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

Summary

Dateline NBC – The Girl in the Blue Mustang

Episode 2: "The Man Who Knew Too Much"

Date: February 16, 2026
Host: Keith Morrison (Narrator), featuring Detective Longshore, Mike & Pat O'Keeffe, Raymond Lee Jennings, and Rex Paris

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Episode Overview

In this gripping follow-up episode, Dateline delves deeper into the relentless quest for justice by the family of Michelle O’Keeffe, a promising 18-year-old college student who was brutally murdered in her blue Mustang at a Palmdale park and ride. The episode focuses on the evolving suspicion surrounding Raymond Lee Jennings—the night security guard on duty—and examines the legal, emotional, and investigative efforts that follow, particularly those initiated by the O’Keeffe family as their faith in the official system becomes strained. The family’s bold move to enlist prominent attorney R. Rex Paris injects new energy into the case, leading to an explosive showdown in a deposition room—and a story of heartbreak, obsession, and the desperate search for truth.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Michelle O’Keeffe's Family's Torment and Determination

• The episode opens with poignant reflections at Michelle’s grave and the unyielding love from her family, especially her younger brother, Jason.
  “I will love you forever and I'll see you in heaven when it's my time to go.” – Jason O’Keeffe (01:37)
• Michelle’s parents struggle with unanswerable questions, particularly: “Who did this thing?” Mike O’Keeffe’s resolve is palpable:
  "Do you want to stand in front of God and Jesus? You know, why us?" – Mike O'Keeffe (01:49)

The Focus Shifts to Raymond Lee Jennings

• Security guard Jennings was the key witness; he claimed to have seen muzzle flashes but not the shooter. Detective Longshore is troubled by Jennings’ uncanny, possibly too-detailed knowledge of the crime scene: “He knew, for example, about the sequence or he opined the sequence of the shots, that the first shot was point blank into her chest. And that's exactly what it was as determined by the autopsy… for a layperson, come up with that, it just defied logic." – Det. Longshore (03:44, 04:34)
• Jennings’ uniform had no incriminating evidence, complicating matters (DNA tests negative for blood or gunshot residue).
• Longshore voices a hard-learned truth from his years in homicide:
  “Some killers… are likable people. You can't condone what they've done, but they're likable.” (06:07)

New Witness Emerges; The Story Unravels

• Victoria Richardson, a teenager detained on another charge, provides an account at odds with Jennings’.
  “She heard a tapping sound which we determined was probably the gunshots… and she saw the security guard walk by just moments before the shooting as he made his patrol… when he left the parking lot, went right through the crime scene and ended up stopping and talking to Mr. Jennings… he never told us that initially.” – Det. Longshore (10:42)
• Jennings originally denied seeing anyone, but when confronted, he "remembered." This further arouses suspicions about what Jennings may have withheld.

Investigative Dead Ends

• Detectives explore the possibility of gang involvement and coerced confessions, but quickly dismiss these as baseless.
  “They would, yeah, I killed Michelle. And if you don't put out it, then I'll kill you too.” – Det. Longshore (09:42)

Media, Psychic, and Desperation

• As the ordeal drags on, the O’Keeffes seek help from national television and even psychics, desperate for leads.
  • On The Montel Williams Show, psychic Sylvia Brown describes the killer: “He’s very large billed, but his name is Lee or Leon.”
    “…some kind of blue uniform with a pocket and badge thing.” (15:07, 15:20)
• The family places emotional billboards:
  “I wasn’t ready to die at 18. Can you help catch my killer?” (13:24)
• Mike O’Keeffe shares the relentless compulsion to solve the case for Michelle:
  “It almost like there was this constant little voice saying, you've got to get this thing solved… it eats at you. You got to get this thing solved.” (16:14)

