On the morning of the scheduled trial, Urick files an opposition to the postponement, asking the court to move forward. He has every advantage at this point, having given nearly zero information on the State’s theory of the crime. The defense has no idea what time the State will argue that the murder and burial took place, and is flying blind. A postponement would give the defense more time for discovery requests, and Urick has to prevent that.
But I believe there was another reason Urick wanted to proceed with the trial as soon as possible: on that same morning, he received some good news. The singular potential alibi witness Adnan had, Bilal Ahmed, had been arrested.
In March of 1999, when Ahmed was called to testify before the grand jury, he swore under oath that he recalled seeing Adnan at the mosque on the evening of January 13, 1999. His recollection was specific, because Adnan was scheduled to give a talk and prayer service for the youth the following day, January 14. On the evening of the 13th Adnan had asked Ahmed to review his notes to help him prepare for the next day.
Ahmed was the only person identifiable to the State who could place Adnan anywhere other than where Jay said he may have been—at the mosque instead of in Leakin Park.
Susan pieced together what happened next. Worried that Ahmed could throw off the State’s case, the prosecution began taking a closer look at him, even issuing DEA subpoenas for his cell phone records.
Then, in August, shortly before the trial, Urick sent Ahmed a letter requesting a meeting. He singled out Ahmed only, something he didn’t do with any witness other than Jay.
According to Ahmed, he went to the meeting but didn’t meet with Urick. He met with a woman instead, most probably prosecutor Kathleen Murphy, but he now states he doesn’t recall what they discussed.
Regardless of what was discussed at the meeting, the State seemed to have found a way to ensure his testimony would be of no use to Adnan.
On the morning of October 14, 1999, Urick issued a Brady disclosure to Gutierrez in a highly unusual move—at this point he hadn’t even handed over Jay’s statements and yet immediately put the defense on notice of their own witness’s arrest.
The disclosure says that “the State provides the following: on this morning the State received an oral report from Baltimore County Officers that State’s Witness Bilal Ahmed was arrested earlier this day and charged with a fourth degree offense.”
But Susan realized something else—Ahmed never was actually charged with any crime, as a memo in Gutierrez’s files shows, and shortly thereafter he disappeared from the scene altogether. This is the man who had taken a lead in organizing fund-raising, retaining counsel, and supporting the family upon arrest, who had testified at the grand jury, and was the only alibi witness the defense had managed to find with a specific recollection of January 13. Now he was suddenly, poof, gone. Ahmed didn’t attend either trial and he failed to respond to the subpoena Gutierrez issued for him.
This pieced-together discovery by Susan seems to indicate something sinister: either Ahmed had some serious charges dropped in exchange for skipping out on Adnan’s defense, OR the State found a way to frame him to pressure him.
Of course, this was conjecture. We had little specific knowledge of the reality behind the arrest and the subsequent failure to charge until an MPIA request was filed, which I did immediately after reading Susan’s blog.
As I’ve noted before, Ahmed did not enjoy a great reputation in the community. Rumors abounded about his proclivity for young boys and his continued efforts to be around them. Ahmed arrived in Hagerstown, Maryland, where my family lived for many years, sometime in the early 1990s. A few years older than I was, he soon set up youth camps and overnight events for boys at the mosque, which my parents forbade my brother from attending. Something about him set off their radar, as it did for others in the community. We eventually moved from Hagerstown to Baltimore, and so did Ahmed and his mother. Community members in Hagerstown have told me now that he was forced to leave after having been caught doing something sexually inappropriate. Back then, however, I hadn’t heard about this, probably because it had been buried—Ahmed’s paternal uncle was a pillar of the community, a founder and leader at the mosque there, and a very well-established and influential doctor. I can only imagine that he did everything to protect Ahmed and, by extension, his family’s reputation.
Once he moved to Baltimore, Ahmed resumed his youth leadership work at the ISB, Adnan’s mosque, where he was eventually approached by Adnan’s mom to help mentor her son. She and others had little idea about the rumors that chased him to Baltimore, but among the kids the stories began spreading.
