The Girl in the Blue Mustang - Ep. 2: The Man Who Knew Too Much

[00:02] Mazda has been named Consumer Reports' safest new car brand. It starts with our approach. Every Mazda comes standard with proactive safety features. So you're more aware of what's around you, more focused on the road ahead, and ready before problems ever start. [00:19] Mazda. More of what matters most to you. Go to mazdausa.com to learn more. Consumer Reports does not endorse or promote any product. [00:30] Thank you. [00:30] This episode is brought to you by Penn Foster. [00:33] Sometimes things don't go as planned, especially with high school. [00:38] When you start to feel like you're falling behind, [00:41] Having another option can make a real difference. [00:44] Penn Foster High School is an accredited online diploma program [00:49] built for flexibility. [00:51] So whether you're hoping to go back and finish what you started, [00:54] Or you're the parent of a teen who needs a different approach to education. [00:58] There is a way forward. [01:00] With self-paced courses, you have the freedom to learn on your own schedule. [01:05] That way you can fit school around everything else going on in your life and stop falling behind. [01:11] Don't just get back on track. Start moving forward with Penn Foster. [01:16] Visit penfoster.edu slash dateline to learn more. [01:25] The Mojave Desert was beginning to bask and bloom in the late winter sun. Just beyond the sand in the city of Palmdale, the grass was greening out of the cypress trees at Desert Lawn Memorial Park.

[01:38] where Michelle O'Keefe had been laid to rest. [01:41] The inscription on her stone? [01:43] "Cheerful, loving sister and daughter." [01:47] at her funeral with his mother's hand on his shoulder. [01:50] 12-year-old Jason made his sister a promise [01:54] I will love you forever, and I'll see you in heaven when it's my time to go. [01:58] Love your brother, Jason. [02:01] - It is very hard. - Michelle's father, Mike O'Keefe. [02:06] And, you know, it's one of those questions you have to ask, you know, and say, do you want to stand in front of Jesus, you know? [02:11] you know, by us. [02:13] Impossible not to ask. Impossible to answer. But there was a second question, too. [02:19] A question that would not leave him alone, that tormented his every waking moment. Who did this thing? [02:27] Mike O'Keefe would do anything to find out. [02:29] and get justice for his daughter. [02:32] Anything. [02:34] In this episode, you'll see how far a family will go to get answers. [02:40] He's very large-billed, but his name is Lee or Leon. You'll hear from a brand-new witness who turned the narrative on its head. She heard a tapping sound, which we've determined was probably the gunshots. And you'll hear what happens when a larger-than-life attorney seems to go to suspect to lose control. You're doing a very good job of irritating me and getting underneath my skin. I'm trying to stay nice and calm because I know what you want me to do is blow up the front of this camera

[03:10] Why don't you keep your smirk off your face? No, I will not. I'm Keith Morrison, and this is The Girl in the Blue Mustang, a podcast from Dateline. Episode 2: The Man Who Knew Too Much. [03:26] About the central facts, there was no doubt. Michelle O'Keefe was hit with some blunt object and then shot to death while sitting in the driver's seat of her brand-new Mustang in a park-and-ride north of Los Angeles. [03:39] As for the rest, there just wasn't much to go on. Except, Detective Richard Longshore was getting a familiar feeling in his gut. [03:47] about that one talkative witness of his, the night security guard, Raymond Jennings. Jennings had told Longshore he heard shots fired, saw muzzle flashes, but couldn't see the shooter. And yet... [04:02] When we interviewed Mr. Jennings, he said that he saw a projectile. [04:09] and laying on the pavement. [04:11] and that he speculated that [04:14] that projectile was there because the shooter [04:18] accidentally shot into the ground. [04:20] as he approached Michelle. [04:24] It took us hours. [04:25] to determine that's what occurred. And yet he had, as a cold observer with no, you know, [04:32] first-hand information in a matter of minutes. [04:34] Just shouldn't know them. He shouldn't have. [04:37] He knew, for example, about the sequence, or he opined the sequence of the shots, that the shots, the first shot was point blank into her chest.

