I am watching this segment now and want to know how their kids are doing if anyone knows. I know they had a daughter named Julie.

Great question. I think there were three kids ... two daughters and a son IIRC. Guessing the oldest would be pushing 50 by now. I got the impression their son was around my age, and I was 12 in 1990 so 43 now.
Cannot imagine how tough those ensuing years would have been, and continue to be to an extent.

There's really next to no information available on any of the Depue children. Jennifer would be 49 today, Julie is 47 and Scott is 44. According to PeopleFinder.com, they're listed as living in Florida but sometimes listed in Michigan.

When this case was featured on 'Man with Van', they mentioned briefly that as soon an Marilyn was killed, arrangements were made with Coldwater High School for Jennifer to walk at her graduation since she only had 6 weeks left of school anyway. They made it sound like the 3 kids lived with their grandparents at least for a little while. But other than that, they had to be given protection during that year Dennis was on the run because police feared Dennis would try to kill either the children or Marilyn's co-workers at the high school, who he partially blamed for his divorce.

Their privacy has been kept ever since.

There's really next to no information available on any of the Depue children. Jennifer would be 49 today, Julie is 47 and Scott is 44. According to PeopleFinder.com, they're listed as living in Florida but sometimes listed in Michigan.

When this case was featured on 'Man with Van', they mentioned briefly that as soon an Marilyn was killed, arrangements were made with Coldwater High School for Jennifer to walk at her graduation since she only had 6 weeks left of school anyway. They made it sound like the 3 kids lived with their grandparents at least for a little while. But other than that, they had to be given protection during that year Dennis was on the run because police feared Dennis would try to kill either the children or Marilyn's co-workers at the high school, who he partially blamed for his divorce.

Their privacy has been kept ever since.

They kept the DePue name? Somehow that's the most surprising part to me.

I kinda get creeped out by things like this. I get the wanting to know how they did afterwards. I mean, would it surprise any of us if they had severe substance abuse issues or something? But.. They're private people who deserve to be able to put things behind them.

Yes that is true. Hopefully things went well for them.

There's really next to no information available on any of the Depue children. Jennifer would be 49 today, Julie is 47 and Scott is 44. According to PeopleFinder.com, they're listed as living in Florida but sometimes listed in Michigan.

When this case was featured on 'Man with Van', they mentioned briefly that as soon an Marilyn was killed, arrangements were made with Coldwater High School for Jennifer to walk at her graduation since she only had 6 weeks left of school anyway. They made it sound like the 3 kids lived with their grandparents at least for a little while. But other than that, they had to be given protection during that year Dennis was on the run because police feared Dennis would try to kill either the children or Marilyn's co-workers at the high school, who he partially blamed for his divorce.

Their privacy has been kept ever since.

I'd say it was a long shot he'd have harmed the children from everything I could gather about this case. Of course i could be wrong, and I'm in no way saying what Dennis did was not terrible and he needed to be put away for life had he not offed himself. But I don't think he was a totally evil person enough to murder his own children, I think he just snapped that day after years of an antagonistic relationship with his wife. There is nothing to suggest he was even physically abusive during those years. Sounded more to me like he and Marilyn just grew apart and for whatever reason developed a tumultuous relationship that got worse and worse. He was supposedly even suicidal for the longest time. He accused her of turning the children against him, its not clear how true it was but he seemed to feel it was.

But if the reenactment was accurate, Dennis was persuading his son to leave with him quickly so he could get out of there. That suggests to me he didn't go there to kill Marilyn that day, but was aware enough to know he was very close to the end of his rope and was trying to get out. But he got delayed both by him and her and we all know what happened next.

I'd say it was a long shot he'd have harmed the children from everything I could gather about this case. Of course i could be wrong, and I'm in no way saying what Dennis did was not terrible and he needed to be put away for life had he not offed himself. But I don't think he was a totally evil person enough to murder his own children, I think he just snapped that day after years of an antagonistic relationship with his wife. There is nothing to suggest he was even physically abusive during those years. Sounded more to me like he and Marilyn just grew apart and for whatever reason developed a tumultuous relationship that got worse and worse. He was supposedly even suicidal for the longest time. He accused her of turning the children against him, its not clear how true it was but he seemed to feel it was.


I don't disagree with you. It would have been extremely risky for Dennis to come back and try to attack all these people. But the police were not taking any risks. 'Man with a Van,' said Marilyn's coworkers were extremely worried that Dennis would come after them since he kept mentioning them in his manifesto letters.

And while he may have snapped that particular day, those letters pretty much proved that he had no remorse for what he did. If you make an entire list of people' and blame them all for your own marriage breaking up and then blame the person your murdered as reason for killing her, you've got some much deeper seeded issues in addition to being a sociopath. 'It's everyone else's fault but mine'...that argument doesn't fly.

I don't disagree with you. It would have been extremely risky for Dennis to come back and try to attack all these people. But the police were not taking any risks. 'Man with a Van,' said Marilyn's coworkers were extremely worried that Dennis would come after them since he kept mentioning them in his manifesto letters.

And while he may have snapped that particular day, those letters pretty much proved that he had no remorse for what he did. If you make an entire list of people' and blame them all for your own marriage breaking up and then blame the person your murdered as reason for killing her, you've got some much deeper seeded issues in addition to being a sociopath. 'It's everyone else's fault but mine'...that argument doesn't fly.