Enter R. Rex Paris: Civil Litigation as Leverage

• Losing faith in the criminal case, the family hires civil attorney R. Rex Paris.
  “It was suggested by a friend that… Rex might be a good person to go talk to… we made an appointment and by gosh, we went in and talked to him…” – Mike O’Keeffe (20:44)
• The lawsuit targets the city (for lack of security) and All Valley Security; later, Jennings himself is added.
• The O’Keeffes pour settlement money into a private investigation.
  “So yeah, now Rex, he set up an account and everything, but everything we paid and I went off and, you know, had a lot of personal expense on the thing, you know.” – Mike O’Keeffe (23:18)
• Paris runs his own investigation, promising aggressive action:
  “They were totally involved in everything I did.” – Rex Paris (22:39)

The High-Stakes Deposition: Tensions Explode

• Jennings faces Paris alone, without a lawyer. Paris plays psychological games, aiming to break Jennings’ composure:
  “The first process is to make him comfortable… then you want to break that rapport… see how he is when he's angry.” – Rex Paris (24:56)
• Key exchanges:
  • On failing the polygraph:
    “Why'd you flunk the lie detector test then?”
    “I have no idea why I failed it… I don't even know if a true lie detector test was admitted to me…”
    (25:59 – Jennings)
  • On being scapegoated:
    “I'm not your scapegoat. The real killer is out there someplace, and I'm not the one.” (26:15 – Jennings)
  • On the emotional battle with Paris:
    “You're doing a very good job irritating me and getting underneath my skin. …what you want me to do is blow up in front of this camera so you can take it and use it against me.” (26:48 – Jennings)
  • On knowledge of Michelle's body:
    “You can see clearly her neck, and it looked as if there was still a slight pulse… Did you actually see her fingers twitching?... I'm just gonna answer yes.” (31:40 – Jennings)
  • Paris remarks:
    “It's like he was telling the story as if he was standing there, but saying he was over here at his car… he knew things he could only know… he knew too much.” (32:08 – Paris)
• The deposition grows physically tense, with Jennings placing his hands on Paris' neck (30:46):
  “He was… telling me, I can get to you. It was an interesting experience.” – Rex Paris

Media Pressure & Aftermath

• A reporter attends the deposition; headlines label Jennings as lying—public opinion turns.
• Despite all, District Attorney declines prosecution, citing lack of evidence: “I was convinced that this guy did it… but I saw that there were some serious problems with the physical evidence in the case. Just wasn't any.” (34:41)
• Pat O’Keeffe reflects on seeing Jennings at the grocery store, the pain of proximity.
• Lawsuit is settled against the city; claims against Jennings dropped, but the deposition’s purpose—to ratchet pressure—may have worked.

Relentless Pursuit; New Hope

• The O’Keeffes refuse to give up hope:
  “As long as there's breath in my lungs, we aren't going to give up until this thing's resolved.” – Mike O’Keeffe (35:02)
• Enter retired sheriff’s deputy Jim Jeffra, who symbolizes the hope that a "fresh pair of eyes" may finally offer resolution.
  “I was going to do what I could do to prove that he didn't kill this girl.” – Jeffra (36:06)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Pat O’Keeffe’s TV Appeal:
  “On the night of February 22, our daughter Michelle was murdered at the park and ride lot in Palmdale…” (13:16)
• Sylvia Brown’s Psychic Claim:
  “He’s very large billed, but his name is Lee or Leon… some kind of a blue uniform with a pocket and a badge thing.” (15:07, 15:20)
• Rex Paris about Parents’ Involvement:
  “I've never had a case where they, they were so involved in it, you know, and, and wanting to know every single detail.” (22:39)
• Ray Jennings’ Defiance During Deposition:
  "You’re doing a very good job irritating me… I'm trying to stay nice and calm because I know what you want me to do is blow up in front of this camera so you can take it and use it against me. It's not going to happen, my friend." (26:48)
• The O’Keeffe Family’s Unyielding Resolve:
  “As long as there's breath in my lungs, we aren't going to give up until this thing's resolved.” – Mike O’Keeffe (35:02)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening: Family's grief and determination– 01:09–02:00
• Suspicion on Jennings and investigative interviews – 03:44–06:42
• New witness (Victoria Richardson) contradicts Jennings – 10:42–11:57
• Public appeals and psychic on Montel Williams — 13:24–15:52
• Decision to go civil: R. Rex Paris enters – 20:35–22:22
• High-stakes deposition, psychological games – 24:56–32:23
• Aftermath: media blitz, DA declines charges – 33:32–34:41
• Family’s continuing hope; new investigator – 35:02–36:11

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Overall Tone & Feel

The episode mixes sorrow, suspense, and righteous anger. Keith Morrison’s narration is empathetic but relentless, channeling the O’Keeffe family’s exhaustion, Longshore’s dogged skepticism, Paris’s bravado, and Jennings’ defiant nerves into a tapestry saturated with the uncertainties of a true-crime investigation. Tension rises sharply in the deposition, manifesting both psychological and physical confrontation.

