Transcripts For WTMJ Dateline NBC 20161112

He just knew too much. They believe i killed this girl. Reporter did he, or did he just not know when to stop talking . Theres nothing i can say to defend it. Im at a loss. Reporter a headspinning new twist, thanks to an unlikely dateline viewer. Either this was an innocent man or a sociopath who deserved an academy award. Reporter the remarkable story from those who lived it. Something came over me. I just had a weird feeling. Proven guilty. Youre guilty until proven innocent. After 15 years, is the search for answers finally over . Or just beginning . I think, here we are again. Werent we done with this . Thats what i thought. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with the man who knew too much. Reporter oh how she loved glided along the open road in californias Antelope Valley, north of los angeles. And the color, atlantic blue. It was february, a cool, crisp morning in the year 20. It was the day of Michelle Okeefes big adventure, the day she and a friend were going to l. A. To be in a kid rock music video. Such a happy spark in her eye as she replied to her mother pats reminder of her night class at community college. Yeah, ill be back in time. Might be running a little late, but ill be back in time. Dont worry, mom. And that was the last time i talked to her. Translator would she still be here, still vibrant, still alive, had she driven the mustang to l. A. . Academic now. Facts are facts. She left it at the park n ride, car. History is so capricious and so confusing. How strange it is, how utterly unpredictable, that wed be telling this story again, cept, it isnt the same story at all . Because everhing we thought we knew about that february day, that dark, cold night, is different now. But that day, when they arrived at the studio in l. A. , the girls changed into the sexy clothes required for the music video and took their places as d rock hit the sge. My name ikiiiid. Rock . . Reporter performing his hit song, bawitdaba. . . Reporter and there they were, michelle and jennifer, front and center. . . Reporter the shoot ran long, of course. Dont they always . And the two girls raced back to the Antelope Valley. Michel thought it would save me time to change out of the into her School Clothes back at the mustang, in the park ne. By nowcold winwas howling ross t high desert, stor the wa it waslmost 9 when ey arived at the mustang, dark, quiet, not a soul in sight. Jennifer dropped off michelle, and as she drove away, she friend leaving, too. But, Michelle Okeefe did not leave the park n ride. [ gunshots ] reporter jennifer didnt hear the gunshots. Didnt know, Michelle Okeefe was dead. By 10 00, sheriffs deputies were scouring the remote parking lot hoping to find the killer. They did not. And so, around 11 00pm, two hours away, homicide detective its, like, 170 miles from my house. Its, like, the back side of the moon. Reporter by the time longshore arrived, michelle had been dead just over three hours. It appears that she had sustained some trauma. Uh, this is obviously a homicide investigation. There is several gunshots. We didnt know how many at that time. She was leaned in her car with her head over to one side. Reporter there was also a gash on her forehead. What happened . A rape attempt turned deadly . Maybe it didnt look like robbery. Her purse was there containing well over 100. The only thing missing was her cell phone, and the purse was in plain view in her car. Was this a carjacking . Its not logical that a person would just sit there and then not take the car. It it doesnt fit. Reporter in the purse was an address, where, at that moment, her parents were wide awake. Omething came over me. My body, and i just had a weird feeling. I couldnt really place it or visualize what had happened to michelle, but i know something happened. Reporter and then there were deputies at the door, asking to come inside. They go, well, we gotta tell you that somethingspe an accident . And has michelle been hurt in an accident . They go, well, no. Theres been a shooting. I go, oh, michelles shot . So shes alive . And they go, well, no. You sort of feel a piece of you sorta dies, right, at realtime when somebody tells you Something Like that, its your own kid. It was horrible. Reporter michelles brother jason was awakened by the commotion. He was 12 then. I look up at the top of the stairs, and theres jason up there, looking down, you know . And so, i thought, well, the best thing to do is, you know, let him know whats going on. To see the look on his face, you know . And telling him he lost his sister, it was just really bad. . . I saw both my parents in tears. And thats when they told me what exactly happened. Theres no way to prepare yourself for news like that. No. No, never, in wildest dream, could you imagine that about 20 hours before that, i was, you know, working on a science project with her. And the, shes gone until the day i get to heaven. Reporter back at the parking lot, detective longshore had very little to go on. No weapon. No fingerprints. No footprints. Though, there was one possible witness, a Security Guard had been on duty at the lot. But, he wasnt much of a witness. He said he didnt see who fired the shots, or Anyone Running away. The guards name was he was very cordial. He didnt appear all that nervous at all. We spoke for about about 10 minutes that night. The shooting happened around 9 30. , and im interviewing him about 1 30. I wanted to get him home, get rested, and i could interview him again at another time. Reporter longshore could see this wasnt going to be easy. But, of course he couldnt know, could he . On this cold, windy night, that the case of Michelle Okeefe would consume a decade of his life. Or, that a simple case of insomnia would undo everything. Reporter why would an 18year old girl believe she was going to die . When we return. She goes, i just had a feeling im not gonna live much longer. Reporter and, a firstperson account of michelles murder. You could see the taillights come into view, and then multiple shots rang out after ah, id love your help. grunting awww. announcer vo the real magic of the holidays is when we all give a little more. . . You dont have to pay a lot to get a lot. At Cricket Wireless, plans now start at 30 mo. Monthly taxes and fees included. And we have more 4g lte coverage than tmobile or sprint. Cricket wireless. Something to smile about. . . It only takes a second for an everyday item to become dangerous. Always keep laundry pacs away from children. To help keep your laundry pacs safe and your child safer. Align, press and unzip. We took lifelong pasta experts and gave one prego traditional and one ragu traditional. This is what happened. Thats because even ragu users prefer the taste of prego traditional twotoone. You love allday breakfast. I love allday breakfast. All your favorites all day. Ugghh. Now youre gonna love that you can get more all day. Like. Mcgriddles so youll have to find Something Else to not love. Like that itch you cant scratch. Or when people use speakerphone in public. [speakerphone] seriously, you cant tell a soul. I promise i wont tell anyone. [speakerphone] for real. Okay . Or accidently watching episode 4 before youve seen episode 3. When did deandre bome an alien . It was a brandnew ford mustang. It was bright blue real pretty car. Reporter and now it was a kind of coffin for its 18yearold owner, Michelle Okeefe. . . Reporter the car had been a christmas prent, and why not . Number 60, this is Michelle Okeefe. Reporter michelle had done everything right in life, star student, cheerleader. Extremely she was always looking out for him. You know, if we werent around or pat wasnt around, it was almost like he had a second mother with her, you know . Well you can just put the camera on me for a while. She hung out with different types of groups all over. So she was very friendly, very outgoing. Its new years, 1999. Reporter so it was strange, the premonition shed been about. And she goes, you know, i just had a feeling im not gonna live much longer. And i asked her, i go, has somebody been bothering you or she goes, no, i just had this feeling im not gonna live much longer. I had this strange feeling for a while. Reporter only natural what her mother told her. I said, michelle, be careful at night. What would she say . She said, i im okay, mom. I can handle myself. Im strong. I can fight fight them off. Ill be okay. . . The night, looking at her body, detective longshore developed a theory about what happened. Her tube top had been dislodged, exp exposing so, this may have been an attempt at a sexual assault. Yes. Reporter but nobody saw anything, not even the Security Guard, ray jennings. I just stayed up there towards my car the whole time, and then waited for the next shift guy to come on. Reporter two nights later, when jennings went back on patrol, the detectives talked to him again. Thats him right there, filmed by a local news photographer. He was very cordial. He had just moved to california from North Carolina. Reporter jennings was a national guardsman, 