My take on the letters Dennis wrote is that he was trying to convince himself his actions were justified as much as he was others. I think its a defense mechanism that forms in people's minds when they've done something bad, their mind tries to justify it to avoid the pain of guilt and it gives the appearance of having no remorse. But it only works temporarily and it eventually dawns on them. I think it would have

Of course I could be totally wrong. Maybe Dennis was just a cold blooded killer and a sociopath. But the facts surrounding the case leads me to believe it was more likely he was a halfway decent guy who just tragically flipped. What struck me the most is how the reenactment depicted him trying to get his son ready quickly and how determined he was to get out of there. That leads me to believe he definitely did not go there to kill Marilyn that day and even he knew how close he was to the edge with her and was trying to avoid a confrontation.

Just my two cents.

Of course I could be totally wrong. Maybe Dennis was just a cold blooded killer and a sociopath. But the facts surrounding the case leads me to believe it was more likely he was a halfway decent guy who just tragically flipped. What struck me the most is how the reenactment depicted him trying to get his son ready quickly and how determined he was to get out of there. That leads me to believe he definitely did not go there to kill Marilyn that day and even he knew how close he was to the edge with her and was trying to avoid a confrontation.

Just my two cents.

It's hard to say. The fact that he changed his license plate as quickly as he did is not a good look. If you have an out of state license plate on hand and are ready to change it in an instant, you're most likely going on the run. And that shows that the attack might have been premeditated. He just might not have originally planned to do it that day. We'll never know for sure.

The pickup scene was obviously a tense situation. Julie had already refused a visit with him. Despite Marilyn changing the locks, Dennis would still be sitting on the couch when she got home from work everyday. It wouldn't have been a particularly happy time for any of the family members. And as much as the reenactments get made fun of, I think UM did a decent job of showing how tense this really was. The actress playing Marilyn, she actually went down those basement stairs. (I remember gasping as a kid when I first saw that). She even lets out this frail groan when she hits the bottom. I hope she wasn't really injured while filming that scene.

https://www.yoursun.com/charlotte/sheriff-man-attacks-garbage-collector-with-broomstick/article_eed31392-d5c6-11ea-a32b-6b21ca14a897.html

https://www.yoursun.com/charlotte/sheriff-man-attacks-garbage-collector-with-broomstick/article_eed31392-d5c6-11ea-a32b-6b21ca14a897.html

Holy yikes. He looks like his dad. So sad...

Mobile Instinct traveled to Michigan to visit the abandoned schoolhouse, which was built in 1908. His video has over 1.4 million views.

He visits Dennis DePue's final resting place in Indiana. He has a nice headstone next to his parents and other relatives. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/117374567/dennis-henry-depue

Marilynn is surprisingly buried in an unmarked grave at another cemetery in Michigan. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119870618/marilynn-lee-depue

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Scott Depue (middle name Dennis!) currently lives in Sarasota, FL and is on active probation until 7/26/23 from the incident where he attacked the garbage collector back in 2020.

It's terrible how things turned out for him. I have to wonder if he blamed himself in some way for being in the center of his dad's anger that fateful day.

Great video by Mobil Instinct. I can't believe that old school is still standing and that Dennis has a headstone and Marilyn doesn't.

Is there anyone, anywhere who looks MORE like a serial killer than Dennis DePue?

Dennis looks more like a killer than Ted Bundy in full clown makeup.

It's terrible how things turned out for him. I have to wonder if he blamed himself in some way for being in the center of his dad's anger that fateful day.

Great video by Mobil Instinct. I can't believe that old school is still standing and that Dennis has a headstone and Marilyn doesn't.

I made the UM pilgrimage out there this summer. It's still in good shape aside from some graffiti.

https://www.yoursun.com/charlotte/sheriff-man-attacks-garbage-collector-with-broomstick/article_eed31392-d5c6-11ea-a32b-6b21ca14a897.html

I guess we don't know the full story with the garbage man attack, but it isn't a good look for Scott. Maybe it is me saying this, but if this is all the three kids did that was troublesome after the things they dealt with I would consider that refreshing. Imagine seeing your mom thrown down the stairs, then your dad takes off with her, then shoots her in the head and then when he is confronted by police he kills himself. And you are still dealing with normal awkward teenage things while all of this is going on. I am glad they are all alive at least. Because what a life that must have been for them.

Imagine seeing your mom thrown down the stairs, then your dad takes off with her, then shoots her in the head and then when he is confronted by police he kills himself. And you are still dealing with normal awkward teenage things while all of this is going on. I am glad they are all alive at least. Because what a life that must have been for them.

And an entire year of being in police protection, just in case your father ever decided to come back and try to hurt you before he killed himself.

You're basically robbed of your childhood at that point. Imagine THAT being the last image you ever had of your parents. That's psychological damage you'll have to deal with the rest of your life.

And an entire year of being in police protection, just in case your father ever decided to come back and try to hurt you before he killed himself.

You're basically robbed of your childhood at that point. Imagine THAT being the last image you ever had of your parents. That's psychological damage you'll have to deal with the rest of your life.

What bothers me about this case is how tragic it was from what was I am sure once a fairly happy family to how it ended. Denis DePue, with all of his faults at one point had an identity. He was a husband and a father of three. Somewhere along the line his marriage faltered and that shattered things inside of him that could never be replaced. Throw in the fact he may or may not have been treated fairly in the divorce and all of the sudden you have a guy that snaps and pushes his ex-wife down the stairs and then figures he ought to finish her off and then flees.

Why I think it is so tragic is because that certainly wasn't how he planned his life to be. Even before he entered that house the day to pick up his kids he didn't know what was going to happen. 30 seconds later he is involved in something that is pretty irreversible. And the mother of his kids dies and then he is gone and eventually kills himself.

