Chapter 1: Who is M. Cristina Gutierrez and what is her significance in Adnan's case?
We gave Times employees a preview of Crossplay from New York Times Games. And here's what they had to say. I can finally play with other people. I'm pretty competitive. It's fun to beat friends and coworkers. I have a J for 10 points. I'm guessing tanga is not a word. Let's see. Tanga is a word. Oh. As an English as a second language speaker, I like to learn new words.
Crossplay, the first two-player word game from New York Times Games. Download it for free today. Hello, Serial listeners. This is Sarah Koenig. If you're listening to this show, I'm hoping that means that you're into it, and maybe you want to hear more stories like it. Well, you're in luck, because we've got a brand new show called The Idiot coming at the end of March, 2026.
Just like or follow this podcast, The Serial Podcast, on your podcast app, and you'll automatically be notified when The Idiot comes out. And I am predicting you're going to love it. Okay, on to Serial Season 1. Previously on Serial. There's no way that she was at Best Buy at 2.36. Did anybody else use the phone? Yeah, Adnan, I remember he was talking to a girl.
He put me on the phone with her for like three minutes. I said hello to her. To be a 17-year-old kid with no experience with the system, no experience with any of this stuff, it's very difficult to believe in the early stages that this is actually what's happening. This must be just some huge mistake. From This American Life and WBEZ Chicago, it's Serial. One story told week by week.
I'm Sarah Koenig. Today's episode is mostly going to take place in the courtroom. And before we get into the arguments at trial, I just want to play you this thing from Adnan's jury selection. I used to be a reporter for the Baltimore Sun, and I covered some trials.
And if I happen to be in the courtroom for jury selection, it was always such a good reminder of what living in Baltimore was like for so many people. Here's what I'm talking about. December 8th, 1999, jury selection for Adnan's first trial. Judge William Quarles asks a standard question of the jury pool.
Have you or any close family member ever been the victim of a crime, convicted of a crime, served time for a crime, or have pending criminal charges? A lot of people rise from their seats and then line up to talk to the judge. I can't tell exactly what proportion of the jury pool, but it looks to be at least half. What did you come up to tell me? My husband's son was convicted of murder.
Good morning. What did you come up to tell me? My house was broken into and we were robbed in the middle of the night about six years ago. Good morning, 37. What did you come up to tell me? My husband was shot. I have a brother that's wanted. He's 17. In May, my parents and I were victims of an assault. And in October, my aunt was shot in the head. My husband was convicted. Handgun violation.
My brother was convicted of attempted murder. And my partner was a rape victim. I was robbed of a small amount of money on the street. Next. 207. 207. Good morning, 207. What did you come up to tell me? That I have two uncles who serve inside for my daughter. Okay. One guy says, we moved from a very peaceful town in Oregon to a violent community. And Judge Correll says, welcome to Baltimore.
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Chapter 2: What challenges did Adnan face during jury selection in his trial?
So a lot of beards and a lot of traditional garb. Many of the people here are people who you would almost say they're extended family. They care for each other's children. It's sort of the old fashioned sense of community. That's Doug Colbert, who did the talking during this hearing.
And so the people who are here in this courtroom represent the doctors and the teachers and the lawyers and the accountants and the correction offices, as well as three religious leaders, imams, who are from different mosques here in Baltimore.
So the community here, Judge, is here to say, first of all, that they commit themselves to promise to vow that they will not only supervise Adnan should he be released, should bail be set, but at the same time they will also accompany him to court as well.
After he finished, the prosecutor, Vicky Wash, took that same crowd, the people Doug Colbert describes as solid, respectable folk who'll make sure Adnan does the right thing. Wash cast them as a room full of aiders and abettors, the same people who are likely to help Adnan run away to Pakistan. And that's why he shouldn't get bail.
Your Honor, the fact that the defendant has strong support from the community, that is what makes him unique in this case. He is unique because he has limitless resources. He has the resources of this entire community here. Our investigation reveals that he can tap resources from Pakistan as well.
