NE NE - Jason Jolkowski, 19, Omaha, 13 Jun 2001 - #3

[MatthewTyler]

I wish we would hear something from the girl who was picking him up at Benson High.

Unfortunately she ignored my message when I reached out to her on Facebook :/

 

[Rtael]

It's tempting to link this with Fazoli's for sure, but as Ekardh said that gets into major conspiracy territory. If we look at the timing of it, it would be tough to pull this off without a hitch: Manager calls Jason and one of them suggests an 11 am pick up at the school. He sends the girl to get him. He abducts Jason himself, kills him, and disposes of him and is back in time at the restaurant by 11:15ish to pick up the girl's call when she tells him Jason never showed up. The other option is that he sends someone else to abduct Jason, which also is risky. Conspiring with teenagers to commit murder is quite a gamble. The more people involved, the more likely someone talks. The only thing I think Fazoli's did that day was ruin/change plans that Jason already had. When Jason goes to explain this to whoever they maybe lash out? The one thing that's tough to figure in that theory is how the change of plans lead to murder.

Sigh. That's what make this case so intriguing (apologies to Jason/his family for feeling that way, but I like puzzles)...nothing seems likely. To me the Fazoli's angle is a non-starter. There's nothing there worth killing over, and the timing of it all (as you point out) just doesn't make sense even if someone had a motive, however sensical or non. Your rough theory really does seem to be the most logical, but still seems so unlikely. A whole secret side to him that hasn't come out or even really been hinted at in all the years that have followed? A killer who can keep his mouth shut? That even someone who knew him could abduct him in the middle of the day with no one seeing, with no connection or evidence left behind? No body, all this time later?

I'm not saying it was aliens, but maybe it was aliens!

Or it was probably someone who groomed him (almost certainly a male but I suppose we can't rule anything), probably played on the fact that he was a bit socially awkward, didn't have many close friends, seemingly never had a girlfriend. This person develops some sort of sick obsession with Jason, manages to talk him into secret rendezvous (whether sexual or not), then is frustrated and set off when Jason breaks one of these 'dates' to work instead. Seems like to most logical explanation/fit, too bad there's no evidence for it! The groomer would have had to convince Jason to see them/have some sort of relationship with them but one that he never mentioned to his parents/friends/coworkers. This person would have either had to live on/near the route Jason would have taken to the school, or had plans to meet him that day somewhere near that route. It just seems crazy that any sort of interaction like this could have developed without anyone know about it or witnessing it, especially when it seems like it must have mostly been happening within a pretty tight radius of Jason's home.

Pretty sure I'm just rambling at this point so I should leave it here. Just such a strange case where even the most obvious solution just doesn't really seem to work.

 

[ekardh]

Or it was probably someone who groomed him (almost certainly a male but I suppose we can't rule anything), probably played on the fact that he was a bit socially awkward, didn't have many close friends, seemingly never had a girlfriend. This person develops some sort of sick obsession with Jason, manages to talk him into secret rendezvous (whether sexual or not), then is frustrated and set off when Jason breaks one of these 'dates' to work instead. Seems like to most logical explanation/fit, too bad there's no evidence for it! The groomer would have had to convince Jason to see them/have some sort of relationship with them but one that he never mentioned to his parents/friends/coworkers. This person would have either had to live on/near the route Jason would have taken to the school, or had plans to meet him that day somewhere near that route. It just seems crazy that any sort of interaction like this could have developed without anyone know about it or witnessing it, especially when it seems like it must have mostly been happening within a pretty tight radius of Jason's home.

The fact Jason was going "walking" for long hours raises red flags for me. There a lot of minor details in this case that could be totally innocuous on the face of it, but I also think there's been a tendency to overlook them when trying to piece together the background of his disappearance. I wonder if Jason had been meeting someone at a neutral location. Perhaps because the both of them lived locally, they decided to put some distance between themselves and the neighbourhood?

As for the motive, you could be right and the person was angered by Jason changing their plans at the last minute. Alternatively, what if Jason had no way of reaching the person that morning, so he took it upon himself to visit them on the way to the school? Perhaps the person was angry at Jason visiting his home and felt the relationship had become too risky? My only other thought would be that the person always had murder in mind that morning.

 

[CountSnap]

We may have even overlooked the possibility this was a female he was intending to meet up with that morning.
Say it was a lady. He knows now he has to stop by and say "hey they called me in early."
Now, JJ gets there and maybe she was married and ooooops. He is there.
Who is this guy darling? JJ... startled look.
Is this the guy who comes in my house when I'm gone?
And there you have it?