How the heck he managed to find time to have a live-in girlfriend who wasn't aware who he was is beyond me, but his kids went from parents being together to parents having a messy divorce to being orphans. All in the span of a couple of years.

I wouldn't be surprised if they are living under other nanes so people won't know who they are. I don't believe Dennis Depue went over there intending to kill Marilyn. Like you said, he was there to pick up his kids and an argument ensued and he snapped. If Dennis Depue had a prior criminal record, I'm sure that would have been mentioned on the segment. Having said that, he clearly had an anger management problem and there is no excuse for what he did and he obviously had no remorse. He likely got a pump of adrenalina from beating her and figured if he went that far, he might as well finish her off and after he did it, he decided it was justified. If not for the UM episode, it's possible he may have still been on the run to this day.

I wouldn't be surprised if they are living under other nanes so people won't know who they are. I don't believe Dennis Depue went over there intending to kill Marilyn. Like you said, he was there to pick up his kids and an argument ensued and he snapped. If Dennis Depue had a prior criminal record, I'm sure that would have been mentioned on the segment. Having said that, he clearly had an anger management problem and there is no excuse for what he did and he obviously had no remorse. He likely got a pump of adrenalina from beating her and figured if he went that far, he might as well finish her off and after he did it, he decided it was justified. If not for the UM episode, it's possible he may have still been on the run to this day.

You wonder if things in the segment really happened that way in the house. It says he came inside and his one daughter was already not wanting to come with him. His son is not wanting to go as well and I can understand that sort of thing just setting him off because he would turn his rage towards Marilyn who he probably felt was part of the reason the kids were acting this way. I get that much, but yeah the assault and then not even showing remorse.

I am going to take a gander here and say that if he had a tussle with Marilyn and he accidentally had her fall down the stairs, had he reported it and the police come there probably is charges pressed against him, but Marilyn is not dead and he may or may not avoid jail time if he is remorseful. So long as she isn't seriously hurt. I am thinking that this could have been a possibility had he gone this route.

My question is, how bad were the cops? That van could have been spotted from space with the colors it was. The kids called the police, they are presumably on their way but they can't track down Denis and that Scooby Doo looking van despite him probably just leaving minutes earlier?

All three children (Jennifer, Julie and Scott) witnessed the entire fight and assault go down. Plus Julie was interviewed in the segment. So I’m pretty sure everything went down as in the reenactment.

I don’t think Dennis had the intent of killing her when he arrived that morning but the fact that he had a license plate ready to change on his van suggests he had some sort of plan to do something eventually.

Yes, it might be that he snapped at that moment. But it’s scary that pushing her down the basement stairs didn’t snap him out of it. She’s lying there already injured and he immediately charges down the stairs and starts beating her in front of the kids who are pleading him to stop.

He actually told a colleague of his that he would kill Marilyn then himself. None of the children were interviewed for the segment and I am almost positive they declined interview requests. I also suspect he may have been estranged from his parents. They weren't interviewed for the show or even mentioned but it is known they were still living at the time. The show also didn't mention any siblings. It's possible he was an only child or maybe he was persona non grata to them. No surviving family was mentioned in his obituary.

Every time I look at that portrait of Dennis and Mary, I get absolute chills. Even when you don’t know the history in that portrait, you could tell there was something evil going on there.

I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if Dennis DePue committed other crimes prior to killing Mary.

He actually told a colleague of his that he would kill Marilyn then himself. None of the children were interviewed for the segment and I am almost positive they declined interview requests. I also suspect he may have been estranged from his parents. They weren't interviewed for the show or even mentioned but it is known they were still living at the time. The show also didn't mention any siblings. It's possible he was an only child or maybe he was persona non grata to them. No surviving family was mentioned in his obituary.

Uh, his daughter is interviewed in the segment.

Uh, his daughter is interviewed in the segment.

Oh my God, you're right. I don't know how that slipped my mind.

Every time I look at that portrait of Dennis and Mary, I get absolute chills. Even when you don’t know the history in that portrait, you could tell there was something evil going on there.

I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if Dennis DePue committed other crimes prior to killing Mary.

He does look creepy, he always has. That is not a good picture of him by any means. There are other pictures of him and he doesn't look like a murderer. But he does in that one. I honestly think it was a crime of passion and that's about it. He got himself in a bad situation when he pushed Marilyn down the stairs but what he did after is what truly got him in jail. I suspect Marilyn would press charges against him from the stairs incident, but the jail time would be minimal at best. There would be emotions and things that would come into play and there might even be a future restraining order, but he isn't doing hard time. The murder and the cover up is what got him in trouble.

So I re-watched the segment. I have no idea how a couple on a leisurely Easter Sunday drive managed to not only spot him on the road but notice the bloody sheets he had and then notice him changing the licence plates all within a few minutes but the police were unable to locate that van on the road that would stand out in a crowd. Especially after the police were called, would they not have been able to spot the van at some point and pull Dennis over and spare Marilyn? Surely the phone call the daughter made was mentioning how her dad pushed her mom down the stairs.

He does look creepy, he always has. That is not a good picture of him by any means. There are other pictures of him and he doesn't look like a murderer. But he does in that one.

Yeah.. that's my goal for every picture taken of me..

So I re-watched the segment. I have no idea how a couple on a leisurely Easter Sunday drive managed to not only spot him on the road but notice the bloody sheets he had and then notice him changing the licence plates all within a few minutes but the police were unable to locate that van on the road that would stand out in a crowd. Especially after the police were called, would they not have been able to spot the van at some point and pull Dennis over and spare Marilyn? Surely the phone call the daughter made was mentioning how her dad pushed her mom down the stairs.

