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Hae Min Lee’s annual photo, 1999.
The Consecutive podcast about the 1999 annihilation of Hae Min Lee has been heard and debated by millions, yet there are still untold belief and perspectives from Woodlawn High Academy agents who accomplished and had abutting relationships with acceptance Adnan Syed, Jay Wilds, Stephanie McPherson, and Hae Min Lee but beneath to allocution to Sarah Koenig for the podcast. I was able to sit bottomward with some of these agents for an absolute conversation.
I am a second-year abecedary at Woodlawn High School, and like so many, I became bedeviled with the Consecutive podcast this fall. However, my acquaintance was aloof a little bit different. Some of my Woodlawn colleagues had heard about the podcast but absolutely no one abroad was alert to it. I acquainted like I was active through the case as I collection accomplished the Woodlawn Branch Public Library into the academy parking lot and absolved accomplished Hae Lee’s canonizing timberline on my way into the architecture every morning. I knew assertive things, like with after-school traffic, the parking lot bureaucracy and the bus loop, and how doubtful it would be to drive to the Best Buy in beneath than 20 account afterwards the alarm rang.
Not abandoned was I seeing aspects of the podcast ceremony day, but I was additionally alert to the absolute articulation of the academy announcer, Jay Terry, who is heard in the podcast, and my above accessory Inez Butler Hendrix, as I heard her affidavit about Hae’s connected use of the after-school aliment stand. I was alike taken ashamed by audition my para-educator, Catrice Sneed, a Woodlawn 1998 alum and clue star, whom I allotment my classroom with, allege about her friendships with the “characters” and her perceptions of them.
As my access to the podcast became added surreal with ceremony episode, I kept cat-and-mouse for agents and acceptance to alpha chattering about the case and reacting as acerb as I was, yet it never happened, alike afterwards the final episode. I couldn’t accept that the bodies abutting to the contest in the case were absent to its resurfacing while the blow of the country was transfixed. It seemed like anybody I knew was listening, except for bodies at Woodlawn. I was about allurement my co-workers to alpha listening. My abandoned acknowledged catechumen was our academy librarian.
Adnan Syed’s annual photo, 1999.
As my allure deepened and I connected to lap up every accessible Consecutive detail, I began cerebration that, as a allotment of the association in which the tragedy took place, my acceptance and I had a altered befalling to ascertain missing information, which may afford added ablaze on Hae’s death. Added importantly, with Consecutive acceptable the best accepted podcast of all time and its cultural appliance for my students, this educational befalling was aloof too acceptable to canyon up. Luckily, I came beyond an commodity blue-blooded “Why I am Teaching Consecutive Instead of Shakespeare”, so I accomplished out to the author, a California English abecedary for support, and on the 16th ceremony of Hae Min Lee’s murder, I began an absolute assemblage based about Consecutive in two of my classes. Not surprisingly, the acceptance accept been added affianced than anytime before.
During this time, I additionally developed my detective abilities alongside my academy librarian (details about her chase later) as we rummaged through old yearbooks and advised who in the architecture ability accept added information. This brings me to today as I afresh sat bottomward with the accepted agents who did not seek acclaim in actuality a allotment of the Consecutive podcast but who knew the acceptance complex best. This was an breezy chat about what it was like to be at Woodlawn during such a difficult time and the acceptance in catechism themselves. We drank coffee, addled through the 1996-99 yearbooks and talked with no filter. Mostly, I listened.
Key attestant Asia McClain pictured with added Woodlawn friends.
Around the table were four accepted Woodlawn teachers: Margaret “Meg” Muse, Woodlawn’s art abecedary and administration chair, who is the warm, motherly, affable face about the building. Meg was contacted several times aftermost year by Sarah Koenig to be a allotment of the Consecutive podcast but beneath ceremony time and was afraid to allocution to me as well. Joining us was Tom Lawler, in his 42nd year at Woodlawn, who started as a science abecedary and again became science administration armchair and allurement coordinator. Tom has been teaching allurement acceptance aback the program’s birth in 1992. Additionally in on the chat with us: Rebecca Frager, Woodlawn’s assuming librarian, who consistently has a beginning pot of hot coffee and broiled appurtenances to acceptable agents on Monday mornings.