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Conclusion

Episode 2 paints a portrait of a family unwilling to accept “no answers”—a family that mobilizes not just law enforcement but every means at their disposal to pursue justice. Central to this chapter is the figure of Raymond Lee Jennings: the man who knew, perhaps, too much. The episode closes with fresh hope—the possibility that new eyes might reveal new truths.

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Next time: As a new investigator takes on the case, the possibility emerges that the long-stalled search for Michelle’s killer might finally move forward.

Transcript

[Rex Paris]

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[Pat O'Keeffe]

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[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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 where Michelle o' Keeffe had been laid to rest. The inscription on her stone cheerful loving sister and daughter. At her funeral, with his mother's hand on his shoulder, 12 year old Jason made his sister a promise.

[Pat O'Keeffe]

I will love you forever and I'll.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

See you in heaven when it's my time to go.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

Love your brother Jason.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

It is very hard.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Michelle's father, Mike o'. Keefe.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

And you know, it's one of those questions you have to ask. You know, you say, do you want to stand in front of God and Jesus?

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

You know, you know, why us?

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Impossible not to ask, impossible to answer. But there was a second question too. A question that would not leave him alone, that tormented his every waking moment. Who did this thing? Mike o' Keefe would do anything to find out and get justice for his daughter. Anything. In this episode you'll see how far a family will go to get answers. He's very large billed but his name.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

Is Lee or Leon.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

You'll hear from a brand new witness who turned the narrative on its head.

[Detective Longshore]

She heard a tapping sound which we've determined was probably the gunshots.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

And you'll hear what happens when a larger than life attorney seems to go to suspect to lose control.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

You're doing a very good job. I would irritate me and you're getting underneath my skin. I'm trying to stay nice and calm because I know what you want me to do is blow up in front of this camera so you can take it and use it against me. Why don't you keep your smirk off your face? I know I will not.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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 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. As for the rest, there just wasn't much to go on. Except Detective Richard Longshore was getting a familiar feeling in his gut 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.

[Detective Longshore]

And yet when we entered, interviewed Mr. Jennings, he said that he saw a projectile and laying on the pavement and that he speculated that that projectile was there because the shooter accidentally shot into the ground as he approached Michel. It took us hours to determine that's what occurred. And yet he had, as a cold observer with no, you know, firsthand information in a matter of minutes, just shouldn't know that he shouldn't have. He knew, for example, about the sequence or he opined the sequence of the shots, that the first shot was point blank into her chest. And that's exactly what it was as.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Determined by the autopsy.

[Detective Longshore]

Right. And we don't make those determinations before we go to an autopsy and for a layperson, come up with that, it just defied logic.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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 and 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 parking ride. Happily, the 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. 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 long 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.

[Detective Longshore]

I've seen talked a lot of killers that have just killed someone, and they're not what you might expect. I can think of, you know, three or four scenarios just on top of my head where someone can kill another person and leave no evidence behind whatsoever. That person needs to be apprehended and brought to justice and let a jury take a crack at them. Can often seem like nice people. Absolutely. You know, there are some killers that I've spoken to that I actually kind of like. You can't condone what they've done, but they're likable people.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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, 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 LA.

[Detective Longshore]

And as we got to the portion of the parking lot where Michelle's car had rolled from striking the planter, I said, okay, and this is where Michelle's car was? She said, well, no, it wasn't. 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.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Well, that certainly got his attention. The safe, brightly lit parking space Jennifer pointed out was 17 spaces away from the place 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 mini skirt she wore to the chute 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, that it was exactly where he first saw it 20 minutes before Michelle and Jennifer got back from LA. So was he lying or just mistaken? 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. Everybody had at least one opinion, sometimes more.