25 years old, father of three. He had just started working for the Security Company as an unarmed guard. Walking the lot around 9 00, he said, he saw the blue mustang, parked and empty. Then, a half hour later i heard a car alarm going as i made my way to that particular area, you heard a single gunshot. And after that single gunshot, i stopped. I was basically beside my car. And i took a few steps over and i just knelt down. You were hiding behind the car. Yeah, absolutely. You know, thats the first thing were trained to do when you hear gunfire. Reporter trained, he said, to take cover, to wait, and listen. The car alarm was still going off. The engine, revved up, meaning somebody had pushed the gas. Reporter and thats when jennings said he caught of a glimpse the mustang rolling backwards. You could see the the taillights come into view, just the taillights, and then multiple shots rang out after that. So, theres a gap between the first shot and the multiple shots . Yes, maybe 15 to 20second gap. Reporter jennings said he was fearful, stayed behind his car, and never saw the shooter. But, he did radio his supervisor. Shots fired and i needed assistance. And, at that time, the car was rolling backwards further, and it became came into complete view. And, it just rolled all the way back until it landed on that planter. Did you see anybody else leaving the parking lot or hear anybody leaving . Not immediately after the shooting, no. Reporter when his supervisor arrived, said jennings, she urged him to go with her as she checked out the mustang. Jennings declined, told her, he said, she should wait for the police. But, a few minutes later she ord walked over to the car. You could see that there was a person slumped over with, you know, gunshot wounds inflicted upon them. Did you approach the person . Did you no, i just observed. I just looked. From how far away . Probably as close as you and i are. Reporter but jennings told the police he didnt see the shooter, had no idea who it was. So, the detectives found the last person who saw Michelle Okeefe alive, michelle at the mustang just before she was murdered. So we drove her out to the scene and asked her to show us exactly where she had been and what she had done. Reporter and thats when detective longshore got a surprise. I said, okay, this is where michelles car was. She says, well, no it wasnt. I said, are you sure . And she says, yeah, we parked it under a light, deliberately because she was concerned about her vehicles ty jennifer, when michelle parked her car in the afternoon, she left it under a light post, for safety. When they returned that evening, said jennifer, michelle got in her mustang under the light post and started backing out. Jennifer drove away, assuming that michelle was leaving, too. But, michelle didnt leave. And, when longshore showed her where the car wound up, jennifer felt sure the mustang must have been moved from its original parking spot to this darker place several spaces away, hidden between a van and another car. This more discreet place to change her clothes . But, jennings insisted the car had been here all along. And, this was the space where he saw the mustang back at 9 00, 20 minutes before michelle and jennifer got back from l. A. So, it wasnt moved . From what i know, no, it was not moved. It when i walked past it, thats where it was at. It was not parked underneath a light structure of any sort. This is where the car was at. Repor lying or simply mistaken. . . Reporter three days after his conversation with the cops, ray jennings quit. He wanted time off, he said, and also wasnt comfortable around that crime scene. When jennings went to get paid, the company told him. In order to receive the paycheck, you had to turn your uniform in first. So, i went back to the house and brought it back to them. A few days later the detectives ran some tests on his uniform. It was dirty, but clean of any evidence. There was no blood or gunshot residue, nothing like that. In fact, detectives found very little physical evidence of any kind, and no obvious leads. We talked to the parents and looked at all the usual suspects, if you will. You know, is this a domestic dispute or a lovers quarrel . Well, she had no boyfriends. Reporter weeks passed. The investigation cooled. But then, an unexpected lead. A second eyewitness turned up, said she was in the parking the night of the murder. And, she just may have seen michelles killer. Reporter coming up, detectives have a possible suspect. It just started to ring off some alarm bells. Reporter and, Raymond Jennings sure seemed to know a lot about michelles murder. It was just close range. It was very close range. With that, it just defied logic. Reporter when dateline continues. Are we on tv . laughs nervously what . Of course not. laughter get your coupon, spend 75 in store, and get a 10 gift card to use in december. Toysrus. Awwwesome shes the reason the good times are great. And the reason the tough times are easier. Because shes your best friend. And your true love. Presenting the ever us twostone diamond collection. New rings, necklaces, earrings and bracelets. One diamond for your best friend. One diamond for your true love. For the one woman. Whos both. Ever us. Of . Violence . In bay view. The spring 2000, high desert, the case of the girl in the blue mustang went cold. No suspect, no new clues. No solid leads. And then, a few weeks after the murder of Michelle Okeefe, a young woman arrested on juvenile charges said she had a story to tell. Her name was victoria ricson. She was there, in the parking lot,he said. And she saw something. She was not vy far from where the shooting occurred. She heard a tapping sound, which weve determined was probably car just drive by, a random car in the parking lot. And she saw the Security Guard walk by just moments before the shooting. Reporter the only guard on duty that night was Raymond Jennings. After the shooting, they left the parking lot, went right through the crime scene and end up stopping and talking mr. Jennings and saying, wait, what happened . And is there shooting . Hes, i dont know, or words to that effect. And but he never told us that reporter but that wasnt all victoria said she saw. After what sounded like a shooting, she said, she saw a black two door toyota drive by. Detectives got nowhere on that lead. But they sure did wonder why ray jennings didnt mention his encounter with victoria richardson. So a month after the murder, detective longshore went to jennings house to ask him again. Yeah, that. It was an africanamerican lady. It just started to ring off some alarm bells. Reporter jennings said he wasnt trying to hide anything, he just misunderstood the question, that first time he was asked. Detective longshore asked me, immediately after the shooting, did you see anybody leave . So my interpretation of the wo immediately means shots fired, somebody leaves . Noshots fired, five, seven, ten minutes later, somebody leaves. Reporter but, victorias story changed things. Maybe ray jennings wasnt a witness trying to be helpful as detectives originally thought. Maybe he was a suspect. Her coming forward, we could put jennings at the scene just moments before the shooting. Reporter so now the detectives rethought what jennings had told them about the night of michelles murder. Longshore asked him to submit to something he called a cognitive interview. An attempt to jog his memory, the detective said. D jennings, ever cooperative, agreed. Why in heavens name, when you realize that they were pushing you, probing, ankinda suspicious yeah. Why didnt you ask for an attorney . Ive never been involved with anything like this before. Im just being as helpful as i can. So, it never it never dawned on me to ask for an attorney. I have to tell you what i reporter tape rolled as three different detectives questioned jennings. It bothers me every day, to know that i didnt see anything. Reporter why didnt he . Because his view was blocked, he said, by a van parked next to michelles mustang. But he did recall what he witnsed after the shooting, when he saw michelles body. Gunshot in her chest that to me, looked like the very first shot that was fired. It was just close range, it was very close range. Reporter thing was, he was right. He was right about a lot. Which, only increased longshores suspicions. We dont make those determinations before you go to an autopsy. And for a lay person come up with that it just defied defied logic. Reporter jennings also offered opinions about the sequence of shots, including how one must have struck the pavementea he said that he saw a projectile laying on the pavement and that he speculated that projectile was there because the ooter accidentally shot into the ground as he approached michell it took us hours to determine thats what occurred. And yet he had it, in a matter of minutes. Eporter jennings served in the national guard, so he knew something about guns. But se are things that i shoulda never spoke on because i didnt know. Im not an expert. You were guessing . At thesehings. Its like nerves