Or, alternately, was JJ involved with someone on that route that had a jealous lover?

Still. The question is in every situation? Who?
It's maddening, isn't it?

 

[hannah246]

Could the neighbour that "witnessed" seeing Jason walk towards Bedford street be responsible for the disappearance of Jason? could he have false witnessed to the police in order not to come across suspicious? that is ofcourse if it was a male that supposedly last saw him. I am still on and off with the neighbour theory especially the neighbours that still live in that house. Wouldn't surprise me if his body is inside their back garden hidden somewhere deep. I am also pretty sure remembering someone say they searched up facebook one particular neighbour and something was very off with him. We are at our final straw with this case and I am opened to all former neighbours being questioned thoroughly by the LE.

 

[CountSnap]

Sadly, anything is possible. That kind man however did show up to the memorial.
I couldn't put it past anyone at any point. Problem I suppose is a motive.
Would definitely think of someone in that area who maybe had a girlfriend and was jealous. Or someone who had a thing for JJ. So, yeah, maybe. Maybe he saw someone doing something illegal or immoral and the person knew JJ had the goods on 'em?
So in general the motives. Love. Sex. Money. Self preservation.
That is the person we're looking for.
Then you have the just plain crazy and yes, there was someone rumored about that does seeeeem a bit off.

 

[MysteryMaven]

All I can come up with is:
1. Freak accident and hasn’t been found
2. Had to cancel meet up with someone and met with foul play at the hands of that person
3. Went to cancel meet up with person and ran away with them
4. Ran away alone
5. Random foul play
What do you guys think????

 

[Andreee]

My best guess is 2. Jason had a phone I think, so for some reason if he was planning to meet up with someone, it seems that he did not just call them. But that they were on his route anyways, so he dropped by. The random foul play seems unlikely, unless he got lured into someone's home on route. There was construction going on at the time, but I assume that aspect has been thoroughly looked at as to whether or not that was even possible for him to have a freak accident, especially due to his size.

 

[ekardh]

We may have even overlooked the possibility this was a female he was intending to meet up with that morning.
Say it was a lady. He knows now he has to stop by and say "hey they called me in early."
Now, JJ gets there and maybe she was married and ooooops. He is there.
Who is this guy darling? JJ... startled look.
Is this the guy who comes in my house when I'm gone?
And there you have it?

My only problem with a scenario like this is it's quite dramatic and spontaneous. I can't believe something like that went down in suburbia without anyone hearing or seeing anything. You're also multiplying the number of people who'd need to cover up the murder and keep it a secret.

 

[CountSnap]

My only problem with a scenario like this is it's quite dramatic and spontaneous. I can't believe something like that went down in suburbia without anyone hearing or seeing anything. You're also multiplying the number of people who'd need to cover up the murder and keep it a secret.

Yes. There are definite problems with it.
Yet, for the "without anyone hearing or seeing anything", I believe we're already in that zone.
This crazy old case just has no beef as far as evidence of any kind.

Just don't want to overlook any possibility.

 

[dotr]

Still thinking that Jason started walking with no particular intention of ''running away''.
Maybe he made a wrong turn, was frustrated by the last minute inconvenience, or absentmindedly just kept walking until he wanted to stop, or something or someone made him stop. imo, speculation.

 

[Alleykins]

Still thinking that Jason started walking with no particular intention of ''running away''.
Maybe he made a wrong turn, was frustrated by the last minute inconvenience, or absentmindedly just kept walking until he wanted to stop, or something or someone made him stop. imo, speculation.

I agree, Dotr. I don't think he had any premeditated plans, detours, or any type of secret dealings or double life that he tried to squeeze into that teeny-tiny time frame, when a phone call would have sufficed.

 

[ekardh]

I agree, Dotr. I don't think he had any premeditated plans, detours, or any type of secret dealings or double life that he tried to squeeze into that teeny-tiny time frame, when a phone call would have sufficed.

Then what happened? A grown man lured to his death by a random stranger? A freak accident in a middle of a suburban neighbourhood? I suppose it's possible an old creep on the block took advantage of the fact he wasn't driving, but isn't it odd that it happened on that particular day? Not on the other days when Jason was supposedly walking for hours?

I think the circumstances of Jason's day changing at the last minute, and him asking to be picked up at the school, are speaking to a detour made on the way.