[04:47] That's exactly what it was. It was determined by the autopsy. Right. [04:51] And we don't make those determinations before you go to an autopsy. And for a layperson to come up with that, it just defied logic. [05:00] Three days after the murder, Jennings quit his night security job, said he couldn't feel comfortable around there anymore. So he drove over to All Valley Security at a strip mall on Palmdale Boulevard to turn in his uniform. And of course, Detective Longshore found out. And a few days later, detectives retrieved the nylon security jacket and the beige short-sleeved shirt and the dark pants that Jennings wore that night in the park and ride. [05:29] Clothes had not been washed. Could be a DNA gold mine. So they took the dirty uniform to the crime lab, where the techs ran tests for blood and gunshot residue and so on. And? Negative. Lots of Raymond Jennings' DNA, but nothing that could pin him to a shooting in a parking lot. No blood, no gunshot residue. Zip. Which tended to back up Jennings' story that he was nowhere near the shooting. [06:00] But this wasn't Longshore's first rodeo. Far from it. And he couldn't stop thinking something just didn't quite add up. So Longshore called Jennings in again and again and talked to him for hours. And the guy remained as polite as could be, like he was trying hard to help. But that wasn't necessarily a sign of innocence, said Longshore.

[06:23] I've talked to a lot of killers that have just killed someone and [06:27] They're [06:29] Not what you might expect. I can think of three or four scenarios just on the top of my head where someone can kill another person and leave no evidence behind whatsoever. [06:38] Um, [06:39] That person needs to be apprehended and brought to justice and let a jury take a crack at them. They often seem like nice people. Absolutely. [06:48] You know, I... [06:49] There are some killers that I've spoken to that I actually kind of like. You can't. [06:55] condone what they've done, [06:57] but they're likable people. [06:58] Didn't make Longshore any less determined. Anyway, there was more to do. There was that best friend, Jennifer Peterson. Last person to see Michelle before whatever happened. At first, she couldn't even talk. [07:12] too distraught. So Longshore suggested gently that they could just go have a look at the crime scene together, see if anything occurred to her there. As they got out of Detective Longshore's car, they could hear the steady hum of thousands of commuters, a stone's throw away on Highway 14 connecting Palmdale to L.A. And as we got to the portion of the parking lot where Michelle's car [07:42] striking the planter. I said, "Okay, this is where Michelle's car was." She said, "Well, no it wasn't." [07:47] I said, "Are you sure?" And she says, "Yeah, we parked it under a light, deliberately." Because she was concerned about her vehicle's safety.

[07:56] Well, that certainly got his attention. The safe, brightly lit parking space Jennifer pointed out was [redacted address] first responders found Michelle's car with her body inside. So why did she move? Why to a darker place exactly where she didn't want to park her car? Maybe she went somewhere more discreet to change out of the miniskirt she wore to the chute house. [08:25] And back into her more modest jeans for class? Maybe. They found the jeans on the passenger seat next to her body. So, of course, investigators confronted Jennings with that discovery. And? They drew a blank. Jennings went on insisting the Mustang had never moved, and that it was exactly where he first saw it 20 minutes before Michelle and Jennifer got back from L.A. So was he lying? Or just mistaken? [08:55] Puzzle, that. Anyway, the Jennings Quandary was not Longshore's only lead. Meth had raised its ugly head out in the Antelope Valley. Gangs had come right along with it. They all knew about the murder. [09:09] Everybody had at least one opinion. [09:12] sometimes more. [09:13] We had people confessing to it. [09:15] Youngsters, teenagers, early 20s up in the Antelope Valley who were involved in drug trafficking were, well, okay, she was killed because she owed... [09:25] money to a dope dealer.