I remember hearing them but not paying much attention, thinking they were just kids talking smack about Ahmed because he was a clearly an eccentric, effeminate man. Besides, Ahmed was married so I assumed the rumors were baseless. It turned out we should have paid more attention and taken the stories seriously.
A young man from the Baltimore community named Rashad, who was around eleven years old when Ahmed moved to the area, remembers stories other kids told about him. Ahmed would help underage kids get fake IDs, take them to bars and strip clubs, and then threaten to tell their parents if they didn’t do as he said.
“What did he want them to do?” I asked.
“Just obey him I guess, not sure about anything sexual. He was just manipulative.”
Ahmed’s young wife, Saima, who had recently come from Pakistan where his mother had arranged their marriage, was also unaware of what was being said about her husband. But according to Saima, soon after she arrived in the United States, people started calling her older brother, scolding her family for marrying her off to Ahmed, a gay man. She had no idea these calls were happening; her family kept it from her while they tried to find out what the deal with Bilal actually was.
More troubling were the calls that told them, “He is not just gay, he is a child molester.”
Saima’s brother, who lived in Atlanta and didn’t know the ISB community or even Ahmed well, decided to check out if any of these allegations were real. He hired a private investigator to follow Ahmed.
On the morning of October 12, 1999, the private investigator arrived at the Baltimore County Police Department to file a complaint. The complaint says that this PI, Glenn Ehasz, was conducting surveillance in a domestic case and saw what he purported to be suspicious behavior by an adult, Bilal Ahmed, who daily picked up a juvenile boy and drove him to a parking lot in the early morning hours. Ehasz observed that “Ahmed parks for about thirty minutes at a time with the boy and then he returns the boy to his home.” The report also says that Ehasz received “third party information that there is a sexual relationship between Mr. Ahmed and the boy.”
* * *
This offense has been upgraded from a Suspicious Condition to a possible 4th Degree Sex Offense.
On 10/14/99, as a result of the information learned from Glenn Ehasz, a private investigator, hired by the wife of Bilal Ahmed that her husband might be involved in an illegal relationship with the victim, ___ an underage____ surveillance was conducted of AHMED by the Woodlawn, IST.
At 0528 AM, AHMED was observed leaving his residence at 2915 Chestnut Hill Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21043 operating a 1988 Toyota Previa Van, displaying MD registration M103467. AHMED proceeded East on Rt. 40 entering into Baltimore County. At about 0533 AM, AHMED was observed arriving at ___, the apartment building where ___ lived turning his lights out as he pulled onto the court. ___ was observed exiting the building and getting into the van with AHMED. AHMED immediately pulled off and at a high rate of speed proceeded on Rolling Bend Road towards Fairbrook Rd. making a left on Fairbrook Rd. AHMED then drove to Springridge Court parking the van at the dead end of the court next to the woods line.
Detective Watkins, Detective White, Officer Welsch, and Sgt. Prothero observed that no one exited the van but obviously were not in the front seat area. At that point the van was approached and surrounded. AHMED and ___ were found in the back of t
he van with the seat reclined underneath a blanket. ___ was laying down facing the driver’s side of the van with AHMED laying beside him facing in the same direction. Officer’s lit up the van with their flashlights at the same time demanding entry into the van. It was obvious that AHMED had his pants unfastened and down and it appeared that ___ also had his pants down. It took about a minute as AHMED and ___ attempted to redress themselves and after repeated orders to do so, AHMED unlocked the van door and he was pulled from the van still attempting to secure his pants. A coat belonging to AHMED which was laying on the seat next to them was checked and a small open jar of Vaseline was found along with an open bottle of Curel hand lotion. A photograph of another young man, possibly a Highschool photo, was also found. AHMED wished to know how long he would be detained because he had to open up a daycare center. Further investigation showed that AHMED and his mother, Amtul Bashir own Little Stars Learning Center in Columbia MD.