Even afterwards Hae’s annihilation and Serial, Woodlawn would still accept a acceptability as a boxy school, and the veterans anecdotal belief that accept formed that reputation, including one that became article of a civic antic aback in 2004 — aback an acrimony administration accumulation descended into a brawl, sparked by the mother of a apprentice who showed up and started a fight. This bent the absorption of Jay Leno and the blow of the nightly news.
Stephanie McPherson was Jay’s adherent and Adnan’s friend. Her above abecedary alleged Stephanie “gorgeous central and out, a admirable girl, aloof like Hae.”
Hae’s annihilation has become allotment of the Woodlawn folklore. Bodies apperceive that a babe was already murdered but the capacity are vague. It’s aloof not article that is talked about here. Meg and Tom explained agents and acceptance may accept heard there was a abominable abomination here, but that’s all bodies know.In fact, alike aback the annihilation occurred, the academy seemed to absolve it off. In the winter of 1999, Tom said, “Within the school, the adventure died off rather bound and things abashed on. There was about any account advantage about it, no city-wide account or aftereffect in the school. By bounce break, the accomplished affair appealing abundant came and went.” Until Consecutive came along, those at Woodlawn — if they anticipation about the case at all — didn’t catechism the aftereffect of the balloon that begin Adnan accusable of the murder. It was not until the Consecutive podcast that details, or rather discrepancies, of the case absolutely came to light. This fabricated the contempo podcast all the added arresting to agents like Meg and Tom who saw these acceptance about every day arch up to the murder.
One of the better take-aways from Consecutive has been to casting suspicion on Jay Wilds, who was portrayed as a adumbral character. I was able to apprehend Meg’s angle and as her aide Tom put it “Of any teacher, Meg knew him the best.” She knew a absolutely altered Jay.
Meg said Jay was one of her admired acceptance ever. Jay would be in her classroom best days, blind out during or afterwards school, generally with his adherent Stephanie and Adnan. In a apple area Jay couldn’t assurance abounding people, he acquainted safe in Meg’s classroom.
Adnan was alleged brawl royalty.
Jay wasn’t abandoned in action that way. The art allowance is and consistently has been a safe abode for abounding acceptance at Woodlawn. Because of this, Meg gets to apperceive the “regulars” who adhere out in her classroom. Such was the case with Jay.Meg said, “He admired Conan the Barbarian movies and Arnold Schwarzenegger was his admired actor,” Meg said. “He already cut my chic to get his argot pierced!”
Though she accepted that Jay was a rebel, he wasn’t this agrarian Dennis Rodman-like character, as portrayed in the podcast. To Meg, Jay was acutely ablaze and had assorted interests that may accept appeared aberrant to the boilerplate Woodlawn student.
“Jay is actual smart; he was appropriate up there with the allurement kids,” Meg said. Yes, he would generally get in trouble, but it was for things like acid class, annihilation absolutely serious.
To me, Meg was anecdotic Jay as a assertive blazon of Woodlawn kid, the blazon I accept in about every chic I teach. You charge to put in a little added accomplishment to ascendancy their interest. If you can’t claiming them or accomplish them anticipate deeply, you ability not see them abutting class. This blazon of kid is a claiming but it feels so advantageous if you can ability them.
The Jay that Meg knew was a acute and agreeable adolescent man, far altered from the Jay in Serial. She declared him as a good, honest person. Jay’s alteration angle of his own persona at Woodlawn is one of the inconsistencies Sarah reinforces. I couldn’t advice but cerebration about the band in Consecutive aback Jay said “I’m the bent aspect of Woodlawn to everyone,” but “teachers who absolutely apperceive me, apperceive I’m not like that.” For me, Meg accepted these two statements are accurate and agents who took the time and cared abundant to get to apperceive Jay, like Ms. Muse, saw him as a acceptable kid.
Stephanie abutting Adnan at the centermost of Brawl activity.
Still, Meg said: “Jay was batty of the badge and didn’t assurance them at all.” She said his apprehension of ascendancy was maybe why he larboard pieces out of his adventure aback he batten to law officers, as he feared how the badge would adapt the information. She did say there are things Jay did not acquaint her aback then, but “There was annihilation from Jay’s contempo three interviews by the ‘The Intercept’ that I didn’t already apperceive or believe.”
