Lawyer: Convicted murderer Adnan Syed getting new trial

Adnan Syed, the Baltimore man whose 2000 conviction for his ex-girlfriend's murder became the subject of a popular podcast, is getting a new trial, his lawyer, Justin Brown, said Thursday.

Syed, now 35, was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999 while they were both students at Baltimore's Woodlawn High School and burying her body in a park in northwest Baltimore. He was sentenced to life in prion. He has always claimed he is innocent.

Syed's case was the subject of a popular podcast titled "Serial," which captivated millions of listeners around the world.

In the order issued Thursday, retired Baltimore Circuit Judge Martin P. Welch declared the earlier convictions vacated and wrote that he was granting a new trial on the grounds that Syed's original lawyer, Cristina Gutierrez, offered "alleged ineffective assistance" in her failure to cross examine an expert about the reliability of cell tower evidence.

Syed's current lawyers argued jurors were never told that cell phone tower data linking Syed to the burial site was unreliable.

Thursday's order comes after a post-conviction hearing this past February.