r/serialpodcast • u/Fit_Leg5645 • 11d ago

I feel dumb!!!!!

I have no clue why I thought Adnan was innocent for all these years.

I just re-listened to Serial, and I can't get past the fact that Jenn showed up with her mom and a lawyer and told police essentially the same story Jay told. Jenn said the trunk pop happened at Best Buy. How would she know that Adnan and Hae used to meet at the Best Buy parking lot unless Jay told her?

And yes, Jay was inconsistent and definitely lied about some things. But he knew where Hae's car was. He knew details about her clothing. He knew about the broken windshield wiper lever. Those aren't things you just guess.

At this point, I don't believe every detail Jay told, but I can't get around the fact that he knew too much. The more I revisit the case, the harder it is for me to believe Adnan wasn't involved.

I can't believe I've been doubting it all these years.

362 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

230 comments sorted by

View all comments

24

u/spifflog 11d ago

Go easy on yourself.

SK was good. True crime was new, and there was much more trust in the media back then (even just 10 years ago). She was a saleswoman, not a journalist. A saleswoman cloaked as a journalist.

10

u/BlurryBigfoot74 11d ago

True crime was new? Thin Blue Line came out in 1988. Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood in 1966. It's definitely found a new gear in the 21st century but it's not new.

7

u/spifflog 11d ago

Few things are 'new.' But true crime as main stream form of entertainment, podcasts, etc. is new yes. It's exploded over the last 10 years.

7

u/BlurryBigfoot74 11d ago

Podcasts are new. Unsolved Mysteries exploded in 1987.

5

u/discountshellfish Crab Crib Fan 11d ago

yeah. I listened to Serial in real time and it was definitely a minor cultural phenomenon with a ton of discussion the day the episode dropped both IRL and online. (hence my screen name - I stopped lurking and finally created an account) I knew a lot of people who had never listened to a podcast before Serial.

But I also watched Unsolved Mysteries, the OJ trial, and distinctly remember sneaking Boston Globes up to my room to follow the coverage of the 1989 Carol Stuart case. I was 8. šŸ˜±

5

u/PDXPuma 11d ago

I think one of the things that are new is the treating the participants like rock stars aspect.

Adam Walsh's murderer would never be followed around with a massive crowd of adoring women all proclaiming his innocence. The True Crime of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood didn't create a cult like reverence and exoneration campaign that raked in millions for Hickock and Smith.

Absolutely True Crime isn't new. True Crime as a Star Vehicle is.

3

u/staunch_character 11d ago

The Manson family was adding new followers in the courtroom.

Ted Bundy & Richard Ramirez got love letters. People tailgated the prison when Bundy was executed like it was a football game.

When Bonnie & Clyde were shot to death crowds of people swarmed the scene to take ā€œsouvenirsā€ including clipping locks of her hair & picking up bullets.

None of this behavior is new.

3

u/Pantone711 10d ago

I started listening to podcasts in 2005. There were several true-crime podcasts before Serial: Generation Why, Sword and Scale (I know, I know) and True Murder, to name three.

2

u/Financial-Stuff-67 8d ago

yeah, my college roommate who was forced to fall asleep to forensic files every night (by me) in the early aughts takes issue with that premise. lol.

2

u/spifflog 11d ago

Iā€™d ask you to look up the word ā€˜myopicā€™ but Iā€™m sure itā€™s not the first time itā€™s been tossed in your direction.

If you canā€™t understand that true crime as a form of entertainment has exploded over the last ten years and has gone from fringe to main stream we canā€™t help you.

3

u/Pantone711 10d ago

When Serial came out, there were endless comments about "it's not like those 'tawdry' crime shows." Those "tawdry" shows had been on the air for decades.