a strange feeling that i'm not going to live muchonger. she predicted her own death. >> he heard a gunshot and saw the mustang rolling backwards. >> one man seemed to know more than he should. >> a gunshot in the chest looked like the first shot that was fired. >> how do you know that? >> an innocent guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time. >> so who was the real killer? >> the real killer is out there someplace. >> as long as there's breath in my lungs, we're not going to

give up. >> you can't ever, ever forget me, okay? >> don't worry. everything will be all right. it will all work out. >> reporter: on the day of her death, michelle o'keefe, 18 years old, college freshman was in a wonderful mood. her early morning class was over. she had been offered another film gig in l.a. that very afternoon, a walk-on role in a music video with kid rock. she aimed her parents' gift, the shiny new blue mustang, through the streets of the antelope valley north of los angeles. she had less than 12 hours to live. her mother, pat o'keefe, was

just leaving the house. >> she was pulling up as i was driving out coming back from a college class. see waved and said hi with a big smile like she always does and i waved. she had told me she was going to do a shoot that afternoon. that was the last time i saw her. >> reporter: it was february 22nd, 2000, cool and clear, fine high desert morning. fresh clean start of a brand-new millennium. a storm was due that evening. >> she said, i'm going down there. i said, be right back. she said, i will. because the extra work is just on the side. college is more important. >> reporter: there was an evening class. michelle promised she would be back in time. after lunch she dropped her mustang at the local park & ride and joined a girlfriend, jennifer peterson, also an extra, and they took jennifer's car on the ride south to the l.a. olympic auditorium where the girls

changed into the sexy club clothes required for the video and settled in with the other extras. the lights came up, the music blared, the cameras rolled. ♪ my name is kid ♪ >> reporter: kid rock was in fine form as he sang, so were michelle and her friend caught by the cameras front and center. by the time shooting wrapped for the day it was well after 7:00. michelle was already running late for class. it was some 80 miles back up the highway to the antelope valley. she decided to change out of her provocative club clothes once she got to the mustang in the dark parking lot. by now a cold wind was howling across the park & ride. it was almost 9:30. did she have a premonition? did she know? michelle's friend dropped her at the mustang, could have sworn

she saw michelle follow her out of the park & ride. she did not. it was at least quick. four bullets almost like an execution. local sheriff's deputies arrived within minutes. a security guard reported he heard the four shots, but didn't see anything. the cops scoured the parking lot. maybe the killer was still here. no luck. two counties south of the park & ride in the southern reaches of the great city, the phone call in the dark. homicide detective richard longshore fumbled for the phone. >> you're waking up in the middle of the night. you're thinking for a minute the phone rings as to what kind of scene it will be. actually you look forward to it. that's the adrenaline rush. it's a new case. >> reporter: but this new case had to wait a few extra hours. longshore lived in huntington beach, almost three hours away. >> it's like 107 miles from my house. it's like the backside of the

moon. >> reporter: so by the time they arrived in the coal black of the parking lot they were playing catch-up and holding off the already curious media. >> it appears she had sustained some trauma. this is a homicide investigation. the investigation is just starting and we have no other information at this time. >> reporter: here's what they could see right away. one gunshot wound in the chest probably fatal. three others to the head and neck and a deep gash to her forehead and one of her breasts was exposed. was it rape? it didn't seem to be. it was obvious her tube top have been pulled down. it looked as if she had been changing. her jeans were on the seat beside her. nor did it look like a robbery. >> her purse was containing well over $100. the only thing missing was her cell phone. her purse was in plain view in her car. was this a carjacking? it's not logical a person would just sit there and not take the car.

it doesn't fit. >> reporter: in the purse was michelle's i.d. she lived just a few miles away. when sheriff's deputies arrived middle of the night, they found michelle's parents, mike and pat o'keefe, wide awake. >> well, i knew sometimes those video shoots ran late and i tried to call her a couple of times and she didn't answer. i figured she probably took her phone off and -- >> you were -- you did something -- >> i knew something had happened. >> it was kind of ironic because i woke up and i noticed she was in the bed and i said, what the heck is wrong? she goes, i know something is happening to michelle. i just know. >> you had some sort of premonition that night. >> i don't know if it was her spirit that came over me or something, just felt like she was gone as i already told mike she's dead. i just have a feeling.

>> reporter: it was 15 years ago. 2:00 in the morning. mike o'keefe remembers word for word what the sheriff's deputies said. >> there's been an accident. i go, oh, my gosh. i go, was michelle in a wreck? well, they go, not exactly. there's been a -- she's been shot and, of course, you know, chills went down my spine. i go, well, then she's alive. he says, well, no. and that just really -- when i heard those words, it just really took all the feeling out of me basically. >> reporter: michelle's younger brother jason was awakened by the commotion. >> i look up at the top of the stairway. her 12-year-old brother is there. he comes down. we have to tell him and that was just really horrible. >> i saw both my parents in tears and even the sheriff's deputies were kind of in tears when they told me what exactly happened. >> reporter: no way to prepare yourself for news like that?

>> no, no, there isn't -- wildest dream can you imagine that 20 hours before that i was working on a science project with her and she's gone and in heaven. >> reporter: longshore and his partner scoured the scene for evidence. no sign of the weapon. no fingerprints. no footprints and though the security guard had apparently heard gunshots, the detectives could not find a single eyewitness. all those cars, nobody there to see. longshore, a veteran detective, knew already this would be a tough case. but, of course, he did not know on that cold, windy night that the murder of michelle o'keefe was about to consume exactly one full decade of his life or that this young innocent victim had actually predicted her own death. >> she goes, i have a strange feeling, dad, that i'm not going to live much longer. >> reporter: a premonition of death and a fear of murder.

>> she said, dad. >> reporter: did michelle know something that could lead to her killer? hold it! come with me. new dannon oikos triple zero is my go to protein snack. cam, protein from yogurt? yeah, this greek nonfat yogurt packs 15 grams of protein punch. but what else? unlike some other protein snacks it has 0 added sugar 0 artificial sweeteners and 0 fat. and will it up my game?

no, man. dannon oikos triple zero now in a new black cup. ♪ dannon ♪ does your makeup remover take it all off? every kiss-proof cry-proof, stay-proof look? neutrogena® makeup remover does. it erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. need any more proof than that? neutrogena. (mom making airplane sounds) i was just showing him. give me the spoon. kraft macaroni & cheese, you know you love it.

it was a brand-new ford mustang. it was bright blue, real pretty car. >> reporter: the stage on which the last moments of michelle o'keefe's life played out was, if nothing else, dramatic. >> it was the only vehicle in the parking lot. looking at it you'd gravitate toward that car because of its appearance. >> reporter: and now it was a crime scene. detective richard longshore scoured every blue shiny inch of that mustang looking for apparently nonexistent evidence. >> number 60, miss michelle o'keefe. >> reporter: and if her car was almost new, well, she was too. just 18, just starting a life. >> in two years, 1999 -- >> reporter: the mustang two

months earlier was a christmas present in this her first year as a college student. at high school she had been a star student, a popular cheerleader. >> michelle had a great heart. she was nice to everybody. she was friends with all the different groups of people, not just cheerleaders. she always thought of other people first. >> it's so hard to imagine. >> she was always there for others. that was one thing that i could count on her if i ever needed anything she was only a cell phone call away. >> whenever you're not grounded, call me. >> reporter: and here was the weird thing. nothing about what happened made any sense. michelle of all people lived a low-risk life. she was popular at school. devoted to her family and quite deeply religious.

she was certainly not a party girl. there were no boyfriends to attract suspicion, no enemies at all. certainly not someone who would want to kill her, but there was one little quirk in her otherwise optimistic life. michelle had a rather strange premonition that she occasionally shared with her family. >> she goes, you know, i have a strange feeling, dad, that i'm not going to live much longer and i just sort of sat back. i said, wait a minute, i said is there anybody bothering you? no, i had this feeling that i'm not going to be around much longer. >> that means she's going to die before each other. we'll see each other in heaven. little did i know a year later she'd be gone. >> reporter: then something truly odd. soon after she got that mustang, the license plates arrived in the mail. >> and she came to me and the last three digits on the license plate were 187 and she goes -- >> reporter: 187. >> what's 187?