Both AHMED and ___ were transported to Precinct Two. Sex Crimes Unit was contacted and Detective’s Cross and Bonsail responded. Detective White and Detective Watkins interviewed AHMED. AHMED was advised of his Miranda rights by Detective White. AHMED advised he understood his rights and agreed to answer questions without a lawyer present and acknowledged his Miranda rights by signing, dating and noting the time as 0705 on the Miranda card. During the first interview AHMED stated he has known ___ for about 4 months. He met ___ at his Mosque on Johnnycake Road.
AHMED knows ___ ’s mother and father and through his Mosque has assisted the family while they are staying here. AHMED registered ___ in school at ___ High School in the 9th grade and has assisted the family by providing clothing and food and helping them with transportation while they are here. AHMED stated that he and ___ were very close friends. AHMED stated he loved ___ and that he often hugs and kisses ___. AHMED admitted that they have engaged in mutual masturbation together and admitted to have touched ___ penis. AHMED stated he carried the Vaseline in his coat pocket because he has corns on his feet and could provide no explanation as to why his pants were down when officer’s approached the van. AHMED denied engaging in oral sex or anal intercourse with ___. He indicated that this occurred in his van and at ___ apartment. He stated that he was not engaged in a sexual act when approached in the van. He indicated that the sexual contact between them had began about three weeks ago and that he used no force and had ___ consent to engage in these acts.
Victim, ___ was interviewed by Detective Watkins and Detective Cross. ___ has learned some English since being in the United States and could be interviewed with some difficulty. An effort was made to contact an appropriate translator but although translators could speak ___ there was no one who could speak in his particular dialect. ___ parents and 17 year old sister do not speak any English. ___ stated he met AHMED at the Mosque and that he was a friend, “like a brother” who had helped his family. He provided him with the tennis shoes he was wearing and had provided him with clothing and had bought him a 10 speed bike for his birthday. He had picked him up at school and at the mosque. He admitted to engaging in mutual masturbation with AHMED and in kissing and hugging him. He said that they had touched each other’s penis’s but denied any oral sex or anal intercourse. ___ appeared by his body language not to wish to discuss oral sex and by his manner whenever this subject was approached appeared to be deceptive in his answers in regards to those questions. ___ expressed concern over AHMED’s welfare and showed concern that he was being questioned. He stated he loved AHMED and engaged in sexual contact of his own free will. ___ was asked of any other known “friends” of AHMED’s. He stated he knew no one. ___ was shown the photo that was in AHMED’s possession. He indicated that he knew this boy as someone else at the Mosque. He stated he and AHMED had visited the boy, ADNAN SYED at the Baltimore City Jail. Investigation revealed that SYED is incarcerated on 1st Degree Murder charges as well as Kidnaping and False Imprisonment charges for the murder of SYED’s girlfriend who was buried and found in Leakin Park after being missing from the Woodlawn area. Feeling it was unusual that AHMED has this photo in his possession, Detective Watkins contacted Baltimore City Police Homicide and spoke to Detective Bill Ritz, believing that he might have some need to interview AHMED in reference to his investigation. Ritz indicated he was aware of AHMED and that AHMED had provided SYED with a cellular telephone prior to the girlfriend’s disappearance and this proved to be a key element in their investigation. AHMED is not a suspect in this case and Ritz advised that AHMED was a “Mentor” for SYED as well as other young Moslem men who attend the Mosque. AHMED and others in the Pakistan community are currently raising money for SYED’s court defense.
Upon reviewing the facts, the observations by officer’s who approached the van, the subsequent interviews with ___ and AHMED, and after consultation with the Sex Crimes Unit and the States Attorneys office it was concluded that although probable cause existed for AHMED’s arrest there was not sufficient evidence to support charging AHMED with a crime at this time. The current law does not make it a crime for a 14 year old to be involved in “Sexual Contact” with an adult if that contact is consensual and not against the will of the victim. No evidence could be found to directly show any “Sexual Acts” had occurred between AHMED and ___, although a strong suspicious exists that these acts had occurred. AHMED was released without charges to his Attorney, ___ who had been called to the Precinct by AHMED’s mother and he was briefed on the officer’s observations.
