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

[Alleykins]

Or if a private property has changed ownership and the new owners don't have a problem with LE searching the property...

If LE came to me and said they suspected there might be a dead body on my newly purchased property, I'd tell them to have at it, just put it back the way it was when done.

 

[retrometro]

I maintain that Jason's low-risk victim status, and the circumstances behind his disappearance, make a random abduction extremely unlikely.

Agreed. I used to think a random abduction or bizarre accident was likely.* From reading this thread over the past few years. I now believe that it was in all likelihood a crime by someone he knew personally or at least recognized as visually familiar. It just doesn’t make sense that a random serial killer or gang member would be hanging around the neighborhood at 10:45 in the morning and suddenly think “now’s my chance.” I’d have an easier time believing the random perp scenario it were 10:45pm or if walking that route at that time had been Jason’s daily routine, but it wasn’t.

*As for what I think most likely happened, I’d guess there’s a 90% chance it was a crime committed by someone he knew, maybe a 5% chance of a stranger abduction, and a 5% chance of something else (e.g., bizarre accident, voluntary disappearance, etc.). As usual, my opinion only.

 

[randomgetawaycar]

I agree the murderer must have been someone who knew Jason and who also knew of Jason's speech and language difficulties which apparently made Jason appear slow even though he was quite intelligent. I guess from the perp's POV, perhaps Jason was someone who was weak and could easily be overpowered.

The potential POIs I can think of are:

1. A neighbor (could be a sex offender or not; could be a fellow church member or not) but this person would only have had 10 minutes to act, unless they had a hand in changing Jason's shift at Fazoli's. I think the general consensus amongst the long-timers on this thread is that an opportunistic abduction would have been almost impossible.

2. Fazoli employees who were working at the time Jason was called in but I've read his co-worker & ex-high school mate who drove to the high school to meet him and his boss at the time were grilled and cleared by the police. But what about the reason for calling in Jason to start his shift at an earlier time? Was it especially busy that day at the restaurant at 10-ish am? Or did the restaurant somehow knew in advance it would get super busy on that particular summer weekday during lunch/the afternoon? Or did a co-worker drop out of his/her shift that morning intentionally and, knowing Jason's car was at the shop, set Jason up so that Jason would be forced to walk to work (but this theory also has holes because there could have been a chance Jason would reject the earlier start time). For all of this planning, the perp would had to have been really adamant on harming Jason.

There's an older post by dotr (NE - NE - Jason Jolkowski, 19, Omaha, 13 June 2001 - #2) which quoted Kelly effectively saying they know the person who has information about Jason's disappearance but it sounds like there's not enough evidence to charge this person and that the only way to actually know what happened is for this person to come forward. Since almost 20 years has passed, I'm not so sure this person would do that. And why? Why harm a 19 year old with strong ties to his church, family and DJ program at a school relatively near his home? That's quite a high risk move.

 

[ekardh]

One question that's often posed is 'Why that day?'

If Jason was taken by someone he knew, why did they choose that particular day?

Since Jason's plans were changed at the last minute, he either got lucky and saw Jason walking on his own *or* Jason paid him a visit en route to the school.

That's why I suspect that Jason had pre-arranged to see someone that day but decided to take the shift at Fazoli's. He asks to be picked up at the school to give himself the chance to stop by the perp's house and let them know. That person might have invited Jason inside momentarily, struck him from behind/strangled him and then disposed of the body later. If there was a sexual element to it (and I strongly suspect there was) he was most likely unmarried and lived alone. Therefore, he was able to cover up the crime perfectly, and no one's ever suspected him.

 

[MatthewTyler]

There's an older post by dotr (NE - NE - Jason Jolkowski, 19, Omaha, 13 June 2001 - #2) which quoted Kelly effectively saying they know the person who has information about Jason's disappearance but it sounds like there's not enough evidence to charge this person and that the only way to actually know what happened is for this person to come forward. Since almost 20 years has passed, I'm not so sure this person would do that. And why? Why harm a 19 year old with strong ties to his church, family and DJ program at a school relatively near his home? That's quite a high risk move.

I think Kelly was saying that SOME person out there knows, which is true. But they don't know who it actually is, just that someone is out there and not coming forward. Kelly has said a few times that there have been zero leads or any real suspects from the start.

 

[MatthewTyler]

Another thing that bugs me (which I'm not sure has ever been brought up?) is that wouldn't the perp know Jason's absence would be immediately noticed? Jason had his Fazoli's shirt with him and presumably mentioned that he was on his way to work, so the perp must have been pretty confident in how quickly they lured/killed him and covered their tracks. Also to make sure that no other neighbors saw him come in, or that Jason never told his family that he was coming by (if this was pre-planned). It's almost like the neighbor thing doesn't make sense either because of how perfect it needed to be, but still the best bet.