[Detective Longshore]

We had people confessing to it. Youngsters, teenagers, early 20s up the antelope Valley who were involved in the drug trafficking were. Well, okay, she was killed because she owed money to a dope dealer.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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, that was not to longshore. And it wasn't really confessing. More like taking credit for Michelle's murder so they could use it for a shakedown.

[Detective Longshore]

They would, yeah, I killed Michelle. And if you don't put out it, then I'll kill you too.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Why did they do that?

[Detective Longshore]

God knows.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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. Nobody else in the parking lot as far as he was telling.

[Detective Longshore]

As far as he was telling us. Right.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Nobody came and went.

[Detective Longshore]

That's correct.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

So not a gang anyway. Why would gang bangers attack and kill a sweet church going kid who had no connection to them whatsoever? Then a tip. Sheriff's investigators were notified. A 17 year old juvenile who'd been taken into custody on another charge claimed she had information about the Palmdale murder. Her name was Victoria Richardson. She said she was in her car with three other people that night listening to music near the northwest corner of.

[Detective Longshore]

The parking lot and had been smoking marijuana. She heard a tapping sound which we determined was probably the gunshots. She saw another car just drive by a random car in the parking lot. And she saw the security guard walk by just moments before the shooting as he made his patrol. And she decided to leave. And when he left the parking lot, went right through the crime scene and ended up stopping and talking to Mr. Jennings and saying, wait, what happened? And he was there shooting. He said, I don't know, where's that effect? And he never told us that initially.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

This is within a few minutes of the shooting.

[Detective Longshore]

Yes.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

And yet he told you he didn't see anybody?

[Detective Longshore]

That's correct.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Strange. Especially given Jennings willingness to help and his remarkable memory that he would somehow forget this crucial encounter. So that sets off some kind of alarm in your head?

[Detective Longshore]

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. Victoria Richardson. That. Oh, yeah, that's right. I remember seeing that now. And it just started to ring off some alarm bells.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Detective Longshore wondered what else Jennings had not remembered, but nothing could have prepared him for this. From the talkative Mr. Jennings, I ought.

[Detective Longshore]

To be thinking, why.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

Why haven't they come after me yet?

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

But why would you think that you didn't do anything?

[Detective Longshore]

Well, just, I mean, no, we were in contact.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

Yeah, basically, I put myself in your shoes.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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. It 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.

[Pat O'Keeffe]

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 that said, I'll take care of it for me. Just tell me when you want me to do it.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Mm.

[Pat O'Keeffe]

And I said, no, I'd rather. I want him to go to court.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

That's Pat o'.

[Detective Longshore]

Keefe.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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.

[Pat O'Keeffe]

On the night of February 22, our daughter Michelle was murdered at the park and ride lot in Palmdale on Avenue s and the 14 Freeway.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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 among thousand year old Joshua trees. The billboards read, I wasn't ready to die at 18. Can you help catch my killer? But six months after Michelle was murdered, as the desert soared past 100 degrees in the shade, the case of the girl in the blue Mustang went cold. No chargeable suspect, no new clues, no solid leads. Then, on October 11, 2000, a chilly autumn day on what should have been Michelle's 19th birthday, the O' Keeffes were clear across the country in New York City on the Montel Williams Show.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

Please welcome Mike and Pat to the show.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

They'd put the o' Keeffes in the audience Under a spotlight there to bear their souls on national tv. Pat looked down self consciously as her husband Mike began.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

About eight months ago our daughter was murdered in a parking ride.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

A stunning black and white photo of Michelle filled the TV screen. The camera zoomed into her smiling face.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

What we'd like to know is the police haven't got a name yet or anything. Do you know who killed her?