[09:27] Of course, he checked that out, but no way Michelle used drugs. But he did learn from the gang enforcement team that gang members had been making trouble in the park and ride, stealing hubcaps, rims, anything they could get their hands on for quite a while. Oh, and the confessing? Well... [09:47] That was not to Longshore, and it wasn't really confessing. [09:52] More like taking credit for Michelle's murder so they could use it for a shakedown. [09:59] Yeah, I killed Michelle, and if you don't put out it, then I'll kill you, too. Why do they do that? God knows. Jennings wasn't any help in that department. Gangs? He said he didn't see any of that in the park and ride before or after the murder. Nobody at all, for that matter. [10:16] Nobody else in the parking lot. As far as he was telling us. As far as he was telling us, right? [10:21] Nobody came and went. [10:22] That's correct. [10:24] So, [10:25] Not a gang. Anyway, why would gangbangers attack and kill a sweet church-going kid who had no connection to them whatsoever? [10:35] Then a tip. Sheriff's investigators were notified a 17-year-old juvenile who'd been taken into custody on another charge. [10:44] claimed she had information about the Palmdale murder. [10:48] Her name was Victoria Richardson. She said she was in her car with three other people that night. [10:55] listening to music near the northwest corner of the parking lot. And they'd been smoking marijuana.

[11:03] She heard a tapping sound, which we've determined was probably the gunshots. She saw another car just drive by, a random car in the parking lot. [11:11] And, uh, [11:13] She saw the security guard walk by just moments before the shooting. [11:17] as he made his patrol. [11:19] And she decided to leave. [11:21] And when they left the parking lot, went right through the crime scene and [11:25] end up stopping and talking Mr. Jennings and saying, wait, what happened? And he goes, is there shooting? He's, I don't know. And, [11:31] Where's that effect? [11:33] But he never told us that initially. [11:35] This is within a few minutes of the shooting? Yes. And yet he told you he didn't see anybody? That's correct. Strange, especially given Jennings' willingness to help, [11:46] and his remarkable memory, that he would somehow forget this crucial encounter? So that... [11:53] sets off some kind of alarm in your head. It did. And we went back and spoke to him at his residence and again asked him to tell us everything that occurred, and he stuck to that story. And that's when he confirmed that there had been yet a second vehicle or another vehicle that had spoken to him. [12:06] Victoria Richardson that, oh yeah, that's right, I remember seeing that now and [12:10] It just started to ring off some alarm bells. [12:13] Detective Longshore wondered what else Jennings had not remembered, but nothing could have prepared him for this from the talkative Mr. Jennings. [12:23] I would have been thinking. [12:24] Why haven't they come out with me yet? [12:27] But why would you think that you didn't do anything? [12:29] Well, just, I mean, we bring contact. Yeah. Right. I just...

[12:33] "Where did I put myself in your shoes?" And he wasn't exactly wrong, but it was infuriating. No murder weapon, no eyewitness to contradict the talkative guard. Longshore didn't have the evidence to go after Jennings, and he certainly couldn't go public with his detective hunches. Doesn't work that way, but maybe he didn't have to. The rumors about Jennings were getting around, but also soon offers of a speedier kind of justice. [13:04] I had guys come up to me, big guys that I've never seen before, that you wouldn't want to meet in Dark Alley. [13:09] that said, "I'll take care of it for me. Just tell me when you want me to do it." [13:13] Mm-hmm. [13:15] And I said, [13:17] No. [13:19] I'd rather... [13:19] I want him to go to court. [13:21] That's Pat O'Keefe, desperate to find her daughter's killer. She recorded a public service announcement for local TV, husband Mike standing solemnly behind her, hand on her shoulder. On the night of February 22nd, our daughter Michelle was murdered at the park and ride lot in Palmdale on Avenue S and the 14 freeway. By no means all they did. As spring turned to summer, Michelle's 14-foot-high smiling face began to appear on billboards in the high desert. [13:50] Among thousand-year-old Joshua trees, [13:53] The billboards read: [13:55] I wasn't ready to die at 18. [13:58] Can you help catch my killer? [14:02] But six months after Michelle was murdered,