 

[dotr]

Wondering if many of Jason's neighbours ate at, or had food delivered from Fazoli's ?

 

[Alleykins]

Or if a private property has changed ownership and the new owners don't have a problem with LE searching the property...

If LE came to me and said they suspected there might be a dead body on my newly purchased property, I'd tell them to have at it, just put it back the way it was when done.

One question that's often posed is 'Why that day?'

If Jason was taken by someone he knew, why did they choose that particular day?

Since Jason's plans were changed at the last minute, he either got lucky and saw Jason walking on his own *or* Jason paid him a visit en route to the school.

That's why I suspect that Jason had pre-arranged to see someone that day but decided to take the shift at Fazoli's. He asks to be picked up at the school to give himself the chance to stop by the perp's house and let them know. That person might have invited Jason inside momentarily, struck him from behind/strangled him and then disposed of the body later. If there was a sexual element to it (and I strongly suspect there was) he was most likely unmarried and lived alone. Therefore, he was able to cover up the crime perfectly, and no one's ever suspected him.

How I understood it was Jason had a difficult time giving directions to his house, so the school was a mutually agreed upon meeting place because both Jason and his coworker knew where the school was. Also, from what I understood, it was only a 10 minute walk to the HS, and he had 15 minutes to get there (10:45-11:00), which doesn't leave much wiggle room to knock on someone's door. And where he was a responsible adult, doing something like that and cutting it so close to his meet up with his coworker, sounds out of character for him, IMHO.

 

[ekardh]

How I understood it was Jason had a difficult time giving directions to his house, so the school was a mutually agreed upon meeting place because both Jason and his coworker knew where the school was. .

That's the official explanation, but @neesaki (I think) was one of the first one to question this. If we assume, for sake of argument, that Jason had an ulterior motive for meeting at the school it opens the door up to possiblities.

 

[Alleykins]

Does anyone have a link to Project Jason?

 

[ekardh]

Does anyone have a link to Project Jason?

It's been defunct for awhile now. Don't think the Jolkowskis have ever commented on its status either.

 

[Alleykins]

It's been defunct for awhile now. Don't think the Jolkowskis have ever commented on its status either.

Thank you, sorry to hear this.

 

[?unknown?]

One question that's often posed is 'Why that day?'

If Jason was taken by someone he knew, why did they choose that particular day?

Since Jason's plans were changed at the last minute, he either got lucky and saw Jason walking on his own *or* Jason paid him a visit en route to the school.

That's why I suspect that Jason had pre-arranged to see someone that day but decided to take the shift at Fazoli's. He asks to be picked up at the school to give himself the chance to stop by the perp's house and let them know. That person might have invited Jason inside momentarily, struck him from behind/strangled him and then disposed of the body later. If there was a sexual element to it (and I strongly suspect there was) he was most likely unmarried and lived alone. Therefore, he was able to cover up the crime perfectly, and no one's ever suspected him.

I think something like that is most likely as well. For all we know the perp could have been the one who arranged the meet up either to plan to harm him in a more methodical way or for some other reason he wanted time alone with Jason and Jason stops by on the way to let him know he’s been called in to work thinking it’s no big deal. This privately infuriates the guy because it’s disturbed his planned meeting that he was looking forward to and he decides right there on the spot he’s going to harm Jason. All it takes from there is “sure no problem we can do it another time, here let me run you down the block to the school”. Jason knows or trusts the person so gets in and he drives him off to God knows where. I believe he was either harmed inside a property or taken in a vehicle outside the immediate area by a single perp.

 

[MatthewTyler]

I think something like that is most likely as well. For all we know the perp could have been the one who arranged the meet up either to plan to harm him in a more methodical way or for some other reason he wanted time alone with Jason and Jason stops by on the way to let him know he’s been called in to work thinking it’s no big deal. This privately infuriates the guy because it’s disturbed his planned meeting that he was looking forward to and he decides right there on the spot he’s going to harm Jason. All it takes from there is “sure no problem we can do it another time, here let me run you down the block to the school”. Jason knows or trusts the person so gets in and he drives him off to God knows where. I believe he was either harmed inside a property or taken in a vehicle outside the immediate area by a single perp.

It would have to have been be a real anger driven psychopath if one change of plans caused him to kill. Granted, this is a pyschopath anyway but I feel like it had to have been more than just killing Jason over choosing to go to work that day. I'm still not convinced that this was a mutual sexual relationship. Jason seems like the type that could unknowingly mistake sexual preying for someone being friendly. If this was a one-sided affection, then that could possibly motivate someone to hurt him. Or maybe it wasn't even about Jason at all. Maybe there was a neighbor that just didn't like the Jolkowskis for whatever reason and wanted them to suffer.

