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Who Is Veronica's Father?

Status: Solved

One of the rare lights in Veronica Mars' dark life after the murder of her best friend Lilly Kane was the love and support of her father, Keith. The then sheriff and now private investigator was the rock to which she clung after losing her boyfriend, her mother, her reputation, and those she'd called friends. So the last thing Veronica needed as she gained strength and found purpose in pursuit of the truth about Lilly's murder was for that rock to crumble.

Abel Koontz, the man convicted of the crime, was the first to land a shattering blow. Veronica had already learned that Jake Kane and her mother Lianne were high school sweethearts but it was Koontz who told her that the relationship had continued beyond school. Beyond Keith. With gleeful malice, he told her to look in a mirror. "Are you the product of a schlubby sheriff, or the King and Queen of the prom?"

Her mother landed another blow when she confirmed that Jake could be her father and Jake's wife, Celeste, landed yet another when she told Veronica that she couldn't stand to look at Veronica without being reminded of her husband and Lianne, of stolen lunch hours and motel rendezvous. The hardest knock of all was learning that Duncan believed that Veronica was his sister and had sex with her in spite of it.

Veronica's first instinct was to uncover the truth. She suckered Keith into providing what she needed for a paternity test. But when the results arrived, Veronica realized this was one case she didn't want to solve. Far from setting her free, the truth could set her adrift from her rock, so she shredded the results without looking at them. Truth be damned, Keith was the most important person in her life, and she was not ready or willing to lose him. Even if it cost her a claim to a fortune.

She reckoned without Keith, who was determined to know the truth and arranged his own test. That test proved beyond question that Veronica is the beloved and loving daughter of one Keith Mars.

Mystery Summary as of 1.22 "Leave It to Beaver"

All summaries: 1.22 1.21 1.19 1.11 1.08

Clues for Who Is Veronica's Father?

  • 1.01 "Pilot"
  • Jake Kane's wife Celeste believes that her husband is unfaithful.
  • Veronica learns that there is a connection between Jake and her missing mother, when she identifies Lianne as the mystery woman Jake visits at one in the morning at the Camelot Motel.
  • 1.05 "You Think You Know Somebody"
  • Lianne is disturbed by the news that Veronica is dating Duncan Kane. Why?
  • 1.07 "The Girl Next Door"
  • The connection between Jake and Lianne goes back a long way.
  • In 1979, Jake and Lianne were high school sweethearts, king and queen of the prom, and the popular expectation was that they would marry.
  • When Veronica asks Duncan if he knew Jake and Lianne were "king and queen of the prom", she believed his response was evasive.
  • Keith says, "A man's gotta be pretty committed to a woman, who would agree to raise another man's child." Does he speak from experience?
  • 1.08 "Like a Virgin"
  • Koontz, a former employee at Kane Industries, alleges that Lianne used to visit Jake during lunch hours. This would indicate the connection between them lasted long after high school.
  • Koontz alleges that Veronica is Jake's daughter.
  • Koontz uses exactly the same phrase to describe Veronica's heritage as she herself used when she asked Duncan if he knew: the product of "the king and queen of the prom."
  • 1.09 "Drinking the Kool-Aid"
  • Veronica is not certain of her paternity and Duncan may be her half-brother.
  • Veronica chooses to destroy the result of Keith's paternity test without looking at it, electing instead to continue to believe Keith is her father.
  • 1.11 "Silence of the Lamb"
  • That belief is not absolute: "When I had the opportunity to learn my paternity, I chose blissful ignorance with a side of gnawing doubt."
  • 1.16 "Betty and Veronica"
  • Lianne intercepted an attempt made by Celeste to contact Veronica to provide information about Lianne and Jake.
  • Lianne told Jake to meet her at the Neptune Grand. During that meeting she told him that if Celeste tried to contact Veronica again, Lianne would get a paternity test done and take him for millions.
  • Lianne confirms that she does not know who the father of Veronica is and that it could be Jake Kane.
  • 1.19 "Hot Dogs"
  • Celeste cannot bear to look at Veronica because she represents Jake and Lianne's infidelity.
  • Celeste mocks Keith for not knowing what was under his nose, referring to Jake and Lianne's relationship.
  • Keith sends hair samples of himself and Veronica to a DNA testing lab.
  • 1.21 "A Trip to the Dentist"
  • Celeste Kane told Duncan that Veronica was Jake's daughter, causing him to dump Veronica shortly before Lilly died.
  • 1.22 "Leave It to Beaver"
  • Keith receives the results of the paternity test.
  • Keith asks Veronica to sign an agreement stopping her from making any future claim against the Kanes.
  • Veronica signs the agreement without hesitation and without knowledge as to the true identity of her father.
  • Keith informs Veronica that she is his biological daughter.