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Seated up front on the studio's main set, Montel and a psychic named Sylvia Brown leaned forward, clasping their hands as if they wanted to bring Pat and Mike closer. Sylvia began describing Michelle's killer in a vision that had just come to her.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

He's very large billed, but his name.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Is Lee or Leon lee as in 6 foot 2 inch security guard Raymond Lee Jennings.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

He had on some kind of a blue uniform with a pocket in a and a badge thing.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

But a minute later the segment was over. Though to the Keith's it seemed as if it had barely begun. 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. Why did you go on these shows? Montel Williams, America's Most Wanted. What was. What drove you to do that?

[Pat O'Keeffe]

I think maybe just if anybody knew anything that just to get the word out because we still didn't have an arrest when we went on all those shows. So I think maybe just to see if we could get any information from anybody.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

The importance of figuring out what happened, who did it, why seems to loom very large in people's life.

[Rex Paris]

Yeah.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Can you tell me about that?

[Mike O'Keeffe]

You know, you don't. I never thought about it until it happened to me. But it almost like 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.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

It's like this is what you need.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

To do for her. You've got to do this. You want closure and when you don't, it gets frustrating and it eats at you. You got to get this thing solved.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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' Keeffes and the psychic on tv.

[Detective Longshore]

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 and he was saying, oh God, I got I. They're going to pin this on me. They're I got to go home. They're going to pin this on me.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

And he left unless he could talk them out of it.

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[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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[Pat O'Keeffe]

Oh, sorry.

[Detective Longshore]

I'm Oliver.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

I'm Ciara.

[Rex Paris]

Lies.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

So do you like secrets? No, I like reveals. Seduction. It's like they were obsessed with each other. And murder.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

What do you got here?

[Detective Longshore]

Body in a bathtub.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

56 Days premieres February 18th on Prime Video. I'm gonna get you.

[Detective Longshore]

Not if I get you first.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Murder is like a wrecking ball in a family. All in pieces. No one's the same after. Pat and Michael Keefe were holding on for dear life by the time they took their case to TV shows and psychics. For all the good it did. But give up? Not a chance. Otherwise it would eat them alive. 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. What made it important to pursue this beyond the normal course of action, which is to kind of bug the police and hope for some sort of resolution?

[Mike O'Keeffe]

Well, you know, it just didn't seem like that was doing anything. Sheriff's department were on it Longshores, competent, you know, detective. But it seems like the caseload is.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

So huge, time passes.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

I wouldn't say level of interest because I think he was always interested in it. But the level of priority just didn't seem to be there. It only goes on so long, you know, until you finally say, gee, you know, enough's enough. We gotta do something. And then through that, through counselor, we were referred to Rex.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

That would be R. Rex Paris. Big time civil attorney, local legend, powerful man.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

It was suggested by a friend that, you know, Rex might be a good person to go talk to on this. So we made an appointment and by gosh, we went in and talked to him, hoping he could do what? Pull some strings, try to help us sort this thing out or see if he had any ideas. And so he thought about it for a little bit and he agreed. He goes, yeah, I think through the civil process we can get you some answers.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Paris had deep pockets and a reputation for hardball tactics and multimillion dollar settlements. And he told the o' Keefes 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 mega store. Above the main entrance, four foot high letters spelled out his name. Inside everything big and sleek, there was the eternal fountain, and over there, a room holding boxes of evidence for his army of attorneys with R. Rex Paris in their corner. Before the year was out, the o' Keeffes 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. Lots of the o' Keeffe's told me there was no going back.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

Now, you know, we have mixed emotions. You know, how are people gonna perceive us, you know, you know, doing the civil action, however, you know, the more important thing was to get this thing solved. And so that was your motivation, right? Absolutely.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

But you were afraid that people would think that you were greedy with some good.

[Pat O'Keeffe]

Some people thought we just wanted to get money from Michelle's murder.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

But Paris was into the investigation now like a detective on steroids. And unlike the police, he kept in constant touch with the o'. Keeffe's.

[Rex Paris]

They were totally involved in everything I did. You know, I would talk to Michael Keefe and I'd talk to Pat. It was interesting when you'd call them, whoever, whichever one you call, the other one would get on the phone. You know, I've never had a Case where they, they were so involved in it, you know, and, and wanting to know every single detail.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

What did Rex say that he could do for you?

