Carolin Pan Week 16 How Memory Ties in with Murder
Carolin Pan
Benedetti
APENG
18 May 2022
How Memory Ties in with Murder
Recently I listened to a podcast which discussed the case of Hae Min Lee, a Korean girl who was murdered at 18 years old in 1999. The case was well forgotten until the podcast in 2014. Though the case is still not completely solved, Hae Min Lee’s ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed was a primary suspect and convicted for first degree murder.
When Adnan was asked what he did the day of Hae’s murder, he claimed to have not remembered as it was just a “normal day” for him. However, when Adnan’s friend Jay Wilds was questioned, Jay confessed saying that Adnan had strangled Hae and he helped Adnan bury her in a shallow 6 inch grave. Later on, another one of Adnan’s classmates, Asia McClain, stated that Adnan was at the library with her at the time Hae was said to have been killed. The three alibis did not match up and the investigators were truly confused.
Not only does truthfulness play an important role in this case, but memory is also essential. Jay was said to have always done drugs, which affects the accurate recollection of memories, so every time he told his account of that day, it changed. Adnan claims that he could not remember what he did exactly. Though it may seem valid to some, he kept stressing that it was just a normal day for him so it was hard to remember its exact events. Asia, on the other hand, claimed that she remembered that day very well because it was the first day it snowed that year. However, when the host of the podcast asked Asia to speak on the podcast in 2014, she refused and even proceeded to threaten the host. The host concluded that as a high schooler, Asia may have just wanted to be involved with the case, but fourteen years later, she did not want to be involved with the case anymore. Adnan was sent to prison with a life sentence plus 30 years.
Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ZRVxPgjm8aPRqYf1FA7WV?si=be9921e5fb004e5b
I am not sure I have heard of this true crime case before, so I thank you for bringing it to my attention. While obviously there is not much that can be concluded with the three vague alibis, I kind of see where Adnan is coming from. I am also the kind of person who cannot remember certain events or people from the past, especially when it comes to remembering faces. I think we have all made the joke about not remembering what we ate for dinner the night before when our schedules tend to be mundane. However, obviously there is valid evidence convicting Adnan besides this, so I hope that he was rightly convicted of murder.
ReplyDeleteHello Carolin, it is fascinating that a case can be brought back almost 15 years later because of a podcaster. I think this case highlights the significance of internet reporting and journalism. One YouTuber I know has made an impact through online journalism is Coffeezilla, who has brought many crypto scammers to justice. The problem with crypto scandals is that they are so new and rampant that SEC has a hard time tracking the criminals down. One of his most vital investigating moments was when he caught a large group of influencers scamming their fans through a coin called Save The Kids. Overall, I believe the public highly overlooks internet reporters.
ReplyDeleteHi Carolin, first off, thank you for talking about what this event was before getting to the actual part of your response that connects back to memory as I don’t think I’ve heard of this case before. That being said, since it was forgotten for 15 years before it reappeared again, I definitely don’t think many people know about this case in that sense. That being said, I completely agree that memory plays a huge part in this case and I love the way you connected this case to our blog post. It was a very interesting way of connecting memory to events that happen in our world.
ReplyDeleteHello Carolin! Memories are so easily twisted and can be so far from the truth. Hearing such mixed from the witnesses is frightening, especially considering that they believe their responses to be true. If these witnesses are merely citing their own false memories, we wouldn't be able dismiss it as lying. It's scary to wonder whether we can always trust our own memories.
ReplyDeleteHi Carolin,
ReplyDeleteI initially thought you were going to ask who we thought was the true suspect like those random cartoon YouTube videos. Assuming this is not a fictional drama with several plot twists and secret intentions, I would assume that someone confessing to help cover up murder would not be lying. I wonder why someone would feel justified in murdering someone, how Jay was such a unique friend that he would quite literally bury a body with Adnan but then confess to it later, and why Asia was so intent on causing drama. Maybe Asia murdered Hae, somehow made Adnan think he was responsible, and then felt guilty later on. That would be horrible.
Hi Carolin, this situation reminds me of the low accuracy of witness testimony. I read that the human memory is notoriously bad and most witness testimony is actually inaccurate. Most situations lose their accuracy in our memories over time, and they become "hazy" or completely different over time. There must be a different way to capture evidence and validate alibis, and technology like cameras/evidence in the Internet is making that easier.
ReplyDeleteHi Carolin, it is really interesting to see how there were three completely different perspectives based on three completely different memories. One person couldn’t remember at all, one person’s memory was compromised by drugs, and one person could remember everything. I’m sure there are many cases where witnesses helped convict someone of a crime because of their testimony and many cases where a victim got someone convicted who was actually innocent. It could go both ways. In this case, Syed has always claimed to be innocent and this year, new DNA tests are supposed to be done on the case. Either way it turns out, maybe the DNA will be more helpful than witness memories.
ReplyDeleteHi Carolin, I had never heard of this case before, and it is so interesting to see how the three accounts differ, and how external factors need to be taken into consideration to determine the most accurate retelling of that day. Although Jay initially might have the most "truthful" account (or atleast the one that the authorities would have liked to hear), his drug use impacts his memory and thus his accuracy and truthfulness. This case was more than a decade ago, and I really hope that today's cases do not heavily rely on sometimes untrustworthy and faulty memory.
ReplyDeleteHey Carolin, I have never heard of this case before but I guess it goes to show how many instances there are of murders like these that there are too many to keep track of. It's really scary how there are 3 so differing accounts because it is nearly impossible to discern which account is correct. Especially in politics, there are already so many discrepancies with lying withnesses and misleading evidence that I can't imagine how much scarier and inaccurate jury decisions would be with inaccurate memories. I also wonder how to misinterpretation or misremembering of certain experiences is and could affect cases like the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial.
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