Serial, Episode 4: Inconsistencies by Jialan and Sam
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| (photo of Jay Wilds)
In Episode 4 of the Serial podcast, Sarah Koenig gives an in-depth look at what Jay, Adnan’s drug dealer, claimed happened the day that Hae was murdered. Prior to the police talking to Jay, they received a call from an anonymous person who told to take a closer look at Adnan as a suspect and directed them to Yassar Ali who knew nothing about the case. This anonymous phone call helped the police begin to focus in on Adnan. However, the police did not get enough evidence to convict Adnan until Jay gave his testimony.
Jay told his story several times leading up to and during the trial. In fact, he told it a total of six different times by the end of the trial. Every time that he told his story it changed slightly. While the changes may be small, they are enough to make Jay seem suspicious.
For example, in one interview, Jay said that he and Adnan went shopping at the Westview Mall. In another, he said that they went to Security Square Mall. This change is almost unnoticeable, and it is not really important in the grand scheme of things. It could be no more than the slip of the tongue or a lapse in memory, but there are other more important changes. Koenig notices most importantly that Jay could not recall the location where he first saw Hae’s body.
(the Best Buy parking lot where Hae was allegedly murdered)
In his first testimony, Jay claimed that he picked Adnan up from Edmondson’s Avenue off of a strip. However, in another version of the story, Jay said that Adnan told him, “Come and get me. I'm at Best Buy.” Koenig makes a point of emphasizing the question of "who forgets the place where they first see the body of a murder victim?" This change, along with many others, serves to make Jay’s testimony seem dubious.
In addition to this inconsistency, there’s also the matter of how long it took Jay to come forward to the police. In fact Jay did not even come forward himself. The police managed to get a record of Adnan’s cell phone calls on the day Hae disappeared. During that day, one person was called more than anyone else, Jennifer “Jenn” Pusateri, a college student and friend of Jay’s. After Jenn was called down for questioning, she finally directed them to Jay who became the key witness in the case. But why did he stay out of the case for so long? It seems like the first instinct of most people when confronted with a murderer and a dead body would be to call the police. He claimed that he did not want to get involved because he had a criminal history. The detective was quick to point out that he only had one record of arrest. Jay responded by saying that he was too involved in the case, and it would be dangerous for him to contact the police.
(Adnan with Stephanie McPherson)
Jay might not seem to have told the truth, but he also did not have an obvious motive to lie. The only reason that Adnan could possibly think of would be that Jay was jealous of Adnan’s relationship with Jay’s girlfriend, Stephanie McPherson, who was close to Adnan. In junior year they were prom prince and princess. Adnan even remembered to buy her a birthday gift when her own boyfriend forgot. In fact the reason why Jay and Adnan were together on January 13th was so Jay could buy a gift for Stephanie’s birthday. Maybe Jay was jealous of Adnan and wanted to frame him. Jealousy over someone's girlfriend doesn't seem like a just cause to send someone to jail for life, but maybe for Jay it was enough.
Jay’s testimony was eventually entered into evidence, because he was able to provide the location of Hae's car in addition to other details that helped incriminate Adnan. However, it does not explain why so much of Jay's story does not add up. Are all of his slips really just functions of memory loss? Or did he have other motives?
Discussion Questions 1. What role do you think that Jay actually played in the murder of Hae Min Lee? 2. Who was the unknown caller? Do you think that they were important? 3. Why did Jay's story have so many inconsistencies? 4. Do you think Jay's jealousy of Adnan and Stephanie's relationship drove Jay to murder Hae and frame Adnan? |
1.) I think that Jay was the murderer. From the first day, I have hypothesized that Jay felt threatened bt Adnan, and was jealous. Therefore, he killed Hae and framed Adnan.
ReplyDelete2.) I suspect that the unknown caller was simply someone payed by Jay to help frame Adnan.
3.) The incinsitencies come from it being a lie. Studies have shown that if you tell a lie enough, you can actually convince yourself that it is the truth. During the month before reporting, he was doing just this, but it just wasn't perfect as he tried to conform his story to new evidence that he hadn't predicted.
4.) See question 1.
1) I personally think that Jay managed to frame Adnan because Adnan was being a better boyfriend. Jealousy is a motive in a lot of cases and this seems like one of those cases. Also, he was way to attentive to getting rid of evidence for someone who was not involved.
ReplyDelete2) I have no idea who the unknown caller was but I have a feeling that they know a lot more than what they said in the phone call. If they know more then I hope that they are revealed soon.
3) He took way to long to go to the cops and he seems as though he is framing Adnan. Due to that, he had to fabricate the events around the known facts. He probably does not remember the original "truth" that he told.