It was too late for her to be spared. Marilyn was already dead by the time Ray and Marie Thornton had the sighting of Dennis. He had already killed Marilyn and dumped her body off the road a few miles away. There was really no reason to drive to the schoolhouse and bury the bloody blanket. He could have disposed of that anywhere or just left it with the body. I don’t know why he chose to make a separate trip to do that when it would just slow him down. And he didn’t do a good job of hiding the body since it was found the next morning.

I’ve driven down that road (out of curiosity) since it’s just a 90 minute drive from where I live. It is extremely remote, just a couple miles from the Indiana border. The schoolhouse closed during the 1940’s. It was just perfect timing for the Thornton sighting. But I agree with you that it’s amazing he was still able to get away. The Michigan State Police were already looking for him at that point, even before the sighting.

I’ve driven down that road (out of curiosity) since it’s just a 90 minute drive from where I live. It is extremely remote, just a couple miles from the Indiana border.

I would have been scared ****-less, even knowing he's been dead for 30 years.

Did you park at the schoolhouse (or whatever it's called now) and walk around at all?

Hot take and a bit off topic - The Dennis Depue situation happened largely in part due to the very crappy divorce laws in the US. Men basically are left in complete ruin and women get the house, cars, money, friends and children and men get left with nothing but alimony, fines and loneliness. Men lose pretty much every time...there's a reason that around 80% of divorces are initiated by women.

Men often don't even bother trying to fight it when they see the statistics. It's only gotten worse and we are now at the point where women are straight up rewarded for divorcing.
After working their entire life and being left with nothing Men often commit suicide, go into deep depression or do what Dennis did.

Not sure why nobody wants to address this stuff...its basically just a big joke and Men are told to just "suck it up" after essentially being left broken, homeless and with minimal child visitation/ custody.

Not trying to make excuses for Dennis (what he did is absolutely inexcusable) but it needs to be addressed.

I would have been scared ****-less, even knowing he's been dead for 30 years.

Did you park at the schoolhouse (or whatever it's called now) and walk around at all?

I parked near the corner of the schoolhouse, pretty close to where the tank was in the segment. The tank is long gone. One of the windows was open. I think a farmer might have been using the building for storage or something. The grass was overgrown everywhere. The only reason I was able to find the location was because Ray Thornton said in the segment, “We were driving south on Snow Prairie Road.”

To be honest, I did feel creeped out while I was there. It really hits you what happened while you are there. Plus the fact that the location is so remote. I think I was only there for about 20 minutes. I took some pictures and then went home.

It was too late for her to be spared. Marilyn was already dead by the time Ray and Marie Thornton had the sighting of Dennis. He had already killed Marilyn and dumped her body off the road a few miles away. There was really no reason to drive to the schoolhouse and bury the bloody blanket. He could have disposed of that anywhere or just left it with the body. I don’t know why he chose to make a separate trip to do that when it would just slow him down. And he didn’t do a good job of hiding the body since it was found the next morning.

I’ve driven down that road (out of curiosity) since it’s just a 90 minute drive from where I live. It is extremely remote, just a couple miles from the Indiana border. The schoolhouse closed during the 1940’s. It was just perfect timing for the Thornton sighting. But I agree with you that it’s amazing he was still able to get away. The Michigan State Police were already looking for him at that point, even before the sighting.

I tend to think of myself as someone pretty brave. Not someone that can easily get scared. But whenever I see this segment I cannot fathom doing what the Thorntons did by going BACK to the school house and finding the bloody blanket. You have no idea if Dennis is going to come back and shoot you. You don't know what happened or why it happened or who the guy is. But those two had some serious guts to do that.

Hot take and a bit off topic - The Dennis Depue situation happened largely in part due to the very crappy divorce laws in the US. Men basically are left in complete ruin and women get the house, cars, money, friends and children and men get left with nothing but alimony, fines and loneliness. Men lose pretty much every time...there's a reason that around 80% of divorces are initiated by women.

Men often don't even bother trying to fight it when they see the statistics. It's only gotten worse and we are now at the point where women are straight up rewarded for divorcing.
After working their entire life and being left with nothing Men often commit suicide, go into deep depression or do what Dennis did.

Not sure why nobody wants to address this stuff...its basically just a big joke and Men are told to just "suck it up" after essentially being left broken, homeless and with minimal child visitation/ custody.

Not trying to make excuses for Dennis (what he did is absolutely inexcusable) but it needs to be addressed.

This is why I say to myself that had Dennis done the whole thing with the stair push and done nothing more, it is possible so long as Mariyln isn't seriously hurt that he could have had a lot of leniency towards him. He could have just said he snapped and that his emotions got the best of him, etc. I think if he went down the stairs and did NOT keep beating her as he did, and then pick her up and take her to the hospital literally then it might have given him a bit of goodwill on his part. Might have been chocked up to a "crime of passion" sort of incident. Does he still get charged and convicted? I think so. But maybe he avoids jail time if he explains that he was not in the right state mentally.

So I get what you mean. I think Dennis probably had an identity as a husband and father of three kids and when that was removed and his kids seemed to be turning against him and he is nothing more than a single father then I can see a lot of raw emotions coming out because of it. Granted, he still shouldn't have hit Marilyn causing her to fall like that, but I have always felt with this situation that it never seemed like it was a scandalous separation by any means. It seemed they drifted apart and that's about it. Not something that it seemed he was pushing for either.