[Mike O'Keeffe]

He just said he could get some information. He thought he could do some depositions. He would get an investigator on it. As it turned out, he got a top notch investigator on it.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

That's not cheap.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

No, he's not cheap.

[Pat O'Keeffe]

Oh, it's very expensive.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

Very expensive.

[Pat O'Keeffe]

So a lot of the money that we got from the lawsuit we had.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

To pay plowed back into that. So yeah, now Rex, he set up an account and everything, but everything we paid and I went off and, you know, had a lot of personal expense on the thing, you know.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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' Keeffes turned up the heat a little more. They added Raymond Jennings to their wrongful death lawsuit. And RX Paris himself 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, even a suspicious detective. Paris had already invested a considerable sum of money in the o' Keefe investigation. And perhaps to add some pressure on the DA he invited a special guest. A reporter from the Antelope Valley Press. The local newspaper was there while you deposed this man?

[Rex Paris]

Yes.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

How common is that?

[Rex Paris]

Well, usually doesn't happen.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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, didn't have one. So how did you go about this?

[Rex Paris]

The first process is to make him comfortable and have like you and I are doing, you, you engage him in a discussion, but then you also then want to break that. That rapport you develop and see how he is when he's angry. And so I would do that.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

Mr. Jennings, do you remember the night Michelle Keith was killed? I did.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Jennings settled himself in the big mauve colored conference room. That put him in a high backed boardroom chair with a potted plant behind him. A few feet away. Michelle's parents, Pat and Michael 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.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

You murdered Michelle o'. Keeffe. No, I did not murder Michelle o'. Keefe. I have no contact with Shadow Keith I've never seen Michelle o'.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Kee Jennings just swatted that one away. But then Paris brought up that polygraph, the one Jennings had submitted to before his cognitive interview.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

Why'd you plunk the lie detector test then? I have no idea why I felt it. I don't even know if a true lighted detector test was admitted to me. I have no idea.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

And so it went on for hours. Paris probing, deconstructing, trying to unravel Jennings story.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

I'm not your scapegoat. The real killer is out there someplace, and I'm not the one.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

The lawyer might have advised Jennings not to rise to the bait, not to say the things he said. But of course he didn't have a lawyer.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

You're being a smart ass. And it'll be a smart ass back, too.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Jennings seemed brash, even cocky.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

You ask a crazy question, I give you a crazy ass.

[Rex Paris]

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. Back. Looping him and backtracking and putting him in different spots.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

You're doing a very good job 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 in front of this camera so you can take it and use it against me. It's not going to happen, my friend. Okay?

[Rex Paris]

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.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

We're going to take a short break while we change tapes. Mr. Jennings, I want you to do something really novel here today. I want you to tell us the absolute truth. That's the best you can remember? That's what I'm doing for you, Mr. Parrish. 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. 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. I'm not happy. I'm not happy somebody's dead.

[Rex Paris]

But he was glib. Incredibly glib. And I remember at one point during the deposition thinking, you know, I could walk into that courtroom and he could win without a lawyer. He's a car salesman, you know, he was a good car salesman.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

I pray every day, I said, if they're going to come and arrest me and charge me for this crime, come and do it.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

And that's precisely what the investigator hired by Paris for the o' Keeffes was trying his level best to make happen.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

We met with him one night out at the park, and Wright 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.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Based on a New York Times best thriller comes 56 Days, starring Dove Cameron. A story of love.

[Pat O'Keeffe]

Oh, sorry.

[Detective Longshore]

I'm Oliver.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

I'm Ciara.

[Rex Paris]

Lies.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

So do you like secrets? No, I like reveals.

[Rex Paris]

Seduction.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

It's like they were obsessed with each other. And murder.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

What do you got here?

[Detective Longshore]

Body in a bathtub.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

56 days. Premieres February 18th on Prime Video. I'm gonna get you.

[Detective Longshore]

Not if I get you first.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

On March 6th. My name is Frankenstein. Academy Award nominee Jessie Buckley.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

What did you want with a dead girl?

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

And Academy Award winner Christian Bale. I'm the same. Born from the dead. I want the same thing everyone else wants. A bride. The bride, Brady Darr. Only in theaters March 6. Under 17. Animated without ferret well, the holidays have.

