Family of Syed told MailOnline they hope coverage in podcast will help free former Homecoming King and would-be doctor

Fresh evidence of an alibi and involvement of lead detective in notorious miscarriage of justice now being considered

Prosecutors are revewing the case for a third time, MailOnline can reveal

It is the podcast which has gained a fanatical following in America - and across the world.

In a series of downloads, Serial has detailed the 1999 killing of a brilliant high-school student and the conviction of her ex-boyfriend for her murder.

Now, the MailOnline can disclose, the podcast has given hope to the convicted killer's family that it will prove their belief that he is innocent - and lead to a successful appeal against his conviction.

It can also be disclosed that prosecutors have embarked on a review of the case - the third in a legal saga which has already involved a mistrial and two appeals.

Victim: The hit podcast Serial is based on events after the murder of Hae Min Lee, seen here in a picture carried in her high school yearbook after her death. She was murdered in 1999 in Baltimore Maryland and her boyfriend, Adnan Syed, convicted of the crime.

Boyfriend: Adnan Syed was a high-school footballer and Hae Min Lee's boyfriend. The relationship was secret: His Muslim Pakistani parents and her Korean family would not, they believed, have approved

Together: The only image of the young couple together, along with other - unidentified - students at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland. The school was where the couple met

Serial, a spin-off from the public radio documentary, This American Life, has proved a critical and popular hit.

With seven parts so far made available to listeners, it has detailed the violent death of Hae Min Lee and its aftermath, resulting in the conviction of Adnan Syed. Today a new episode is being posted.

Its popularity has meant fans have used the internet to speculate on the case and whether Syed is in fact guilty. One section of the site Reddit devoted to it has more than 8,000 registered contributors.

The case began in the relatively poor area of Woodlawn, in Baltimore County, just over the county line from the port city in 1999.

At Woodlawn High School, Adnan Syed, 17, was the outstanding student of his year.

A Muslim teenager with conservative parents who had immigrated from the Pashtun tribal areas of Pakistan, he was on course for straight As, wanted to be a doctor, and as well as a football player, was voted Homecoming King.

SERIAL: WHO'S WHO IN PODCAST Adnan Syed: Convicted of murder of his ex-grilfriend Hae Min Lee. Serving life plus 30 years. Protests his innocence. Hae Min Lee: Found murdered in a park in Baltimore four weeks after vanishing. Her family have returned to South Korea. Jay Wilds: Knows only as Jay in the series, he provided evidence which led police to Syed, then testimony at his trial. Never went to prison and has moved to Los Angeles. Jennifer Pusateri: Friend of Wilds. Syed phoned her six times on the day Hae was found. Told police Wilds had told her that Syed had killed Hae. Detective William Ritz: Compiled case against Syed. Veteran officer retired in 2012 under a cloud over another miscarriage of justice. Advertisement

What his family did not know was that he had been in a relationship with Hae Min Lee. Equally gifted, she was the daughter of Korean immigrants, who were unaware that their 18-year-old was seeing a boy.

Both families, the teenagers appear to have believed, would have been against the relationship.

But both families were to learn of the secret romance in the most upsetting way imaginable.

The alarm was raised on 13 January when Hae failed to collect her six-year-old niece after school. it was immediately suspicious, as Hae was highly-responsible and it was unthinkable that she would not collect the girl.

She had last been seen driving her gray 1998 Nissan Sentra away from school, on her way to pick up her niece then go to her job in a local Lenscrafters shop.

It was clear that something was very wrong; a gifted athlete, Hae wanted to become an optician. She had tickets booked for a trip to France and was a popular pupil at the school.

Police contacted Adnan Syed - by then her ex-boyfriend - and others close to Hae, hoping they could shed light on her disappearance.

On 9 February, her body was discovered buried in a shallow grave in Baltimore's Leakin Park, which the city's folklore suggests is littered with murdered corpses.

It was found by a man who told police he had pulled over in his car to take an emergency bathroom break - although it was some distance from the road.

The discovery brought fresh energy to the case and on 12 February, an anonymous call to police told them that they should look at Syed as a suspect.

Six days later, his cell phone records were subpoenaed.

They showed that on the day the murdered girl's body was discovered, there were six calls from Syed to a number belonging to Jennifer Pusateri, then a student at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

As a result, she was questioned by police - and initially said that she knew nothing.

But the day later, on 27 February, she returned to the detectives and told them that her friend Jay Wilds had told her that Syed had killed Hae.

It appeared to be a crucial breakthrough. The next day Wilds was interviewed by police. He is not fully named in Serial.

Hope: Syed's mother, Shahmim Rahman, and her youngest son Yusuf, outside their home In Windsor Mill, Maryland. They hope a second appeal will be granted and clear Syed

All American: Syed was named Homecoming King at Woodlawn High School, but weeks after his girlfriend vanished, her body was found and he became prime suspect. He was convicted of her murder but continues to protest his innocence. His family believe the Serial hit podcast will boost his case

Crime scene: Leakin Park, Baltimore's largest outdoor space, was where Hae's body was found four weeks after she vanished. Police were alerted by a man who said he had stopped for an emergency bathroom stop

Rus in urbe: Cyclists ride on a trail in Leakin Park, near the 4400 block of Franklintown Road, where the body of Hae Min Lee was discovered, on Feb. 9, 1999

Wilds was already known to police - aged 19, he was a small-time drug dealer but had become a friend of Syed.