still. Reporter but then jennings said sometng to those detectives that made tm all but jump. About seeing michelles body. Like her hand was twitching, just shakingike that. Mmhmm. Or just popping up and down. Okay. And then like, uh, uh i seen a, you could see a slight pulse in her neck, just a real, its real light. I thought she was still alive. Reporter but remember, jennings said he didnt rush to the crime scene right after the said it was several minutes before he saw michelles body. By which time, the detectives felt sure, she must have been dead. I think tt you saw the pulse and i think that you saw the hand twitching and the reason you you saw all that is cuz you were there. I said, i believe that you saw that movement. But it wasnt 15 minutes later. It was when you shot her. Reporherete tt was. A straightout accusation. Jennings denied it. I swear to you, man, that i to a polygraph, during which he suggested a possible motive for michelles murder. She looked to be a prostitute in my eye because of the way she was dressed. So i thought it might have been a prostitution deal that went bad. Okay. Reporter thing is, jennings failed the polygraph. So if he was lying, maybe the truth was he propositioned her, thought the detectives. Maybe michelle, who was known to be a fighter, resisted and the encounter ickly escalated. Turned deadly. Something went wrong ray. Theres nothing i can say to defend it. Im at a loss. Reporter the questioning went on for nine hours. All recorded on videotape. Detectives believed it was their best evidence yet. And jennings . I went home and my wife at the time had came. And she asked me, was i okay . And i said, i think that theyve i belieilled this girl. A prime suspect but no arrest. You want closure and then when you dont it gets frustrating. Reporter so michelles family looks for justice, elsewhere. I mean, seriously, he just knew too much. I just see a black screen. What are you looking at . Crazy stuff, man. Youve gotta see this. Whatwhat is this . Its like some 3d virtual world. Whatcan i see . His . Ai yai yai yai yai yai. Look at the moon. . . [ male announcer ] cats will do anything for the irresistible taste of temptations treats. What are you doing . Oh, here, check this out. . . [ meows ] temptations. Cats cant resist. Whbreathe easier with yovicks vaporub. E. Soothing cough relief that startsking instantly. Discover card. Im not a customer, but im calling about that credit scorecard. Give it. Sure it free for everyone. Oh well thats nice and checking your score wont hurt your credit. Oh im so proud of you. Well thank you. Free at at discover. Com creditscorecard, i just want to know why, why they picked michelle. I just want to know the motive. Somebody out there knows what happened, so. Reporter the okeefe family appealed to the local media to help solve their daughters murder. And lead detective richard longshore thought maybe he had. Were going to close this case. Its not going to be an easy task. And murder cases never are. Detective longshore had made it very clear that he was gunnin for me. That i was his number one man. Ph reporter but with no ical evidence, no murder weapon or eyewitnesses, he couldnt arrest jennings. So spring melted into a sweltering summer of suspicion. Then in october of 2000, on what would have been michelles 19th rthday please welcome mike and pat and told their story to psychic sylvia browne. About eight months ago, our daughter was murdered in a park n ride. What wed like to know is, the police havent got a name yet or anything. Do you know who killed her . Hes very large build. Um, but his name is lee or leon. Lee as in Raymond Lee Jennings . He had on some kind of a blue uniform with a pocket and a badge thing. Reporter which, of course, ramped up suspicion, but not much else. You want clos frustrating. And it eats at you. Youve gotta get thithing solved. And so one thing led to another. We got hooked upith rex. Reporter rex parris, that is, a prominent Antelope Valley civil attorney, renowned for handling personal injury cases and winning big settlements. I turned the case down initially. I didnt think it was winnable. Reporter but the okeefes thought that filing a civil case for negligence, might jumpstart a criminal case. And he agreed. And he goes, yeah i think through the civil, civil process we can get you some answers. Reporter parris hired his own investigator we invested 90,000 in investigation costs. You were really into this thing. Well, i was convinced that he murdered her. Reporter and, just maybe, he could pry it out of him. Jennings was one of the targets of the civil case, giving parris a i was hoping i got to take his deposition. I do. Deposition is just ke courtroom testimony. Mr. Jennings, do you remember the night ms. Okeefe was killed . I do. So, two and a half years after the murder, there was jennings. He showed up alone, no lawyer, to face down a highly skilled litigation attorney. Theres no evidence whatsoever. If that was the case its almost why am i sitting here talking to you . How come im not in jail . 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 was that glib, that charming. I pray everyday, i say if theyre going to come and arrest me, and charge me for this crime, come and do it. Reporter jennings sat for not one, but two depositions. Even as parris hammered him on what he saw and when he saw it. Parris had the cell phone records that confirmed michelle n ride around 9 23 pm, the same time jennings was on patrol. So, demanded parris, why didnt jennings see them when they pulled into the lot . Its obvious that someone dropped her off. I dont know what time they dropped her off. But its your testimony that you never saw that . Yeah, i never seen it. To this day i cant remember seeing any kind of car ride by me, or if they did, i didnt pay any attention to it. He denied ever seeing her. But hes standing right at the he would have had to have seen her. It was impossible for him not to have seen her. Unless he was looking away. Hes the Security Guard. Hes supposed to be looking for people as they come in. Okay, ill give it to you. Maybe, maybe. But how many maybes do you accept before you say, no . Like, for example, jennings once again describing how he saw feeble signs of life in michelle. Recollection of seeing a slight pulse in her neck . To my memory i honestly do. I honestly do. Did you actually see her fingers twitching . Im just going to go by what i remember that night, and im just going to answer yes. If he saw her hand twitch, the the medical Science Behind that is, he was there when the shot wafired. Thats just science. Too much. Reporter parris pushed back. Jennings bridled. Youre doin a very good job about irritating me and youre getting underneath my skin. Im 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. Its not going to happen, my friend, okay . So why dont you just try to tell the truth . I am telling the truth. Lets start again. Lets not start again i got into a contest with rex parris that i should not have indulged in. Match. Im not your scapegoat. The real killer is out tre some lace and im not the one. Reporter jennings left parrfficiss o confident that neither he nor the detectives had a case. I figured, well, i didnt kill her. Theres no evidence to suggest that i did do. It was just more or less theyre using the statements that i d made as far as knowing too much. The man who knew too much. Reporter which is exactly believed. Jennings must have done it. But proving it was another matter. And longshore was bogged down on other cases. And another year passed. And then three years after michelles murder, longshore finally presented the case against jennings to then l. A. County Deputy District Attorney robert foltz. And i was convinced this guy did it. But i saw, there were some Serious Problems with the physical evidence in the case. Just wasnt any. Right. And so, i thought well, lets wait on this one. Weve got other ones more more urgent at this point. Reporter the okeefes were crushed. Parris settled the civil lawsuit against the city and the family received a substantial payment. The claim against jennings was dropped, but what the okeefes really wanted was justice for michelle. As long as theres breath in my lungs, we arent gonna give up until yeah. Til this things resolved. Reporter but they were running out of options. Reporter coming reporter coming up, michelles parents take their case directly to the d. A. I thought it was compelling. Reporter and, the best reporter and, the best call me tomorrow . The butterburger is made of just three cuts of fresh midwest beef. Nothing more, nothing less. So we got the sirloin, the chuck and the plate. No fillers; thats it. All prized cuts, all wellmarbled for richness and flavor. This is where those three wonderful cuts of beef come together. You can just tell that blend is working in there. And we sear them, and that seals in the juices of the burger. It doesnt get any better than that. Guess ill talk to you later. Reporter theres a vois . Okay. Goodbye. That voice, it wouldnt stop. On the night of february