This is why I say to myself that had Dennis done the whole thing with the stair push and done nothing more, it is possible so long as Mariyln isn't seriously hurt that he could have had a lot of leniency towards him. He could have just said he snapped and that his emotions got the best of him, etc. I think if he went down the stairs and did NOT keep beating her as he did, and then pick her up and take her to the hospital literally then it might have given him a bit of goodwill on his part. Might have been chocked up to a "crime of passion" sort of incident. Does he still get charged and convicted? I think so. But maybe he avoids jail time if he explains that he was not in the right state mentally.

So I get what you mean. I think Dennis probably had an identity as a husband and father of three kids and when that was removed and his kids seemed to be turning against him and he is nothing more than a single father then I can see a lot of raw emotions coming out because of it. Granted, he still shouldn't have hit Marilyn causing her to fall like that, but I have always felt with this situation that it never seemed like it was a scandalous separation by any means. It seemed they drifted apart and that's about it. Not something that it seemed he was pushing for either.

In the 80's? (Yes I know it was 1990, but...)

He'd have gotten convicted of assault and battery.. He'd have been fined and given community service most likely. Probably a restraining order.

Even now.. Had it ended with pushing her down the stairs.. Jail time would not be severe, if it happened at all.. I mean.. Probably talking a house arrest type situation.

Probably, even today, unless someone really tried to hold his feet to the fire it would be plead out to a misdemeanor. CERTAINLY a restraining order. Quite possibly, they would push for a DV conviction in order to take any firearms he might have had.

Just throwing something out there, I know its unlikely. But is there any possibility at all that perhaps Dennis did initially plan to take Marilyn to the hospital? And wound up killing her instead? The scenario I'm thinking of is that maybe on the way to the hospital Marilyn woke up and started cussing him or something and they continued the verbal fight and Dennis provoked just killed her on the way?

Again, I know its unlikely and it seems that if he really wanted to get medical help for her he would have likely just called 911. And apparently after pushing her down the stairs he continued to assault her. So that really looks bad.

It just bugs the hell out of me that Dennis told his son he wanted to get out of there and seemed to be trying to avoid a confrontation with her. Strong indicator that he was not planning to kill her at least that day and just flipped. But literally everything else that allegedly happened that day makes him look really cold blooded and merciless especially callously lying to his kids he was taking her to the hospital. That one thing just seemed out of step with everything else he did. If indeed his son being reluctant to go with him was what caused him to snap, he definitely snapped completely and never truly came out of it right up until his death.

Just throwing something out there, I know its unlikely. But is there any possibility at all that perhaps Dennis did initially plan to take Marilyn to the hospital? And wound up killing her instead? The scenario I'm thinking of is that maybe on the way to the hospital Marilyn woke up and started cussing him or something and they continued the verbal fight and Dennis provoked just killed her on the way?



We can never know exactly what he was thinking, but my money is on him definitely never intending to take her to the hospital. After pushing her down the stairs, he deliberately kicked her repeatedly. He knew he would be arrested if he took her into a hospital and would almost certainly lose any partial custody of the children.

While I don't think he necessarily planned to murder her that day, I think he did premeditate eventually murdering her. He had a spare (fake) license plate so he could cover his van's authentic plate, as though he had prepared in advance for needing to hide from authorities. He had also given a coworker indications that he was contemplating taking his own life, but also that he would potentially become violent. Dynoguy and I are in agreement on this one. His rage boiled over in the moment, but there was some premeditation/planning or at least desires to plan in advance.

While I don't think he necessarily planned to murder her that day, I think he did premeditate eventually murdering her. He had a spare (fake) license plate so he could cover his van's authentic plate, as though he had prepared in advance for needing to hide from authorities. He had also given a coworker indications that he was contemplating taking his own life, but also that he would potentially become violent. Dynoguy and I are in agreement on this one. His rage boiled over in the moment, but there was some premeditation/planning or at least desires to plan in advance.

And this is the bottom line for me. I can’t think of any other reason for him to have a different license plate, ready to use and change at a moment’s notice, if he wasn’t planning on doing something horrible to her. Did he originally plan to kill her that specific day? No. But it was going to happen eventually.

Also, that bizarre statement by Jan Markowski, Dennis’ coworker, where Dennis told him (shortly before the ordeal went down) that he was planning suicide AND murder. Maybe Markowski thought it was just a throwaway line or that he was being dramatic. But it’s definitely something that should have been questioned.

I can’t say with certainty that we should even claim he snapped. All those rambling letters he sent to people after the murder where he tried justifying killing her…it was all a load of crap. And it shows a clear lack of remorse. People who snap, for the most part, eventually come off that high and have to face the reality of what they’ve done. Dennis didn’t do that.

Where it REALLY makes no sense is where he blamed Marilyn’s coworkers at Coldwater High School not just for playing a part in the murder but for being responsible in the destruction of his marriage. He wasn’t just blaming them, he was also threatening them. Unsolved Mysteries never mentions this but the police gave those coworkers protection during that year Dennis was on the run. They took the threats seriously.

When you’ve done something this horrible and blame everyone else in the world, refuse to take responsibility, you lose all sympathy from me.

And this is the bottom line for me. I can’t think of any other reason for him to have a different license plate, ready to use and change at a moment’s notice, if he wasn’t planning on doing something horrible to her. Did he originally plan to kill her that specific day? No. But it was going to happen eventually.


Devil's advocate here. But to your above point.. We don't know what that plate was, particularly, do we?

Does it chance the thought process if that was an old plate for his vehicle, or another of his vehicles, that he just kept in the back of the van?