[14:04] As the desert soared past 100 degrees in the shade... [14:07] The case of the girl in the blue Mustang went cold. No chargeable suspect, no new clues, no solid leads. [14:18] Then, on October 11, 2000, a chilly autumn day on what should have been Michelle's 19th birthday, the O'Keefs worked clear across the country, in New York City, on the Montel Williams Show. [14:32] Please welcome Mike and Pat to the show. [14:35] They'd put the O'Keefe's in the audience... [14:38] under a spotlight. [14:39] There to bare their souls on national TV, Pat looked down self-consciously as her husband Mike began. [14:48] About eight months ago, our daughter was murdered in a park and ride. [14:52] A stunning black and white photo of Michelle filled the TV screen. The camera zoomed into her smiling face. [14:59] What we'd like to know is, the police haven't got a name yet or anything. Do you know who killed her? [15:06] Seated up front on the studio's main set, Montel and a psychic named Sylvia Brown, [15:13] leaned forward, clasping their hands as if they wanted to bring Pat and Mike closer. [15:18] Sylvia began describing Michelle's killer, [15:21] in a vision that had just come to her. [15:24] He's very large build, but his name is Lee or Leon. Lee? As in six-foot-two-inch security guard Raymond Lee Jennings? He had on some kind of a blue uniform with a pocket and a badge thing. A minute later, the segment was over, though to the Akiefs it seemed as if it had barely begun.

[15:49] They could easily have filled the entire hour with their hopes and mostly their fears. Pat and Mike told me it wasn't satisfying, but at least it was something. [16:01] Why did you go on these shows, Montel Williams, America's Most Wanted? What was... [16:07] What drove you to do that? [16:09] I think maybe just if anybody knew anything, just to get the word out, because we still didn't have an arrest when we went on all those shows. [16:17] So I think maybe just [16:19] to see if we could get any information from anybody. The importance of figuring out what happened, who did it, why, [16:27] seems to loom very large in people's life. Yeah. Can you tell me about that? You know, you don't. I never thought about it until it happened to me, but it almost like [16:36] There was this constant little voice saying, "You've got to get this thing solved. You've got to get this thing solved." For your daughter? Yes. [16:42] It's like this is what you need to do for her. You've got to do this. You want to close your end. When you don't, it gets frustrating. [16:49] And it eats at you. You got to get this thing solved. [16:51] The Montel show definitely had one immediate impact, and that was on Ray Jennings. He'd gotten a new job as a salesman at a Toyota car dealership in Lancaster, and there were the O'Keefe's and the psychic on TV. Jennings was watching that at the dealership he was working at after he left the security guard company, and all of a sudden his pager goes into meltdown. [17:15] And... [17:16] He was saying, "Oh God, I gotta, they're gonna pin this on me. I gotta go home. They're gonna pin this on me." And he left.

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[18:57] Grainger. For the ones who get it done. [19:02] Murder is like a wrecking ball in a family, all in pieces. No one's the same after. Todd and Mike O'Keefe were holding on for dear life by the time they took their case to TV shows and [19:16] Psychics... [19:17] For all the good it did. [19:20] But give up? [19:22] Not a chance. [19:23] Otherwise it would eat them alive. [19:26] And so back home in Palmdale, Pat and Mike decided that the standard way of criminal justice just wasn't going to be enough for them. [19:33] What made it important? [19:35] to pursue this beyond the normal course of action, which is to kind of [19:40] bug the police and hope for some sort of resolution. I know it just didn't seem like that was doing anything. Sheriff's Department [19:45] We're on it, long shores. [19:48] and [19:49] competent detective, but it seems like the caseload is so huge. Time passes. I wouldn't say level of interest because I think he was always interested in it, but the level— [19:59] of priority just didn't seem to be there. [20:02] And it only goes on so long until you finally say, gee, [20:06] enough is enough, we got to do something and then through that, [20:10] Through a counselor, we were referred to Rex, [20:13] That would be R. Rex Paris, big-time civil attorney, local legend, powerful man. It was suggested by a friend that... [20:25] you know,

[20:27] Rex might be a good person to go talk to on this. So we made an appointment and [20:31] And by gosh, we went in and talked to him. Hoping he could do what? Pull some strings? Try to... [20:37] help us sort this thing out or see if you had any ideas. [20:41] And so he thought about it for a little bit and he agreed. He goes, yeah, I think through the civil... [20:47] Civil process, we can get you some answers. Paris had deep pockets and a reputation for hardball tactics and multimillion dollar settlements. And he told the O'Keeffe's he was the man to help them get justice for Michelle. I met Mr. Paris in 2009 at his sprawling Lancaster office. He'd redone what had been a furniture megastore. Above the main entrance, four-foot-high letters spelled out his name. [21:16] Inside. [21:17] Everything big and sleek. [21:20] There was the Eternal Fountain. [21:23] And over there, [21:24] A room holding boxes of evidence for his army of attorneys. [21:29] With our Rex Paris in their corner, [21:31] Before the year was out, the O'Keefs filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Palmdale for the lack of security cameras, and against the private All Valley Security Company hired to patrol the park and ride lot. [21:44] The O'Keeffe told me there was [21:46] No going back, no. [21:48] We have mixed emotions. How are people going to perceive us doing the civil action? [21:54] However, [21:55] The more important thing was to get this thing solved.