>> she said that's the police code for homicide, dad. >> reporter: whatever it was that michelle sensed, whatever the danger she imagined might be out there, she was apparently ready for it. >> i used to always tell her to be careful, michelle, because she was so pretty and guys might try to make advances. she said, don't worry, mom, i won't let anybody take me away. i'd rather die than be raped. >> reporter: now, as michelle lay dead in her car, purse at her side, nothing stolen, detective longshore took another look at the way the killer left her. >> her blouse -- her tube top had been dislodged exposing portions of her breasts. >> reporter: this may have been an attempt at a sexual assault? >> yes. >> reporter: had michelle fought valiantly for her life as she once told her mother she would. who fired the gun? four shots almost point blank and why here in this most remote of parking lots? perhaps there was a clue.

something michelle mentioned months earlier, just a hint but could it lead to her killer? coming up, what michelle told her father about that park & ride lot. >> she goes, oh, you don't have to worry about the park & ride, dad. they got a guard. >> reporter: does that mean someone knows something about michelle's murder? too much? maybe without the flower... at intel, they make technology that lets a pc be a tv and a tablet. all in one? yeah, ...so, no more clutter. ♪ a lot's changed. upgrade to a portable all in one with intel inside. even less clutter. ♪ introducing the sirloin third pound burgers from mcdonald's. they're 100% sirloin topped with premium ingredients. and they're only around for a limited time. but that's not the only reason you need to hurry ... (robble, robble)

enjoy this lovin' while it lasts. ♪ ♪ are you sending your kids to school with an allergy medicine that may make them drowsy? only children's claritin provides non-drowsy 24 hour allergy relief and it's the number one pediatrician recommended non-drowsy brand. in class and out, your kids can live claritin clear.

they were dreadful dark hours middle of the night as the o'keefes absorbed the news, michelle murdered. of course, their minds went to that strange premonition. just months earlier she had actually predicted her own death, had fretted about that

license number, 187, the police code for murder. and as he thought about that, michelle's father's tortured mind suddenly flashed back to something else she once said, that time to allay her parents' concern for her safety, something about that park & ride lot. >> she goes, oh, you don't have to worry about the park & ride, dad. they got a guard so kind of implied -- but almost the minute after the police told us where she was killed, i said, they got security guards there. didn't the guard see something? he said, no, he was on the other end of the parking lot. >> reporter: in fact, here's the same guard a couple of nights later patrolling the park & ride just as he had that fatal evening when michelle was killed. lead detective richard longshore was eager to get his help. >> the patrol officer, we interviewed him briefly to find out what he saw and also if there's any suspects he could provide a description of to broadcast out and try to apprehend them.

>> reporter: raymond lee jennings was cooperative and talkative. he was an iraq war vet, a national guardsman, married with several children. it was only his second night to the park & ride. assigned to the foot patrol roaming the lot till dawn. >> he said he had been walking his post, had seen the mustang during the course of his duties. as early as 9:00. >> reporter: after all that bright blue car was so pretty, so attractive, it was something he would love to own himself one day. that's why he remembered so clearly seeing it, he said, during his rounds at 9:00 p.m. then he said he continued around the lot and returned to his post, which was his own car, up a slight hill overlooking the rest of the lot. it was just before 9:30, he said. he was about 350 feet from michelle's mustang and a car alarm went off. >> and he said that he recognized that as being a mustang alarm and he heard the

engine racing and he walked back towards his car and heard a single gunshot. he took cover and looked up and saw the mustang rolling backwards with additional shots being fired until it came to a rest at the top of the planter. >> reporter: then what, did he rush down and see what happened? >> no, he said he called for help and expressed a fear that the shooter was still there. he was unarmed. it was an unarmed guard post. >> reporter: a few minutes later help arrived. jennings' supervisor who rushed to michelle's car while jennings remained at his post. did he see anybody out there? >> no, he didn't see anybody at all. >> reporter: it was understandable certainly that jennings was concerned about approaching a scene with a gun going off especially since a weapon wasn't part of his uniform. eventually jennings did wander down to the crime scene to join his supervisor a few minutes before the cops arrived but at no time did he catch a glimpse of the killer, which of course would have made all the

difference in the world. so jennings wasn't much help. longshore sent him home. >> i wanted to get him home, get rested and i can interview him again at another time. >> reporter: as dawn approached most of the physical evidence was recovered. it wasn't much to go on. >> we didn't really have any forensic evidence that said, you know, linked distinctively to a particular individual. >> reporter: mark safarik is a former fbi profiler who consulted on the case. >> we had forensic evidence. we had bloodstain analysis. we had bullets. we had shell casings, but, you know, we don't have a fingerprint that says this belongs to this guy or this person's dna is at the scene and that belongs to this guy. we don't have that in this case. >> reporter: but there was somebody else to interview, the last person to see michelle alive, her best friend, jennifer peterson. >> and when i talked to her the night of the murder and she was so distraught, i decided to delay the interview for a couple

of days then drove her out to the scene and asked her to show us exactly where she had been, what she had done. >> reporter: but when they got to the parking lot detective longshore was in for a surprise. >> i said, okay, this is where michelle's car. she said, no, it wasn't. i said, are you sure. she said, we parked under a light deliberately because she was concerned about her vehicle's safety. >> that is when michelle parked her car in the afternoon, before heading to the kid rock shoot she made sure it was in a safe brightly lit spot. but that night when she was found dead in the car, it was in a different place altogether. >> it was initially parked about 17 spaces down from where it was found because jennifer says when she came into the lot we pulled up. this is where her car was, we dropped it off here. >> reporter: that's when michelle got in her mustang right under that bright light post and started backing out and

jennifer assuming michelle was right behind her drove away. but michelle didn't leave. instead apparently she moved to another space away from the lights. looking back jennifer now realized why michelle had not immediately left the lot. >> michelle was pretty scantily clad in a tube top and a short skirt and she was going to class so she didn't want to go to class like that. she had brought a pair of jeans. she planned to change into and jennifer said, well, she probably pulled into a dark area so she could change. >> reporter: that new space was between two other vehicles, a perfect place to discreetly change and quickly leave. >> but michelle never got the chance to even start to change into her black jeans because she gets confronted by someone. >> reporter: confronted by the shooter who fired off those four fatal rounds then managed to escape the parking lot and disappear into the desert without a soul seeing him or

her. detectives were stumped. of course, they didn't know, not yet, that there was another witness in the park & ride that night. someone who would soon reveal the most unlikely of suspects. >> mr. jennings said a red truck with two guys in it came up to me and asked me if i was the guard on duty. >> reporter: the security guard's possible lead to a killer. let's do this. let's move outdoors for the next few months. let's build a kitchen under the clouds. a dining room with no walls. no ceiling. let's put it all together... then... let's get together. a lot. let's do this. earthgro mulch or miracle-gro garden soil your choice just 4 for $10 bucks. the home depot more saving. more doing.

[sfx: bell] [burke] it's easy to buy insurance and forget about it. but the more you learn about your coverage, the more gaps you may find. [burke] like how you thought you were covered for this... [man] it's a profound statement. [burke] but you're not even covered for this... [man] it's a profound statement. [burke] or how you may be covered for this... [burke] but not for something like this... [burke] talk to farmers and see what gaps could be hiding in your coverage. [sfx: yeti noise] ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum bum - bum - bum - bum ♪ this is a vanilla bean. a little crushed vanilla bean. breyers natural vanilla. with only sustainably farmed vanilla. bryers has fresh cream sugar and milk. breyers. the good vanilla. our milk and cream come from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones. i accept that i'm not 21. i accept i'm not the sprinter i was back in college. i even accept that i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem.

but i won't accept giving it less than my best. so if i can go for something better than warfarin ...i will. eliquis. eliquis... reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin plus it had less major bleeding than warfarin... eliquis had both. that really mattered to me. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. i accept that i'm not as fast, but i'm still going for my personal best... and for eliquis. reduced risk of stroke... plus less major bleeding. ask your doctor... if eliquis is right for you.

two nights after michelle's murder, the park & ride lot was still crawling with cops searching for clues. the gun, maybe a footprint, a witness, anything and they found nothing. the only witness to surface so far was also at the lot and on duty, security guard raymond lee jennings. but the guard told lead detective richard longshore -- >> he didn't see anybody at all. he said he couldn't understand why he couldn't see anybody. >> reporter: but jennings did have a possible lead. someone, two someones he'd encountered earlier that evening while patrolling the lot. >> mr. jennings said a red truck with two guys in it asked me if i was the guard on duty and if i wasn't, where did i live or where did he live. i couldn't see their hands and i was afraid. >> reporter: so detectives ordered a search for a red pickup truck, unfortunately, a

pretty common vehicle in the antelope valley and then a few days later security guard jennings afraid for his own safety perhaps or simply too upset to return night after night to the very parking lot where he failed so spectacularly to provide security suddenly quit. ♪ now the o'keefe family began the long and agonizing process of living without michelle. >> i will love you forever and i'll see you in heaven when it's my time to go. love your brother jason. >> the reason she left so early like the rest of her accomplishments she simply got her work done early. >> she had the heart of gold. she not only was my daughter but she was my best friend. >> reporter: and it wasn't so much that their faith faltered. not so much angry at god as deeply hurt, a question that had no answer. >> it is very hard.