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[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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[Detective Longshore]

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[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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[Rex Paris]

See terms.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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.

[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. So I had security there.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Things got very personal very fast, said Mr. Paris.

[Rex 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, I can get to you. It was an interesting experience.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Paris thought Jennings was on the edge, about to crack. One gentle push, and he might confess.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

I don't want you upset now. You're not getting upset now, are you not going to get mad in front of the camera? You're not going to threaten me or anything like that? Do that.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Did it work? It seemed to. Once Jennings calmed down, they resumed a more civil conversation. And that's when Paris got. Well, not a confession, but as that reporter listened and took notes, Paris got something he could use.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

You can see clearly her neck, and it look as if there was still a slight pulse. So you have a very clear recollection of seeing a slight pulse in her neck? To my memory, I honestly do. I honestly do. I'd like you to visualize that scene and tell me, can you actually. Did you actually see her fingers twitching? I'm just gonna go by what I remember that night, and I'm just gonna answer yes.

[Rex Paris]

It's like he was telling the story as if he was standing there, but saying he was over here at his car.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

But he knew things he could only know when he was at the murder scene.

[Rex Paris]

That's correct.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

In other words, he knew too much.

[Rex Paris]

Way too much. Way too much.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Then, as the deposition drew toward a close, Jennings told Paris that his former National Guard sergeant had been in touch with him, and the sergeant didn't like what he was hearing.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

His exact words was Jennings, what the is going on? He said, I just had people leave here, and they wanted to see pretty much everything that you've ever done here and what kind of record you had and so forth. There's a lawyer out here who's actually got a wild hair up his ass for me, and he's actually trying to pin this murder on me. And I guess he's going to go through the extreme to see that I'm put away for my exact words to him. And who is this lawyer with a wild hair up his ass that wants to pin this murder? That would be you, Mr. Peck. That would be me. I don't know what I've done to you my previous life, but you seem to have a little hair up there for me, so I don't know why, but it's affected my family, and it's affected me, despite the reports that have been in the papers.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Well, sure enough, all that became a lead story in the Antelope Valley Press the very next day, written by that reporter, the one Paris invited to the deposition.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

I remember on the front page of one of the newspaper there was a caption underneath Jennings and it was lies, lies and lies. And so things started to heat up after that.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Mike and Pat O' Keefe were 100% sure Jennings was the man who murdered their daughter. Crazy thing was he lived just a mile away from them in Palmdale and.

[Pat O'Keeffe]

He would just come in and buy milk or diapers or whatever because he had four or five kids. So I would see him at the grocery store a couple times.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Paris settled a 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. Detective Longshore certainly thought so. Based on what Jennings said in that deposition, Longshore wrote up a case and submitted it to LA County Deputy District Attorney Robert Fultz. I was convinced that this guy did it. We took a good look and declined no prosecution.

[Raymond Lee Jennings]

But I saw that there were some.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Serious problems with the physical evidence in the case. Just wasn't any right. And so I thought, well, let's wait on this one. We've got other ones more, more urgent at this point. The o' Keefes were crushed, but not beaten. No way.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

As long as there's breath in my lungs, we aren't going to give up until this thing's resolved.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

But they were running out of options. R. Rex Paris, Detective Longshore. They'd done all they could do. 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' Keeffe's had erected at the park and ride in Michelle's memory.

[Detective Longshore]

I said, you know Michelle, you're gonna.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Have to help me here. I'm gonna need some help. I may call upon you. Well, who knows, maybe she was listening. 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.

[Detective Longshore]

And if we could get past that.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

Then we could move forward and go.

[Detective Longshore]

After the person that did kill her.

[Narrator (Keith Morrison)]

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 Coster are audio editors. Thomas Kemen is assistant audio editor, Keani Reed is associate producer, Adam Gorfayne is co executive producer, Liz Cole is executive producer and David Corvo is senior executive producer from NBC News Audio. Bryson Barnes as technical director. Sound mixing by Bob Mallory Nina Bisbano is associate producer.

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