Detective Watkins notified Glenn Ehasz, the private investigator, of the above events. Further Detective Watkins contacted Howard County Protective Services on 10/15/99 and spoke to Sandy Patterson. She advised to contact the licensing division in Howard County for daycare providers. Detective Watkins spoke to Sandy Boyd and Janice Burris, in regards to the daycare center operated by Bashir.
* * *
Two days later the police themselves followed Ahmed.
A grown man having sexual relations with a fourteen-year-old refugee child must be a crime. But this was a crime for which Ahmed was never charged, and the real question here is why.
According to a source, upon his arrest Ahmed called his attorney, who arrived at the station immediately. There was little to no protest by the police when the attorney requested that his client be released; it was as if they had already decided there wouldn’t be any charges.
When Susan first made all these connections, we couldn’t figure out how Urick learned about his arrest so quickly, and more importantly, why. Ahmed was arrested in a different county on charges that were completely unrelated to Adnan. The only possibility seemed to be that the State was somehow tracking Ahmed, but the report itself lays out very specifically the route police took to get to Urick.
But I think that part of the report is a complete fabrication. It is a whacky, convoluted story, a contrived ruse crafted to give the prosecutors cover. I just don’t buy that Baltimore County Police are less interested in what was happening between Ahmed, armed with Vaseline and pants dropped, and this young boy in a rocking van, than they are in a picture found in Ahmed’s pocket. Just think about that for a second, think about their priorities. Do they make sense?
The State prosecutors certainly had a hand in determining whether Ahmed got charged. The report itself states that “after consultation with the sex crimes unit and the State’s Attorney’s office” they decided not to charge him.
But just to make sure the point got driven home, that Ahmed was still on the hook, the police made sure he knew he was being watched. His ex-wife Saima told me that after his arrest and subsequent release, he arrived home terrified. He told her to lower the curtains and turn off all the lights. When she asked why, he pointed outside a window to show her two police cars parked directly in front of his house.
“They’re watching me, they’re out to get me,” he told her.
They didn’t “get him,” but I believe they did get to him. There is no doubt in my mind that the State made Ahmed a deal—make your
self scarce for Adnan’s trial and we’ll let you off the hook for this heinous crime.
Shortly after this, Saima was shipped off by Ahmed to her brother’s house, telling her to go visit her family while he figured some things out. There her brother told her what had happened, what their private investigator had found. She was stunned and began making some calls herself. She called someone Bilal described as a friend, a young man who often visited the house.
“It’s true, he’s a sick guy. I wanted to tell you this before, but he tells us guys that if we want to have sex with his wife, we can.” She was terrified and soon after filed for divorce. She never returned to Ahmed.
And Adnan lost the only alibi he had for the evening of January 13, 1999.
* * *
As Serial wound down, our research and writing continued, and I was giving talks about the case at law schools, law firms, and universities. I would often ask people who flocked to the events as Serial fans whether they read my blogs, or Susan’s or Colin’s blogs. About 95 percent responded in the negative. Fielding questions, it was painfully clear that Susan’s and Colin’s meticulous research, investigations, and prolific blogging were being largely overlooked by the general public.
I was concerned that the public’s interest would continue to fade, along with the donations coming in to Adnan’s fund, and Dennis Robinson, our fund-raiser, must have been worried about that too, because on March 3, 2015, out of the blue, he sent Susan and me an e-mail.
He had an idea, one that he got after attending a talk I gave at a local law firm and seeing the result of my question about how many people actually read our blogs. We needed to take all the information we were blogging and make it easier to get to people who were interested in the case—thanks to Serial, they were used to a podcast. We needed to make a podcast too. Not only would people get all the nitty-gritty details of the case Susan and Colin were unearthing, it would also help us fund-raise. If we got advertisers, we could use the revenue for the legal fund.
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