that's one of those questions you have to ask, gee, standing in front of god and say why us? >> reporter: really the only question that could be answered was perhaps the earthly one, who killed michelle? but at this point detectives still had no suspects, no murder weapon and no clear motive. their best piece of evidence was michelle's mustang, which was now being combed for clues especially the fatal bullet slugs. >> i don't know. it could have been just sitting here. >> reporter: one thing that got the detective's attention was the driver's side window. it was partially rolled down, which seemed odd given how cold it was the night of the murder. >> that is suggestive that she rolled the window down to speak to someone. we're convinced no one was hiding inside the vehicle with no sign of the vehicle being entered forcibly or broken into. >> my partner pointed out this is what a woman would do if she thought she had to talk to a person of authority. >> reporter: a person of authority perhaps wearing a

uniform? so far the only person remotely close to that description was raymond jennings so nearly a week after the murder detectives obtained his uniform from the security company which told the cops it had not been cleaned. the jacket and pants were thoroughly checked for blood and trace evidence. there was nothing. not even the slightest sample of blood or hair or fibers matching michelle was on that uniform. so all of these things what you managed to uncover in the first few days. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: but still had no suspect? >> that's correct. we talked to the parents and looked at all of the usual suspects, if you will. you know, is this a domestic dispute or a lover's quarrel? well, she had no boyfriend. >> reporter: was sadistic act happening in the valley? it was a horrifying question. as the investigation began to sputter and stall, there was no clear answer. michele's family desperate to find her killer offered a reward and went public.

>> my name is patricia o'keefe. on the night of february 22nd our daughter michelle was murdered at the park & ride lot in palmdale on avenue s in the 14 freeway. we need your help in raising money for a reward for information leading to the arrest of my daughter's killer. whoever did this has either talked about it or is ready to do it again. >> reporter: weeks passed, no solid leads. media interest cooled. the o'keefe family tried to move on without michelle. >> i tried to go back to work and i couldn't. she was my receptionist at the beauty salon. i was the manager. i would always see an empty chair there and i was used to seeing cheerful michelle. i tried to go back to work. i was a hairstylist as well and i would be cutting hair and tears would be rolling down my eyes. i can't do this. i can't do this. >> reporter: then the spring arrived. an unexpected break completely out of the blue. it was a young woman named

victoria richardson and what she had to confess would change the course of the investigation. she was at the park & ride, she told police, the night of michelle's murder. she hadn't come forward earlier, and now, well, maybe it was all the media coverage. maybe the conscience just got the better of her. the point is she saw something that night. heard something too. >> she was with a group of acquaintances in her car not very far from where the shooting occurred. she heard a tapping sound which we've determined was probably the gunshots and she saw the security guard walk by just moments before the shooting as he made his patrol. >> reporter: the only guard on duty that night was raymond lee jennings. >> and when he left the parking lot, went right through the crime scene and ended up stopping and talking to mr. jennings in the same way, what happened? a shooting? i don't know, words to that effect, but he never told us that initially. >> reporter: this is within a few minutes of the shooting?

>> yes. >> reporter: yet he told you he didn't see anybody? >> that's correct. >> reporter: strange especially given jennings' willingness to help and his remarkable memory that he would somehow forget this crucial encounter, so detectives headed to his house to get the story straight. >> i asked him to tell us what occurred. he said, there was another vehicle that had spoken to him. oh, yeah, that's right. i remember seeing that, an african-american lady driving this car and described the vehicle and occupants and that type of thing. >> reporter: in fact, jennings said he didn't even see michelle and her friend drive onto the lot, nor did he see the shooter when the shots were fired or afterward when the killer fled. after all, it was a large lot. several acres, dozens of cars, two exits, plenty of shadows. maybe it was possible that jennings didn't see the shooter, but he did remember seeing michelle's beautiful blue

mustang, and that car might soon provide a crucial clue. maybe along with whatever jennings could remember, this car would solve the riddle and reveal who murdered michelle. coming up, the security guard offers a disturbing and bizarre theory about why michelle might have been attacked. >> she looked to be a prostitute in my eye because of the way she was dressed. she had a short skirt on, tube top and breasts hanging out. >> reporter: is that why michelle was murdered? ♪ don't, don't, don't, don't stop the beat ♪ i can't, can't, can't, can't ♪ ♪ control my feet ♪ ♪ p p p people in the street ♪ ♪ c'mon everybody and move your feet ♪ ♪ go! ♪ ♪♪ ♪ everybody ♪ ♪ move your feet and feel united ♪ ♪ oh oh oh ♪ ♪ everybody ♪ ♪ move your feet and feel united ♪♪

you get a cow, feed it... take it back milk it. [milking sounds] bop bop and well you get that milk and turn it into. yogurt! and, if you like raspberries. ♪to love this life is to live it. ♪ you take those raspberries and you smash it. ♪naturally♪

i just want to know why, why they shot michelle. i just want to know the motive. >> reporter: in the weeks after michelle o'keefe was murdered in this parking lot in southern california's antelope valley, billboards sprang up along the highways that sliced through the high desert. the o'keefe family was hoping their daughter's image would spark a lead. >> i think maybe just if anybody knew anything to get any information from anybody. >> reporter: detective longshore meanwhile, was working the one slim lead he had, the security guard named raymond lee jennings, who was in the parking lot when michelle was murdered. something about jennings' story wasn't quite adding up. >> we were still looking at him as explain to us why you didn't see anything.

not once did he vary much from his basic story about the patrol through the parking lot. why didn't you see this? you know, why didn't you see anybody? just incomprehensible. >> reporter: and there was something about jennings' story that didn't quite make sense either, when and where he first saw michelle's mustang. just as that witness victoria richardson had placed him near the crime scene just moments before the murder, so did his own personal time frame of where he first spotted michelle's bright blue car. fbi profiler mark safarik. >> now, he said he likes mustangs, has an affinity for mustang so he noticed her car but when he reports seeing her car at 9:00 he reports it really in the location where it was actually found after the homicide. >> reporter: but according to michelle's friend jennifer at 9:00 the mustang wasn't there yet. michelle remember parked under a light almost a hundred feet

away. why would he tell police he saw the mustang in a different place altogether, in fact, the final resting place a half an hour before it got there? if this was really where he saw michelle's mustang could it mean he was also there around the time the shots were fired? >> so his story starts to fall apart because as a witness, his story should be consistent with the whole crime scene. >> reporter: sure. >> it's not. >> reporter: maybe jennings had forgotten something, gotten mixed up. perhaps his memory needed jogging. detectives had a plan. bring him in for a cognitive interview. and jennings again eager to help and happy to talk agreed to come to the sheriff's station. they asked jennings to visualize what he remembered about the moments when he heard those gunshots. >> and i had still puzzles me to the day. why i didn't see anybody. who did the shooting and puzzles

me to the day that i didn't see that the person actually firing the gun because of the close range they were at. >> reporter: jennings did recall in vivid detail what he saw after the shooting when he saw michelle's body in the mustang. >> when i first seen her, the gunshot in her chest, that to me looked like the very first shot that was fired. it was close range. very close range. >> reporter: detectives were astonished at how jennings standing in low light could make such an accurate analysis. >> he knew, for example, about the sequence of the shots. that the first shot was point blank into her chest. that's exactly where it was. >> reporter: as determined by the autopsy? >> right, 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. >> reporter: even former fbi profiler mark safarik who had studied crime scenes for years was impressed.

