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NBC's Unsolved Mysteries, the documentary series, has continued to bring harrowing unsolved cases about missing persons, homicides and conspiracy theories to life.
The shocking case of Dennis DePue was broadcast on the network on March 20, 1991, which detailed his horrific actions and the murder of his wife, Marilynn.
Dennis DePue was a Michigan-born property assessor, married to Marilynn. While the couple had three children, Dennis' wife had often complained about him to her friends and family, even calling him a bully.
Dennis accused Marilynn of turning their children against him and in 1989, she finally filed for divorce.
After Dennis murdered his wife in 1990, this case was broadcast on Unsolved Mysteries, which prompted him to commit su*cide, making him the first fugitive on the show to have committed this act.
More on this in our story.
Unsolved Mysteries: Details of Dennis DePue's crime
While Unsolved Mysteries has aired many episodes, none are as intriguing as Dennis DePue's. The documentary episode featuring Dennis' case not only shed light on his horrible crimes, but also helped put an end to him.
The couple's divorce was finalised in December 1989. Dennis was given biweekly visitation rights to meet his children and permission to use the guest house as his office.
On Easter Sunday morning (April 15, 1990), Dennis arrived to pick up his children but they were reluctant to go with him. Angered by his children's refusal, he grabbed Marilynn and pushed her down the stairs and also beat her.
When their children protested, Dennis took his wife outside and the two went missing.
Unsolved Mysteries: How did the police find Marilynn's body?
On the same fateful day, a couple, Ray and Marie Thornton, saw a green 1984 Chevrolet truck overtake them at high speed. Following it to an abandoned school, the couple spotted a mysterious man beside the school with bloodied sheets and they called the authorities.
The couple also noticed the driver changing his license plate and spots of blood on the passenger's seat. The tire marks outside the school matched Dennis' truck.
As revealed on Unsolved Mysteries, some highway workers found Marilynn's body near a deserted road in Bethel Township, with a gunshot wound to her back.
Unsolved Mysteries prompted Dennis DePue to commit su*cide
After murdering his wife, Dennis went on the run but continued to send letters to his friends and family justifying his actions as:
“Marilynn had many, many opportunities to treat me fairly during this divorce, and she chose to string it out, trick me, lie to me, and when you lose your wife, children and home, there’s not much left. I was too old to start over.”
On March 20, 1991, the night when Unsolved Mysteries aired Dennis' case, he was living as Hank Queen, a woman named Mary's boyfriend, in Texas. He asked her to pack him some sandwiches for the road and he left.
Later, when Mary and her friend realised that Hank was Dennis, they called the authorities, which resulted in a high-speed chase.
After a fifteen-mile chase, Dennis finally stopped the van and fired two shots at the deputies following him. He then turned the barrel towards himself and shot himself dead. He was buried at Eagle Cemetery in Lagrange County, Indiana.
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