It's our position, Your Honor, that if you issue a bail, then you are issuing him a passport under these circumstances to flee the country. We do not want another Scheinbein situation, Your Honor. We are asking you... Told you I wasn't going to take it. That's Judge David Mitchell telling the big crowd to settle down.
Scheinbein is Samuel Scheinbein, a kid who was accused of brutally killing another Maryland teenager in 1997 and then absconded to Israel. Ms. Walsh said she talked to a Mr. Harry Marshall, a senior legal advisor for international affairs with the Justice Department. And Mr. Marshall had explained to her that the U.S. had tried unsuccessfully to extradite certain criminals from Pakistan.
and he cited that there is a pattern in the United States of America where young Pakistan males have been jilted, have committed murder, and have fled to Pakistan, and we have been unable to extradite them back. He gave me a specific instance that's occurring now that's pending in Chicago, where the factual pattern is frighteningly similar.
Again, it's a young Pakistan male who was jilted by his girlfriend who fled the country, and they have had no success, and he indicated it would be a dim situation indeed if the defendant would flee to Pakistan. We have information from our investigation that the defendant has an uncle in Pakistan, and he has indicated that he can make people disappear.
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Chapter 3: How did the prosecution present their case against Adnan Syed?
It's the AT&T call records from Anand's phone, showing calls from January 12th, 13th, and 14th. Christina says she hasn't seen it before. Yurek says that's not true. She has. They'd already stipulated to the call record. She says, yeah, but I hadn't actually looked at it before. I haven't physically seen this exhibit. Quarles calls them up to the bench.
Miss Gutierrez, he says, if you're going to stand there and lie to the jury about something that you agreed could come in, I'm not going to permit you to do that. Christina says, judge, the fact that I agreed, but he cuts her off. That was a lie. You told a lie. I'm not going to permit you to do that. That's not a lie, judge. I resent the implication. Christina starts getting heated now.
Carl says, please be quiet. Please be quiet. She says, it's very hard to be quiet when a court is accusing me of lying. I don't want to overdo it here, but it's possible that had this bench conference not happened, Adnan's whole life could have been different. That first trial, according to Adnan, to Christina's colleagues, to people who were watching it, seemed to be going well for Adnan's side.
It was moving fast, and Jay seemed to be more on the defensive. Then this happened. And of course, jurors overheard it, despite the white noise they turn on during bench conferences to muffle the sound. After a break, Christina asks for a mistrial. Coral says he's gotten a note from alternate number four. In view of the fact that you've determined that Ms.
Gutierrez is a liar, will she be removed? Will we start over? Coral says to Christina, your motion for mistrial is granted. Julie Remy was a law clerk for Christina at this time, and she said moving into trial number two, Christina was confident.
I mean, look, you know, the jury's polled after the first, at the end of the state's case, and, you know, they're giving the indication that they're going to acquit. And then you turn around and, you know, try it in front of a different jury, and it comes out completely, you know, the opposite. Wait, so you guys polled the jury after the mistrial?
I wasn't part of it, but I knew the jury was polled after the mistrial. By her? Yeah. By her and, I believe, the law clerks. Maybe Mike was involved. I'm not sure. But the jury was polled, and it was at the end of the state's case. They interviewed the jurors, and they gave every indication that they were heading toward an acquittal. In fact, it wasn't quite at the end of the state's case.
The AT&T expert hadn't testified about the cell tower technology, and Jen hadn't taken the stand either, which is significant. But it's true the jury had heard the bulk of the state's case. To have that information, I mean, you've got to feel pretty good about that.
As the defense attorney, I would expect, being a trial attorney myself, that you would kind of want to stay the course and keep doing the same things and hope to get the same kind of result. But you just never know with these juries. True, different jury, but also different judge, slightly different arguments, different weather, for all we know, winds blowing slightly more this way or that.
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Chapter 4: What defense strategies did Cristina Gutierrez employ during the trial?
