Few know the true story of the Doheny Library: it was built in honor of oil tycoon heir Edward “Ned” Doheny Jr. after his unsolved murder in 1929. He and his assistant, Hugh Plunkett, were found shot dead in the Greystone Mansion, now a historical site. This mystery has haunted USC since 1932.

Lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson trial Marcia Clark joined journalist Susan Orlean and Nathan Masters, who graduated from USC’s Liberal Studies master’s program, Monday evening for “True Crime, History, and the Stories We Tell.” The panel was a collaboration between USC Visions and Voices, PBS SoCal and USC Libraries.

The panel began with a screening of an episode of “Lost L.A.,” a show about Southern California history, for a packed lecture hall in Doheny Memorial Library, celebrating the show’s collaboration with USC Libraries. The episode dives into the historic building’s past and discusses speculations around Ned Doheny Jr.

Clark said during the panel discussion that there is always nuance to crime stories, which makes the true crime genre so engaging.

“The big draw for most of us in true crime is the ‘why’ of it all, especially murder,” Clark said. “What drives somebody to take that ultimate step?”

USC alum Scott G.G. Haller said he attended the screening out of love for the Visions and Voices program and his interest in author talks.

“I love the L.A. Times Festival of Books here, so author discussions? Right up my alley,” Haller said. “Seeing the [“Lost L.A.”] episode was informative in getting a broader picture of a sense of true crime noveling and Los Angeles’ place in it.”

Masters hosted the episode, interviewing Clark, author and podcaster Kate Winkler Dawson and author Michael Connelly, as well as several other historians. Aside from Connelly, whom Masters said he was a fan of, he said he had a particular interest in talking with writers Clark and Orlean, as he is in the process of authoring a true crime book himself.

“Writing a book is such a lonely endeavor,” Masters said. “It’s great to be able to talk to people who have also engaged in the same thing.”

In recent years, the ethics of true crime reporting, and podcasting especially, have increasingly come into question with the release of the controversial “Dahmer” series on Netflix and the true crime podcasters and TikTokers flooding the mainstream media landscape. Orlean said she has her own ethical standards when it comes to writing about crime, particularly cases that are still relevant today.

“I think you always have an obligation to be mindful of what it means to write about anyone,” Orlean said during the panel discussion. “Publishing about people is incredibly powerful … I can’t worry overly much about what that exposure means, but I also can’t not think about it. It’s a very fine balance.”

Orlean’s 2018 novel, “The Library Book,” follows the events of the 1986 L.A. Central Library fire and the investigation that followed. The cause was indeterminable, and the case has never been solved. She jokingly mentioned her intention to crack the case herself. In her attempt to do so, she eventually discovered one piece of information that had not been noticed before.

“Once I began learning a little more about the fallibility of arson investigation, I thought, ‘Well, maybe it wasn’t arson,’” Orlean said. “The assumption that it was arson itself might not be accurate — the library had dozens of fire code violations.”

During the panel discussion, Clark went on to explain the role of ethics in telling stories, weaving in her knowledge of the intricacies of the criminal justice system as a criminal prosecutor.

“It’s really important to me to bring the victim to life,” Clark said. “This always happens in a murder trial: The victim gets lost because they can’t be there, and you’re there to prove what happened to them. So you focus on everything but who that victim was.”

Clark’s most recent book, “Trial by Ambush,” is a true crime novel detailing the trial of Barbara Graham, also known as “Bloody Babs,” who was accused of murder in 1953. In telling this story, though, Clark said she tried to capture the essence of the victim, Mabel Monohan, as well.

“I tried to gather as much as I could to bring [Monohan] to life, because I thought she was incredible. I just loved her, and so I hope that that comes through,” Clark said. “Yes, I felt very sorry for Barbara. She was not a violent person and would have abhorred what happened — probably did — but there she was.”

After spending her life as a criminal prosecutor, Clark said she uses her experience to write about criminals humanely.

“Bad guys come in many, many shapes and sizes. Some can be lawyers. Some can be doctors. Some can be judges,” Clark said. “I think the challenge is, in that case, to find the humanity. There is some.”