What happens when your state changes out a plate? My grandmother used to have every license plate for every car she ever had hanging in her garage. She'd never throw them out. State didn't require that they be returned. So.. Just giving a possibility here. Because, so far as I know.. We don't know that was a 'fake' plate. We just know it wasn't the current plate for that van.

And, admittedly, we can get into some semantic arguments here that if the plate wasn't for that van it was 'fake', but.. You see the thought process that i'm using here. He had a plate from somewhere, once he killed her.. I mean, he had to pull her from the van, he sees the plate.. Hey, I put this one on, might help me get away.

So, just saying that.. MAYBE.. That doesn't point to premeditation like you think it does?

Also not saying it DOESN'T point to it. Just that.. We don't really know for certain.

Just throwing something out there, I know its unlikely. But is there any possibility at all that perhaps Dennis did initially plan to take Marilyn to the hospital? And wound up killing her instead? The scenario I'm thinking of is that maybe on the way to the hospital Marilyn woke up and started cussing him or something and they continued the verbal fight and Dennis provoked just killed her on the way?

Again, I know its unlikely and it seems that if he really wanted to get medical help for her he would have likely just called 911. And apparently after pushing her down the stairs he continued to assault her. So that really looks bad.

It just bugs the hell out of me that Dennis told his son he wanted to get out of there and seemed to be trying to avoid a confrontation with her. Strong indicator that he was not planning to kill her at least that day and just flipped. But literally everything else that allegedly happened that day makes him look really cold blooded and merciless especially callously lying to his kids he was taking her to the hospital. That one thing just seemed out of step with everything else he did. If indeed his son being reluctant to go with him was what caused him to snap, he definitely snapped completely and never truly came out of it right up until his death.

And this is the bottom line for me. I can’t think of any other reason for him to have a different license plate, ready to use and change at a moment’s notice, if he wasn’t planning on doing something horrible to her. Did he originally plan to kill her that specific day? No. But it was going to happen eventually.

Also, that bizarre statement by Jan Markowski, Dennis’ coworker, where Dennis told him (shortly before the ordeal went down) that he was planning suicide AND murder. Maybe Markowski thought it was just a throwaway line or that he was being dramatic. But it’s definitely something that should have been questioned.

I can’t say with certainty that we should even claim he snapped. All those rambling letters he sent to people after the murder where he tried justifying killing her…it was all a load of crap. And it shows a clear lack of remorse. People who snap, for the most part, eventually come off that high and have to face the reality of what they’ve done. Dennis didn’t do that.

Where it REALLY makes no sense is where he blamed Marilyn’s coworkers at Coldwater High School not just for playing a part in the murder but for being responsible in the destruction of his marriage. He wasn’t just blaming them, he was also threatening them. Unsolved Mysteries never mentions this but the police gave those coworkers protection during that year Dennis was on the run. They took the threats seriously.

When you’ve done something this horrible and blame everyone else in the world, refuse to take responsibility, you lose all sympathy from me.

For me I can understand some things prior to the murder. Nothing Dennis did after Marilyn was pushed down the stairs can be justified. But yes I do think it is a possibility he was going to take her to the hospital and they got into a fight on the way and he blew her brains out on a whim. Again, zero understanding about the murder and how he covered it up and ran but I don't disagree that it might be a possibility he was going to initially take her to the hospital. And I don't think he was planning on killing her that day. I think he still loved his kids, wanted to be around them. Essentially what Dennis did that day when he killed Marilyn and went on the run was turn his kids into orphans. The oldest wouldn't have been far from 18, but I assume they still needed a guardian for a little while.

That's why I always say if he had done the whole "oh no what I have done?" thing with the stairs you could probably get around it and while it would shatter the relationship with Marilyn even more I assume, it could salvage a relationship you have with your kids.

I don't know why he had the extra license plate. We go by the eyewitness account of the Thorntons when it comes to that and that's about it. I think by the time he did the murder there was no going back at that time. The things he did after that have no justification.

I wonder as well what ever happened to the kids. They would have their own families by now, might even be grandparents by now too. How did it affect them emotionally back then, or even today? What is their opinion of the movie "Jeepers Creepers" which more or less has the same opening as the beginning of this segment has (no way that wasn't copied)? What do they think of their dad and their mom to this day? Is it all 100% blame on Dennis or can they see how there may have been some frustration on his part that led to it? (not that they would justify the murder)

I wonder as well what ever happened to the kids. They would have their own families by now, might even be grandparents by now too. How did it affect them emotionally back then, or even today? What is their opinion of the movie "Jeepers Creepers" which more or less has the same opening as the beginning of this segment has (no way that wasn't copied)? What do they think of their dad and their mom to this day? Is it all 100% blame on Dennis or can they see how there may have been some frustration on his part that led to it? (not that they would justify the murder)

Jennifer is now 50, Julie is 48 and Scott is 45. A people.com search says they seem to live back and forth between Michigan and Florida. The 'Man with a Van' episode featured on this story in 2021 made note that Jennifer was allowed to walk at her high school graduation since she only had about a month left of her senior year at the time of her mother's murder. Other than that, there is next to nothing else known about the Depue children. I just assume they're living private lives and don't want to be asked any questions given what they had to endure.

If I had to guess, I doubt they know about the Jeepers Creepers plot. That movie came out 22 years ago but it's only in recent years that the connection has blown up online. The majority of the people most obsessed with this are diehard fans of the movie that don't have much familiarity with Unsolved Mysteries. The comments I got on YouTube several years ago comparing the two scenes were endless observations that wanted to know more about UM.