She was the last defense witness at trial. he participated in building a solar vehicle that won sixth place in national competition in Topeka, Kansas last spring. Furthermore, he worked diligently on projects sponsored by the National When Rabia Chowdhury first told me about Adnan's case, she told me she thought Christina had bungled it, on purpose even, so she could make money off the appeal.
That was the only way Rabia could account for screwing up the Asia thing. And she said she thought Christina's defense, the witnesses she brought, were laughably weak. I do not agree with Rabia's assessment of Christina. I do not believe Christina threw this case on purpose.
Because from reading the transcripts and watching the trial videos, you can see her scrapping on Adnan's behalf at every opportunity, sometimes in long and rather beautifully constructed extemporaneous paragraphs. She made a thousand strategic decisions about what to pursue when. She had four clerks plus an associate, so five people working on the case. It's not like she did some sloppy rush job.
You know, I know that losing the case, she was sick over it. I don't think she ever got over that case. This is Julie Remy again, who worked for Christina at the time of Adnan's trial. And I can tell you the physical effects and the depression that, you know, I saw firsthand.
You know, she was, I think she went into kind of a deep depression after that case, and I don't think she ever really bounced back. You know, she really was impacted by the loss of that case. People who worked with Christina back then, they all said the same thing, that she was tireless and she cared a lot about her cases, including Adnan's. She was always going, going, 100 miles an hour.
One guy said she'd sort of fly into the office in the morning, sunglasses on, hair flying, barking orders. She smoked and she cursed and she fiercely mentored her clerks. She could be a giant pain in the ass, but also she was a giant in the profession, not just in Maryland, but nationally. She did the first or at least one of the first DNA cases in Maryland.
To figure out how to explain it to a jury, I heard a story that she went to a grade school and practiced. Each time a kid said he or she didn't understand the science, she started over. Christina did one of the first cases in Maryland that used luminol to track blood spatter. About six people told me she was brilliant, not in a hyperbolic way either.
Despite her stellar reputation, though, it does seem as if something not right was happening with Christina around this time. Everybody says she's the best, she's the best. So she's, we was, like, you know, we was begging her to take our case. That's Shamim, Adnan's mother. She and her husband consulted with friends and leaders at the mosque about who to hire.
Everyone said Christina sounded great. They felt like they were lucky to get her. Whatever she asks for, you know, we'll just go and get it before we lose her, you know, because we were afraid if we lose her, we don't have that, you know, like a nice attorney. Shamim said Christina's bedside manner, at least with them, lacked a certain delicacy.
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Chapter 5: What role did cultural perceptions play in Adnan's trial?
You know, you have someone come into court saying that you did it, whether you did it or not. You're going to go in front of a jury and tell people they're going to convict you because they have never sat in your shoes before. So it's really a choice that you have in a life sentence. versus the choice that you have in my life. Because now I still communicate with some of these guys.
They're actually getting ready to go home, you know, 15, 16 years later. Anand says when he's seen younger guys come in on parole violations or for whatever reason, he tells them, take the deal. Regardless of whether you did it, take the deal. Because Adnan has maintained his innocence, he's got no hope of getting out, or very little hope. That's how the system works. He understands that now.
Technically, Adnan is eligible for parole, but the chances of getting it are so slim for anyone with a life sentence for first-degree murder, but especially if you don't show remorse. Because, you know, what if he's a psychopath, right? Next time, on Serial. Serial's produced by Julie Snyder, Dana Chivas, and me. Emily Condon is our production and operations manager.
Ira Glass is our editorial advisor. Research and fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Administrative support from Elise Bergersen. Our score is by Mark Phillips, who also mixed the episode. Our theme song is by Nick Thorburn, who provided additional scoring.
Special thanks to John B. Minor, Terry O'Connor from Purdue University, Scott Calvert, Craig Timberg, Meredith Cohn, Lisa Pollack, Chuck Salter, Blake Morrison, David Cohn, and Natasha Lesser. Our website, where you can listen to all our episodes and find photos, letters, and other documents from the case, and sign up for our weekly emails, SerialPodcast.org.
Serial is a production of This American Life and WBEZ Chicago.
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