Wilds told detectives that Syed had shown him Hae's body and led them to her car. Shortly afterwards the same day, Syed was arrested.

He told police he had smoked pot and gone to athletics practice after school.

But in a series of interviews, Wilds provided the police - who were led by a veteran homicide detective, William Ritz - with the case against his friend.

'Adnan had a bright future. He was a grade-A student. He had been accepted at university to study medicine. But it was all taken away from him because the police wanted to clear up this murder case quickly Syed's brother Yusuf

Serial plays tapes of police interview of Wilds in which it appears to some listeners that Baltimore City Police Department detectives coached the small-time drug dealer with his answers

Wilds claimed Syed told him he had strangled Hae in the Best Buy parking lot close to Woodlawn High School after he had persuaded her to give him a ride.

Wilds says Syed then recruited him to help dispose of the body, collecting shovels before driving to Leakin Park and digging a six-inch deep grave.

Wilds did not exhaustively explain Syed's motive, only that Hae Min Lee was humiliating him with her new, older boyfriend, according to the police tapes.

The older boyfriend was not identified.

It was enough to put Syed - who continued to protest his innocence - on the way to a trial.

But there was not to be one for Wilds. In September he pled guilty to accessory after the fact to the first degree murder of Hae.

Details of any deal or plea bargain Wilds made with the Baltimore City State Attorney are not available to the public, MailOnline has been told.

Wilds has now moved to Los Angeles. His trial evidence was hardly his last time in court; he has three convictions for possession of marijuana.

A series of other cases against him have been brought, including assaulting a law enforcement official, breach of probation, and riding a bicycle without lights, but all were either stayed or declared inactive by prosecutors.

Doomed romance: Hae and Syed were boyfriend and girlfriend - but in secret as they believed neither family would have approved. The couple studied at Woodlawn High School. Both had bright futures ahead of them.

Murder location: This Best Buy off of Security Boulevard in Baltimore, Md. is allegedly where Hae Min Lee was strangled to death in 1999

Jenn Pusateri (left) received six calls from Syed on the day Hae's body was found. But she told detectives that Jay Wilds (right) had told her that Syed had confessed to the killing. Wilds plead guilty to being an accessory to first degree murder but was not jailed. He now lives in California

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE

In December, Syed went on trial, but within a week the judge - William Quarles - had declared a mistrial because the jury overheard him accusing Syed's lawyer, Christina Gutierrez, of lying.

A second trial, overseen by Judge Wanda Heard, began in the New Year, almost a year after Hae's disappearance.

State Prosecutor Kevin Urich made much of Syed's jealousy during his speech to the murder trial jury, focusing on the accused's Muslim background.

I would like to forgive Adnan Syed, but as of now, I just don't know how I could.

When I die, my daughter will die with me. As long as I live my daughter is buried in my heart Hae Min Lee's mother Youn Wha Kim

He told the jury of their 'secret' nature of their relationship and the pressure this put on them.

It was persuasive, overcoming a lack of forensic evidence – DNA, finger prints – linking Syed to Hae's body. Syed himself made no concession, claiming his innocence throughout the trial.

Ulrich persuaded the jury that Syed had strangled Hae Min Lee and they convicted him of first degree murder.

At a sentencing hearing, the impact on her family became clear.

Hae Min Lee's mother Youn Wha Kim told the court she had brought her children to America seven years previously so they could have a 'decent education and a decent future'. It had earlier been disclosed that their father had stayed in Korea and played no part in bringing up Hae and her brother, Young Lee, two years her junior.

Speaking through an interpreter at the sentencing she said: 'I would like to forgive Adnan Syed, but as of now, I just don't know how I could.

'When I die, my daughter will die with me. As long as I live my daughter is buried in my heart.'

Distraught Mrs Kim nearly collapsed when she stepped off the witness stand and was escorted sobbing out of the courtroom.

Shortly afterwards the family moved back to Korea. It is unclear now if they are aware of the attention their daughter's murder has gained because of the podcast.

Syed was sentenced to life plus 30 years, meaning that he had no prospect of release until 2030 at the earliest.

'Solely because of hurt pride, he chose to kill,' Ulrick told the judge. 'There is nothing here to excuse or explain the murder.'

Heard agreed. Noting Syed's intellect and popularity at school, Heard said: 'You used that to manipulate people. Even today, I think you continue to manipulate even those who love you.'

Key: Detective William Ritz, who retired from Baltimore Police in 2012 under a cloud. He compiled the case file in Syed's trial but was later named as being involved in a miscarriage of justice described by the victim as 'one of the most shameful episodes of police misconduct' in Baltimore's history

Case file: This map in detectives' notes was drawn after an interview with Ju'uan, a friend of Adnan who said it showed where they went to smoke pot in the weeks after Hae's disappearance but before her body was found.