murdered at thrk n ride lot. They erected billboards in the desert, and they despaired. And still, that little voice. We really miss you. Reporter and then, as the fourth anniversary of michelles murder approached, they got a phone call. I had just gotten my private investigators license. I decided i was gonna branch out a little bit, and maybe a fresh pair a eyes wouldnt hurt. Reporter his name was jim jeffra, a retired sheriffs deputy who lived in the Antelope Valley. He asked the okeefes if he could conduct his own investigaton from an entirely new perspective. Maybe Raymond Lee Jennings did not kill her. I was gonna do what i could do to prove that he didnt kill this girl. And if we could get past that, then we could move forward and go after the person th did kill her. Reporter and with the blessing of lead detective richard longshore, jeffra went for months, on his own time and own dime. He criscrossed the Antelope Valley looking for people who knew jennings and could eliminate him as a suspect. He pored over the Police Report and frequented the park n ride lot to get jennings perspectiv, on the shooting. And he huddled with mike okeefe to ferret through every frame of those videotaped interviews with jennings. You did not see or talk to any human being. No, i did not. Analyzed all those Police Reports and the hours and hours of videotape, he noticed what seemed like the same inconsistencies in ray jennings story, and came to the very same conclusion as all the other investigators. That jennings didnt see things he should have seen, but knew things an innocent man shouldnt have known. He is telling a story that just doesnt add up in these videos. It looked like a small casing of a. 9 millimeter or a. 45, or he just knew too much. He knew what the top forensic investigator in the United States took over a month to figure out. Reporter and after completing their investigation. There was no doubt in my mind, just no doubt. I think he killed michelle. . . Reporter but jeffras analysis wasnt much different from what homicide detectives were already thinking. Yet, another opinion fingering jennings wasnt going to persuade the d. A. To file charge unless there was some new evidence. But then they had an idea. Maybe they could build a compelling case against jennings using his very own words. I didnt see anybody come in during that time. I didnt see anybody drop anybody off. So we put together a powerpoint. There were actually about 35 key points that showed that this guy had to have some involvement in it. Reporter bits of answers. That to me looked like the reporter and body language. I have no motive. She had nothing i wanted. I didnt kill her. Reporter all assembled in one tight package. Theres nothing i can say to defend it. If you start picking out the pieces, hes telling the story that he killed this girl. Translator just maybe the show and tell of sound bytes was the best way sell the case to the d. A. So in october, 2005, mike okeefe mit his powerpoint presentation, featuring all those edited clips of jennings statements. They had everything very carefully kind of sifted down to what they felt was the important things to consider. So they goosed it . They goosed it. I thought it was compelling. Reporter and, several days later i decided that as problematic as the case was, it was not an impossible feat to get this case so, i filed it. Reporter by then, though, the man at the center of it all, ray jennings, was nowhere near the Antelope Valley. Jennings, the national guardsman, was halfway around the world. I was selected to go to iraq. And and thats how i ended up in iraq. Did you have any idea while you were in iraq that you were still a suspect . As far as actually looking to press charges or issue any type of warrants for anything, i i was you know, unaware reporter but his hitch was up in just a feweeks. Hed soon be back in the Antelope Valley, altogether unaware of the big surprise that awaited him. Coming up, an arrest. I look up in my rearview mirror, and theres maybe a good five or six sheriff deputy cars. Reporter a trial. We had a very strong circumstantial case. Reporter and a twist. Want to be me, be me . . 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The Engagement Ring of her dreams you had designed just for her. In fact, with Custom Design Services in every jared. Anything you can imagine, our expert jewelers can create. Something completely original, completely unique. Completely her. Custom design reporter he was home now, back in the Antelope Valley, after serving 11 months in iraq. Ray jennings was adjusting, looking forward to the holidays with his kids, unaware that a green light to arrest him. I had him under surveillance. Every time wed see him, hed be with his children, and i didnt want to arrest him in front of his kids. Reporter and then, on a cool december morning, two weeks before christmas, jennings left his house to mail some gifts. This time he was alone. I look up in my rearview five or six sheriff deputy cars. And i pulled over and i was like, what in the hell is this . And we took him down at a traffic stop and was ordered out at gunpoint and, his statement said, ive been in iraq. Is this about Michelle Okeefe . And, yes, it was. . . Reporter they booked him for michelles death. I almost felt like god or jesus just reached down and toucheme. I just sort of got a chill down my spine. Bail will be set at 1 million. Reporter with no way tmake bail, jennings remained in the l. A. County jail. I didnt kill anybody. Why is this happening to me . Ive got the transcript here. Reporter his case was assigned to deputy d. A. Michael blake, a nononsense, detailoriented prosecutor. This one s one to find a clear path, and we have thousands and 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. Well, and you didnt have dna. You didnt have fingerprints. You didnt even have a weapon. Thats true. We had a very strong circumstantial case. Reporter based largely on Raymond Jennings very owwords. The car and just shooting that way, the bullets. Reporter which d. A. Blake would now carefully use to construct his case. You have a man who is making statements and observations that he is saying are true that puts him there at the time the triggers being pulled. His attorney would say, in fact, he told you he didnt see a damn thing. And he was merely speculating. Right. Would an innocent person really go that far out on a limb in utter speculation in the middle of a Murder Investigation . Reporter one year passed, and then another, as the trial date slowly inched closer. And jennings, in his jail cell, spent many hours reflecting on the things hed said about michelles murder. I didnt kill Michelle Okeefe. What i did is gave too much information to the police on being sherlock holmes, and i should have never did that. This is what got me in trouble in the very beginning. I should have just said, okay, this is this is what ive . . Reporter then in 2008, three years after jennings arrest and eight, since michelles murder, the trial finally began, in a downtown l. A. Courtroom. The states theory . Jennings, by his own admission, mistook michelle for a prostitute, because of the way she was dressed for the kid rock video shoot. He tried to initiate a sexual encounter, she resisted. And he shot her. The defense, though, countered that there was no evidence to connect jennings to the crime, no dna, no weapon, no witnesses. The trial lasted six weeks. The jury was out for over a week. Conviction. So in january, 2009, a second trial. This time, cameras rolled in the courtroom. The evidence in this case will absolutely show that Raymond Lee Jennings is telling a series of lies. You will see that they are mixed in with grains of truth, that we know only the killer would know. Reporter again, jennings defense attorney argued he was merely trying to help, that there was no evidence against him. No finger print evidence, gun shot residue. None. There exists no blood evidence connects mr. Jennings to this crime. Reporter several more weeks of trial. . . Reporter then the jury took the case, and once again, they hung 11 to 1 for guilt this time. Its horrible. Across the jury. You just had one wild card juror in there. Reporter and jennings i was waiting to see what the judge was gonna do about a third trial. Reporter would there bone, or would jennings go free . The okeefe family headed home to the Antelope Valley, where theyd await the decision, hoping, praying that their daughter would finally get justice. Coming up, almost ten years after michelles murder, her family waits for an answer. Im both nervous and anxious. Reporter and so, does her accused killer. What happens now . Reporter when dateline continues. Leave complicated behind. Whats in your wallet . We are a military family. They travel a lot. Every four years when we got restationed you think its going to be the biggest change in your life but theres always more changes to come. The first thing that we would do when we would get into our new place was set up the beds. And when i go to t. J. Maxx i buy good quality things that are