Adnan Syed defense: ‘We proved our case’ for murder retrial

They argue that Adnan Syed wasn’t convicted because of ineffective counsel or faulty evidence, but because “the evidence was overwhelming, and because he did it”.

“I could see it on his face when he looked back at me and smiled”, Yusuf tells PEOPLE.

A court spokeswoman said Welch would issue a written opinion but there was no time frame for a ruling.

The five-day hearing was aimed at weighing potential evidence that was not used in previous proceedings or that may have been misinterpreted, and the court could order a new trial. “I intend to keep fighting to prove my innocence”.

The Maryland attorney general’s office maintained that Syed was a calculated killer whose conviction was the only possible outcome.

Syed’s acquaintance Jay Wilds, who gave information to investigators to avoid going to jail, allegedly said they planned to be in certain places around the time of the murder to create alibis, the newspaper reported.

“Has the public attention helped us? Yes”. In the meantime, Syed will continue serving his life sentence. He said he felt “the hearing went well for us” and “we accomplished the things we wanted to accomplish”.

“This might have been the first ever open source case”, he said.

“We proved our case”.

During his 2000 trial, Syed was represented by Christina Gutierrez, who is now deceased.

“I am proud to represent this man”, said C. Justin Brown, at the start of his closing arguments standing next to a jumpsuit-clad Syed, hands shackled at the waist.

“What is popular is not always just”, he said.

Syed, now 35, was found guilty of killing Lee and burying her body in a wooded park on the northwestern edge of Baltimore.

“A mistake was made not to talk to an alibi witness who could have turned this trial around”, Brown said, calling Chapman “earnest”, “compelling” and “extremely credible”. He added: “The case law is clear”.

Syed’s attorneys have also argued that cell tower data presented to jurors was misleading because it was missing a cover sheet warning that information about incoming calls was unreliable. He said Syed had been heard vowing to kill Lee after their breakup.

Still, Waranowitz’s testimony at trial helped convict Syed, Brown noted.

But Fitzgerald said that despite the affidavit, Waranowitz’s testimony was accurate, with the exception of one phone call he misidentified.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors will present their closing arguments Tuesday morning. “Keeping that legacy, integrity, and stepping up to tell the truth was very important to me”, she said.

The classmate, Asia McClain, had contacted Syed the day after his arrest, but said his attorneys never contacted her.

McClain, an alibi witness, had a message for Syed about not coming forward in 2010.

Despite Waranowitz giving two sworn affidavits recanting his 2000 testimony, Vignarajah said Waranowitz’s conclusions at trial were accurate, based on the testimony of an Federal Bureau of Investigation cell phone expert called by Vignarajah.