Jimmy Keene

James Keene was born on New Year's Eve in Kankakee, Illinois, an exurb of Chicago, to James Keene and Lynn Keene. His father was a police officer, and his mother owned a restaurant. He attended Kankakee Eastridge High School and then Triton College, where he was captain of the football and wrestling teams, and lettered in track and field. He went on to attend the University of Arizona, where he earned another degree. Keene also practiced martial arts. == FBI operative inside federal prison ==

Keene became involved in selling marijuana as a teenager. In 1996, he was charged by the FBI and the DEA on a conspiracy charge. Prior to his sentencing, Keene did not cooperate with law enforcement according to his autobiography. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Approximately seven months into Keene's sentence, the FBI and prosecutors approached him with an arrangement that would allow Keene to reduce his prison sentence and expunge his record. Law enforcement had only found the remains of one of Hall's victims, 15-year-old Jessica Roach. Hall confessed to the murder, but prosecutors lacked strong physical evidence for the case. After Hall retracted his confession and his attorneys filed an appeal, the FBI feared Hall's possible release was imminent. However, if Keene succeeded in obtaining new incriminating evidence about Hall while in MCFP, the U.S. Attorney and FBI agreed to end Keene's sentence and expunge his record. With the guidance and training by the FBI, a cover story was arranged for Keene as part of his undercover mission. He was transferred to the MCFP, where he gained Hall's trust. Hall allegedly admitted to specific details about many of his crimes and murders in graphic details to Keene that no one but the killer could have known. On one occasion, Keene witnessed Hall with a map that appeared to show the locations of his victims' remains, and Keene reported the information to his FBI contacts. The U.S. Attorney and FBI rewarded Keene's cooperation with early release and a clean record. == Media adaptations and books ==

In 2008, Paramount Pictures and GK-Films purchased Keene's story rights to make a feature film. Brad Pitt was attached to play the lead role as James "Jimmy" Keene, and Pitt's production company Plan B was set to co-produce. The rights were later purchased by Apple TV for the miniseries Black Bird, with Taron Egerton as Keene and Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall. In 2010, Keene published In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption, an autobiographical account of his time working as an FBI operative helping to secure the conviction of serial killer Larry Hall. His second book, ''Black Bird: One Man's Freedom Hides in Another Man's Darkness, was published in 2022. In 2023, Keene published The Chicago Phoenix: Jimmy Keene's Untold Story, a follow-up to Black Bird''. It covers Keene's early years in Chicago and gives further details on his time as an FBI operative. In 2024, Keene released his fourth book, the novel The Wanderer: Bigamy, Deceit and Murder. ==See also==