>> to opine when that shot was inflicted from basically a layperson, it's too much information. you know, the question is how do you know that? >> reporter: jennings told them he was merely speculating about the crime, tried to help solve it. the crime he felt bad about because it happened on his watch. he was after all supposed to provide security. but jennings was certain about something else he said he saw when he looked at michelle's body. >> and that it's like nerves still acting funny. like her hand was twitching like that, popping up and down and then like -- i seen a slight pulse in her neck, just a real, real light. >> reporter: but hold on. that's a description of someone who is still alive and remember jennings did not rush to the crime scene after the shooting. he stayed at his post 100 yards away until long after she was dead. so how could he have seen twitching? >> that's just not possible.

she had been dead for probably minutes. >> reporter: for two hours jennings provided a variety of opinions and observations, everything from the angle of the shot to the kind of gun used. >> then he talked at one point about, well, i speculate she was trying to get away. that's why he had to shoot her. you know, he just knew way too much. >> when you see this kind of proffer of information, you know, we've seen it in many times where you have cases where offenders leak information. they need to say something because they need to show you that they know that they're smart, right? >> reporter: weird. they asked jennings if he'd take a polygraph test. he agreed. and as they were testing him he offered one more intriguing insight, a theory on why michelle o'keefe was attacked. >> she looked to be a prostitute in my eye because of the way she was dressed. she had a short skirt on, tube top and her breasts were hanging out, so i thought it might have

been a prostitution deal that went bad. >> reporter: then the test result came in. jennings failed the polygraph. now detective longshore wanted one more crack at him alone. >> i think that you saw the pulse, and i think that you saw the hand twitching, and the reason you knew -- you saw all that is 'cause you were there. >> this part is all wrong. i swear to you, man, that i was not down there at that time. >> why should i believe you, ray? what doesn't fit with my scenario? >> i mean nothing. i mean everything fits. >> everything fits. you told me. >> i'm telling him this is what happened. i need to know when it happened. you're the murderer. now i need to know why. i want you to do two things, ray, i want you to either show me where i'm wrong or be a man and tell me what happened. >> and yeah -- >> i don't think that you're a killer, and i deal with killers all the time. >> you got it wrong though 'cause --

>> something went wrong that night. something went wrong. >> there's nothing i can say to defend me. there's nothing. >> reporter: jennings insisted over and over again that he did not do it, the killer was not him. >> we kept him for about nine hours, and it got to the point where although we had given him breaks, i didn't want to jeopardize the information i had gotten because he was there voluntarily. >> reporter: after that long day of questioning raymond lee jennings, the man who seemed to know too much was now officially a suspect in the murder of michelle o'keefe but jennings wasn't arrested. >> reporter: he looked at the guard, the security guard, did they not feel he was responsible? >> i asked. they said we need physical evidence. >> reporter: without dna, fingerprints or the murder weapon, the chances of jennings being charged any time soon were unlikely if not impossible. and it certainly didn't help that raymond jennings hardly seemed like a cold-blooded

killer. he had no criminal history. he was a father of five, a war vet, served his country honorably. maybe he shouldn't be charged. but what if raymond lee jennings was willing to talk again? coming up, an expert with a new strategy and the desperate family seeks the opinion of a psychic on "the montel williams show." >> do you know who killed her? >> his name is lee or leon. hey. hey! what's up, man?! ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ olive garden's all new duos are here. but not for long starting at $11.99. our most craveable classics like chicken parmigiana, paired with new tastes to explore, all served with unlimited salad and breadsticks. four all new duos, starting at $11.99. at olive garden. introducing a whole new way to enhance your eyes. it's 1-day acuvue® define™ brand contact lenses. the eye enhancement lenses that comfortably accentuate your eyes' natural beauty. ask your doctor today about 1-day acuvue® define™ brand. - i've got two great pieces of exercise equipment that won't suck up any

electricity. ta-da! they're portable and waterproof and they come with their own power source. forget the treadmill and walk. the more you know.

summer is hot in the antelope valley, relentless, blistering, desert hot. in the summer of 2000 only the michelle o'keefe murder case was cold. it had been six months, and the prime suspect, the only suspect, raymond lee jennings, went on with his life reporting for work every day at a local car dealership. he also happened to live very close to the o'keefe family. >> i used to see him at the grocery store, and then he would walk in every now and then, and it was kind of weird, and sometimes he'd come in and buy milk or diapers or whatever because he had four or five kids. >> reporter: detectives kept an eye on jennings and continued to chase other leads using the media to help fuel the investigation. >> we are going to close this case. it's not going to be an easy task, and murder cases never

are. it's just a matter of time that we get the phone call we're looking for. >> reporter: but the o'keefe family felt it was all taking far too much time. they knew investigators believed raymond jennings killed their daughter, yet there he was on the loose literally down the street. >> the caseload was so huge that they were on it for awhile, then after a while, you know -- >> reporter: time passes. >> -- the level of priority just didn't seem to be there. finally after a few months passed, a guy was doing counseling with us suggested we see rex. >> reporter: rex was r. rex parris, a civil attorney known for handling personal injury cases and winning large settlements. >> i didn't think i could help them because they were coming for a civil case and it just didn't seem to be there. >> reporter: a civil case? novel idea, maybe that could jump-start the police investigation.

>> you know, use a civil case to make a criminal prosecution develop. >> so we went to rex and talked to him about it. he goes, well, you know, if we want to go the civil route, he says, i'm confident we can get out a lot more information. it'll help bring you some answers. >> reporter: those answers might quite possibly lead away from jennings, of course. although -- >> when i learned he flunked the lie detector test i became much more interested and we started on the quest. >> reporter: parris hired a private detective and started his own investigation. >> it became personal. i wanted to know. it's an 18-year-old girl murdered in the town i was born in. >> reporter: meanwhile, the o'keefes continued their own personal crusade to find the killer. on what would have been michelle's 19th birthday --

[ applause ] >> reporter: they appeared on "the montel williams show" and told their story to renowned psychic sylvia brown. >> our daughter was murdered in a park & ride. about eight months ago. >> in a what? >> in a park & ride. what we would like to know, the police haven't got a name. do you know who killed her, they haven't found a weapon yet either. >> he's very fair and he's very large build but his name is lee or leon. >> reporter: lee as in raymond lee jennings? >> did he have on a uniform? >> yeah, he did. he had on some kind of a blue uniform with a pocket and a badge thing but i mean -- >> take anything with a grain of salt but did seem to correlate with what we found out. >> reporter: rex parris was taking a long hard look at raymond lee jennings and sent an

investigator to pry into him and listened to the tape of jennings cognitive interview and especially his account of the shooting. >> i didn't see anything. i know that sounds funny and ridiculous. it bothers me every day that i did not see anything. >> reporter: then an idea. why not re-create the crime seen to verify jennings' story. detectives decided to conduct an experiment. could they see what jennings saw if he was crouching for cover as he claimed while the shots were fired? >> we took a vehicle, just like michelle's and had it roll back and walking up to it firing a round where we believe the location of the shots were fired from and we filmed this from mr. jennings' vantage point based on his statements. >> reporter: if the tape was any indication, it certainly appeared that jennings should have seen something or someone. as the one-year anniversary of michelle's death approached attorney parris and the o'keefe

family filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against the city of palmdale, the security guard company and raymond lee jennings for the wrongful death of michelle. >> we had mixed emotions. how are people going to perceive this doing the civil action. >> yeah, some people thought we just wanted to get money for michelle's murder. >> however, you know, the more important thing was to get this thing solved. >> reporter: that was your motivation? >> yes, absolutely. >> reporter: but before this case would ever get to court rex parris had one more piece of business. after months of digging he wanted to get raymond lee jennings' side of the story from the man himself. >> he knew too much and he knew he knew too much. it was an amazing experience. >> the security guard claims he's being framed just for helping out the cops. >> i didn't kill michelle o'keefe. what i did is gave too much

information to the police. hey, can i help you? yeah, we're interested in the iphone. we promised one to beth for her birthday. you know mobile share value plans now include rollover data, so the data you don't use this month rolls over to the next month. wow, even better. so what are you gonna do with your old phone? i'm giving it to my sister emily. she gets all my old hand-me-downs. oh i'm into bedazzling too. and you admit that? yeah...i...i used to be into bedazzling. i'll go get your phone. get the iphone 6 with rollover data to share. only from at&t. bring us your aching... and sleep deprived. bring us those who want to feel well rested and ready to enjoy the morning ahead. aleve pm. the first to combine a sleep aid... plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. for pain relief that can last until the am. so you... you... and you, can be a morning person again. aleve pm, for a better am.