[21:58] And so... That was your motivation. Right, absolutely. But you were afraid that people would think that you were greedy or something? Some people thought we just wanted to get money for Michelle's murder. But Paris was into the investigation now, like a detective on steroids, and unlike the police, he kept in constant touch with the O'Keeffs. They were totally involved in everything I did. [22:20] I would talk to Mike O'Keefe and I'd talk to Pat. It was interesting when you'd call them, whichever one you call, the other one would get on the phone. I've never had a case where they were so involved in it and wanting to know every single detail. [22:37] What did Rex say that he could do for you? [22:40] He just said he could get some information. He thought he could do some depositions. He would get a... [22:45] investigator on it is [22:47] It turned out he got a top-notch investigator on him. That's not cheap. [22:52] - No, it's not cheap. - Oh, it was very expensive. - Very expensive, so. - A lot of the money that we got from the lawsuit, we had to pay-- - Plowed back into that place. - Oh yeah, so I mean, it wasn't-- - Was paid back for that, so. Now Rex, you know, he set up an account and everything, but everything-- [23:04] We paid, and I went off. [23:06] had a lot of personal expense on the thing. Sure. Oh, they were all in now. Another spring had come to the high desert. Temperatures climbed into the 80s. Clumps of sage bloomed around the park and ride. And the O'Keeffs turned up the heat a little more. They added Raymond Jennings to their wrongful death lawsuit. [23:28] And R. Rex Paris himself

[23:30] would conduct the deposition. Paris came fully prepared. He had carefully studied all of Detective Longshore's interviews with Jennings. He'd gotten to know Jennings' mannerisms, his way of talking. Charming guy could disarm a perfect stranger. [23:48] even a suspicious detective. Paris had already invested a considerable sum of money in the O'Keeffe investigation, and perhaps to add some pressure on the DA, [23:59] He invited a special guest. [24:02] a reporter. [24:03] From the Antelope Valley Press. [24:06] The local newspaper was there while you deposed this man? Yes. [24:10] How common is that? [24:15] usually doesn't happen. [24:18] Something else that usually doesn't happen? When Jennings arrived at the big office with the four-foot letters spelling Paris' name, he came alone. He did not bring a lawyer. [24:32] didn't have one. So how did you go about this? The first process is to make them comfortable and have what you and I are doing. [24:40] You engage him in a discussion. But then you also then want to break that rapport you develop and see how he is when he's angry. And so I would do that. [24:50] Mr. Jennings. [24:51] Do you remember the night Michelle O'Keefe was killed? I did. Jennings settled himself in the big mauve-colored conference room. They'd put him in a high-backed boardroom chair with a potted plant behind him. A few feet away, Michelle's parents, Pat and Mike O'Keefe, stared intently. They had been cautioned some of the testimony would be graphic, and all of it was being videotaped by a camera crew.

[25:19] Did you murder Michelle O'Keefe? No, I did not murder Michelle O'Keefe. I have no contact with Michelle O'Keefe. I've never seen Michelle O'Keefe. [25:28] Jennings just swatted that one away. [25:31] But then Paris brought up that polygraph, the one Jennings had submitted to before his cognitive interview. Why do you clock the lie detector test then? [25:40] I have no idea why I felt it. [25:42] I don't even know if a true lighted detector test was admitted to me. I have no idea. And so it went on for hours. Paris probing, deconstructing, trying to unravel Jennings' story. [25:53] I'm not your scapegoat. The real killer is out there someplace. [25:57] And I'm not the one. The lawyer might have advised Jennings not to rise to the bait. [26:02] Not to say the things he said, but of course, he didn't have a lawyer. You're being a smartass, I'm going to be a smartass back too. Jennings seemed brash, even cocky. You ask a crazy question, I give you a crazy ass. In many respects, it was an unfair advantage because he didn't have an attorney. And I was able to go on for hours and hours and hours, you know, back looping him and backtracking and putting him in different spots. You're doing a very good job. I don't want to irritate me. You're getting underneath my skin. [26:32] do is blow up the front of this camera so you can take it and use it against me. [26:35] It's not going to happen, my friend. OK? He had nothing to gain. You know, he had already filed for bankruptcy or was going to file for bankruptcy. There was no reason for him to engage in this deposition other than he was enjoying it. We're going to take a short break while we change teams.