Evidence: Syed drew this map for police to show where he had gone to smoke pot. It is the most secluded part of the Best Buy parking lot.

But Syed - who had already told the judge 'I have maintained my innocence since the begining' - has not given up his fight.

He and his legal team secured two reviews of his case - in 2002 and in 2012 - both of them unsuccessful. Neither of them has been disclosed to listeners to the podcast.

But now, MailOnline can disclose, a third review has been launched which will lead to an appeal hearing.

Baltimore City State Attorney's Office say they cannot discuss the case.

Spokesman Tony Savage told MailOnline: 'The case is currently on appeal and we don't comment on pending matters.'

Although the prosecution will not discuss what has prompted the review, two new areas of evidence appear to have emerged.

One of them has featured in the podcast: testimony from a classmate of Syed - known as Asia - that she spent the day he went missing with him in the library.

HOW CASE UNFOLDED 13 January 1999: Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School, vanishes 9 February: A man who stopped for an emergency bathroom break finds Hae's body in a shallow grave in a Baltimore city parl 12 February: Anonymous tip-off tells police to look at Adnan Syed as a suspect 18 February: Police seize his cell phone records 27 February: Jennifer Pusateri tells detectives Jay Wilds has told her that Syed killed Hae 28 February: Syed is arrested hours after Wilds shows police Hae's car 7 September: Wilds pleads guilty to accessory after the fact to first degree murder 15 December: Syed's first trial is declared a mistrial 25 February 2000: Syed is convicted of first degree murder 6 June: Syed begins life plus 30 years sentence 2003: Review of case but conviction remains 2012: Second review does not find in Syed's favor 3 October 2014: First episode of Serial Advertisement

A series of letters she wrote have featured and suggest that Syed could have an alibi. It would change the timeline presented at the first trial - and was never presented to it because his defense attorney did not make contact with her.

His family say that the attorney was acting incompetently, and that a future appeal should take the failure into account.

There is also an affidavit Asia wrote in March 2000, after Syed's conviction, which has also never been presented to a court.

The other new strand is over one of the investigators, and has not been disclosed in the show: Ritz, who led the murder investigation and compiled the file against Syed.

Ritz, 60, worked for the Baltimore City Police Department for 32 years before retiring last year under a cloud.

The veteran homicide investigator was one of 16 police officers sued by Ezra Mable who claims police pressured witnesses to lie and intentionally mishandled evidence leading to his wrongful conviction for murder.

Mable was only released after serving ten years in jail in what he called 'one of the most shameful episodes of police misconduct' in Baltimore's history.

Ritz has moved to Florida and declined to comment to MailOnline.

The development has given fresh hope to Syed's family. Syed's brother Yusuf told Mail Online: 'Serial has brought wide attention to Adnan's case.

'No one was interested in our fight until Serial became involved.

'We hope this will bring justice for Adnan and our family.

'Adnan has always said he did not murder Hae and finally people are starting to listen.'

The family believe that Wilds. He has moved to Los Angeles and declined to speak to MailOnline.

'Everything the police have on Adnan is from Jay. Witnesses who say they saw Adnan at a certain time are all linked to Jay.'

Speaking at the family's modest two-storey home in the district of Windsor Mill, his mother Shamim Rahman, 51, said: 'We have spent a lot of time with the people from Serial.

'They talked with us for hours. They have taken away our pictures of Adnan. We hope they can help set him free.'

The family have known now of Syed's secret past for many years.

Syed tells Serial: 'My mom thought I was a virgin. She did not know about the girls, the weed or the drinking and I was not going to tell her.'

Missed evidence: This letter from Asia to Syed - whose name she spelled incorrectly - appearing to back up his alibi. But it was never seen by the jury after the defense attorney failed to contact her. Syed's family say the attorney was acting incompetently

Affirdavit: After Syed was convicted Asia wrote this affidavit to once again tell how she had spent the afternoon with him in the library. But it has never been presented to a court.

Syed's mother has confirmed she would not have approved of their relationship. 'I certainly would not have allowed it if I had known,' she told MailOnline.

However any sense of disapproval is long in the past, as the family mourn a future Syed cannot have.

Hit producer: Sarah Koenig is the producer and former Baltimore Sun reporter who has created the cult podcast

Yusuf said: 'Adnan had a bright future. He was a grade-A student. He had been accepted at university to study medicine.

'But it was all taken away from him because the police wanted to clear up this murder case quickly.

'They could not wait to do their job properly so they sent an innocent kid to jail.

'Serial has shown that people don't have to be guilty of a crime but still they get thrown in jail.'

Mrs Rahman added: 'I suffer constant pain knowing that Adnan is innocent but he has been sent to jail for the rest of his life.

'His conviction destroyed the whole family.'

Mrs Rahman has become estranged from her oldest son Tanveer and her husband, Syed Rahman, a retired civil engineer, has become a recluse.

What remains unclear about the podcast is the outcome: fans are hooked on its suspenseful, pacy presentation.

One of its episodes has been streamed or downloaded 2.1 million times.

Its producer, Sarah Koenig, a former Baltimore Sun reporter - like David Simon, the creator of The Wire - has yet to reveal whether she thinks Syed in innocent.