What really happened to Parker’s mother? NCIS Season 23 Episode 9 finally answers the question

NCIS Season 23 Episode 9 dropped on December 16, 2025. The fall finale titled Heaven and Nature aired on CBS at 8 PM ET.

If you missed it live, the episode has been available to stream on Paramount+ from the next day. This Episode drew significant attention from longtime fans because it untangled a mystery that has been hanging over Special Agent Alden Parker ever since he showed up on the show.

While NCIS Season 23 Episode 9 featured a holiday-themed investigation, we also got a personal revelation for Parker. The show left viewers dangling on a cliffhanger until it comes back on February 24, 2026.

This mystery surrounds Parker’s mother, Eleanor Parker. Her story has been a defining element for him since NCIS Season 21. He spent most of his life thinking she died in a drunk-driving crash back in 1972 after abandoning her family. This traumatic backstory shaped Parker’s viewpoint, his relationships, and everything else.

However, NCIS Season 23 Episode 9 shredded the whole story. We find out that Parker has been living under a carefully crafted lie. His mother’s death hides a much more sinister secret lurking behind all the years of pain.

What happened to Parker's mother in NCIS Season 23 Episode 9?

NCIS Season 23 Episode 9 provided an unexpected revelation to the inquiry that has haunted Parker for such a long time: Eleanor Parker never left her family, and she did not meet her end in a mere drunk-driving accident.

According to CBS's official episode synopsis, the investigation revealed that Eleanor was actually murdered in 1972. She was trying to save a woman and her kid from a violent situation, and paid a violent price.

The truth began to come forth when Dr. Jimmy Palmer took a closer look at Eleanor’s exhumed body. He finds out that the woman died from blunt force trauma to the head. This particular injury is inconsistent with a car crash.

Meanwhile, forensic scientist Kasie Hines made an even larger blow with her findings. She claimed that DNA testing had established that the woman buried in Eleanor’s grave was not Eleanor at all. The body actually belongs to Judy Burm, who just so happened to be the first wife of a corrupt Illinois State Trooper, Lester Burm.

That means he orchestrated a whole cover-up to keep his dirty secrets buried. The inquiry caused Parker and Special Agent Jessica Knight to find Lester Burm, who is nearly 80 now and moving in an RV all over the United States. As it turns out, he has been on a mission for decades, hunting for his daughter Lily.

As we see in NCIS Season 23 Episode 9, the team, through photos and witness accounts, reconstructed a nightmare of events from 1972. Eleanor had become friends with Judy Burm, who apparently shared secrets about her husband being abusive. Judy wanted to escape alongside her daughter, Lily, and Eleanor was up for help and free them from Lester’s cage.

But Lester, who was a state trooper at that time, made things worse by using his authority. He chased them down and forced Judy’s car off the road, killing her right there. He then torched the vehicle, faked a police report, and tried to pin everything on Eleanor, making it look like she was the one who died.

Nonetheless, Eleanor was not dead as per the storyline of NCIS Season 23 Episode 9. She survived the crash, grabbed Lily, and went to a motel near Toledo, Ohio. Eleanor has planned to sneak Lily off to a family in Pittsburgh. But Burm tracked them down, killed Eleanor just to keep her quiet. His daughter saw him dragging the body out, but managed to survive by hiding out in a closet.

The next day, Eleanor’s cousin Connie shows up, finds Lily, and helps her disappear. She assumes a new identity to stay away from her violent father. Fast forward, Special Agent Alden Parker finds out Lily has been living as Penelope “Nelly” Johnson for over 50 years. Parker finally gets to meet grown-up Lily, who reveals that Parker’s recently deceased father was trying to locate her. He had been trying to hear the truth before he passed away.

This was a significant disclosure that linked back to the previous events in Season 23, where Parker looked into his father's mysterious death.

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Anyway, once Parker gets the whole story, he storms into the NCIS interrogation room, face-to-face with Lester Burm. He shuts off the cameras and forces Burm to spill. Old Lester had been faking memory loss the whole time, but he finally admits to dumping Eleanor and her car in a tiny pond near Toledo, Ohio. They dredge the pond, and Eleanor is finally brought home.

NCIS Season 23 Episode 9 concluded with a proper burial ceremony for Eleanor Parker, attended by the entire NCIS team.

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