Essay Example on Adnan Syed

A crime that may be labelled as a crime of passion can be a crime of self-conceit. The notable and controversial true-crime podcast “Serial” by Sarah Keonig examines the life, statements and testimonies about Adnan Syed on the murder case of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. The 2014 podcast sparked controversy as many debate to this day about the truth behind the 1999 murder. With consideration of the statements and evidence, Adnan Syed’s rightful conviction for the grim murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee is proven by his narcissistic behaviour, inconsistent memory, and phone call to Nisha. 

Firstly, Adnan displays narcissistic behaviour driven by his ego that can justify the cause for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. Adnan was good-looking, intelligent, athletic, competitive, and the homecoming king. Anyone with a profile like that would have their ego skyrocketed, especially teenagers who are self-centred around how they are perceived. Just as any teenager would feel superior to everyone else for being charming and would do anything to maintain their reputation, Adnan would too. Adnan’s ex-friend Jay describes Adnan’s reaction to his breakup with Hae: “He told me that she had broke his heart, and it was extremely wrong for anyone to treat him that way” (“Rumors”). Adnan’s reaction to his breakup with Hae seemed aggressive rather than heartbroken. Adnan responded to the unbearable thought of someone breaking up with him by quickly rebounding to someone else due to his hurt ego and being made to feel replaceable. Since Adnan was the dream boy at his high school, he felt as though he should not have been forgotten so easily from Hae’s life and deserved more respect, hence the feeling of anger from the aftermath of the breakup. Many of Adnan’s peers suspected his character to be manipulative and by using that as a factor of character analysis, his ego-filled, narcissistic reaction proved to be a motive to kill Hae as it affected his and others’ perception of him. Furthermore, by using the art of manipulation to win over the listeners, Adnan demonstrated his ability to control the situation that is a strength for people with narcissistic tendencies. When Adnan brings up the topic about concluding the series with a verdict to Sarah, he advises her not to weigh in and adds: “... I think you shouldn’t really take a side, I mean, it’s obviously not my decision it’s yours… I checked these things out and these are the things that look bad against him… you leave it up to the audience to determine” (“What We Know”). Adnan cleverly uses the art of manipulation to sway the audience into believing that he is innocent without saying so. By dropping a few hints on his innocence and deciding that the listeners should determine the verdict, Adnan shows confidence and will build credibility. The way Adnan chose to say his opinion at the end of the series, he inputs the ideas into the viewer’s head that he is innocent, and he phrases his words as such that make the listeners believe that they came to a voluntary conclusion of his innocence when Adnan used the art of manipulation to make the listeners feel that way. Manipulators and narcissists are masters at using their body language to alter the views of others. In addition, as previously mentioned, Adnan’s peers described him as manipulative, and this statement of his strengthens his role as a cunning man who can orchestrate the murder of someone who had done him wrong. Overall, Adnan displays his narcissistic personality throughout the podcast and in addition to that, he is a master manipulator who uses his manipulation to get people to sympathize with him that determines his personality and supports the motive of the killing of Hae Min Lee. Despite his efforts to garner support from the audience, Adnan has failed to keep his innocence fit as he botched what the audience would rely on to determine Adnan’s innocence, which are his statements of the events of the murder. 

