As the post-conviction court proceedings for Adnan Syed continue throughout the week, so does the “Serial” podcast. The series creator, Sarah Koenig, will detail what happens in court in three special episodes.
Listeners of the podcast expressed their interest in tuning in to the updates, but some fans decided to attend the hearings themselves.
“I wanted to be in the court room and hear it, real and raw and draw my conclusions,” said Margaret Williams, a self-proclaimed "Serial" superfan who traveled to Baltimore from Alexandria, Virginia to witness every day of the hearings in person.
“It's a little surreal because you've listened to the podcast for a couple of years now, and everything related to it, and people are real. So, it's a little surreal to be among them,” Williams said.
More than 120 million people downloaded season one of the podcast with many listeners becoming captivated by the story.
“I'm surprised about this whole thing. Nationwide media are involved, like 40 media companies from all over the United States are involved that surprised me,” said Phillip Buddemeyer, who had a role in the series.
He was the city surveyor who visited the burial spot of Hae Min Lee, the woman Syed was convicted of killing. Buddemeyer testified at Syed’s trial and said he can't believe the attention surrounding the case from more than 15 years ago.
“In a way, I'm like sort of in the limelight in this thing and I don't have any objections, it's kind of cool,” Buddemeyer said.
But at the heart of the story is a real-life murder, and the podcast raises questions about the circumstances and evidence surrounding Syed’s conviction.
“Reviewing something over and over again does pay out because there are people who've served time numerous years for something they didn't do,” said Dave Adkins, a listener of the podcast who was present at the hearing on Thursday.
And while the conviction still stands, some listeners of the podcast see the notoriety of the case as an opportunity for more answers.
“It's a good thing if [Syed’s] really innocent and he's retried and he's freed,” said Buddemeyer. “Some good can come out of it.”
ABC2News would like to hear where you stand. Click here for a link to our poll asking who you think will benefit most from the media attention surrounding the case.