She was determined that there is absolutely no acumen Jay would accept asleep Hae. She said Consecutive did not accord him abundant credit. I will accept afterwards alert to Consecutive I was biased adjoin Jay because Sarah did not accommodate testimonials about his acceptable character. It was alluring to apprehend these acceptable things about Jay from a abecedary who knew him able-bodied at the time. Like abounding admirers I was accustomed the consequence he was a liar, and a coarse and doubtable character.
For what it’s account Ms. Muse corrective a actual altered picture. On the added hand, Meg doesn’t accept annihilation bad to say about Adnan, who was additionally a approved in Ms. Muse’s art classroom. Meg vividly recalled the morning afterwards Hae’s anatomy was found. “Adnan was in academy the morning afterwards they begin her body, I apperceive for a actuality because they alleged me bottomward to the nurse’s appointment and he was hysterical. He aloof threw himself at me arrant and he was adage ‘I can’t accept she’s dead, I can’t accept she’s dead’ and I absolutely believed him in that moment.” She additionally remembered little capacity about Hae and Adnan’s accord that year and said, “I do bethink aback he got the covering from her,” in absorption to the Christmas present he accustomed from Hae appropriate afore she went missing.
After alert to Serial, she said: “I anticipate Adnan deserves addition day in cloister because there are holes in the stories. I achievement the affirmation is so able and the case is so bound that the truth, whatever it is, wins out this time.”
Serial’s assuming of Adnan as a archetypal apprentice aligns with Tom Lawler’s recollection. As a allurement teacher, Tom accomplished Adnan, Stephanie and Hae. Tom said: “Adnan was a acceptable student, smart. … I never saw him alienate added kids or saw any array of beggarly streak. … It is absolutely hasty that he could accept done this.”In the podcast Adnan absolutely describes article he abstruse in Mr. Lawler’s computer applications chic aback he makes the affinity of aggravating to amount out this case to attractive at two graphs with the aforementioned abstracts of the amount of tea at C-Mart and 7-11 and seeing two altered things.
Jay and Stephanie booty a alleviation break. Said a above abecedary who mentored him, “Jay is actual smart; he was appropriate up there with the allurement kids.”
What about Stephanie, conceivably the better abstruseness of the podcast? Tom had her in his allurement classes, and she was one of Meg’s acceptance as well. Thousands of ardent Consecutive admirers and bloggers with their cabal theories are assertive Stephanie was complex in the murder. Meg said she doesn’t see how Stephanie could alike be allotment of the story.
As reflected in the abounding photos of Stephanie in the yearbooks, she was as abundant the aureate adolescent of Woodlawn as Hae was. “Stephanie and Hae were best friends,” Meg said and declared Stephanie as “gorgeous central and out, a admirable girl, aloof like Hae.” Tom said Stephanie was one of the smartest acceptance in the academy and an amazing athlete. It was additionally bright she was one of the prettiest girls in the school.
However, aback it came to Jay and Stephanie’s relationship, Meg said, “Stephanie’s parents did not accept of Jay at all.” Stephanie could see the acceptable in Jay, but her parents could not see accomplished his asperous exterior.
Something that Consecutive misconstrued about Woodlawn in the backward 1990s was the attributes of the allurement program, the adept agents said. Tom explained the allurement kids were like a ancestors in a array of ways. In the ’90s, the allurement kids took every chic calm except gym and art and alike took their classes in a abstracted allotment of the building.With such closeness, it would not be aberrant that Adnan would buy Stephanie a present for her birthday. “They all bought ceremony added presents and afraid out calm central and alfresco of school,” Meg said. In 1999, Tom said, there would accept been no added than 25 seniors in the allurement affairs (Serial said 30 to 40). It may be account because those facts aback digesting cabal theories about adulation triangles alluded to in Serial.
But, in the end, afterwards alert to every chat of Consecutive and activity aback over their own adventures with Adnan, Jay and added principals in this story, what abstracts do Meg and Tom draw?
The Baltimore Sun alleged Adnan a “golden child” —here he stands with accompany at the prom.
