Adnan Syed of 'Serial' is getting a new trial

Baltimore judge vacates 2000 conviction for the murder of Hae Min Lee.



A Baltimore judge has ordered a new trial for Adnan Syed, setting aside his conviction for the 1999 murder of his former girlfriend, in a case that was propelled to international attention by the popular podcast Serial.

Conviction vacated, new trial granted for Adnan Syed of 'Serial'

Syed, now 35, has been serving a life sentence since 2000, when he was convicted of killing ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. The wildly popular first season of Serial, downloaded millions of times, renewed public interest in the case, rousing fervent speculation about Syed's guilt and whether he had received a fair trial.

Retired Judge Martin Welch, who had denied Syed's previous request for a new trial, vacated Syed's conviction Thursday and said questions about cellphone tower evidence should have been raised by his trial team.

Syed's lawyer, C. Justin Brown, confirmed the news on Twitter on Thursday afternoon:

Two women sentenced to six years for fatal nightclub beating

Candace Brito and Vanesa Zavala were convicted of manslaughter in the brawl that killed Kim Pham.


News out of Southern California... On Friday in Orange County, the two women convicted of manslaughter in the fatal beating of 23-year-old Annie Kim Pham were each sentenced to six years in state prison.

Kim Pham beating death: 2 women sentenced to 6 years each in prison

27-year-old Candace Brito and 26-year-old Vanesa Zavala were convicted of voluntary manslaughter and assault, but were acquitted of a second-degree murder charge, in the brutal fight that killed Pham outside a Santa Ana nightclub last January. The defendants claimed they were acting in self-defense.

The fight apparently started as a verbal argument between two groups of friends, but escalated when Pham threw the first punch. She fell to the ground and was kicked in the head during the brawl, sustaining brain damage. She died two days later when she was taken off life support.

Two women to stand trial for murder of Kim Pham

Undercover cop posed as inmate to get Vanesa Zavala to talk



Two women accused in the beating death of 23-year-old Kim Pham last month outside a Santa Ana nightclub have been ordered to stand trial on murder charges. During a preliminary hearing, police played cellphone videos that show Vanesa Zavala and Candace Brito punching and kicking Pham before she lost consciousness.

Vanesa Zavala, Candice Brito To Stand Trial For Death Of Annie Hung Kim Pham

Zavala, 25, and Brito, 27, have both pleaded not guilty in Pham's death, who was taken off life support after the altercation left her brain dead. According to prosecutors, Brito punched and kicked Pham multiple times in the head. After she was pulled away, Zavala punched Pham once more in the head with her booted foot.

Police detectives played cellphone video footage to identify those involved with the fight:

7-year-old victim's family testifies in murder trial

Esar Met is on trial for abducting and killing Hser Ner Moo in 2008

Heartbroken and horrified by this story out of Salt Lake City, where testimony began this week in the trial of a man accused of the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of a 7-year-old girl in 2008.

Utah murder victim’s family tearfully testifies about her

26-year-old Esar Met is charged with first-degree felony counts of child kidnapping and aggravated murder for the slaying of Hser Ner Moo. She lived in the same neighborhood and was found dead in a shower stall inside Met's basement apartment.

Members of Hser's family, who are refugees from Burma, took the witness stand Wednesday to testify in the case against Met. Speaking through an interpreter, her father told the court the death of his daughter was the "greatest loss" of his life.

Shiping Bao, medical examiner in Zimmerman trial, fired

Dr. Bao says he is a scapegoat and plans to file a wrongful termination lawsuit.

During the trial of George Zimmerman, one of the more memorable personalities to emerge from the proceedings was Dr. Shiping Bao, the medical examiner whose no-nonsense demeanor and testimony raised eyebrows among observers. Last week, he was fired: Shiping Bao, medical examiner in Trayvon Martin case, fired.

And now, Dr. Bao's attorney says he's preparing a $100 million dollar lawsuit against the Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office and others, for wrongful termination, discrimination and job harassment.

Bao says he was made into a scapegoat, and that the medical examiner, state attorney's office, and police department were all biased against Martin in the case:

Court documents reveal chilling details in the murder of Vanessa Pham

The murder remained a mystery for two and a half years.

An update on this awful murder case out of Virginia from a couple of years ago... Next week, Julio Miguel Blanco Garcia will face trial in the 2010 murder of 19-year-old Vanessa Pham, who was stabbed repeatedly and left to die in her car: Pretrial filings reveal details in 2010 killing of Falls Church teen Vanessa Pham.

According to pre-trial documents filed by the prosecution, Pham was giving Blanco Garcia and his infant daughter a ride to the hospital after they approached her at a shopping center in Falls Church. At some point, Blanco Garcia, who was apparently high on PCP, grabbed a butcher knife from his bag and stabbed Pham. Thirteen times.

The fatal assault sent the car into a roadside ditch. All of this happened while Blanco Garcia's 1-year-old daughter was riding in the car with them:

former friend convicted in murder of michelle le

This week in Oakland, 28-year-old Giselle Esteban was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her former high school friend, nursing student Michelle Le: Michelle Le Murder Trial: Giselle Esteban found guilty in nursing student's 2011 death.

Le went missing from a Kaiser Hospital parking garage in May, launching a massive Bay Area search. Her heavily decomposed remains were found months later in a secluded area in the East Bay.

Early on, investigators quickly zeroed in on Esteban, whose past behavior -- including making death threats -- revealed a jealous obsession with her former friend. According to prosecutors, she was enraged at Le's friendship with Scott Marasigan, with whom Esteban has a young daughter: