About nine months ago, I vowed to no longer post new content about Adnan Syed’s case because I thought there was nothing left to say that had not already been said. Unfortunately, there is one stone left unturned and I take no pleasure in showing what is underneath. This will not be a fun read, but it’s the missing link that connects several loose threads and explains what happened twenty one years ago today, on January 13, 1999.

The purpose of this piece is to demonstrate how the plot to murder Hae Min Lee was not conceived by Adnan. Although Adnan was involved, the plot was likely conceived by Bilal Ahmed. I was tempted to bury the lede and first lay the foundation detailing who and what Bilal is before dropping this assertion because I know that many will stop reading after the previous sentence and tell me that I’m full of crap. That’s ok. You are not my target audience. That is not to say that my target audience agrees with me. This is intended for those who have the patience to read my ridiculously long posts and THEN provide cogent arguments as to why I am full of crap.

My earlier post focused on team Adnan’s post-arrest antics and how they fabricated the Asia alibi. This one focuses on the planning and execution of the plot to murder Hae Min Lee. I know I’m going to catch a lot of hell for this one from the tl/dr crowd. This is for those of you who have a modicum of patience and are willing to follow the logic and facts. If after reading all this you disagree, as always, I more than welcome your criticism and challenge to my analysis because I didn’t come up with all this stuff in a vacuum. It was all of you with whom I engaged in lively discussions and debates that deserve a co-authorship credit. While this will not change that Adnan is, in fact, guilty, it may help bring some of the #FreeAdnan community around while at the same time demonstrating to the #MayAdnanRotInHell crowd (of which until recently I was a member) that Adnan is also a victim in this tragic story. As with almost everything, the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes.

This will likely be at least a two-parter due to the word limit, but I promise that I will try to make it worth your while. There are issues that will be discussed that are much bigger than this case, including the toxic effects of spiritual abuse and the shame--particularly among boys in religious communities--that keeps its victims silent. Also, in our unfortunate times, a good story often trumps the truth when it comes to what passes as journalism these days, especially when Peabody awards, financial gain and millions of social media followers are at stake.

Who is Bilal Ahmed

Bilal Ahmed was the youth leader at the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB), the mosque that is down the street from Adnan’s home, which he and his family attended regularly. According to Bilal, he has known and been close to Adnan since Adnan was 11 years old. Bilal is about 10 years older than Adnan. At the time Hae was murdered, Bilal had a wife and children and was a dental student at University of Maryland where he had an office and served as a graduate assistant. On the surface, Bilal appeared to be an upstanding member of the ISB community. In reality, Bilal is a monster who is incapable of crossing the street in a way that is ethical, legal and not disgusting.

During the six years preceding Hae’s murder, Bilal and Adnan shared a close relationship where, on the surface, Bilal served as Adnan’s religious “mentor”--the man to whom Adnan’s parents entrusted their son. He bought Adnan his first cell phone that Adnan activated on January 12, 1999. When Adnan was arrested for murdering Hae Min Lee, Bilal was Adnan’s first call. He arranged for Adnan’s legal representation. He organized fundraisers to help Adnan pay for his defense. He visited Adnan in prison more than anyone who wasn’t family or an attorney. He testified for five days during the grand jury proceedings (mid Feb to mid April 1999), more than any other witness, after which the GJ indicted Adnan. He was expected to testify at trial that he saw Adnan at the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB) the evening of January 13, 1999 at around 8 PM. We know, however, based on Adnan’s cell records along with the testimony of Jay Wilds and Jen Pusateri, that Adnan was not at the mosque at that time. Then suddenly Bilal vanished from the case in October 1999 following an arrest for criminal sexual conduct with a minor for which he was not charged. Not one mention of Bilal by either the prosecution or defense during the trial. Not one mention of Bilal in the Serial Podcast except once in passing during the last episode. And, of course, not one mention during the crockumentary on HBO. Aside from being Adnan’s greatest champion and advocate before mysteriously disappearing, there are several aspects to Bilal that would incentivize a person who is trying to make a case to the public for Adnan’s innocence to keep Bilal out of the story. He is a sexual predator. He was likely a criminal informant. He was part of a scheme to leak grand jury information (no separate heading for this, just follow the link). He committed fraud, bilking taxpayers out of nearly $6 million. That does not encompass all of Bilal’s infractions, but it’s all we need to discuss for the purpose of this analysis.