 

[MatthewTyler]

Still going to have to go with detour as well. Heck, even the neighbor thing sounds less and less likely the more it's talked about. Even someone who knew Jason would have to have some stones to lure a grown man in the middle of the day in a split second decision, with many factors that could go wrong. From the looks of the houses around Jason's, it doesn't look like any of them are really secluded either; it would be fairly easy for anyone looking out the window to notice Jason going up to the home and entering. The sad thing is that if this were a kid or even a grown woman, I'd be more open to that idea, but a man- how often does that really happen? I'm not even saying that the detour was necessarily sexual. Maybe he was buying/selling something? He had $60 on him. But the long walks that he took does certainly stand out as odd. Provided his father wasn't grossly exaggerting the length, walking for "hours" seems very strange. Since Jason was in need financially, I could see him choosing the extra hours of work that day over even a romantic rendevouz.

 

[Alleykins]

Then what happened? A grown man lured to his death by a random stranger? A freak accident in a middle of a suburban neighbourhood? I suppose it's possible an old creep on the block took advantage of the fact he wasn't driving, but isn't it odd that it happened on that particular day? Not on the other days when Jason was supposedly walking for hours?

I think the circumstances of Jason's day changing at the last minute, and him asking to be picked up at the school, are speaking to a detour made on the way.

I don't know what happened to Jason, anymore than anyone does. But I do know his mother has stated on several occasions Jason wasn't good at directions, his coworker knew where the school was, so that was the decided upon meet up place because it was familiar to them both. Last I knew, it was never established whose idea it was to meet up at the school, so we can't really assign any significance to the pick up location without knowing. And, we don't even know if Jason had any plans that day. Every one is assuming he did, he might not have, but I don't recall his mother ever stating he had any plans she knew of. I'm not saying she would know his every move, he was an adult, but I'm thinking she'd have some idea.

 

[ekardh]

I don't know what happened to Jason, anymore than anyone does. But I do know his mother has stated on several occasions Jason wasn't good at directions, his coworker knew where the school was, so that was the decided upon meet up place because it was familiar to them both. Last I knew, it was never established whose idea it was to meet up at the school, so we can't really assign any significance to the pick up location without knowing. And, we don't even know if Jason had any plans that day. Every one is assuming he did, he might not have, but I don't recall his mother ever stating he had any plans she knew of. I'm not saying she would know his every move, he was an adult, but I'm thinking she'd have some idea.

Please don’t think any disrespect is meant. We’re all in the dark here and bouncing ideas around. I like to deconstruct people’s theories for my own clarity if nothing else

I just find it too coincidental that Jason happened to vanish on the day his plans got moved around, and not all the times he was off walking for hours. Perhaps he was lame at directions or maybe that gave him the perfect excuse for making the detour.

If he was living some kind of double life, I would actually expect his mother to be one of the last people to know.

 

[Alleykins]

Please don’t think any disrespect is meant. We’re all in the dark here and bouncing ideas around. I like to deconstruct people’s theories for my own clarity if nothing else

I just find it too coincidental that Jason happened to vanish on the day his plans got moved around, and not all the times he was off walking for hours. Perhaps he was lame at directions or maybe that gave him the perfect excuse for making the detour.

If he was living some kind of double life, I would actually expect his mother to be one of the last people to know.

No worries. We've all got our theories about what happened to Jason. Mine have changed over the years, the more I've researched his case. And should we learn something new, they'll probably change again as time goes on.

 

[Rtael]

Please don’t think any disrespect is meant. We’re all in the dark here and bouncing ideas around. I like to deconstruct people’s theories for my own clarity if nothing else

I just find it too coincidental that Jason happened to vanish on the day his plans got moved around, and not all the times he was off walking for hours. Perhaps he was lame at directions or maybe that gave him the perfect excuse for making the detour.

If he was living some kind of double life, I would actually expect his mother to be one of the last people to know.

Hmm..I come down a bit in the middle on this. The school thing by itself seems innocuous and not out of the norm. But I can't help but agree that it seems a stretch for it to just be a coincidence that he disappears on a day when he has a sudden change in schedule. And if you accept that the schedule change was intimately related to his disappearance...it does naturally follow that the trip to the school was somewhat 'premeditated' with an ulterior motive from Jason.

Still somehow seems wrong though, ha. Following the scant inferences we can make here only seems to lead down one path...but when I get there it doesn't feel right.

 

[Alleykins]

Does anyone recall why Jason's car was in the shop-was it body work or mechanical repairs? How long had Jason's car been in the shop prior to his disappearance?
I believe I read somewhere his parents did pick it up sometime after.

 

[deadinthewater]

Does anyone recall why Jason's car was in the shop-was it body work or mechanical repairs? How long had Jason's car been in the shop prior to his disappearance?
I believe I read somewhere his parents did pick it up sometime after.

I believe it was damaged from a storm, though I don't know how long it had been in the shop for.