4) See question 1.
1. I personally think that Jay actually killed Hae. I think that Jay was jealous of Adnan and Stephanie's relationship. Even though it was clearly just platonic, Jay may have gotten worried, and decided to remove the threat from the situation. This was actually better than murdering Adnan, because it would be easier to frame him then to actually kill him.
ReplyDelete2. I don't know who the unknown caller is, but I think that in the grand scheme of things, unless they were the murderer themselves, it is not very important. The information that they gave; to look at the ex-boyfriend and to talk to a friend of them, makes logical sense to somebody who knew the one murdered, but did not see the crime happen.
3. I think Jay's story had so many inconsistencies because of a need to make his story match the records. I think that the 1st story would be the most likely to be true, but I also believe that none of them are true.
4. See #1
1. My best guess is that Jay was granted alimony. Exempt from his past crimes, he felt the need to give some information, and while he was lying, I don't think that Jay had anything to do with the actual murder.
ReplyDelete2. I don't think that the caller is important. I would guess that it was one of Adnans fellow students that wanted to play detective and connected that Adnan and Hae had broken up before the murder and called in.
3. Assuming that Jay is most likely lying, it is easy to confuse stories that have no true memory in your brain.
4. No. There was evidence that Adnan had not danced with Stephanie, but Hae proving that there was no interest.
1. I frankly think Jay played no role in the murder. I am suspicious of whether or not he is making the whole thing up, but I certainly doubt he murdered Hae.
ReplyDelete2. I think the anonymous caller was just a casual acquaintance of both Adnan and Jay. They likely had no real suspicions and were just going off of what they might have heard. I think that the call itself to the police was important because it sparkle the suspicion on Adnan, but the caller themselves is likely irrelevant.
3. I think Jay's story had many inconsistencies because he was making up a large portion of it. I don't understand why he would make it all up, but I do believe he is.
4. I think Jay's jealousy might have played a part in his testimony but I don't believe it supports the idea of him murdering Hae. Perhaps the jealousy lead to what seems to me to be lies, but I don't think he murdered her because of it.
1. I don't think that Jay had much to do with the actual murder, but I do believe that the events occurred roughly the way that Jay described it. I think that his trashing of his clothing and wiping of fingerprints show that he was there the way he described it, and his nerves led him to respond this way.
ReplyDelete2. I don't think the caller mattered as much as the call did, as it was what led to Adnan being a suspect and eventually arrested.
3. Jay had so many inconsistencies beacuse he was nervous, and because it ocurred a while before the testimony. I don't think that even if the event was as signifigant as seeing a body, all of the details would be crystal clear.
4. I don't think that had anything to do with it. Jay may be a high school boy, but it takes a lot of jealousy to actually kill someone and frame another.
1) Jay was the one to murder Hae, possibly with Jennifer. He was jealous of Adnan and Stephanie and now that Adnan is no longer in a relationship with Hae and is messing around with girls, Jay is now worried that Adnan would steal Adnan from him and so he framed him for murder.
ReplyDelete2) I do not know. I personally think that it is how they got the information that is more important than who they are.
3) Probably because he was the murder and was trying to find the best alibi but kept forgetting what he had said before.
4) Yes, see question 1 for my theory on why.
1. I think it's possible that Jay is the murderer (or at the very least knows more than he's saying) given the suspicious actions and his cloudy alibi. Jay's nervousness could be attributed to the general anxiety and trauma of having seen a dead body.
ReplyDelete2. The unknown caller could be Jay pretending to have some sort of accent (that's why the cops thought it was an asian man).
3. I think it's reasonable for Jay's story to have lots of small inconsistencies given how difficult it is to remember specific small details (ex. the telephone activity we did in class). However, some of the details that Jay did get mixed up on were really really important (ex. where he was when he saw the body) which adds to the suspicion.
4. I think it is possible that Jay killed Hae out of jealousy for Adnan/Stefanie's relationship but as stated in question 1, we just dont have enough information to really accuse anyone of the crime.
Great job Sam and Jialan!!
1. I think he is a bystander who wanted to get roped into this case for attention or personal gain. I do not think Jay is the murderer, but I feel like he has a lot of knowledge on the case. I believe that Jay probably knows who killed Hae and is trying to protect someone.
ReplyDelete2. I feel like the unknown caller was related to the case. They might be one of Jay's friends trying to protect the actual murderer.
3. As shown by the telephone game today, it was a long and overwhelming day. No one can remember so many details in one day. Also after each interview, Jay was probably told to change his story by the murderer.
4. No I do not. Read the answer for question 1.
1. I think that Jay and Jenn worked together and killed Hae. The fact that they were talking and hanging out more than usual in the days leading up to the murder makes me believe that they were planning the murder.