Bilal the Predator

We know that Bilal Ahmed is a child molester. The source for some of this information is Adnan’s most famous and high profile advocate, Rabia Chaudry. When she’s not busy making specious arguments on blogs, podcasts and HBO documentaries, Rabia occasionally, and by accident, tells the truth. The details of the incident are in what appears to be an arrest record shown in Rabia’s book, but being the crack lawyer that she is, she neglected to include any citation or reference identifying the source of this document. I could not pull the original arrest record from the web, but given other references to it, we can assume it is authentic. The boy with whom Bilal was caught was 14 years old. He was a refugee who had escaped with his family to the US from the war-torn Balkans. Being Muslim, the boy and his family were taken in by the ISB. How relieved they must have felt to have found a community that shares their faith. Like many other parents, they made the mistake of placing their son in the hands of Bilal Ahmed. The lurid details of the incident are described in the above-linked report. The boy, in his limited English, claimed to be in love with Bilal. Bilal did an effective job grooming him. Bilal was in possession of a photo of Adnan in his wallet at the time of the arrest. The boy was shown the photo, recognized Adnan and told the police that Bilal took the boy to visit Adnan in prison. Adnan’s visitor records only go through October 6, 1999, about a week before the arrest. Although Bilal’s name appears all over the visitor log, the boy’s name does not. I’ve often wondered why the prison visitor log was cut off in early October when the trial was not until a few months later. It is possible that the boy accompanied Bilal after the Oct 6, 1999 cutoff date of the publicly available record and the cutoff date was intended to protect the boy and/or Bilal. The boy knowing Adnan is not surprising. It is common practice for pedophiles to use the victims they previously groomed to help secure new ones.

Before you get your underwear in a bunch over the implication that there was an inappropriate relationship between Adnan and Bilal, please read on.

So we know that Bilal has a history of grooming and molesting young boys. As with predatory priests, his acting out sexually with boys has more to do with counting on shame to keep his victims silent. After receiving his dental license, Bilal used anesthetics to which he had access to accelerate the grooming process to knock out his victims. Bilal is currently serving a 16.5 year sentence for using his dental practice to sexually assault his patients while they were under anesthesia. This was discovered when one of his patients awoke earlier than Bilal intended to find Bilal’s penis in his mouth. Several incidents involving Bilal’s patients and staff between 2010 and 2014 were cited in the criminal proceedings. Before that, we know that he was a serial molester of young boys and used his position as youth coordinator at the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB) to give himself a steady stream of victims. Bilal’s appetites are described by Rabia in her book and while we should take anything she says with a grain of salt, as mentioned above, she occasionally tells the truth by accident. Bilal was also allowed to operate a daycare center with his mother--another rich source of unsuspecting victims to whom he had easy access, over whom he had authority and control. He used faith to gain the trust of parents at the ISB who felt comforted that their young boys were with what they thought was a good Muslim role model. This gave him easy access to his victims. Normally, an adult in his 20s (who did not make Thriller) hanging out with children ranging in age from 11 to 17 years old would raise eyebrows. But in the context of a spiritual mentor helping guide young boys, ISB parents were more than willing to place their sons in this sick bastard’s eager hands. Among those who trusted Bilal were Adnan’s parents, Shamim and Rehman. While many are quick to share the opinion that Bilal is a monster, they inexplicably convince themselves that his relationship with Adnan was as pure as the driven snow.

Bilal is a garden variety pedophile and predator that society likes to pretend does not exist. He and those like him seek positions that give them access, authority, trust and control (AATC) over their victims and often the victims’ families. They are coaches like Jerry Sandusky who was recently re-sentenced. They are boy scout leaders. They are camp counselors. They are teachers. They are members of the clergy. They are youth directors. Every time a story of their nefarious acts is reported, it includes the same frigging line: “Most alarming, the predator(s) worked as [any of the preceding jobs that give them access, AATC].” We all have a collective freakout despite the fact that this happens so goddamn always before settling back into the comfort of believing that monsters like this only exist in horror movies, that Jeffrey Epstein (who started out as a teacher) was a lone wolf and things like human trafficking are a myth. Obviously, I am not saying that everyone seeking out AATC positions are predators just like every patient who sees a doctor is not a drug seeker, but as with drug seekers, there is a small, but not insignificant percentage who are and we need to give careful scrutiny to those seeking such positions.