[26:52] Mr. Jennings. [26:54] I want you to do something really novel here today. [26:57] I want you to tell us the absolute truth [27:00] That's what I'm doing for you, Mr. Ferris. And I'd like you to remember that we are talking about the death of an 18-year-old girl, and that smirk on your face makes me very angry. You don't have to remind me. I'm sorry it makes you angry, okay? Why don't you keep your smirk off your face? No, I will not. My facial experiences are going to stay like they are. Ask your questions. Let's get this over with so I can go. [27:21] I'm not happy. I'm not happy somebody's dead. But he was glib, incredibly glib. And I remember at one point during the deposition thinking, you know, [27:30] I could walk into that courtroom and he could win. [27:33] Without a lawyer. [27:35] He's a car salesman, you know? He was a good car salesman. [27:39] I pray every day. I say that they're going to come and arrest me and charge me for this crime. I'm going to do it. [27:44] And that's precisely what the investigator hired by Paris for the O'Keeffe's was trying his level best to make happen. [27:51] And we met with him one night out at the park and ride. And Pat asked him, how sure are you that he did this, you know, Raymond Lee Jennings? And he looked her in the eye and he says, I am 100% certain Raymond Lee Jennings killed your daughter.

[28:16] When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know your choices matter. You're the expert because you know what fits your life. And getting it right starts with good information. That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at GoodToKnowFacts.org. No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit GoodToKnowFacts.org. [28:46] Relax. Apple Pay is secure by design. When you pay with a physical debit or credit card, you're handing your card number over. With Apple Pay, your card number is never shared with the merchant. Apple Pay uses a device-specific number and unique transaction code to help process your payment instead of your actual card number. Plus, Apple Pay doesn't keep transaction information that can be tied back to you or sell your data to third parties for marketing or advertising purposes. Shop with confidence when you check out with Apple Pay. Terms apply. [29:16] Pandora makes it easy for you to find your favorite music. Discover new artists and genres by selecting any song or album and we'll make you a personalized station for free. [29:24] Download on the Apple App Store or Google Play and enjoy the soundtrack to your life. [29:30] It is hardly uncommon to encounter tension in law office conference rooms. Anxiety, suppressed rage. But surely few such encounters could rival the barely contained fury in the air at the office of R. Rex Paris. There's a reason our conference room table is so wide that you can't be reached. Because depositions can be volatile things.

[30:00] had security there. [30:02] Things got very personal, very fast, said Mr. Paris. He was able to get between them and me and get his hands around my neck and do it in a fashion. He came up behind me, I'm sitting at the table, and he sticks his hand on my neck and apologizes for getting angry earlier. But he was, you know, clearly telling me. [30:27] I can get to you. [30:28] It was an interesting experience. Paris thought Jennings was on the edge, about to crack. One gentle push, and he might confess. I don't want you to get upset now. You're not getting upset now, are you? You're not going to get mad in front of the camera. No, why? Why would I do that? You're not going to threaten me or anything like that, are you? Why would I do that? [30:44] Did it work? It seemed to... [30:47] Once Jennings calmed down, they resumed a more civil conversation, and that's when Paris got... [30:53] Well, not a confession. [30:56] But as that reporter listened and took notes, [30:59] Paris got something he could use. [31:02] You can see clearly her neck. [31:04] and it looked as if there was still a slight pulse. RAOUL PAL: So you have a very clear recollection of seeing a slight pulse in her neck? [31:13] To my memory, I honestly do. [31:16] I know so good. [31:17] I'd like you to visualize that scene and tell me, did you actually see her fingers twitching? [31:24] See you. [31:25] I'm just going to go by what I remember that night, and I'm just going to answer yes. [31:29] It's like he was telling the story as if he was standing there, but saying he was over here at his car. But he knew things he could only know if he was at the murder scene. That's correct. In other words, he knew too much. Way too much.