i think about michelle every day. we try to remember the good times we had with michelle and the beautiful smile that she had. >> she's still part of our lives. she's still in our hearts. >> reporter: by the summer of 2002, michelle o'keefe would have been 20 years old, halfway through college, so they tried to remember her life, all of it so good until that one day. and then a recollection of that night would stab his heart or hers, and blackness would settle as sure as if they had spotted raymond jennings himself at the neighborhood grocery. it had to be him. why couldn't anyone make a case? summer came again. 2 years, 2 1/2 and then 1 blistering august morning raymond jennings responding to a deposition notice walked into

rex parris' office. >> he shows up with this paralegal who is acting like he's an attorney, but he's really not an attorney. a real attorney wouldn't have let him enter in the first place. >> reporter: but here he was friendly, chatty as ever in the face of the audience parris had assembled. >> the local newspaper was there, and, you know, i had security people there, and the parents were there, and he was literally enjoying the attention. >> there's no evidence whatsoever. if that was the case -- it's going on three years -- why am i sitting here talking to you? how come i'm not in jail? i pray every day if they come and arrest me and charge me for this crime, come and do it. >> here's this guy who is incredibly charming and articulate. he's an amazingly glib person, you know, given his level of education. >> i understand why i didn't see the person that did shoot michelle because of the fact the van was in my way, and he did

not step out from that van. >> where did he go? >> you got to find him and ask him. i don't know. >> reporter: parris went to work on what jennings saw and when he saw it. cell phone records confirm michelle and her friend jennifer entered the parking lot around jennings told detectives he was on patrol. >> obviously someone dropped her off. i don't know what time they dropped her off. >> but it's your testimony you never saw that. >> yeah, i never seen it. to this day, i can't remember seeing any kind of car roll by me, or if they did, i didn't pay attention to it. >> if anyone else was in the lot, he should have known and see them drive in from where he was standing and he denied that. he would just deny, deny, deny any connection. >> i didn't kill michelle o'keefe. what i did was gave too much information to the police on being sherlock holmes, and i should have never did that. >> reporter: jennings' paralegal companion did not interrupt. perhaps he should have. >> you're doing a very good job at getting underneath my skin. i'm trying to stay nice and

calm. you want me to blow up in front of this camera and take it and use it against me. it's not going to happen, my friend. >> let's try to tell the truth. >> i am telling the truth. let's start again. >> let's not start again. >> reporter: parris went on for hours exploring and unraveling jennings' story. >> the real killer is out there, and i'm not the one. >> reporter: jennings answered every question. >> that's the answer you want to keep hearing? that's what i'm going to keep telling you. >> reporter: seemed brash. >> you being a smart ass. >> reporter: even cocky. >> you ask a crazy question, i give you a crazy answer. >> reporter: as he vividly described seeing michelle cling to life when he arrived at the crime scene. >> in order for him to have seen that he had to have been there when the shot was fired. there isn't anyway around that. >> reporter: in other words, he knew too much? >> way too much. way too much. oftentimes people who are not career criminals, there is such

a thing as guilt and it's fighting the desire to come clean and i think that was going on with him also. >> reporter: but there was one other moment during that long deposition which revealed yet another and perhaps unexpected side of raymond lee jennings when he spoke directly to the o'keefe family. >> my condolences to you. sorry what happened to your daughter. i wish it wouldn't. i don't wish that upon anybody. >> reporter: the o'keefes listened to it all, every word, every nuance. they tried too read every facial expression. >> reporter: you sat in the room while he was being interviewed. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: what was that like. >> very difficult. >> one time he made a comment to me. you're barking up the wrong tree with me or something like that. i said, well, gee, how do you know all this? how did you know all this information if you weren't there? >> reporter: what did you feel like doing? >> jump across the table and get justice.

>> reporter: rex parris had invited a local newspaper reporter to the deposition too. and the next morning the reporter's conclusions were pretty clear. >> there's a caption underneath jennings "web of lies" and so things started to heat up, you know, and people started to focus their energy, maybe it is this -- maybe it is this guard. >> reporter: among them was lead homicide detective richard longshore who had been bogged down with other investigations unable to focus exclusively on the case. >> the deposition helped us quite a bit. we had the opportunity to see again mr. jennings in a different light when there is no jeopardy, he's not facing a potential arrest or anything else, but it gave us again a time line. >> reporter: but longshore still couldn't make an arrest and it wasn't just the lack of physical evidence that prevented it. something else had intervened. something that no one else ever imagined. a confession and not just one. was it possible someone else

killed michelle o'keefe? >> people confessing to it. she was killed because she owed money to a dope dealer. >> reporter: had police been chasing the wrong man all along? >> i was going to prove that he didn't kill this girl. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ with walmart's low prices every day... ...it's not just about having more savings. it's about having more fun. great get-togethers start with low prices you can trust every day. back by popular demand! it's steak and lobster at outback. try our new coconut lobster or classic steamed lobster. steak and lobster, starting at just $14.99. and introducing lunch every bloomin' day! with over 70 combinations, starting at $6.99. it's lunch at last every day at outback.

new flonase allergy relief nasal spray. 24 hour relief that outperforms a leading allergy pill. most allergy pills only control one inflammatory substance flonase controls six. seize the day and the night. new flonase. 6 is greater than 1. this changes everything. people across america are taking advantage of sprint's cut your bill in half event. what's that in your hand? um... my at&t bill. my verizon bill. what's the monthly rate? $85 about $160 what if sprint could cut your rate plan in half? i... would love to cut that in half. and give you unlimited talk and text in the u.s., and match your data. that's incredible. bring in your verizon or at&t bill turn in your old phone, and we'll cut your rate plan in half. switch now and we'll pay whatever it costs for you to come to sprint. visit us online or at a sprint store today. (trouble hearing on the phone, visit sprintrelay.com)

month after month and a year became two and more and still her innocent face stared out of the photograph, but detective richard longshore could not clear the michelle o'keefe murder case. longshore was convinced raymond lee jennings was the killer, but until he uncovered more physical evidence that eliminated every other possible suspect, he couldn't make an arrest and especially not now, because a strange new phenomenon had developed and with it a slew of new suspects. >> we had people confessing to

it. youngsters, teenagers early 20s up in the antelope valley who were involved in drug trafficking, well, she was killed because she owed money to a dope dealer. >> reporter: did he believe them? no, he didn't. but he still had to check them out. every one of them. why did they do that? >> god knows. so we had to look at that and discount that and there were a lot of things because if we don't do it the defense will bring it up as a shoddy investigation. >> reporter: and remember jennings' story about the red truck and two guys who came snooping around asking questions after the murder? checking them all out took months and hundreds of man-hours and the result, not a single one of them led anywhere. the only viable suspect was still raymond lee jennings. and then finally three years after michelle's murder,

longshore presented the case against jennings to district attorney robert falls. >> when i review all that paper, i was convinced this guy did it. >> yeah. >> but i saw there were extreme difficulties in the proof end of it. that there was some serious problems with the physical evidence in the case. >> reporter: just wasn't any. >> right, so i thought, well, let's wait on this one. we have other ones more urgent at this point so it got pushed aside. >> reporter: the o'keefe family was devastated. they had been so sure that civil deposition would produce criminal charges. they were running out of options. >> you know as long as there's breath in my lungs we're not going to give up until this thing is resolved. >> yeah. >> it's almost like there's a voice saying this hasn't been done. it needs to be completed. >> reporter: that voice wouldn't stop.

mike and pat o'keefe doggedly refused to take the advice of the world around them, which was to accept the inevitable and say, we've got to let it go. >> no. >> no. >> no, a lot of people said, well, it's been a couple of years now, maybe you should just forget about it. you can't just forget about it. >> reporter: was that why they kept paying for those billboards in the desert or why when the fourth anniversary approached the o'keefes responded to a caller. >> i think a lot of folks thought the case was over and i had just gotten my private investigator's license. i decided i would branch out a little bit and i always like to investigate anyway. maybe a fresh pair of eyes wouldn't hurt. >> reporter: his name was jim jeffra. a retired sheriffs detective who lived nearby. would the o'keefes mind if he conducted his own investigation and from a very different point of view. >> maybe raymond lee jennings did not kill her. i made a decision that i was

going to do what i could do to prove that he didn't kill this girl and if we could get past that, then we could move forward and go after the person that did kill her. >> reporter: there's an old saying that homicide detectives serve the dead and maybe it's true, jeffra went to the crime scene. >> i saw the memorial and i tapped the picture and just asked, do you know, michelle, i need a little help. help me. guide me in the direction i need to go. >> reporter: then for months jeffra crisscrossed the antelope valley talking to people some who knew jennings and could support his story and poring over the aging crime reports especially the things jennings himself said about what happened and -- >> it just didn't make sense. it didn't add up the way he wanted it to add up.