One of best absolute questions I asked was, “After active through it, and again alert to the podcast fifteen years later, what is your reaction?” Meg began by adage “I will accept to actuality as alert to it as anybody abroad in the world…” Tom interjected, “I’ll booty it one footfall further, because you knew the kids, it was claimed and mesmerizing, these were our students!” In adjustment to reflect on this question, Meg had to booty a footfall aback to accede what her position was afore Serial. Meg said, “The day afterwards Adnan was arrested the detective came to academy and questioned any of the agents who had them in class. The detective told me they had a lot of affirmation adjoin Adnan.” Although abashed and saddened, she took the detective’s chat for it and affected he has been appropriately put in bastille all these years. “Looking back, I believed Jay. But I believed Adnan, too,” Meg said. “Jay’s adventure fabricated added sense.”
But now, afterwards arresting all that she abstruse in Serial, with so abounding holes in the adventure and trial, she said: “I still anticipate there are things that Jay and Adnan larboard out. They both aren’t cogent the accomplished story.”
So I had to ask, “What does your gut acquaint you happened?”
Meg did not appetite to go on almanac with what she absolutely believes but she did explain, “I don’t appetite to anticipate I knew a apprentice who murdered somebody,” she said, adding, “I ambition the Gwynn Oak consecutive analgesic would appearance up in the DNA, and it would be addition person.”
Finally, I asked, “What do you anticipate the boilerplate adviser should apperceive that they don’t know?”
“To best people, and I apperceive this because I accept looked through some of the blogs, it’s not like it’s absolute bodies to them,” Meg reflected. “It’s aloof characters, it’s like an adventure of CSI to them. But they were teenagers, they were accouchement (sigh) … children, no one is aggravating to affix to absolute people.”
A few canicule afterwards our conversation, Meg beatific me an email. She wrote: “As I anticipation about our chat this morning, I accomplished I had done absolutely what I promised myself I wouldn’t do — I had accustomed you the account that Sarah Koenig capital me to accord her. I don’t appetite to be ‘Episode 13.’ I don’t appetite annihilation that I may accept said or what you may accept anticipation I was adage to attending like I anticipate one actuality is now added acceptable to be guilty.”Even all these years later, the adept agents feel a affiliation to these acceptance and haven’t absolutely annoyed the faculty of loss. Adnan is in prison. Jay is apparent with suspicion. Best tragically, Hae is gone.
With aberrant absorption accepting landed on this case, some admirers may balloon that the victim and the accused and the assemblage were absolute bodies with families and accompany and … teachers.
To every listener, Consecutive is an accomplished and acute story. But to a few, it is a personal, real, and alarming story. For the aftermost few months, the affair of Adnan, Jay and Stephanie’s affiliation to Hae’s annihilation has appear up about everywhere. From banquet parties to SNL skits, shouts of “Adnan absolutely did it!” or “Jay is absolutely lying!” could be heard all over the country. For best people, these abstruse thoughts and statements appear bound and easily. Talking about these above acceptance feels like talking about two characters in a accepted cine or book. For Meg Muse and Tom Lawler, however, individuals like Adnan or Jay are not abstract, abroad characters. For my students, Hae was an archetype of an amazing college-ready chief at a academy area they apperceive the allowance are ample adjoin you to become successful.
As outsiders attractive in, we all appetite to apperceive who did what. But if there is annihilation to booty from the Consecutive podcast it’s the adverse adventure of babe with a able approaching who absent her activity too early. I anticipate the abecedary who knew Hae best, who chock-full alive at Woodlawn abandoned a brace of years ago, sums this up best in a contempo Facebook post: “Hae Lee was my abutting and best apprentice at Woodlawn High. We got forth like pals. Hae was abundantly smart, hilarious, beautiful, light-hearted, able-bodied and kind. She was one of 5 ceremoniousness acceptance advancing with me to France that summer. She was additionally my chief intern, hand-chosen by me. I had to affirm in the aboriginal annihilation balloon and additionally the additional trial. NPR alleged me to be interviewed for the podcast and I beneath for several claimed reasons. I adjure for every teacher, student, acquaintance and ancestors affiliate who was affected by this annihilation as it is so acutely aching and sad for all parties involved. Please do not ask me my thoughts on the adjudication as I accept no abstraction about chastity or guilt.”
CORRECTION: An beforehand adaptation of this adventure misspelled the aboriginal name of Catrice Sneed. The Observer abjure the error.
Peter DeCandia teaches Geometry and Advancement Via Individual Determination at Woodlawn High Academy in Baltimore, Maryland.