[31:43] Way too much. [31:44] Then, as the deposition drew toward a close, Jennings told Paris that his former National Guard Sergeant had been in touch with him. [31:52] and the sergeant didn't like what he was hearing. [31:55] It's the exact words of the beginning. What the f*** is going on? [31:58] I just had people leave here and they wanted to see... [32:01] Pretty much everything that you've ever done here and what kind of records you had and so forth. There's a lawyer out here who's actually got a wild hair up his ass for him, and he's actually kind of pinned this murder on me. [32:13] And I guess he's going to go through a... [32:16] extreme to see that I'm [32:19] put away for. [32:20] My exact words to them. And who is this lawyer with the wild hair up his ass that wants to pin this murder out here? That would be me, Mr. Perry. That would be me. I don't know what I've done to you in my previous life, but you seem to have a... [32:31] I'll get a little hair up there for myself. [32:33] I don't know why. [32:35] But it's affected my family and it's affected me just by the reports that have been [32:40] in the papers. Well, sure enough. All that became a lead story in the Antelope Valley Press the very next day, written by that reporter. [32:51] the one Paris invited to the deposition. I remember on the front page of one of the newspaper [32:57] there was a caption underneath Jennings and it was "Lies, lies and lies." [33:01] And so things started to heat up. After that, Mike and Pat O'Keefe were 100% sure Jennings was the man who murdered their daughter. [33:11] "Crazy thing was, he lived just a mile away from them in Palmdale.

[33:16] And he would just come in and buy milk, or diapers, or whatever, because he had four or five kids. [33:22] So I would see him at the grocery store a couple times. [33:25] Paris settled the civil lawsuit against Palmdale and the family received a substantial payment, and the claims against Jennings and All Valley security were dropped. But maybe the deposition had accomplished exactly what Rex Paris set out to do. [33:41] Detective Longshore certainly thought so. Based on what Jennings said in that deposition, [33:46] Longshore wrote up a case and submitted it to LA County Deputy District Attorney Robert Fultz. [33:53] I was convinced this guy did it. We took a good look. [33:58] and declined. [34:00] No prosecution. But I saw that there were some serious problems with the physical evidence in the case. There just wasn't any. Right. [34:10] And so I thought, well, [34:12] Let's wait on this one. We've got other ones more urgent at this point. The O'Keefe's were crushed, but not beaten. No way. As long as there's breath in my lungs, we aren't going to give up until this thing's resolved. But they were running out of options. R. Rex Paris, Detective Longshore, they'd done all they could do. [34:36] And then a new sheriff came to town. Make that a retired sheriff's deputy named Jim Jeffra. One day in the dead of winter, he reached out and touched the six-foot-high polished wooden cross the O'Keefe's had erected at the park and ride.

[34:52] in Michelle's memory. And I said, you know, Michelle, you're going to have to help me here. I'm going to need some help. [34:58] I may call upon you. [35:01] Well, who knows? [35:03] Maybe she was listening. [35:07] Next, on The Girl in the Blue Mustang. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can maybe spot something that looks a little different. It seemed like it had bogged down and it had bogged down around one person. And that was Raymond Lee Jennings. I was going to do what I could do to prove that he didn't kill this girl. [35:33] Dead Killer. [35:41] The Girl in the Blue Mustang is a production of Dateline and NBC News. Scott Frazier is a producer. Brian Drew, David Varga, and John Koster are audio editors. [35:53] Thomas Kemman is assistant audio editor. [35:55] Keanu Reid is associate producer. Adam Gorfane is co-executive producer. Liz Cole is executive producer. And David Corvo is senior executive producer. [36:07] From NBC News Audio... [36:09] Bryson Barnes as technical director. [36:11] Sound mixing by Bob Mallory. [36:14] Nina Bisbano is associate producer.

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