two and two wasn't making four. >> reporter: he huddled with mike o'keefe and watched the videotaped interviews. they scrutinized his body language. they dissected every suspicious statement. >> i'm an innocent guy at the wrong place at the wrong time. >> reporter: they flagged all his inconsistencies. i kept telling myself. it's in the video. you're an investigator. find it. he is telling a story that just doesn't add up in these videos. >> there is no way anybody is going to have that level of information certainly $6 an hour security guard won't have that level of information unless you were there. >> there was no doubt in my mind, just no doubt. i think he killed michelle. >> reporter: in other words, jeffra despite his best efforts to eliminate jennings as a suspect was now one more investigator at the very same frustrating dead end. virtual certainty of guilt, insufficient evidence to back it up. unless maybe there was something

else that could be done with those hours and hours of videotapes. jeffra and o'keefe hatched a plan. what if they assembled a sound bite case against jennings in his very own words. >> we put together a power point presentation and put all these video excerpts on all the times where jennings basically told the whole story, you know, on how it all happened. >> reporter: the two men along with another private investigator and guidance from civil attorney rex parris strung together bits of sound -- >> i didn't see anybody come in during that time. i didn't see anybody drop anybody off. >> reporter: bits of answers that seemed to show jennings knew so much about the crime. >> what i seen that night, her pulse and fingers twitching. >> reporter: he had to be guilty. >> i don't know what to tell you. it wasn't me. >> you have hours and hours of interviews that if you don't edit it and see the inconsistencies and point to

this 30 seconds of film demonstrates he was there, you know, at the time the shot was fired, you're not going to get anybody in government to look at it. >> reporter: of course it was a long shot and apparently it was going to miss. prime suspect raymond lee jennings was now lost to them. he had gone halfway around the world from the antelope valley. he was in iraq. jennings had volunteered for the national guard and in late 2004 was shipped off to the middle east where by all accounts he was a loyal and well-regarded soldier. hardly likely the d.a. would go chasing him there. and thus after five frustrating years, the o'keefes' quest to solve their daughter's murder was over, apparently hopeless unless -- mike o'keefe had one

last unconventional idea, foolish probably, an amateur's unwelcome interference possibly? well, we shall see. coming up, michelle's father finally persuades prosecutors to go after raymond jennings. >> we took him down at a traffic stop. his statement was i've been in iraq. is this about michelle o'keefe? live in a pick and choose world. choose choose choose. but at bedtime? ...why settle for this? enter sleep number...don't miss the memorial day special edition mattress with sleepiq technology. sleepiq tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. you like the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store. save $500 on the memorial day special edition mattress with sleepiq, plus 36-month special financing. ends monday! know better sleep with sleep number.

appears buster's been busy. yeah, scott. i was about to use the uh. i've got a much better idea, lad! scotts ez seed uses the finest seed, fertilizer and natural mulch so you can grow grass anywhere! thanks, scott. ez seed really works! get scotts ez seed. it's guaranteed. that's it. good job. nice coating. and get this one next. whoa! what are you guys doing? making sure nothing sticks. otherwise, we gotta scrub all this stuff off. huh, what? nobody thought of this before? what's wrong with people? dish issues? not with improved cascade platinum. it powers through... your toughest, starchy messes... better than finish's best... the first time.

as if your dishes were non-stick. cascade. now that's clean. introducing the first ever gummy multivitamin from centrum. a complete, and tasty new way to support... your energy... immunity... and metabolism like never before. centrum multigummies. see gummies in a whole new light. cottonelle cleanripple texture gets you cleaner, but will it make people confident enough to go commando? how was your wiping experience? ok. why do you think ripples are so great? probably ripples would just clean better. yeah, why? just...would pick up more layers. do you feel confident enough to go commando? go commando...uh...yeah sure. congratulations! i did it! how do you feel? fresh! only cottonelle has cleanripple texture, so going cottonelle means you can go commando.

we're here tonight to pay tribute to a person that is forever etched in our hearts. been gone five years in a physical sense but spiritually she's lived on. >> reporter: the fifth anniversary of michelle o'keefe's murder was a disheartening time. the only suspect, raymond jennings was serving the country in iraq and it seemed clear to most people the d.a. had no intention of prosecuting any time soon. that's when mike o'keefe asked for a very unusual meeting with district attorney robert falls. he brought his power point presentation, show and tell, you could say. >> they had everything very carefully kind of sifted down to

what they felt was the important things to consider. >> reporter: so they goosed it. >> they goosed it. >> reporter: and the d.a. liked the presentation a lot. he consulted with detective longshore and two weeks later -- >> i decided it not was an impossible feat to get this case appropriately prosecuted so i filed it. >> reporter: and coincidentally jennings had just completed his hitch in iraq. it was a few days before thanksgiving 2005 when he returned to southern california. no idea what was coming. >> i had him under surveillance. we took him down in a traffic stop and was ordered out at gunpoint. his statement was i've been in iraq. is this about michelle o'keefe? yes, it was so we took him into custody. >> almost like god or jesus reached out and put his hand on me. i just sort of got a chill down my spine. >> reporter: don't hold your breath.

someone might have told him. >> mr. jennings, do you agree to come back to the court understanding your preliminary hearing will take place within ten court days of that day instead of ten court days from today? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: oh, jennings was charged, all right. first degree murder. >> bail will be set at $1 million. >> reporter: and bail was set so high he had no choice but to wait in jail and wait and wait until the spring of 2008. finally something like eight years after michelle o'keefe was murdered right there on that very spot, raymond lee jennings, the security guard who patrolled this parking lot on that very night was going to face a charge of first degree murder. but not here, not in the antelope valley where both of them lived and where the story was known by a lot of people. no, the case would be heard about 80 miles that way in downtown los angeles where almost nobody knew the story.

antelope valley had a brand-new courthouse but it couldn't yet accommodate long-running trials. so now the o'keefe family would have to commute four hours round trip to the downtown courthouse in l.a. >> there's such a cross section of society in there, people with different backgrounds, people with different beliefs. you don't know how it's going to come out. >> reporter: but it wouldn't be for lack of trying. prosecutor michael blake had prepared an exhaustive case, one awful incident, but so complicated. >> and this one was a very difficult one to find a clear path and we have thousands of thousands of pages of evidence in this case and one of the real challenges was to understand how it fit together because we have all these little pieces. >> reporter: so what happened that night? here was the prosecution's theory. jennings by his own admission mistook michelle for a prostitute because of the way she was dressed while appearing in that kid rock video.

as former fbi profiler mark safarik told the jury. >> i think the offender intended to sexually engage with her because she's found with her tube top down. she's fighting back and responding in a way that i think that the offender didn't anticipate based on the way she was dressed and he panicked. >> reporter: jennings hit her, she tried to drive off. he fired the fatal shots. or so went the theory. but where was the evidence asked jennings' defense where was the wrep weapon or dna or fingerprints. >> the d.a. refers to it as the "csi" effect. they want all this forensic evidence and, frankly, it doesn't exist. >> reporter: the trial lasted six weeks. the jury stayed out for over a week, and did not reach a verdict. hung on a 9-3 vote in favor of conviction. not totally surprising perhaps given the complexity of the case

but that wasn't the reason. >> there's one fellow who said that he couldn't go with a guilty verdict because he had a bad dream that it was a drive-by shooting. >> reporter: hung on a juror's dream. the prosecutor considered for a moment and spoke to mike o'keefe. >> he says, mike, we're basically one bad dream away from a guilty verdict. >> reporter: so a second trial was ordered again in downtown los angeles, this time a tv camera was there as opening arguments began. >> the evidence in this case will absolutely show that raymond lee jennings is telling a series of lies to begin to direct attention away from himself. you'll see that they're mixed in with grains of truth. the problem is with those grains of truth, they are also the truths that we know only the killer would know. >> reporter: jennings seemed relaxed and confident as his attorney again pointed out the lack of physical evidence.