 

[randomgetawaycar]

Jason seems like the type that could unknowingly mistake sexual preying for someone being friendly.

Yes, his profile from various sources states that he's trusting.

What could have set off such rage in such short amount of time in Jason's killer though? If Jason was suppose to meet a third party and then his shift at work suddenly changed, he could just have called them to say, hey, let's meet another time. Unless Jason was going to cut ties with this person that day.

Also I'm now wondering if money was involved in Jason's disappearance. I think it was in the Unfound podcast episode where Kelly said Jason had ran into financial difficulties and couldn't continue with the DJ program at school and so he had to temporarily stop his studies. At the time of his disappearance Jason was in the process of getting his financial plans together to go back to school. I wonder if he had borrowed money from some unsavory people, and he didn't know these people were unsavory. But killing Jason would mean the killer wouldn't be able to recover the money, unless it was in cash and physically locked away somewhere.

 

[spearhead1030]

I'm bumping for and thinking about Jason tonight. I made this account for him. Learning about his case has affected me deeply, made me grateful for the simple little things and moments in life that can get taken in an instant. Never met him, and yet I see myself in him: introverted, Catholic, 19-year-old with speech issues. How awesome that his ambitions as a DJ flew in the face of what society would assume of him. Thinking about someone who seems so innocent and trusting, so kind and humble, being bullied in school and preyed upon saddens me in a way I can't quite articulate. I'm well aware of the halo effect, but this case just seems deserving of it.

I'll always think about you, Jason. I hope you and your family can find solace in that. What I'd give to see you one day and tell you what a difference your story has made in people's lives through your mother's work and beyond. Thank you.

Prayers.

 

[dotr]

I'm bumping for and thinking about Jason tonight. I made this account for him. Learning about his case has affected me deeply, made me grateful for the simple little things and moments in life that can get taken in an instant. Never met him, and yet I see myself in him: introverted, Catholic, 19-year-old with speech issues. How awesome that his ambitions as a DJ flew in the face of what society would assume of him. Thinking about someone who seems so innocent and trusting, so kind and humble, being bullied in school and preyed upon saddens me in a way I can't quite articulate. I'm well aware of the halo effect, but this case just seems deserving of it.

I'll always think about you, Jason. I hope you and your family can find solace in that. What I'd give to see you one day and tell you what a difference your story has made in people's lives through your mother's work and beyond. Thank you.

Prayers.

Welcome to Ws spearhead1030, thanks for the lovely sentiment!

 

[ChatteringBirds]

@spearhead1030 Beautiful post.

 

[MatthewTyler]

I'm bumping for and thinking about Jason tonight. I made this account for him. Learning about his case has affected me deeply, made me grateful for the simple little things and moments in life that can get taken in an instant. Never met him, and yet I see myself in him: introverted, Catholic, 19-year-old with speech issues. How awesome that his ambitions as a DJ flew in the face of what society would assume of him. Thinking about someone who seems so innocent and trusting, so kind and humble, being bullied in school and preyed upon saddens me in a way I can't quite articulate. I'm well aware of the halo effect, but this case just seems deserving of it.

I'll always think about you, Jason. I hope you and your family can find solace in that. What I'd give to see you one day and tell you what a difference your story has made in people's lives through your mother's work and beyond. Thank you.

Prayers.

Nice post. I wish Jason's mom still went on WS so she could see all the people still affected/actively seeking answers for her son. She wrote a post once saying that when he was born he became really sick and had to stay in the hospital for awhile longer. This kid has suffered from day one. With that, then getting bullied, then having financial issues, then vanishing without a trace- his life seemed to be a lot of suffering. And then I think of the passage he read in church the Sunday before he disappeared: "We gladly suffer because we know suffering helps us endure". It does all seem kind of prophetic. I guess that's why I'm drawn to this case the most; I just believe that he deserved a better end after having a less than stellar hand drawn in life. Well, he shouldn't have had an "end" yet, but at the very least he deserves a proper conclusion if that's how it had to be.

 

[Miles21]

Jason Jolkowski (Photo provided by NamUs.gov)
March 18 2021 Jenn Baxter
Vanished Into Thin Air: The Disappearance of Jason Jolkowski
''Investigators combed through surveillance footage from cameras at both Benson High School and the neighboring middle school, but Jason never appeared on any of the footage. It was clear that he never made it as far as the school; unfortunately, there were no other surveillance cameras in the area so it’s unknown exactly how close he might have gotten to his destination before he disappeared.

Police conducted several searches of the area where Jason was last seen, combing through the residential streets, wooded areas, and parks on foot and horseback. They used a helicopter equipped with infrared radar, but found nothing.''

- I’m really curious: how do you know a helicopter with infrared was used? And do you happen to know the exact areas they searched??