going to last a long time. Everything i get there, i get at a lower price. Ys like a bonding experience. Discover real value worth sharing. I just think that home, its wherever your family is. Continuing our story they believe i killed this woman. Tonight, the stunning, new developments in a familys long search for justice. Why cant they tell us . Young woman in this lonely parking lot at the start of the new millenium. E theft of a promising life. I love you reporter and here they were. Nine years, two trials, two hung juries later, confronting a looming question. Would ray jennings be tried a third time for the murder of Michelle Okeefe . The decision was the judges to make. And here it was there will be a third trial. It will undoubtedly be the final trial. Meaning if this jury hangs, ray jennings walks. The judge also made one more decision. He transferred the trial from downtown l. A. To the Antelope Valley, where michelle was murdered. Home turf for the okeefe family, which worried ray jennings. It is a very wellknown case in the, the area. And the family is a very predominant family in the community. So you felt like you were goin back into the enemy camp, i did. Reporter it was the fall of 2009. Prosecutor Michael Blake carefully laid out his case, arguing that jennings approached michelle in the parking lot, thinking she was a prostitute. She would have resisted. And then, things must have spiralled out of control. And he shot her. He took that girls life to preserve his own. After making a grave mistake reporter as for the lack of gunshot residue on Raymond Jennings uniform. Blake implied that jennings might have cleaned it before turning it into the crime lab. And there was that witness, victoria richardson, who was in the park and ride lot the night of the murder. Her testimony from the first trial was read, and it seemed to place jennings near the crime scene, right around the time when the fatal shots were fired. Bottom line, the truth will come out. There were those hours and hours of interviews with ray jennings. Interviews in which, blake insisted, jennings seemed to know so much. Too much, things only the killer would know. Jennings seemed to have informed opinions about everything from a stray bullet fired into the asphalt, to very specific details about the fatal shots. He knows all this stuff because hes the shooter. Reporter or, maybe not. Defense attorney David Houchin argued that jennings was simply speculating; trying to help the cops. Just opinions and observations, which were later used against him. Everything he says, everything, is gonna be analyzed in a way that suits a prosecution who wants to convict mr. Jennings. Reporter besides, insisted the defense, there was no physical evidence linking jennings to the murder. There was of course blood, on michelle, but also a speck of from another person. One donor being ms. Okeefe. One donor being an unknown male. Not mr. Jennings. Reporter not mr. Jennings, but maybe the real killer, said the defense. But no, said the prosecution. That speck of blood was irrelevant, could have come from anybody quitno the murder. Perhaps even at that kid rock shoot. The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The trial went on for weeks. And then, it went to the jury for the third time. Michelles parents could only wait. Im nervous and anxious, both. Yeah, well, very nervous. But i feel confident in the jurors. Reporter days passed, a week. Two weeks now. What was the jury doing in there . It gave me a lotta hope. You know, no jury is gonna deliberate for that long and come back with a guilty verdict. Reporter all jennings needed was one holdout. Then, just before christmas. A verdict. As everyone settled into the packed courtroom, ray jennings sat quietly. Expressionless. The still, small voice told me to prepare myself because, you will be found guilty. We, the jury in the above entitled action, find the defendant, Raymond Jennings, not guilty of crime of willful, deliberate and premeditated first degree murder. You kind of think, this cant be happening again. Reporter but this time, the jury wasnt finished. We, the jury in the above entitled action, find the defendant, Raymond Jennings, guilty of the crime of Second Degree murder. Absolute devastation. Where you were in that sense of despair . It was difficult because, i just got found guilty for a murder i didnt commit. What happens now . What happens to my children, you know . What happens to my mom . Reporter outside the courtroom, a sense of calm for the okeefe family, who had also heard a voice during their 10year quest for justice. There was always this little active in there, you know, that, that, justice needed to be served. And i think now, that part of it can go to rest, that justice is served. Mmhmm. And michelle can rest in peace. Reporter two months later and almost 10 years to the day that Michelle Okeefe was murdered, Raymond Jennings was back in court for sentencing. But first hed hear from the okeefe family, expressing 10 years of pentup rage and sorrow. I have to ask what kind of demon lives within you to have reporter they wanted him to know that the pain was still deep. I never felt such incredible pain in my heart. You will have to live with that image of her dying and taking her last breath. Reporter and here was chelles younger brother, jason, pleading with jennings, to finally tell thtruth. Ask god for forgiveness, ask all of us for forgiveness. And if you ask me, i will forgive you. Reporter then raymond le jennings, the man who perhaps had already said too much, had one more thing to say. I sit here as an innocent man. And ive heard you speak on god. And as christ is my lord and savi, i will stand before god and this is one sin that i will not be judged for. Im at peace in my life. And i laugh and i smile becaus i hold no remorse because i didnt kill your sister. Jesus is my lord and savior and i will stand before him. You, with you, and with you, and well answer to this question. Reporter you could, as they say, hr a pin drop as jennings turned to the judge for one last profession of his innocence. I will take my time, and i will hold my head up aa man. My five children will know who their father is, and they will know he is not a murderer. The stence im about to pass. Reporter but t judge showed no mercy, gave jennings the maximum. For a total sentence of 40 years to life. Reporter it had taken the okeefe family a decade to get here. Finally they thought michelle had justice. And Raymond Jennings . Father of five, iraq war vet, was now a convicted killer, likely to die in prison. And the awful tragedy that had haunted the Antelope Valley for or was it . We thought so. We absolutely thought so. Reporter coming up. Some force compelled me to go watch this episode of dateline nbc. Reporter it was our earlier report, on this very case. And by the time dateline was over, this case, wasnt. Wanted to find out. What was the story. Why the phelps face . New computers are superfast. And yet here you are with a new world record for the slowest computer. You know about it, now do something about it. Upgrade to a new pc. . . Olay regenerist renews from within. Plumping surface cells for a dramatic transformation. Without the need for fillers. With olay, you age less. So you can be ageless. Olay ageless. To do the best more about the food you choose. With beyond, you have a Natural Pet Food that goes beyond telling ingredients to showing where they come from. Beyond assuming the source is safe. To knowing it is. Beyond asking for trust. To earning it. Because, honestly, our pets deserve it. Beyond. . . Why get your eyes checked the Old Fashioned way, when lenscrafters can digitally map them for you. Introducing clarifye, no other eyeexam is more precise. Atnt just serve classy snacks and be a gracious host, no matter who shows up. [cricket sound] richard. Didnt think you were going to make it. Hey sorry about last weekend, i dont know what got into me. Well forgive and forget. Kind of. I dont think so reporter winter 2010, a time to heal in the Antelope Valley. It had taken nearly a decade to solve the mystery of who murdered Michelle Okeefe. But now justice had finally been served. The killer was in prison. The case was closed. Later that spring, dateline broadcast a twohour report on the case. We called it, the girl with the blue mustang. It ended with the guilty verdict and ray jennings sentencing. At least some justice was done. I mean, it didnt bring michelle back, certainly, but it at least gave you a little bit of a feeling of closure. Reporter Raymond Jennings was installed in a maximum security prison, far away from Antelope Valley. Id be in the cell by myself, why me . Reporter 40 years to ponder that question. I, id just tell everybody, im a shorttimer. Prison and thats it. Thats it. Im done. But you were done. No, i wasnt. There was no way i was spendin 40 years plus incarcerated for a murder i didnt commit. Isnt that exactly what everybody in prison says . Jennings appealed. He lost. Four years passed. It was now 2014. The okeefe family was still living in