Secondly, Adnan’s inconsistent memory throughout the podcast can account for him lying about the events during Hae’s murder, making Adnan a probable suspect. Adnan’s statements and his series of events do not match up, making his story confusing and contradicting, hence hard to believe. In the first instance where Adnan lies, he says, “There was absolutely nothing abnormal about [the murder] day” (“The Alibi”). Adnan claims that the day Hae went missing, he does not recall that day as it was a pretty ordinary day for him; nothing stood out. Adnan added that he went through the court transcripts and telephone records, but he could not find his statement where he remembered what had happened that day, nor anything that jogged his memory about the day. However, five episodes later, Adnan claims that he never forgot the day Hae went missing because the police had called him while he was high on marijuana. He added that the police calling a high teenager is the craziest thing to happen. In that event, the day was abnormal for Adnan. Moreover, Adnan is caught lying for a second time. Officer Adcock who questioned Adnan during Hae’s disappearance shares what Adnan had told him: “‘I spoke to Mr. Syed and he advised me that, ah, he did see the victim in school that day, and that um, he was supposed to get a ride home from the victim’” (“The Breakup”). This is the other inconsistency to Adnan’s story. Adnan told Officer Adcock that he was going to share a ride with Hae, but another officer comes forward and says that Adnan told him the opposite. For a supposedly innocent man, Adnan should have gotten his story straight with the cops; if he was innocent he would not have twisted stories. When Sarah confronts Adnan and asks if he needed a ride home that day, he refutes the officer’s statement by seemingly forgetting what he had told the officer and says that he drives his own car and he does not need a ride from anyone. This inconsistency puts Adnan in a risky position as he has told two different stories once again. The reason Adnan may have told Officer Adcock that he was getting a ride from Hae may be so he can sell the story of Hae and Adnan being on good terms. Adnan may have also told the other questioning officer that he did not see Hae or needed a ride home so that there would be no trace of Adnan wanting to go into Hae’s car to kill her. In brief, Adnan contradicted his previous statement about have no memory of the day Hae went missing and telling two questioning officers two different things, puts Adnan at a severe disadvantage as it shows his unreliability and the confusion to get his story straight, making him look guilty for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. Although there are irregularities in Adnan’s statements, there is hard proof that cannot be negotiable or hindered from weak memory, which is the call to Adnan’s friend Nisha. 

Lastly, the outgoing call to Nisha is a firm, unexplainable piece of evidence that proves Adnan’s guilt as it confirms Adnan was at the crime site when he claimed he was not. The Nisha call debunks Adnan’s alibi as the call proved Adnan was not at school but with Jay. Jay goes over the conversation with Adnan’s friend Nisha: “He put me on the phone with her for like three minutes, I said hello to [Nisha]” (“The Case Against Adnan Syed”). The call Jay talks about is a call that happened at 3:32 pm, which is when Adnan said he did not have his phone because he claimed to be at track practice. Adnan’s claim of not having his phone during the times between noon to five pm does not seem true as Nisha is only a friend to Adnan, not Jay, so it is unlikely that Jay would call Nisha. That being said, Adnan and Jay were together like Jay claims, and Adnan called Nisha as he knew her. Additionally, Adnan has no explanation to validate the call to Nisha that puts him in a risky position in the case. Adnan himself admits that he cannot think of a reason as to why he called Nisha: “To me, the explanation to that is that-- for whatever reason [Jay] pushed the number, maybe he didn’t know it was on, and it picks up, because when the answering machine picks up a call, it bills it” (“The Case Against Adnan Syed”). Adnan claims that Jay called Nisha by accident through an answering machine and a “butt dial” which is unlikely. Nisha countered Adnan’s assumption as she stated previously that she does not have an answering machine. Adnan has no explanation for the call to Nisha In short, the outgoing call to Nisha who only Adnan knew turns the case around as it is one of the prime pieces of evidence against Adnan. Adnan claimed his phone to be out of his reach between noon to five pm claiming he was at school, but he made a call to Nisha right in the middle of that time and made Jay talk to her, hence proving that Adnan was not at school and was in possession of his phone. Adnan has no explanation for the call to Nisha either, putting him at a drawback in the case.  

The “Serial” podcast discovered and looked into deeper aspects of the case, primarily hoping to seek new pressing statements and evidence to prove Adnan’s innocence. However, the evidence of Adnan being the killer of Hae Min Lee could not be overshadowed as his narcissistic character provides his motive to kill Hae, the constant contradictions to his story making him unreliable and suspicious, and the call to his friend Nisha refuting his alibi. With this podcast, Sarah Koenig gave listeners hope that there can be second chances as there are firm believers of Adnan’s innocence. Although the chances may be fifteen years late like Adnan, there will always be an opportunity to retell a story and to prove a point.