>> no fingerprint evidence, gunshot residue, none, no blood evidence connects mr. jennings to this crime because mr. jennings is factually innocent of this offense. >> reporter: six more weeks of trial, same evidence, many of the same witnesses, final arguments finished in february 2009 and less than a week later the second jury sent this note to the judge, hung again. this time by only one juror who felt jennings was not guilty. this despite the pressure during deliberation from the other 11 jurors who voted to convict. >> when you try to pin her down her responses weren't reasonable or rational or anything a sober person would think. >> it's horrible. 11-1, you know, i think the answer was obvious across the jury, you just had one -- one wild card juror in there that

wouldn't make up their mind. >> reporter: and so the o'keefes got in the car and started the long trip home to the antelope valley and wondered would they let him go now? would raymond lee jennings go free? that was just the question prosecutors and police were asking. >> you said do you have the energy to do this again? and i said, well, do you? >> reporter: will there be a third trial? ♪ (spoken in japanese) (spoken in japanese) reliability, is now an american thing. introducing the all new chrysler 200 america's import find it at chrysler.com when i feel bloated and my stomach is rumbling

it takes me forever to get dressed. i don't have the time to be gassy and uncomfortable. enjoying activia twice a day for 4 weeks may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive issues. i love activia. that is so good. ♪ activiaaaa. ♪ this is a vanilla bean. a little crushed vanilla bean. breyers natural vanilla. with only sustainably farmed vanilla. bryers has fresh cream sugar and milk. breyers. the good vanilla. our milk and cream come from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones. the answer to treating your dog's fleas and ticks is staring you right in the face. nexgard, from the makers of frontline® plus. it's the only soft beef-flavored chew that kills both fleas and ticks. vets recommend it. and dogs, well they're begging for it. nexgard is for dogs only. and hasn't been evaluated for use in pregnant, breeding or lactating dogs. reported side effects include vomiting, dry flaky skin diarrhea, lethargy and lack of appetite. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures. recommended by vets. loved by dogs. from the makers of frontline plus.

looking for one of these? yoplait. smooth, creamy, and craved by the whole family.

i really did ask myself some real hard questions about whether i'd made a mistake. >> reporter: twice the prosecutor michael blake had taken the case to a jury. twice he had failed to persuade them all that raymond jennings murdered michelle o'keefe. was he wrong to try it in the first place? did he really think he'd get yet another chance at a rare third trial? >> michael blake and i were sitting in his office afterwards and he said, do you have the

energy to do this again? and i said, well, do you? >> reporter: there was little forensic evidence, nothing at least that would help them. the whole thing had become ridiculously complicated. had filled up thousands of pages, so now what? forget it? well, in fact, it wasn't their decision. a judge would have to decide whether or not there would be a third trial. the detective and the prosecutor assembled to hear the decision. >> i will not dismiss the case, so if the people request it, there will be a third trial. it will undoubtedly be the final trial so everyone should plan accordingly. >> reporter: the final trial, meaning if this jury were to hang, raymond lee jennings would walk. >> there was some pressure because you know whatever happens, whatever the outcome is, it's over. it's the end. >> reporter: but that wasn't the judge's only decision. the other? trial number three would be moved out of l.a.

but this time for the third and possibly last trial, the case would be heard here in the antelope valley, the home of michelle o'keefe and raymond lee jennings. it had been ten years since that cold night in february 2000 but people around here still remembered the story. and prosecutor blake went back to basics, how could he cut through the clutter and get to that jury? >> i went back to the drawing board. we had restructured the case. the presentation of the case. i started thinking from the point of view of the jurors, what questions would they want answered? and that's where i came up with four questions. >> reporter: trial three, four questions, last chance. >> where was the mustang through all these events? where was michelle? where was the gun? and where was raymond jennings? you put the answer to those four questions together and this man is guilty of michelle o'keefe's murder. >> reporter: blake hammered home the time line, told the jury how

michelle arrived in the parking lot at 9:23 then at 9:25 moved her car to a second space, told them how jennings on foot patrol must have seen her, must have confronted her, something went wrong. he produced a gun and shortly after 9:30 michelle o'keefe was dead. >> he took that girl's life to preserve his own after making a grave mistake with her. that's what the evidence will show. >> reporter: and according to the prosecutor, it was no coincidence that virtually all those details jennings provided about the crime were accurate. >> he's remembering where he was. he's remembering the positions of the car. he knows the angles of the bullets took as they passed through michelle o'keefe. he knows all this stuff because he is the shooter. >> reporter: or maybe not. jennings said the defense had figured out what the cops could not and was merely trying to help.

>> by making this case complex and overlaying things that mr. jennings has said, then we have what situation? complex case that cops can't really figure out, but mr. jennings has been able to. everything. it's going to be analyzed in a way that suits the prosecution that wants to convict mr. jennings. >> reporter: and insisted the defense with absolutely no physical evidence connecting him to the crime. but the prosecution countered with former fbi profiler mark safarik who had a theory about why there was no evidence found on jennings' uniform that might link him to michelle's murder. >> this interaction between them is very quick and that it's a minimal contact interaction. there is a sexual assault piece

then escalates into homicide. it's a minimal interaction so i'm not -- i wouldn't expect that there would be any trace evidence between them. >> reporter: but there was something on michelle, and it might be important for the defense. under one of michelle's fingernails investigators found a tiny speck of blood that was mixed with dna from someone else. >> one blood donor is miss o'keefe, one donor being an unknown male, not mr. jennings. >> reporter: not mr. jennings, so was it the killer? in each trial as now the prosecution claimed that dna was irrelevant. michelle could have picked it up anywhere. maybe in the crowded studio by just touching someone during that taping with kid rock. still, it was just the sort of thing that could hang a jury for the third time. so same arguments, same long

complicated trial like "groundhog day" but for this. they were in the antelope valley now, right down the road from the park & ride. and so on a cold november night, the judge moved her courtroom to the scene of the crime. would this help the jury see what happened? detective longshore acted as a sort of tour guide. >> this is where that was and mr. jennings had testified about the route he took. that type of thing. it was pretty intense. >> reporter: so it was. as was one more question pregnant in the air as the trial wound down. would he take the stand and talk to the jury? >> okay, so he's exercising his right to remain silent. >> yes. >> that is a voluntary decision on your part, sir? >> reporter: he certainly seemed to want to talk. >> mr. jennings. >> could we take just a couple-minute break? >> tactically there is a big downside to putting your client on but it's mr. jennings'

choice. he's the only one making that decision in the end. >> you wish to exercise your right to remain silent? >> yes, sir. >> is that a knowing understanding voluntary decision on your part? >> yes. >> no one has pressured you in any way? >> no. >> reporter: so now the man who perhaps already talked too much remained quiet and let his lawyer do the talking. >> i know you will do the right thing. mr. jennings is innocent of this offense. mr. jennings needs to go home. >> raymond jennings, i don't think he meant for this to happen. i think he panicked but he left the scene a murderer. follow the law, follow your conscience and tell him that you know he's guilty. thank you. >> reporter: the lawyers had their say, of course, always do. before 12 sometimes befuddled citizens went off to a room to argue and the o'keefes once again left the building, two

hung juries, two strikes against them, three and they'd be out. >> michelle deserves justice. she went into that parking lot, you know, a beautiful 18-year-old girl and then left murdered. she needs to have justice. >> reporter: coming up, the final verdict. this time would there finally be justice for michelle? for weeks the jury wrestled with their decision. >> it was hard for all of us. at one point a lot of us kind of broke down. before i had the shooting, burning, pins-and-needles of diabetic nerve pain, these feet grew up in a family of boys... married my high school sweetheart... and pursued a degree in education. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and she prescribed lyrica. nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is fda-approved to treat this pain. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new, or worsening depression or unusual changes in mood or behavior.

or swelling, trouble breathing rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. now i have less diabetic nerve pain. and i love helping first graders put their best foot forward. ask your doctor about lyrica. introducing the sirloin third pound burgers from mcdonald's. they're 100% sirloin topped with premium ingredients. and they're only around for a limited time. but that's not the only reason you need to hurry ... (robble, robble) enjoy this lovin' while it lasts. ♪ ♪ dash and i post about 300 videos per day on different social media websites. so this is the celebrity section... it's just the bonus size for our customers. we love petsmart because they treat us like the stars we are... these are deals that, you know petsmart provides... ...for celebrities!

...well, for everyone. okay! we're at about...17 followers, sooo...you know! now through tuesday at petsmart, hurry in and save on the brands you and your kids love. 'cause pethood's better with a partner. working on my feet all day gave me pain here. in my lower back but now, i step on this machine and get my number which matches my dr. scholl's custom fit orthotic inserts. now i get immediate relief from my foot pain. my lower back pain. find a machine at drscholls.com let's do a reality check. kids will be kids. dogs will be dogs. so let's get some paint that's more than just paint. made to stand up to this... and look beautiful for years. let's loose the old marks, and messes. and stop new one's in their tracks. let's worry proof our walls. let's do this. right now get $5 bucks off cans and $20 dollars off buckets of select paints and stains. the home depot. more saving. more doing.

too much? maybe without the flower... at intel, they make technology that lets a pc be a tv and a tablet. all in one? yeah, ...so, no more clutter. ♪ a lot's changed. upgrade to a portable all in one with intel inside. even less clutter. ♪

by late november 2009, courtroom a19 was quiet. the jury was in there. what were they thinking? >> you keep asking yourself, gee, do they really get this. >> reporter: this is really your last shot? >> yeah, it was really our last shot and what happens if this person gets out? >> reporter: thanksgiving passed. so did the first week of december, christmas was closing in. but no verdict.

