Serial S01 - Ep. 4: Inconsistencies
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What new evidence did detectives uncover after Hae's body was found?
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 co-workers.
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. While you're digging in Lincoln Park to bury your body, you're going to find somebody else's. That's Lincoln Park. I walked along the edge of the log expecting to find a body real soon. I never saw one. Lincoln Park, I'm like, where is that? Do you even know where it is? Have you ever been there?
Went shopping with a friend of mine, an ex-friend of mine. I had no idea.
You know, it was not abnormal for me to leave school to go do something and then come back.
From This American Life in WBEZ Chicago, it's Serial.
One story told week by week. I'm Sarah Koenig. Remember how last time I ended by saying that the detectives had other leads in this case besides Mr. S., the guy who found Hay's body? That they were also starting to look at Adnan? Well, the reason we know that is because of this memo.
The memo was dated 12 February 1999 from Detective Daryl Massey to Detective Greg McGillivary.
This memo he's talking about is regarding an anonymous call. That's Detective Ritz on the witness stand at trial.
How did Jay's story change during police interviews?
He's talking about how they got this anonymous call three days after Hay's body was found. The call came in to Detective Massey, a Baltimore County cop. The caller must have had an accent of some kind because Massey's report describes him as an Asian male, 18 to 21 years old. though it's unclear whether Asian in this case means East Asian like Korean or South Asian like Pakistani. But anyway, a mystery caller says, look at the ex-boyfriend.
The caller further advised that the boyfriend has taken the victim to Lincoln Park on past occasions for sexual encounter. Prior to concluding the phone interview, the caller further stated that the victim broke off their relationship with her boyfriend about a week before she was reported missing.
The caller hangs up. Then, a few minutes later, the same guy calls back and says, oh yeah, by the way.
This time, the caller remembered about a year ago, the suspect informed a friend of his, parentheses, Basir Ali, Asian male, 17, end of parentheses. If he ever hurt his girlfriend, he would drive her car into a lake.
This time, the caller mentions a friend of Adnan's, Basr Ali. Actually, the name of this friend is Yasir Ali. The caller says, Yasir might know something. Hangs up again. The cops can't trace the call. It's out of range. Three days after the anonymous call, the detectives go meet with Yasir Ali at a pizza hut. Yasir says, I didn't make that call. I don't know anything. Their notes from that conversation say, quote, If Adnan wanted to get rid of the car, where would he do so? Ali indicated somewhere in the woods, possibly in Centennial Lake or the Inner Harbor, unquote. No one has ever gotten to the bottom of who made this anonymous call. The cops didn't figure it out. Anand's attorney didn't figure it out.
I've tried to figure it out, too. For a while, I couldn't let it go. Because it seemed to me that whoever made this call, he must be the key to the whole thing. But so far, I only have guesses that I can't responsibly say out loud. Anyway, the day after the Pizza Hut talk on February 16th, the detectives do some paperwork that will ultimately crack the whole case open for them.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What new evidence did detectives uncover after Hae's body was found?
0:00–2:26
2
How did Jay's story change during police interviews?
2:26–6:06
3
What did the anonymous caller reveal about Adnan and Hae's relationship?
6:06–9:48
4
How did the detectives connect Jay to the case?
9:48–13:56
5
What inconsistencies exist in Jay's account of the events?
13:56–18:14
6
What role did Adnan's cell phone records play in the investigation?
18:14–22:28
7
How did Jay's testimony evolve during the trial?
22:28–27:56
8
What implications do Jay's inconsistencies have for the case against Adnan?
27:56–34:13