Also a fun fact: Marilyn went to high school with my uncle. Here's her yearbook picture....

https://images.findagrave.com/photos250/photos/2023/84/119870618_4f479fbc-930f-4130-929f-0f46dc5ccd8d.png

Devil's advocate here. But to your above point.. We don't know what that plate was, particularly, do we?

Does it chance the thought process if that was an old plate for his vehicle, or another of his vehicles, that he just kept in the back of the van?

What happens when your state changes out a plate? My grandmother used to have every license plate for every car she ever had hanging in her garage. She'd never throw them out. State didn't require that they be returned. So.. Just giving a possibility here. Because, so far as I know.. We don't know that was a 'fake' plate. We just know it wasn't the current plate for that van.

And, admittedly, we can get into some semantic arguments here that if the plate wasn't for that van it was 'fake', but.. You see the thought process that i'm using here. He had a plate from somewhere, once he killed her.. I mean, he had to pull her from the van, he sees the plate.. Hey, I put this one on, might help me get away.

So, just saying that.. MAYBE.. That doesn't point to premeditation like you think it does?

Also not saying it DOESN'T point to it. Just that.. We don't really know for certain.

Now in MI, we have to get a new plate every 10 years. I think my mom was able to keep her old plate when she got a new one in the late 90s but I don't remember, though.

Now in MI, we have to get a new plate every 10 years. I think my mom was able to keep her old plate when she got a new one in the late 90s but I don't remember, though.

Remember when license plates were metal? I think most, if not all states have moved over to that rugged plastic on them now. Sure those are far cheaper to replace.. Which is probably why they're updated much more often now.

I know here in SC, we had the palmetto tree plate from the late 60's all the way into the early 90's. Probably made at a prison or something.. Once they switched over to the plastic plates around Y2K or so.. They've updated the design 2 or 3 times.

Then, of course, there's what seems like hundreds of 'specialty' plates for various things. There's a teachers plate, Firefighters, NASCAR plates, and so on.

Jennifer is now 50, Julie is 48 and Scott is 45. A people.com search says they seem to live back and forth between Michigan and Florida. The 'Man with a Van' episode featured on this story in 2021 made note that Jennifer was allowed to walk at her high school graduation since she only had about a month left of her senior year at the time of her mother's murder. Other than that, there is next to nothing else known about the Depue children. I just assume they're living private lives and don't want to be asked any questions given what they had to endure.

Scott DePue lives in Florida now, if I am not mistaken. He was in trouble with the law in 2020, after assaulting his garbage collector with a broomstick.

source: https://www.yoursun.com/charlotte/sheriff-man-attacks-garbage-collector-with-broomstick/article_eed31392-d5c6-11ea-a32b-6b21ca14a897.html

There was also a civil case against Scott DePue, where his landlord went to court, to evict him from his dwelling in 2009:

https://trellis.law/doc/149639803/complaint-for-eviction-receipt-517357-date-06-11-2009

If I had to guess, I doubt they know about the Jeepers Creepers plot. That movie came out 22 years ago but it's only in recent years that the connection has blown up online.

I saw the movie in theatres in 2001, and I immediately recognised the similarities between the UM episode and the beginning of the movie. It's highly likely the children would have been informed regarding their parents'case making it into a Hollywood movie, either by friends, family, or even the film's producers.

Scott DePue lives in Florida now, if I am not mistaken. He was in trouble with the law in 2020, after assaulting his garbage collector with a broomstick.

source: https://www.yoursun.com/charlotte/sheriff-man-attacks-garbage-collector-with-broomstick/article_eed31392-d5c6-11ea-a32b-6b21ca14a897.html

There was also a civil case against Scott DePue, where his landlord went to court, to evict him from his dwelling in 2009:

https://trellis.law/doc/149639803/complaint-for-eviction-receipt-517357-date-06-11-2009



I saw the movie in theatres in 2001, and I immediately recognised the similarities between the UM episode and the beginning of the movie. It's highly likely the children would have been informed regarding their parents'case making it into a Hollywood movie, either by friends, family, or even the film's producers.

I highly, HIGHLY doubt anyone from the movie ever contacted the DePue relatives. Victor Salva is a shady person (his past misdeeds are available to read about online.) Also, I remembered listening to his director audio commentary on the DVD for the movie and he never once brings up any inspiration for the opening. He clearly hoped none of us would remember the UM episode after ten years.

I highly, HIGHLY doubt anyone from the movie ever contacted the DePue relatives. Victor Salva is a shady person (his past misdeeds are available to read about online.) Also, I remembered listening to his director audio commentary on the DVD for the movie and he never once brings up any inspiration for the opening. He clearly hoped none of us would remember the UM episode after ten years.

I think you misunderstood what I was replying to. Someone had said that the children would not have been aware that the movie was based off their parents case.In the age of technology, and the fact that it was released as a major motion picture, makes it virtually impossible that the children would not have known a scene in the movie was highly influenced on the UM mysteries episode of their mother's murder by their father.

I think you misunderstood what I was replying to. Someone had said that the children would not have been aware that the movie was based off their parents case.In the age of technology, and the fact that it was released as a major motion picture, makes it virtually impossible that the children would not have known a scene in the movie was highly influenced on the UM mysteries episode of their mother's murder by their father.

Virtually impossible?? Yeah no.

I had never heard of this movie until this thread. I would likely struggle to name 10 movies Hollywood has released in the last decade that were not a rehash, sequel, prequel, or remake of an existing title. I went 9 years without seeing a new movie in a theater. If the kids were anything like me they would never have even heard of this film. Technology and the internet certainly does not guarantee they knew in any way.

There are a lot of Michiganders on this forum!

