If you’ve ever watched the 2001 horror flick Jeepers Creepers, you probably remember the opening scene. Two siblings driving down a lonely road get harassed by a beat-up truck, then later see the driver dumping something wrapped in a bloody sheet behind an old church. It’s pure nightmare fuel. But what’s weirder is that it’s almost a beat-for-beat recreation of something that actually happened in Michigan. People often fall down the rabbit hole of this story and end up asking: is Dennis DePue still alive?
The short answer is no. Not by a long shot.
Dennis DePue died in 1991, but the way he went out was just as dramatic and dark as the crimes that made him famous. To understand why people are still Googling his name thirty years later, you have to look at the bizarre timeline of a "stable" family man who snapped, went on the run, and was eventually outed by a legendary true crime TV show.
Who Was Dennis DePue?
Before he was a fugitive, DePue was basically the definition of "ordinary." He lived in Coldwater, Michigan, worked as a property appraiser, and was married to Marilynn DePue, a beloved high school counselor. They had three kids. On the surface, it was a standard suburban life.
But things were rotting underneath. Marilynn filed for divorce in 1989. Dennis didn't handle it well. Friends and family later described him as controlling and increasingly unstable as the legal proceedings dragged on.
On Easter Sunday, April 15, 1990, Dennis went to Marilynn’s house to pick up their children for a visit. An argument broke out. It turned physical fast. Dennis ended up beating Marilynn and pushing her down the basement stairs right in front of their kids. He then told the children he was taking her to the hospital.
He didn't.
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Instead, he drove her off into the rural Michigan night. That was the last time anyone saw Marilynn alive.
The Highway Encounter That Inspired a Movie
While Dennis was driving his van through the backroads with his wife’s body, a couple named Ray and Marie Thornton were out for a leisurely Sunday drive. They didn't know they were about to become part of a murder investigation.
Dennis’s van came screaming up behind them, tailgating aggressively before zooming past. A few miles later, the Thorntons passed an abandoned schoolhouse. There, they saw the same van. Dennis was outside, hauling a heavy, blood-stained sheet toward the back of the building.
If this sounds familiar, it's because it is. The Thorntons even played a license plate game to pass the time—a detail specifically used in the Jeepers Creepers script.
The Thorntons didn't just drive away; they eventually circled back, saw the van again, and even noticed Dennis changing his license plates. They called the police, but by the time authorities found Marilynn's body behind that schoolhouse, Dennis DePue had vanished.
The Manhunt and the Unsolved Mysteries Connection
For nearly a year, Dennis DePue was a ghost. He abandoned his van, changed his name to Hank Reed, and started a new life in Dallas, Texas. He even got a job and a girlfriend. It’s wild how easily someone could just "restart" back then without the digital footprint we have now.
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The question of whether Dennis DePue was still alive or dead stayed unanswered until March 1991. That’s when the show Unsolved Mysteries aired a segment on the case.
This is where the story gets really intense. Dennis’s new girlfriend was actually watching the show. She saw his face on the screen, recognized the "Hank" she was dating, and realized she was living with a wanted murderer. She didn't confront him—smart move—but she did call the police.
The Final Shootout in Mississippi
Once the tip came in, the FBI and local police were on him fast. Dennis realized the jig was up. He fled Texas, leading police on a high-speed chase that crossed state lines into Mississippi.
He wasn't going to be taken alive.
During a shootout with authorities in Warren County, Mississippi, Dennis DePue committed suicide. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on March 21, 1991. This was less than 24 hours after his story aired on national television.
Why the Story Still Resonates
Honestly, the reason people keep asking about DePue is the sheer "everyman" horror of it. Usually, we think of killers as monsters lurking in the woods, but DePue was a government worker and a dad.
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The connection to Jeepers Creepers also keeps the fire lit. Even though the movie turns into a supernatural monster flick with a winged demon, the first thirty minutes are grounded in the very real terror the Thorntons felt on that Michigan road.
People often get confused because the movie's "Creeper" is an immortal creature that comes back every 23 years. They wonder if the "real guy" is still out there. But the real-life Dennis DePue has been dead for decades.
Key Facts About the Case
- Date of Crime: April 15, 1990 (Easter Sunday)
- Victim: Marilynn DePue
- Location of Murder: Coldwater, Michigan
- Inspiration: The opening of Jeepers Creepers (2001)
- Date of Death: March 21, 1991
- Cause of Death: Suicide during a police chase
Final Realities
If you’re looking into this because you’re a true crime buff or a horror fan, it’s worth noting that the DePue family had to live through this nightmare long after the credits rolled on any movie. Marilynn was a woman who was trying to start over, and her death was a massive loss to her community.
While the "Creeper" is a fictional entity that can't be killed, Dennis DePue was just a man who chose violence and ended his own life when he couldn't run anymore.
If you are interested in the deeper details of the case, you can actually still find the original Unsolved Mysteries segment (Season 3, Episode 20) on various streaming platforms. It’s a chilling look at how close a killer can get to blending in before the truth finally catches up.
Actionable Insights:
- Research the source: If you're a film student or writer, compare the Unsolved Mysteries reenactment to the opening of Jeepers Creepers. It's a masterclass in how reality is adapted into tension-filled cinema.
- Support Domestic Violence Prevention: This case began as a domestic dispute. Organizations like the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800-799-7233) provide resources that Marilynn DePue didn't have easy access to in 1990.
- Verify True Crime Claims: Always cross-reference movie "inspiration" with actual court records or contemporary news reports from the 1990s, as urban legends often distort the facts over time.