>> as the days progressed, typically the feeling is that the longer they're out the worse it is for the prosecution. so i was really getting concerned. >> reporter: well, hung twice before. >> right. and if it hung a third time that was it. >> reporter: so what was happening behind the closed door? anthony mosley was jury foreperson. >> i told everybody up front time is on our side. i mean we had to get this right. we had to get it right. it didn't matter as far as how long it took because someone's life is at stake. >> reporter: especially since raymond lee jennings, iraq war vet and father of five, seemed like a very unlikely killer. >> i wasn't sure it was jennings but there was some reasonable doubt early on because he seemed like a pretty nice guy. >> reporter: or was he? in their private room as days became a week and then two weeks and then three weeks, they disagreed. they cried.

they quarreled. >> we'd sit there, i would say this is why i think he's guilty. can you just tell me -- make me understand why you think he's not guilty. it was hard for all of us. >> reporter: sure. >> we all kind of at one point a lot of us kind of broke down. >> reporter: one floor below prosecutor michael blake was so anxious, so concerned he was unable to focus on his other work. he did have other cases. >> i was wearing a hole in the carpet outside my office. it was a long time. okay, i never take juries for granted. it comes back to the old adage, you know what you say but you don't know what they hear. >> reporter: and day after day the o'keefe family sat in the empty silent courtroom and they listened. >> well, i'm in there waiting listening for the buzz from the jury and you'll hear one buzz. i just wait for a second one hoping there's another one because two buzzes equals verdict. >> it's exhausting mentally, we're always thinking about it.

we live it. we breathe it day and night. >> reporter: and so was the jury. still unable to reach a verdict. >> we watched those interviews again and again and again and i mean we really did dissect the interviews. >> i don't think we would have stayed there for six months but we were willing to go three more weeks possibly. >> reporter: then after deliberations had gone on almost a month, it was a week before christmas, a verdict started taking shape. why then? perhaps it was because the court moved to the crime scene one night and all 12 of them got a firsthand look at every key location. now they could reflect back on that evening together. >> site viewing was very important just to get the feel of where it took place, where jennings claims he was standing, what he could see and that fed into, you know, his comments and statements.

>> we all came to our conclusions at different times. i mean, it wasn't just one thing that brought -- you know, all of us together. we all decided in our own time something just clicked. >> reporter: the sound everybody was waiting for. >> it was very tense. the courtroom is filled with bailiff, security people, family members, media looking behind the judge's bench there were several judges standing behind to listen to it. >> we the jury in above entitled action find the defendant raymond lee jennings not guilty of the crime of willful, deliberate and premeditated first degree murder. >> and you think this can't be happening again. >> if they come back not guilty on the second, you know, then we're done. >> we the jury in above entitled action find the defendant raymond lee jennings guilty of the crime of second degree

murder. alleged victim michelle o'keefe in violation of penal code -- >> reporter: it was odd perhaps. in the chaos outside the courtroom one family was finally calm. >> there was always this little voice that was always kind of active in there that, you know, justice needed to be served and i think now that part of it can go to rest that justice is served. >> and michelle can rest in peace. >> i am so grateful that this jury understood what we were trying to show them in the evidence. this is a very compelling case. it has a real strong center and it's a case where you have a completely innocent victim who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and murdered by someone who should be protecting her. >> reporter: but was it really over? well, no. raymond jennings remember is a talkative man. would he finally say what was on his mind?

oh, yes, he would. >> i'm at peace in my life and i laugh and i smile because i hold no remorse.

did you make kraft mac & cheese for the kids? yup. did you cook some protein to go with it? it has 9 grams per serving. did you have to use every pot in the house? i didn't use the double broiler. kraft macaroni & cheese you know you love it. wish your skin could bounce back like it used to? new neutrogena hydro boost water gel. with hyaluronic acid it plumps skin cells with intense hydration and locks it in. for supple, hydrated skin. hydro boost. from neutrogena. the world is filled with air. but for people with copd sometimes breathing air can be difficult.

if you have copd, ask your doctor about once-daily anoro ellipta. it helps people with copd breathe better for a full 24hours. anoro ellipta is the first fda-approved product containing two long-acting bronchodilators in one inhaler. anoro is not for asthma. anoro contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. it is not known if this risk is increased in copd. anoro won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden copd symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition, or high blood pressure. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, prostate or bladder problems, or problems passing urine as anoro may make these problems worse. call your doctor right away if you have worsened breathing chest pain, swelling of your mouth or tongue, problems urinating or eye problems including vision changes or eye pain while taking anoro. nothing can reverse copd. the world is filled with air

and anoro is helping people with copd breath air better. get your first prescription free at anoro.com.

♪ ♪ through the streets of the antelope valley and smiled at her mother for the last time in her life. this was the day raymond lee jennings was back in court as a convicted killer to be sentenced for his crime and as it had become ritual michelle's family was invited to say all those pent up things ten years' worth. >> when i learned of michelle's death i felt a piece of me die. what kind of demon lives within you to do such a dastardly act. >> reporter: was it meant to be a challenge? perhaps. >> you said you watched her die because you didn't want to disturb a crime scene. an innocent person wouldn't say

something like that. you will have to live with that image of her dying and taking her last breath. >> reporter: here was michelle's younger brother jason daring, pleading with jennings, defying him to tell the truth, bare his soul for posterity and for god. >> today you can repent for your sins, ask god for forgiveness, ask all of us for forgiveness and if you ask me, i will forgive you. >> reporter: was that the trigger that made him do it or had jennings been waiting all along all through these trials these hung juries, waiting to say, yes, i did it or, i'm sorry. that's what grieving families hope for, of course. so now in the hush tension of an expectant courtroom, raymond jennings turned and faced the o'keefe family and said -- >> i sit here as an innocent man and i've heard you speak on god as christ is my lord and savior

i will stand before god and this is one sin that i will not be judged for. i'm at peace in my life and i laugh and i smile because i hold no remorse because i didn't kill your sister. that is the bottom line. jesus is my lord and savior and i will stand before him and i'll stand before him with you, with you and with you and we'll answer to this question. >> reporter: it was shocking. you could as they say hear a pin drop as jennings wheeled around the judge for one last profession of his innocence. >> i don't ask any mercy for this court because i know i don't have any coming. i will take my time and i will hold my head up as a man. my five children will know who their father is and they will know he is not a murderer. >> reporter: families had to say rarely accorded the grace of hearing a convicted killer explain or apologize. they could only sit and listen as he received the maximum

sentence. >> for a total sentence of 40 years to life. >> reporter: when he's eligible for parole for the first time, jennings will be 70 something. >> you don't really close the book. the pain will still be there and you kind of work through it. we'll still miss her but we learn to get through each day. >> there's going to come a time in my life when i'll have to find it deep down in my heart to forgive him. >> based on what we've learned if we can help others who have gone through heaven forbid similar tragedies, you know, i think that's probably a big part of our mission in life from here on. >> reporter: oh, and there's one more thing, odd, highly unusual. the jury which had spent so much

time considering the fate of michelle o'keefe decided before they said their good-byes to each other to gather one more time at the park & ride. >> that was very important for me to do. i too have a daughter the same age as michelle, so as a mom when we were in the jury room and i was like, okay, you guys, i'm going to go over to the memorial tonight, to the park & ride. there was a cross there with her picture on it. i really wanted to see her. i haven't seen her face. all the pictures that we saw were not good. we took some roses over there, one for each of us, plus our alternates, i was like, i just need to do this tonight. this is what i'm going to be doing. >> each one of them came up and set a rose at the base of that cross and it was just so -- it was incredible. it was probably one of the most

touching moments of my life. >> but you can't ever ever forget me, okay? because i know i'll never ever . pilate: the emperor is coming. claudia: we must avoid dishonor by cultivating good will with his successor. you mean caligula? you may not be so keen to welcome us when you find out why we're here. saul: tell me where peter is and we'll stop. simon: i don't think it will be any better in samaria for them. let me help you. [ all grunting ] on the journey here, i saw four vultures. this place gives you visions. simon the sorcerer! [ spectators gasp ] he thinks he can do what i can't. in the name of jesus i release you from your prison. [ cheers and applause ] do you repent your sins? simon: i do. tell saul about peter. he headed north. where? damascus. [ indistinct conversations ]