No question about it, the opening of Jeepers Creepers was inspired by the DePue episode. Things are theexact same. The couple is checking out licence plates and one sticks out for them. They are driving down a lonely highway, they see the guy in an abandoned building doing something suspicious. They then go back to the area he was in and check it out - gutsy, in the movie and in real life especially - and there was a van that was on their tail following them. Even if the director pretends he has no idea about the similarities there is no doubt someone on the production team had seen the UM segment. Nothing wrong with basing the intro to a movie off of a UM segment. There are some segments that are straight out of a movie, in fact most are. I am just guessing that even in 2001 they figure that no one is going to remember a segment from a decade earlier. There were no DVD box sets, streaming devices or Youtube to re-live these episodes.

Anyways, as for the children, I guess Scott had a couple of brushes with the law. But let's face it, that's tame. These kids saw their mother get chucked down a flight of stairs, was woozy at best when their dad helps her up and seemingly plans on helping their mother to the hospital. Then they find out she's dead and their dad is on the run and then eventually gets gunned down by the police himself. They went from a family that was together to a broken family with divorced parents, to a day on Easter Sunday (honestly, what a day that has to be for this event to happen of all days) where your mom is murdered and your dad vanishes. In one moment they went from tense separated parents to orphans by the worst circumstances. How they didn't end up in much more trouble with the law is amazing. The emotional toll it took on them to this day would be enough.

One question I always have is how the heck did Dennis escape? Their one daughter runs to a neighbor to call the police. He leaves taking the wife seemingly to the hospital. He has a van that could be spotted from space and by the looks of it he still has the same van when he got caught. How did he manage to escape the area like that?

Another thing I always wonder is these significant others that end up in relationships with fugitives whom they don't know are fugitives. I often wonder how naive they are. If you have a live-in boyfriend wouldn't you want to meet his family? Know things about him from his past? Dennis would have been in his 40s at this time, he obviously has some sort of past. For whatever reason these fugitives often end up marrying someone else and even having kids before they are caught.

If I were the DePue kids I would liked to have talked to the girlfriend of Dennis. I am sure he didn't mention he had kids or anything, but I am sure on some level they still loved their dad and would just be interested in knowing how he was in the last couple of years of his life. Because what a whirlwind of events they went through. Divorce is tough, but their divorce was like so many others that children deal with. But then to have that dramatic shift......................

Virtually impossible?? Yeah no.

I had never heard of this movie until this thread. I would likely struggle to name 10 movies Hollywood has released in the last decade that were not a rehash, sequel, prequel, or remake of an existing title. I went 9 years without seeing a new movie in a theater. If the kids were anything like me they would never have even heard of this film. Technology and the internet certainly does not guarantee they knew in any way.

Most people tend to watch several movies each month. This is 2026, and there are services you may have heard about- like Netflix and such, so people don't need to see movies in the theatre.

And most people are not like you, judging by your posting history.

Most people tend to watch several movies each month. This is 2026, and there are services you may have heard about- like Netflix and such, so people don't need to see movies in the theatre.

And most people are not like you, judging by your posting history.

And someone they know could've told them about it as well.

If I were the DePue kids I would liked to have talked to the girlfriend of Dennis. I am sure he didn't mention he had kids or anything, but I am sure on some level they still loved their dad and would just be interested in knowing how he was in the last couple of years of his life. Because what a whirlwind of events they went through. Divorce is tough, but their divorce was like so many others that children deal with. But then to have that dramatic shift......................

I'm not sure the DePue children would want anything to do with their father, once their mother was murdered by him. The kids obviously did not like him by the day he got into the altercation with the mother, as neither wanted to spend time with him during visitation. I really doubt that changed after he killed their mother.

And someone they know could've told them about it as well.

Precisely.

With the huge publicity the DePue family received from the Unsolved Mysteries episode, I am sure there was a significant percentage of people who saw "Jeepers Creepers" had also seen (and recognised) the beginning scene of the movie, which was based off the reenactment.

The film was a box office success, and grossed nearly $60 million in 2001, so I think the odds of a friend or family member recognising that scene, and mentioning it to the children is very high.

Most people tend to watch several movies each month. This is 2026, and there are services you may have heard about- like Netflix and such, so people don't need to see movies in the theatre.

And most people are not like you, judging by your posting history.

Most is not all, there are a lot of people that watch less, and a meaningful number that watch almost none.

Also the film in question came out in...2001? So not sure why invoking the current year (usually a fallacy anyway) would matter.

Also I have never subscribed to any of those streaming services, and I know a non-trivial number of other people that haven't either. Not everyone is constantly consuming media even if a lot of people do.

I have no clue how you can draw such a conclusion from my posts, but I would say its rather presumptuous.

Precisely.

With the huge publicity the DePue family received from the Unsolved Mysteries episode, I am sure there was a significant percentage of people who saw "Jeepers Creepers" had also seen (and recognised) the beginning scene of the movie, which was based off the reenactment.

The film was a box office success, and grossed nearly $60 million in 2001, so I think the odds of a friend or family member recognising that scene, and mentioning it to the children is very high.

I saw it, not in 2001, but after a year or so when it came out on video. I know that I connected the dots to the opening and the UM segment. And this was not about my life. It was about the DePue's life, and yeah for sure the kids knew it, if not were told about it. I don't think there was any legal issues with things being so similar and any sort of copyright, but my guess is like in many movies there could have been an acknowlegement at the end of the movie at the end of the credits saying "This is fiction, all similarities of an actual event are purely coincidental". They may have had to add that in. Because there is no way this wasn't based on the UM segment, at least at the beginning.