Murder of Michelle O'Keefe

Michelle O'Keefe was an 18-year-old American college student and aspiring actress who was murdered in Palmdale, California on her way home from appearing in a Kid Rock music video. The case has attracted significant media national attention, including episodes of America's Most Wanted and Dateline NBC.[3][4]

Michelle O'Keefe
Born
Michelle Therese O'Keefe

October 11, 1981[1]
Hanford, California[2]
DiedFebruary 22, 2000 (aged 18)
Palmdale, California, U.S.
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
Known forMurder victim
Parents
  • Michael O'Keefe (father)
  • Patricia O'Keefe (mother)

In 2005, Iraq-war veteran Sgt. Raymond Lee Jennings was arrested for the murder, and after three trials he was sentenced to life in prison.[5]

After serving 11 years of his sentence, Jennings was exonerated and freed from prison.[5][6] The Los Angeles District Attorney was persuaded of Jennings' innocence after a law student, Clinton Ehrlich, saw the case on television and began an investigation with his father, attorney Jeffrey Ehrlich. Among other points, Clinton and Jeffrey Ehrlich state that: (1) Jennings uniform tested negative for gunshot residue; (2) his DNA did not match the visible blood found under the victim's fingernails, which the prosecuting attorney misled the jury as being mere random blood contamination; (3) and the detectives on the case had not followed through on leads of other people at the Park-and-Ride at the time of the murder, including a white male observed driving out of the parking lot immediately after the shooting.[6][7]

See also
  • List of unsolved murders

References
  1. "Case Detail: Michelle O'Keefe". Los Angeles, California, Coroner's Inquest Index, 1992-2016. Los Angeles County.
  2. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
  3. "Man accused of murdering college student is freed after 11 years: How the case against him unraveled". Los Angeles Times. June 25, 2016.
  4. Morrison, Keith (April 7, 2014). "The Girl with the Blue Mustang". Dateline. NBC News. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
  5. "After a man convicted of murdering a woman goes free, questions linger over why he was charged in first place". Los Angeles Times. Sep 11, 2016.
  6. Sailer, Steve (June 23, 2016). "Young lawyer's pro bono work frees man wrongfully convicted of murder". UNZ Review.
  7. "Ray Jennings letter to the Convictioin Review Unit (CRU)" (pdf). Erlich Law Firm. Oct 2, 2015.
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