the Antelope Valley. And then in november of that year it happened. Something teib again. Ask all of us for forgiveness. And if you ask me, i will forgive you. Reporter jason okeefe, who missed his sister so much. Had become a star baseball player. Hed been scouted by the dodgers and the cardinals. But a few years earlier there had been a freak accident. In an elevator. And for his injuries. Jason had been taking powerful pain medications. And then. As so often happens. Unfortunately prescription and the drugs had basically taken over his life. You saw this kid go from an all american kid to kind of a recluse who just kinda hung out in his room most of the time. I found him on found him dead on the floor, and that i mean. Unimaginable, really. It i cant tell you. It takes you to a low no one can characterize what low is until you go through Something Like that. Reporter both gone. Michelle at 18, jason at 27. You must sort of look up at the sky and say, why me, god . A lot. Oh my gosh. You know, people say, do you pray . And i go, well, i dont really pray but i end up havin some loud discussions with jesus, when i do pray. Reporter the okeefes are divorced now, and this is all they share. Their only real solace. Knowing that the man convicted of murdering michelle would be behind bars for decades. . . Reporter and in corcoran state prison, raymond lee jeenings stared at the walls and asked for help. From the california Innocence Project. Which promised to look into his case. Oh, it was very exciting because at that point. My appeals had been exhausted. And so, the light at that tunnel was gettin very dim. Distance between being accepted and ever getting redress. I mean, it. Oh, absolutely. Can take decades. Years. If he was lucky. Reporter and thats where things stood in 2014. When an easily bored young man was casting around for something to occupy his mind. Im an autodidactic polymath. Reporter autodidactic polymath . You could look it up. Its greek for self taught clint ehrlich. Youre kind of an odd duck, if i may say so. But youre different. I am different, yes. Right now, im a visiting researcher at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations where im writing my dissertation on nuclear game theory. Why are you doing that . Because it interests me, and because i can. Reporter but his continuing interest, said clint, is the law. Cl appeals attorney in la. Reporter you didnt go to college . Oh, i dropped out of high school, and then i didnt go to college. I had the privilege of having my dad be one of the top lawyers in the country. And so being able to be his apprentice and get my leg Legal Education that way, hands on, was very appealing. Reporter clearly clint doesnt lack for self confidence. Or self promotion for that matter. Anyway. He was at home one night. Some force compelled me to go watch this episode of dateline nbc. I dont watch tv, i certainly dont watch shows about crime. The stage at which the last moments of Michelle Okeefes life. But why that story, the girl with the blue mustang . Because what i saw was something about an iraq war veteran who had supposedly murdered a young girl in a parking lot in california. And i couldnt understand why would he do that . What was the story . And it now it was a crime scene. My, my, my. New set of eyes as they say. Coming up a Second Chance for Raymond Jennings . I realized that either this was an innocent man or this was a sociopath who deserved an no. If you want someone to leave you alone, you pretend like youre sleeping. Its what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Tv character taking selfies in the kitchen does not make you a model. Come into olive garden now for our never ending pasta bowl starting at 9. 99 endless combinations of your favorite pastas, sauces and toppings. Now including chicken alfredo. Hurry, this never ending value ends soon. [ tower pinging ] [ whistling ] weve got a problem, friend. Half off any smartphone for anyone who switches . Whats the problem . The naughty list shouldnt get deals yeah, but anyone who switches gets half off of any smartphone. Even these . Yeah, any smartphone. Call the big guy [ bell dings ] santa . No, jingles. [ knuckles crack ] [ spits ] ooo. Ouch. [ neck cracks ] [ darien ] switch and get half off any smartphone. Reporter who knows why these things happen. It was pure chance, really, that clint ehrlich, grazing on his computer late at night. Just happened on an old episode of dateline. The mystery of the girl with the blue mustang. But clint watched carefully. Keyed in on jennings, on his interviews, his trial his statement during sentencing. Jesus is my lord and savior, i will stand before him. When i saw him speak at his sentencing about christ. Will not be judged for. It touched me. I realized that either this was an innocent man, or this was a sociopath who deserved an academy award. And i just had to know which one was it . Reporter cause there are sociopaths who are able to do that. Absolutely. Reporter on a regular basis. Sure. But when he spoke about his faith and being judged by god, that it struck a chord with me. Reporter you a religious person . Dug up the courts ruling on jennings appeal. I immediately decided to read it, desperately hoping that i would find evidence that would convince me that reporter that he was guilty. That he was guilty. Because then i could forget about this and i could go on with my life. And instead, i found the opposite. I found an absence of evidence there wasnt evidence that proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty. Reporter where was the mustang through all these events where was michelle . Prosecutor Michael Blake always acknowledged there was little or no physical evidence against jennings. The case was primarily circumstantial, comprised mainly of all those incriminating interviews he gave. The gunshot in her chest, that to me looked like the very first shot that was fired. Reporter but clint wasnt so sure that jennings statements made him the shooter. He consulted his father. I asked him, if there were an innocent man in prison, would him . And i said, okay like, maybe what have you got . And he emailed me a copy of the court of appeal opinion in rays case. And i read that case, the opinion. And i walked into his office and i said, im very troubled. Reporter so the ehrlichs pored through the tria transcripts, and the more they read, the more they were convinced that jennings had been wrongfully convicted. Because they start off the opinion by essentially saying, we recognize that there is no witness that saw this man commit the crime. Theres no physical evidence to tie him to the crime and very quickly i said, okay. Lets do this. Reporter so now this father and son team, the autodidactic polymath and the civil attorney, neither of whom had virtually no experience in criminal law, would try to free a convicted killer. What would possess you to do such a thing . This man needed help. Reporter we watch these things go through the courts. And it takes sometimes years. Reporter decades. Yes. Reporter and you knew it, and you were prepared to go for it anyway . Yes. I didnt see a choice. Reporter they got word to the prison asking jennings to contact them. I called jeff and ive never heard attorney speak the way that he did, very passionate. Made it very clear that his intention was to get me out of prison by all means necessary. Reporter but wait. Jennings had the california Innocence Project working fo him. But if he agreed to let the ehrichs help him, hed had have to say goodbye to the Innocence Project. After 10 years in prison with 30 more to go ray jennings faced difficult because the Innocence Project in essence was a lifeline. And now i have an attorney who speaks a very good game. Reporter jennings was skittish about the ehrichs, even thoughhey told him they would take his case for free. He actually had been rather worried that mbe we d ulterior motives. He had mentioned this to other inmates, and that they had told him, dont get involved with these people. They m buck off of you. Reporter so jennings sat in his cell and thought for a few days and then he called the ehrlichs again. He decided to put his fate in our hands. Reporter but, seriously. Could a civil appeals attorney and his young apprentice really good luck with that. Coming up. The case against the jennings case. I call it a cascade of errors if they had swabbed rays hands for gunshot residue, or searched him or his car then there you bought a wig, a jersey, and overpriced nachos. 