Prosecutor in "Serial" case: It was "pretty much a run-of-the-mill domestic violence murder"

Prosecutor Kevin Urick speaks to the Intercept about the case against Adnan Syed

Published January 7, 2015 11:48PM (EST)

Kevin Urick, prosecutor in the case examined in the popular podcast "Serial," spoke on the record to the Intercept. The state found Adnan Syed guilty of murdering ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 2000. (He is the second person from the case to speak to the Intercept, and this appears to be the first installment of the interview.)

Unsurprisingly, Urick takes issue with the way "This American Life" and "Serial" reporter Sarah Koenig presented the case. He also responded to potential holes in the case presented by the podcast, including Jay's ever-changing testimony, and the potential fallibility of cellphone records.

"The case itself I would say was pretty much a run-of-the-mill domestic violence murder," Urick told the Intercept. "Fortunately a lot of relationships do not end in domestic violence, do not end in murder. But it happens often enough that you can identify it as a domestic violence case resulting in murder."

The Intercept asked if he had any qualms about the end of the case. "No," Urick responded. "The reason is: once you understood the cell phone records–that killed any alibi defense that Syed had. I think when you take that in conjunction with Jay’s testimony, it became a very strong case."

The entire interview, which can be read here, is a fascinating window to another facet of this case. Most interesting is Urick's claim that he was not contacted by Koenig until mid-December, before the podcast ended. ("Serial" did speak to another prosecutor, Kathleen Murphy, though not on tape.) "Serial" producer Julie Snyder contradicted Urick's contention.

"We reached out to Kevin Urick multiple times, at multiple locations, during the winter of 2014, about nine months before the podcast began airing," Synder told the Intercept. "Urick did not respond to any of those interview requests."


By Sarah Gray

Sarah Gray is an assistant editor at Salon, focusing on innovation. Follow @sarahhhgray or email sgray@salon.com.

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Adnan Syed Baltimore Hae Min Lee Prosecutor Sarah Koenig Serial