ReplyDelete2. The unknown caller was, in my opinion, just a student at their high school who was suspicious of Adnan. I do not think that who they were is important.
3. I think that Jay's story has so many inconsistencies because he is bad at lying. He realized that his story didn't match up so he kept changing it, and luckily it didn't mess with the trial.
4. I believe that the reason Jay killed Hae was to frame Adnan. This was because of his jealousy of Adnan and Stephanie's relationship.
1. Jay possibly was the person to actually kill Hae along with Jennifer Pusateri. I believe this because of all of Jay's inconsistencies places suspicion on him and the fact that he was hanging out with Jennifer every day leading up to Hae's murder I think he had convinced Jennifer to help.
ReplyDelete2. I do not think that the unknown caller was faking his voice, but I do think that he was important for the investigation. It would be nice to know his identity so that it would be possible to interview him, but his identity is rather important.
3. I think that it is possible that jay's story was inconsistent just due to memory. It is very easy for someone to forget things especially in a time of shock or while the person is high. I think that Jay's inconsistencies are a result of his use of marijuana causing him to forget some exact details while he was high along with his possible shock at the whole situation.
4. I do not think Jay's jealousy lead him to kill Hae because his jealousy was mainly petty. Not only that, but he was acquainted with Adnan and would have known that they were simply really close friends and nothing more. The fact that Adnan was a "player" may have contributed to Jay's jealousy but I do not think Jay would have become to jealous over the fact.
1. While I am still very unsure about who the true murderer was in this case, I feel very suspicious of Jay. Not only are his inconsistent stories suspicious, but he took such a long time to tell the police the truth that it seems like he is trying to hide something. He lied about the location that he saw Hae's body at because he did not want the police to see any security cameras, and only someone who was guilty of something terrible would be worried about the police seeing it. The police already knew about his involvement in the crime, so the security footage should not have shown anything new unless he was lying about killing Hae Lee. Jay also acted sketchy when he disposed of his clothing and wiped the fingerprints off of the shovels that they used to dig Hae's body. This seems like the behavior of a killer. I also find it interesting that the first time this case was tried there was a mistrial, meaning that the jury could not reach a verdict. There must be a reason for this. Therefore, I am leading towards the conclusion that Jay had something to do with the murder of Hae Lee, because there would not be much other reason for him to have so much involvement in the crime, lie about it, and then want to frame someone else.
ReplyDelete2. I do not know who the unknown caller was, and I do not think that their identity is important. It may have been Jay and part of his plan to frame Adnan, but this theory seems far fetched because Jay would have had to do a lot of planning to succeed. I think that the call itself was important because it was what gave the police the first clue that Adnan might be the killer, and it eventually led to the finding of his phone records and the questioning of Jen.
3. I think that Jay's story had so many inconsistencies because he lied. I do not think that he forgot the details, but think that he lied and then had trouble remembering the first lie or changed his story to match what another person, such as Jen, had said. I find it hard to believe that he would forget so many details.
4. I do believe that this jealousy could drive a person to do this. If the jury was willing to believe that Adnan would kill Hae over a breakup, then it also seems likely that someone would kill another out of jealousy and hate. Jay could have potentially had a lot of resentment for Adnan, especially if Stephanie's family disliked Jay but liked Adnan. Lastly, seeing them as Homecoming prince and princess must have put some idea in Jay's head that there could be potentially more than friendship going on between Adnan and Stephanie. These are high schoolers that we are dealing with, and jealousy and anger about significant others is a common thing.
1. What role do you think that Jay actually played in the murder of Hae Min Lee?
ReplyDeleteIf Jay's story is correct he played a big role in the murder as in knowing about it before hand and doing nothing and even bury the body. If Adnan is telling the truth then Jay had nothing to do with the murder.
2. Who was the unknown caller? Do you think that they were important?
As the unknown caller is said to be unknown I'm not positive who they were but I am guessing they were connected to Jay in some way. I think they were very important because they are what got Adnan into the hot seat and led to Jay going to the police.
3. Why did Jay's story have so many inconsistencies?
I think Jay's story had so many inconsistencies because he is either making it up and a liar or pressured into changing it. He is interviewed/interogated by many different people and each of them probably had a different story they wanted to get out of him. This could lead to many inconsistencies in the details when giving his story.
4. Do you think Jay's jealousy of Adnan and Stephanie's relationship drove Jay to murder Hae and frame Adnan?
I do not think that is what happened. I suppose it might be possible but even if it was true I do not understand why he would go and murder his ex girlfriend just to be able to try to blame it on him. It seems like an even more outlandish story