Big news for fans of the Serial podcast today, with news that protagonist Jay Wilds had finally decided speak about the case – to another publication.
Jay, you may remember was the subject of much scrutiny on behalf of Serial’s host Sarah Koenig, who was convinced that his story did not line up despite being crucial to the state’s case against Adnan Sayed. Sayed was found guilty of killing his teenage girlfriend Hae Min Lee at trial, and has been in prison for fifteen years. Today, Jay’s interview was published by American critical journalism site The Intercept, in the first of two parts.
As per what listeners (and if you’re not one, become one now) have come to expect of Wilds, there are a lot more questions than answers from his interview. His story about what happened on that night vary again, and he places more emphasis on his drug-dealing past and Baltimore’s reputation for going after snitches. He also says he didn’t know Adnan very well at all, and found him weird, and that he disliked the magnet program, which the latter was a part of at his former highschool.
Serial fans will find this all peculiar, given Jay’s repeated reticence to talk to anyone at all about the case. In one episode, Koenig and her producer rolled up to Wilds’ house, only for him to deny them access or speak to them on the record, which is kind of what you’d expect if someone you didn’t know came to your doorstep unannounced with a tape recorder and 5 million hungry audience members on iPhones around the world. But he never faltered, and continually maintains his innocence.
Keep that big board up on your wall. There’s more sleuthing to do.
Photo via Serial