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They didnt, sequester you and put you in a police car . They did not. Reporter in fairness to the cops, jennings was initially considered a witness, not a suspect. And thats why he wasnt immediately checked for gunshot residue. But in retrospect, according to jeffrey ehrlich, that was a crucial mistake. Hands for gunshot residu or searched him or his car and found that there was no gun. Then there wouldnt have been a case. Reporter they didnt take possession of rays uniform, either. Or test it for the gunshot residue until several days after the shooting. When it tested negative. At the trial, prosecutor Michael Blake implied jennings may have cleaned the uniform before we dont know where it was. We dont know what he did with it. But we do know the type of evidence that was being searched for is the type of evidence that could be washed away or even brushed away. Reporter that comment, said the ehrlichs, was seriously misleading, because it invited the jury to think jennings destroyed incriminating evidence to cover up the crime. But, said the ehrichs, the case file showed that jennings did not wash his uniform. I found evidence in the record from the notes within the crimb was brought in was dirty at the time that it was tested for gunshot residue. And that therefore, the prosecutions excuse about the negative result in that test was bogus. Reporter meaning according to clint ehrlich. Mr. Jennings could not have fired a gun the night of the murder. Reporter whether or not ballistics experts would agree, clints conclusion was quite certain. And then there was the curious issue of that bullet the killer fired into the pavement. Jennings seemed to know way too much about that, said the detectives, who concluded that before the fatal shots. But that wasnt possible, said clint. We also found out that, if you fire into asphalt, and youre wearing pants, that theres something called pseudo stippling. Theres little pieces of the asphalt that go and they create small holes in your pants. And there was no pseudo ippling on his pants. And so it meant that he couldnt have been the man who fired that shot into the ground. Reporter but what about that key witness, victoria richardson . Remember her . Said she saw a Security Guard walk by her car and then moments later heard some strange tapping noises, which they deduced must have been gunshots. Victoria testified in the 1st trial, but not in trial number three. Instead, prosecutor blake read back her testimony and also told the jury. One other thing victoria testimony is a statement that the Security Guard walked by her car, parked 13 spaces from Michele Okeefe right before the shots were fired. Reporter but, when the ehrlichs read victorias testimony. They could clearly see, that when pushed, thats not what she said. All that she was able to say was that at some point that night, at an unspecified time, she saw mr. Jennings walk by. But then how long was she in the parking lot, sitting in a car . Marijuana and she said that that distorted her sense of time. Reporter so again, the ehrlichs contended, the prosecutor misled the jury. Then . Well, this might be the true headline. Remember how detective longshore said victoria richardson was with a group of acquaintances in her car that night . Turns out, there were three of them. The ehrlichs checked to see if the police also investigated check on those people. And the essence of the prosecution case is that ray must have been guilty because there was no one else there who could have committed the crime. Reporter which was clearly not true, said the ehrlichs. And yet the jury never heard from any of those other people or if they were capable of such a crime. And when rays attorney complained about that, prosecutor blake blamed, not the police, or the state, but the defense attorney himself. The prosecution is being criticized for not interviewing all adults in the car. Well, remember, the defense has the same access to witnesses that we do. Reporter in fact, said the ehrlichs, about defense attorney David Houchin, jennings was also a victim of inneffective assistance of counsel. I found evidence that mr. Houchin had not presented. And he simply didnt care enough to find it, or wasnt competent enough to find it. Reporter houchin told us he and as for all those statements jennings made to the police . It just was close range, very close range. Reporter this was the sort of thing, said the prosecuter, reporter this was the sort thing, said the prosecutor, that only the killer would know. That was kind of the, the headline on their case. Right. Its just demonstrably false. Its ridiculous. Really . The things that only the killer would know were things that a witness at the scene, like ray jennings, who was paying attention, would have been able to either know, see, reporter jennings had always maintained he was trying to be helpful to the police. You could see she had a pulse, it was a very light. Reporter but here, years later, talking to us. He said he was eager to show off to the cops back then. And wound up saying he saw things that maybe he didnt see. Maybe he was just wrong. Thats a far cry from the certainty he once expressed. Night, as far as why i was able to see that or whether it was true or not true. You and i can look at the same thing and you can see something totally different than what i see. Reporter in short, said clint and jeffrey ehrlich, police and prosecutors simply arranged the facts to fit their theory, to make ray jennings a murderer. It has a name. Tunnel vision. They just locked in on him, and they just couldnt bring themselves to consider anyone else. Its a tragedy. Repor c had a compelling case, the ehlrichs planned to file a writ of habeas corpus. An argument that jennings had been wrongfully convicted. But that process can take years. Is rarely successful. And then, imagine this. Help from the most unlikely place, the Los Angeles County District Attorneys office. Reporter coming up. Once an ally to the okeefes, the d. A. Now has second thoughts. They realized, we dont have we have a witness to the crime, and we convicted him. But the okeefes still want justice. Why havent they got somebody else in handcuffs now . And ray jennings is still in prison. I literally just started prayin. Dont send me back there. Dont send me back. Reporter when dateline continues. Collision. [burke] it happened. December 14th, 2015. And we covered it. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. . We are farmers. 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Very sad that that had to happen to somebody who had the potential to be a great citizen, and really do positive things. Reporter her convicted killer ray jennings was middleaged by then. Here are a few snap shots of him behind bars, fully institutionalized, and still 30 years from his first shot at parole. The ehrlichs were working on a we knew that it was gonna take a very long time in the courts to try to achieve anything. Reporter and then that summer. My father saw an article about the creation of the cru in the newspaper. Reporter the cru . Shorthand for the conviction review unit, established by Los Angeles County District Attorney jackie lacey. This was her brainchild. Reporter Laurie Levenson is a professor at Loyola Law School in los angeles. They were having to admit that there were guilty people who were not guilty, actually innocent. And i think she said, lets take a look. We had been hoping that there was some way to reach out and to explain, look, we think youve made a really, really bad mistake. And so the idea that we could go directly to the d. A. s office and say please, take a look at this. That was very appealing. Report about the case. So we put together this critique, but it took us months to craft. So, its a 34page singlespaced letter. Reporter 50 miles away in the Antelope Valley, pat and mike okeefe had no idea what the ehrlichs were up to. All they knew was that ray jennings had exhausted his appeals and would therefore remain behind bars for three more decades. And everybody said, hey, at this point theres really nothings gonna happen. Reporter autumn came and went, then the holidays, and then new years 2016. On february 29th, i got a call. Reporter the cru wanted to hear their pitch in person. There are three lawyers and the senior investigator. And they just, for 90 minutes, grilled me. It was, like, the most intense oral argument, an an reporter then, a few weeks later, they heard from the cru again. And they started to develop theories that they realized very quickly that wed convicted a witness. We dont have the killer. We have a witness to the crime, and we convicted him. Reporter out of Something Like 700 cases they reviewed, the jennings case was the first one that the cru decided to actually reinvestigate. So, theres a lot of pressure here to get ig enormous pressure on this unit to get it right because its a test case for this unit, and frankly there are a lot of people who would like this unit to continue. Reporter so, as the cru pondered its decision. The ehrichs finally went to meet ray jennings face to face for the very first time. Id never visited a prison before. But, to see this man, what the reality of his daytoday existence was, and what the reporter ehrlich could only guess what was going on at the das office, what hard feelings may have been stirred up by the crus investigation. The only reasonable conclusion is that Raymond Lee Jennings murdered Michelle Okeefe. Reporter wed been told prosecutor Michael Blake stands by the case and the convcition. We wanted to interview him about the ehrlichs