Rabia, as always, muddles the issue by raising the inaccurate and irrelevant point that Bilal was known to be homosexual. This likely reflects the thinking of Adnan’s community--which is NOT and should NOT be reflective of the larger Muslim-American community any more than the Westboro Baptist Church reflects the views of all Christians. Admittedly, that is an overly harsh comparison, but it explains a lot about why Adnan has remained mum about Bilal, which will be discussed in more detail later. Alternatively, it may also reflect Rabia’s agenda of portraying Adnan as a womanizing player (more on this later too) in sharp contrast to Bilal, whom she wants us to see as a homosexual. Let’s not forget that Bilal had a wife and children. Referring to him as a homosexual is no different and no less ridiculous than putting an accusatory spin on a man who rapes women by noting that he is heterosexual. A predator is a predator. Sexual orientation is irrelevant to predatory behavior except to pearl-clutching douchebags with an agenda who are intent on demonizing the orientation to which they do not belong.

If you think that Bilal behaved like an unhinged predatory psycho with everyone EXCEPT Adnan, you need to pull your head out of your ass. “But Adnan doesn’t sound like someone who was molested!” That sounds as ridiculous as Sarah Koenig blathering about Adnan not seeming like a killer. Actually, molestation is far more common than murder and there are too many out there suffering in silence who otherwise seem perfectly normal.

Bilal the Criminal Informant

While ineptly trying to create more distance between Bilal and Adnan in her book, Rabia again accidentally tells the truth. She describes Bilal as a hypocrite with a history of publicly ratting out people from his own community for lesser sins than his own. Specifically, she describes an incident where he went to a college party that was likely to be attended by young adults from the ISB community. For Muslims, attendance at parties by members of the opposite sex is frowned upon where dancing and alcohol are involved. Our communities are not unlike the one depicted in Footloose except with brown people. Anyway, Bilal, in a move that even John Lithgow’s preacher character would have considered extreme, went to the party, took note of all the ISB community kids who attended and announced their names at the next Friday prayer services (Muslims pray in congregation on Fridays the way Christians attend church on Sundays). Given that Bilal did this in public before a congregation of hundreds at the ISB, I am inclined to believe that Rabia is not making it up. Bilal’s motivation to do this, however, initially left me scratching my head. Most of what we know about Bilal falls well outside the bounds of what is considered normal. He IS, however, a typical predator. His snitching behavior is also typical of a criminal informant.

We know based on Bilal's predatory behavior that while he may be careful about grooming his victims, he exercises zero impulse control. His October 1999 arrest was not likely his first. I paid for a background check on him to see what turned up in his criminal record and surprisingly there was nothing--not his Oct. 1999 arrest not his arrest 17 years later that led to his being sentenced to 16.5 years in jail nor anything in between. For a person like Bilal to have to have a clean record despite being dirty suggests that he was protected. This type of protection is common for criminal informants who are often low-life pieces of shit. They get arrested for criminal activity and avoid charges by working for the government and making cases for the feds through deception and baiting their targets. Basically, exploiting the same skill set that made Bilal an effective predator. CIs often provide their targets with the plot and the tools to carry out the crime. These pieces of shit not only avoid jail, but are often able to continue their criminal behavior under the government’s protection--at least until it would be bad PR for the government to continue covering the CI's ass. A powerful documentary--back when HBO made real documentaries--that demonstrates how shit-heel CIs operate and can be found here (the original link was for the full documentary, The Newburgh Sting, but that link was taken down and this one only takes you to the trailer).

Bilal testified in March 1999 in the grand jury proceedings that led to Adnan’s indictment. Between his bizarre explanation of standing in loco parentis and getting Adnan a cell phone that was activated one day before Hae’s murder, claiming to see Adnan at the ISB during the evening of January 13, 1999 and his cagey explanation for reserving hotel rooms on the ISB’s dime, the cops felt compelled to subpoena Bilal’s cell records. The cell records show the following: 1) His phone is under a government account. Oh, you think he got the cell through his grad assistant position at UMd School of Dentistry? Having been a grad student at a state university at about the same time, I can unequivocally say that neither I nor my major professor received such a benefit. 2) He had at least three mobile lines under his name racking up thousands in cell charges. As if UMd would be ok with that. 3) Obtaining his records required intervention of a member of the DEA High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force. But wasn’t a DEA subpoena used to get Adnan’s records too? Not so. In Adnan’s case, ATT coughed up his records immediately. It was only when the cops went after the identity info for the 15 numbers Adnan called around the date Hae disappeared that they needed DEA intervention. At any rate, it appears that the Baltimore Police subpoena for Bilal's phone records was red flagged leading a cop on the federal task force to reach out to the investigating detectives and see what they wanted with his likely snitch. The cell records themselves show a call volume that indicate that Bilal would not be able to function without his cell phone. He would not be able to conceive of a plot that did not require one either.

