Jay Wilds was a central figure in the Serial podcast and now, with a new documentary offering a fresh perspective on the true crime story, he's once more fresh in the minds (and internet searches) of the people.

The podcast, which launched in 2014, offered a deep-dive into the murder of Hae Min Lee and the 2000 conviction of her former boyfriend Adnan Syed. The audio investigation was led by host Sarah Koenig, a journalist who had been contacted by an advocate for Syed, Rabia Chaudry. Koenig said that she would take an unbiased look at the case and did not know which way her leads would take her.

State of Maryland court

Although Wilds declined to participate in Serial by way of an interview, his involvement as a star witness for the prosecution meant that he became a big talking point for listeners.

He alleged that Syed had told him he had murdered his former girlfriend Hae Min Lee. He also claimed that he had assisted him with burying the body in Leakin Park.

The Case Against Adnan Syed, a new four-part documentary series, will take another look into the crime and the trial. It will feature interviews with those that knew Lee and Syed, as well as members of law enforcement. According to reports, it seems that Jay Wilds did not give an interview for this series either.

HBO Sky

Lee, a student at Woodlawn High School, disappeared on January 13, 1999. Her body was not found until almost one month later, on February 9, by a local man who claimed he was walking through the woods to find somewhere to pee.

Wilds' first taped interview with police occurred on February 28, 1999. Syed was arrested that same day, aged 17.

The Serial podcast threw some question marks over Wilds' version of events. There were a number of inconsistencies between his police statements and the testimony he gave at Syed's second trial (the first was declared a mistrial). This is sure to be something that will be explored in more depth during The Case Against Adnan Syed, as he was such a big part of the state's case.

In fact, this seemed to have been a big draw for director Amy Berg, who is acclaimed for her true crime films.

"I was just really dissatisfied with the information that was available. The whole Jay story was so confusing. 'Dissatisfying' is the best word I can use for that," Berg told Vulture, before later adding: "There was enough doubt for me to want to give this a real close look."

The Serial podcast certainly contributed to the rise of the true-crime genre. It captured the imagination of armchair detectives and birthed countless internet forums dedicated to dissecting the intricacies of the case.

HBO Sky

Wilds found himself to be the subject of a number of these. Following Serial's unprecedented success, he gave his very first interview to Natasha Vargas-Cooper at The Intercept. He used this platform to tell his side of the story and also criticised assumptions that were made about him.

During this interview, published in 2014, Wilds recalled the time that Sarah Koenig and her Serial co-producer Julie Snyder turned up to his home to ask him to take part in the audio documentary. He refused and said that this exchange had upset his family.

"Because I eventually cooperated with the police and testified, I know that there are people back home who would consider me a snitch and would hurt me," he told the publication. "So, for the most part, we’ve been really protective about our privacy."

Karl Merton Ferron/Zuma Press PA Images

When asked why he had decided to speak out away from the podcast, he explained: "I’m trying to clear my name. I’m worried for the safety of my family. I think the truth is important, and I’m trying to tell it – not for entertainment value."

Wilds also discussed the impact that the podcast had on his life. He described the "threats" and "serious accusations", directed at him, that his wife had seen internet users post on Reddit threads.

"I feel like she [Koenig] created an evil archetype of me and sensationalised my motives," he said, when asked if he blamed the podcast. "It helped fan the flames of this story that people had already moved on from."

serialpodcast.org

As part of a statement in response to Wilds' interview, Serial's Julie Snyder said: "Our reporting is solid and we believe we accurately and fairly represented Jay’s statements to police and his testimony at trial.

"On seven separate occasions over the last five months, we have requested an interview with Jay, either on the record or off. We have tried to keep the lines of communication open with him, contacting him well before the podcast began airing, during the run of the story and as recently as last week."

HBO

The problem was, when discussing his version of events during The Intercept interview, Wilds appeared to change his story once again. Rabia Chaudry, an attorney and close family friend of Syed's, took to Twitter shortly after it was published to point out a number of discrepancies from his previous testimony.

As Adnan's appeal process continues to bring updates, Wilds has chosen to remain silent. It remains to be seen whether he will want to address anything that might be raised once The Case Against Adnan Syed has aired.

The Case Against Adnan Syed currently airs on Sunday nights in the US on HBO, and will come to Sky Atlantic in April.

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