allegations that he purposely withheld exculpatory evidence from the jury. Bl request, he said. And now, everyone waited. . . Reporter and then one morning, back in the Antelope Valley, a representative from the District Attorneys office paid a visit to the okeefes. Hes knocking and knocking, and i thought, who in the heck is banging on my door . Finally, after about 20 or 30 knocks, he says, i need to talk to you about the d. A. s office in the morning to tell us in person. Reporter the okeefes didnt know the details until they showed up for their meeting at the d. A. s office where, they said, they were blindsided. Were gonna release mr. Jennings. And i go, well, is is he exonerated . Well, no, not yet. And i said, oh. I go, well, you are you arresting somebody else . And they go, well, we dont have enough information to make an arrest yet. And if theyve got something thats that compelling, why havent they got somebody else in handcuffs now . Reporter actually, the decision, whether or not to release raymond jenings, wasnt the d. A. s to make. The ehrlichs and the cru could only file a joint petition with a judge, who would ultimately decide whether or not to set him free. So in june of 2016, the okeefes, and jennings, and the cru gathered in the very same courthouse where jennings had been tried twice before. Everybody was telling me that i would be sent back to state prison. Id i literally just started praying as hard as i could and just asking, you know, asking the father, th th dont send me back there. Dont send me back. Release me from here. Reporter freedom . Or finish his prison term . Ray jennings and the okeefes were about to find out. Coming up, three trials, and 15 years after michelles murder, a final twist. It was surreal. Were the parents. Why cant they tell us . With the cleaning power of tide. So you can actually clean your clothes and still. Sed detergent with the cleaning power of tide. If its got to be clean, its got to be tide. cheering on tv you may write me down in history, with your bitter, twisted lies. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still like dust, i rise. You can shoot me with your words. You can cut me with your lies. You can kill me with your hatefulness. We rise. pop campbells tomato soup and grilled cheese. more popping go together like being late and being grounded. Heres something to get stuck on this holiday season. Switch to Cricket Wireless and get the Samsung Galaxy amp 2, for free onth just a little Holiday Cheer from the merrier carrier Cricket Wireless. Something to smile about. . . . . . . . . . . mom hurry up, honey were going to be late . . Ugh. Like this woah knocking at door mom and i were out earlier and look what i got for you what . avo the real magic of the holidays reporter the criminal courts building, downtown los angeles, has seen its share of famous trials, legal drama and controversial verdicts. Simpson was tried here, and spector, and conrad murray. But the hearing in 2016 was like the very same d. A. s office, which had once fought for the okeefe family, had spent four years, three trials and god knows how much money to convict ray jennings, was now asking a judge, to release him. The people no longer have confidence in the conviction based on upon what we feel is third party culpabilty evidence. Reporter third party culpability, which meant the conviction review unit, the cru, was investigating other possible suspects who were in the park n ride that night. There were no details, not for the court, not for us, not for the okeefes. Were the parents. Were michelles mom and dad. Why cant they tell us, and why cant you tell us what the evidence is . And they said, no, we cant tell you. I go, it doesnt make sense. Reporter then the judge prepared to speak, and ray was roiling on the inside. Lose here, hed be sent back to prison for 30 more years. An overwhelming, still small voice came across me again and said, youll be released from here. But the law is composed of words of rules, of a history of thought. Not the still small voice of a convicted felon no matter how hopeful. The erlichs told us that the judge had received a letter from the District Attorneys office the day before detailing the d. A. s position on the cas he read it, put it under seal, and now he was about to reveal his decision in open court. The California Department of corrections and rehabilitation has ordered to release the defendant. Reporter wait a minute. What did he say . It was surreal. Did he say it . Is that what he im im im bein released . Reporter yes, released. It was overwhelming, didnt feel real. Thats got to be one of the defining moments of your life. I will never forget it. You know getting someone who should not have been convicted, and getting the system to acknowledge that and let them out is an amazing feeling. Reporter a stunned mike okeefe held a press conference. So you have no doubt that he killed your daughter . I have i have nothing that can show me, prove to me otherwise at this time. Nobody showed me anything otherwise, that he wasnt at least involved. This things went through three trials. Over 30 jurors found this guy guilty. And then this little unit can kind of go in and and kind of ad hoc without anything really solid to say, hey, we wanna release him. It goes completely against our whole judicial system in the pretty harsh words. And and im a pretty pissed off dad. Reporter must have been something political, thought the okeefes. They blamed the d. A. Jackie lacey. This is more politically charged than anything else. Why would you say that . What ive heard is jackie lacey wants to become attorney general for the state of california, and she thinks by getting this unit up and running and and releasing some people, its gonna help compel is that just your personal point of view . No, thats thats what ive been told by members of of Law Enforcement and and members of of the legislative branch. Thats pretty, you know, serious charge. Absolutely, and to use our daughters death as a political pawn, it outrages me. Good morning. Reporter we asked d. A. Jackie lacey for an interview. She declined, said the case is but loyola law professor Laurie Levenson believes lacey and the cru have only one agenda, and it isnt political. Jackie laceys doing this because the evidence was really clear that both the l. A. District attorneys office, like offices across the country, had made mistakes. You think her decision was the right one to make, and it was made for the right reasons. I dont know the jennings case. I just know that this is not a unit that is particularly eager to release guilty people. They know theyll get pushback from the victims family, from the original District Attorney, from o office. But theyve got a mission, and their mission is justice. Reporter ray jennings has moved back to North Carolina where he has reconnected with his children, and where he awaits the next, very important decision in january, 2017. Will he remain free . Or will the court overturn his conviction and perhaps even declare him innocent . I hold no anger, no bitterness. Theres no theres no place for it. Thats absolutely real. Theres no point in carrying these type of feelings around because it does nothing but destroy you. Reporter 2,500 miles away in the Antelope Valley, pat and mike okeefe are coping with their own kind of anger and of pain, of losing not one, but both of their children. But they also feel theyve lost Something Else where does that leave michelle in all of this . Well, it leaves her as a murder that the Justice System has completely let her down. But where does it put you two personally . I mean, my god, what youve been through. Back to square one. Yeah, i mean, its the loss of our kids is the worst thing that could possibly happen, and it doesnt get any worse than that. Reporter once, there was a pretty girl with a shiny new blue mustang and a whole life here in the park n ride is a little reminder of wt happened to her on a dark night at the start of the millennium, and the shock waves begun then are spreading still. But you cant ever, ever forget me, okay . Because i know ill never, ever forget you. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you tomorrow at 8 00, saturday night mystery and then again next friday at 9 00, 8 00 central. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, good night. Right now, from milwaukee, this is todays tmj4 live at 10. New at 10. Bay view beating. A woman walking her dog during now shes nurse a broken jaw and questioning what happened. Live with more from where it all went down. The attack happened here yesterday when it was still light out. She looks like herself but her jaw is wired shut. She was walkinger dog when she noticed a parked car s never seen before. Instantly the car moved up and parked in front of us which she thought was strange. The at driver stayed in the car but a man and woman got out and came toward her even when the dog started barking. The man leaned down and next thing i know, he punched me in the face and i picked him up and screamed and ran. She ran into the street