Moreover, Bilal's likely status of being a CI explains how he avoided being charged for criminal sexual conduct with a minor in October 1999. Rabia’s absurd explanation is that Bilal was offered a deal where he would be allowed to go free if he agreed to not testify on Adnan’s behalf. We’ll get to how stupid this notion is in a second. First, let’s correct some historical revision and remember that at this stage in the game, Bilal was a witness for the PROSECUTION. Urick had reached out to Bilal in August to go over his testimony, a fact that Bilal did not disclose to the defense until about two weeks later. As to Rabia’s assertion, let’s see how it would have played out for Adnan if Bilal had not taken this fictitious deal. Bilal would have been charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor and likely would have received some jail time. During Adnan’s trial, how would it have looked if the defense brought in Bilal in his orange prison jumpsuit as a witness to testify that he saw Adnan during the evening of January 13, 1999? All the prosecution would need to do is ask, "Mr. Ahmed, why are you dressed in an orange jumpsuit?" After that, all that would be on the jury's mind is whether Bilal had an inappropriate relationship with Adnan as well. Neither side would want that.

Inexplicably, Bilal is not mentioned one goddamn time during the entire trial. Both the prosecution and defense stipulated that the cell phone that has Bilal’s name on the contract that was for “Adrian Syedd” does, in fact, belong to Adnan. No effort was made to address how the phone, a key piece of evidence, found its way into Adnan's hands. No questioning Bilal that he did, in fact, purchase the cell for Adnan. No questioning Bilal about the odd timing of his purchasing the cell. Some of those issues were addressed during the grand jury proceedings in March 1999 where Bilal testified for five days, but he was NOT called as a witness at trial. At trial, attorneys from both sides performed verbal gymnastics, going out of their way to avoid using Bilal's name like he's Voldemort or something. Hell, at least references were made to "he who must not be named" in the Harry Potter series. Bilal was like Voldemort on steroids where he was treated like, "he whose existence must not be acknowledged." Given how toxic Bilal was, neither side had a huge incentive to call him as a witness.

Another possible explanation for why both sides would agree to keep Bilal out of the trial and his continued absence of any mention in the case and podcast (except an inconsequential reference during the last episode) was some bullshit gag order imposed by the federal government out of concern of compromising their “asset.” There are cryptic references in court documents to a witness for the state against whom the defense would have a conflict of interest. The only witnesses against whom the defense would have a conflict are Bilal and Saad Chaudry, both of whom were also represented by Cristina Gutierrez. There apparently was a hearing in the Judge's chambers held on September 8, 1999 of which Bilal was aware. Why would he have known of this hearing unless it somehow involved him. Could it have been to go over how Bilal would or would not be used at trial while keeping his status as a CI intact?

If you knew anything about the types of pieces of shit that the government relies on for its sting operations, you would not be surprised that Bilal was one of them. Bilal likely enjoyed his protected status until the government could no longer pretend to look the other way. The charges against Bilal of forcing oral sex on this anesthetized patients was like the government’s version of the NFL’s predicament when the Ray Rice tape became available to the public. Failing to take action would look pretty bad. So yes, the feds’ long history of relying on shit-heel CIs and their inept, transparent attempts to entrap their targets fits Bilal like the glove that OJ pretended was too small.

Bilal the Medicare Fraudster

When Bilal wasn’t forcing oral sex on his patients under anesthesia, he was lying about putting crowns in the mouths of his patients on medicaid. While Bilal was in prison serving the first two of his 16.5 year sentence for the former crime, the feds finally came after him for the latter where he bilked US taxpayers out of nearly $6 million. This man is only capable of walking a crooked line. If he was robbed, he would use it as an opportunity to commit insurance fraud. Having established this pattern of deceptive and criminal behavior, we will now move on to the plot to murder Hae Min Lee.

CONTINUED IN PART 2...