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Whether a Serial fan or not, the vast majority of people will, at this stage, have heard of Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee.

The latter was found murdered in Baltimore in 1999, and the former – her ex-boyfriend – was convicted of the crime.

But with glaring discrepancies in the trial against Syed, American journalist, Sarah Koenig, set about investigating the case in a move which resulted in one of the most downloaded podcasts of all time.

Listeners were informed that there existed a woman who could offer an alibi for Syed on the day of the murder, but who wasn't questioned during the investigation or asked to testify during trial.

Asia McClain insists that Syed was in the school library at the time police believe the murder was committed, and her claims have helped Syed secure a new trial following a post-conviction hearing.

But according to emerging reports, Asia's claims have been cast in doubt after two former Woodlawn High School students gave sworn statements to the Maryland attorney general's office this summer.

Claiming that Asia had planned to lie for Syed, the former students recalled an argument where they pleaded with Asia to rethink her plan.

"Both my sister and I (more so my sister) argued with Asia about how serious this situation was," recalled one.

"She just said that it wouldn't hurt anything — that if he was truly guilty, then he would be convicted. I'm not sure what can come of this information but I felt I had to let someone know."

Denying the accusations, Asia's attorney, Gary Proctor, said: "Given that the case is now before an appellate court, we question the timing of these bizarre, and wholly factually untrue, allegations.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the siblings sent Facebook messages to Asia and reminded her of the supposed altercation which took place when she suggested defending Syed.

"I've sat back and let you have your 15 minutes of fame on behalf of that poor girl because I didn't think anyone would actually [entertain] you or your fabricated story about seeing him in the library," one of the sisters wrote.

"I remember that day in Ms. Graham's like it was yesterday. I remember getting into a heated argument with you about how serious the situation was and that a girl lost her life and [redacted] actually had to 'break up' our verbal altercation," she added.

Asia denies these accusations and stands by her testimony.

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The subject of Serial – a podcast hosted by Sarah Koenig which examined the circumstances surrounding the death of a Baltimore teen and captured the imagination of millions in 2014 – has been granted a new trial.

Adnan Syed, who has always maintained his innocence, was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 2000 in a judicial move which has come in for considerable criticism.

But after spending 17 years behind bars, Adnan Syed was yesterday granted a new trial by Baltimore judge Martin Welch.

While the judge disagreed that Syed's original defence, Cristina Gutierrez, had provided ineffective counsel and withheld crucial evidence, he did concede that Gutierrez should have cross-examined a state's expert witness.

And while the development does signal good news for Syed, who was just 17 when he was imprisoned, his current attorney, C Justin Brown, admits they expect the state to appeal the decision.

"We’re prepared to fight. Our heels are dug in," he said. "We know the state’s not going to give up and we’ll be ready."

Family friend, Rabia Chaudry, who was responsible for approaching Sarah Koenig with details of the case which laid the foundation for the phenomenally popular podcast,  is understandably overjoyed by the judge's decision, saying: "I’m feeling pretty confident right now."

"I am shaking with joy, shaking. This was the biggest hurdle," she added. "It’s really hard to get a new trial."

Hae Min Lee's family still maintain that Syed is guilty of murdering the popular 18-year-old high school student.

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This is not a drill, people.

The second season of Serial has finally landed, with a whole new case for us to obsess over and speculate about.

Sarah Koenig's 12-episode podcast about the murder of Hae Min Lee and the man convicted for her death, Adnan Syed, went globally viral when it was released last year.

Now she's focusing on a new case, and the first episode has finally dropped. Sadly though, you may need to wait a while to tune in, as the launch of the new series has sent the internet into total meltdown mode.

Both the Apple Podcasts App and the Serial website stopped working within minutes of the first episode's release, as they both struggled to cope with the high demand.

While you wait to tune in, here are a few things you need to know:

1. It's a very different type of case to Adnan's
​Serial Season 2 covers the story of US Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, who went missing from his army base in Afghanistan back in 2009. His capture, and subsequent release in 2014 after co-operation between Obama and the Talban (an exchange of prisoners) has been referred to as "controversial," as it's unclear how exactly Bergdahl ended up being captured.

 

2. Sgt Bowe's story is already a high profile one
The release of videos by the Taliban showing a captive Bergdahl – and the repeated rescue missions by the US government – mean that his story is already a well-known one. Sarah will attempt to delve a little deeper, as only she can do.

 

3. Sarah Koenig kinda wishes Serial hadn't done so well
She's already fearing it'll be written off as a one-hit wonder, and says she's fairly certain lots of people will be disappointed with the new season. "We're really not planning on having the same response that we had in season one," Sarah said back in September. "And frankly, we're really totally okay with that." 

 

4. As a result of her investigation, there is indeed hope for Adnan Syed
​Last month the Maryland Court of Special Appeals granted permission for new evidence to be introduced into Adnan's case for his innocence – mainly that some of the AT&T call records used in his original trial may have been far from reliable.

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