to trial; Asia says no lawyer ever contacted her.
Becky
Classmate and friend of both Hae and Adnan. Remembers Adnan and Hae talking about a ride after school — that Hae told Adnan she couldn't drive him anywhere because she had something to do. Becky also told police she had seen Adnan after school that day around 2:45 p.m.
“Cathy”
Jenn's sorority sister and close friend. Testified that Jay and Adnan went to her house the night of the murder and that Adnan, whom she'd never met, was acting strangely.
Chris
Friend of Jay who also went to Woodlawn High School. He says Jay told him that Adnan had forced him to help bury Hae, and was threatening to hurt Stephanie if Jay squealed.
Debbie
Classmate and friend of Hae. Told police she saw Adnan after school on Jan. 13 around 3:30 p.m. Says Hae told her she was going to see Don after school.
Det. Ritz and
Det. MacGillivary
Lead homicide investigators. They interviewed Jay at least four times, and knew that his story was changing.
Don
Hae's boyfriend at the time she disappeared. They met at LensCrafters at the Owings Mills Mall, where they both worked.
Hae
The victim. She was 17 when she died. Adnan Syed was her former boyfriend.
Jay
State's key witness against Adnan. Said he helped Adnan bury Hae's body in Leakin Park. Graduated from Woodlawn High School a year ahead of Adnan. They smoked weed together and were both close to Stephanie, Jay's girlfriend.
Jenn
Friend of Jay from high school. Testified that she saw Jay and Adnan on the night of the murder, and that Jay told her Adnan had killed Hae.
Krista
Classmate and friend of both Hae and Adnan. Remembers Adnan asking Hae for a ride on the morning of Jan. 13, 1999. Adnan says he didn't ask for a ride.
Laura
Classmate and friend of Adnan, Stephanie, Jenn and Jay. She never really believed Adnan was guilty. But she also doesn't think Jay would lie about something like that.
M. Cristina Gutierrez
Adnan's trial attorney. Had a great reputation as a tough defense attorney, but was disbarred for mismanaging client money in 2001, a year after Adnan's trial.
Mr. S.
Discovered Hae's body in Leakin Park on Feb. 9. Mr. S. was a maintenance worker at a local school. Told police he was driving to work when he stopped in the park to pee and found Hae's body. Police initially considered him a suspect.
Nisha
High school student in Silver Spring, Md. Adnan began calling her after they met New Year's Eve, 1998. A call from his cell phone to her house was made at 3:32 p.m. the day Hae disappeared. Adnan says he was not with his phone at that time, because Jay had it. But he hasn't been able to explain who, then, made the call.
Rabia
Friend of Adnan's family and an attorney. Her younger brother, Saad, is Adnan's best friend. Rabia has been trying to prove Adnan's innocence since 2000.
Saad
Adnan's best friend and Rabia's brother. Both Adnan and Saad were doing things young Muslim men weren't supposed to be doing in high school, like dating girls.
Stephanie
Classmate and close friend of Adnan; girlfriend of Jay. The day Hae disappeared was Stephanie's birthday. Jay borrowed Adnan's car — and cell phone — so he could buy her a birthday present.
Yaser
Friend of Adnan from the mosque. When an anonymous caller contacted police telling them to “concentrate on the victim's boyfriend,” the caller also said Yaser might know something about it. Calls were placed from Adnan's cell phone to Yaser's number twice on Jan. 13.