True crime is everywhere these days and we’re not mad about it. Whether staying up late binge-watching true crime shows on Oxygen or listening to popular true crime podcasts like Crime Junkie, Criminal, or My Favorite Murder, it’s clear that we can’t get enough.
Our favorite kinds of cases are the ones that have a clean solution and are considered open-and-shut. But what about all the other cases? The cases that don’t have an answer? Well, these are called cold cases and they drive us nuts. Here are four of the creepiest cold cases that we need answers to now.
Missing: Peggy Anne Sweeten
Peggy Anne Sweeten was 41 years old and living in Grove, Oklahoma at the time of her disappearance in 1998. She was married to a man named James Lee Sweeten, a school superintendent. On January 17th, 1998, Mr. Sweeten claims that he came home from a conference to find a note from his wife indicating that she ran off with someone else.
Here’s where it gets creepy. First of all, Peggy left her belongings, including her car and clothing, behind at the home she shared with her husband. Second of all, James filed for divorce a mere three weeks after Peggy’s disappearance. The divorce was granted in April 6, 1998. Coincidently, Debra Hammond divorced her husband that same week. Hammond and Sweeten “moved in together June 1998 and were married in December 1998” as stated in the warrant per The Oklahoman. The two were reportedly having an affair since the fall of 1997. Hmmm…
To make things even creepier, Mr. Sweeten did not tell the couple’s son, Patrick, that his mother was missing for months, until March of 1998. Patrick Sweeten said his mother did not even have her own email address, which casts doubt on the online lover story.
Obviously, the senior Sweeten was a person of interest in his wife’s disappearance and presumed death. His property was searched to no avail. To this day, Peggy Anne Sweeten’s case has not been solved.
Jason “JJ” Jolkowski
Nicknamed JJ, Jason Jolkowski was 19 years old and living in Omaha, Nebraska when he went missing nearly 20 years ago. On June 13, 2001, Jolkowski was unexpectedly called into work at Fazoli’s. His car was in the shop, so his boss arranged a ride with a female coworker, according to CNN. The two were to meet at a nearby high school parking lot, situated seven blocks away from the home JJ shared with his family.
This is where it gets creepy: JJ never arrived at the high school. Security cameras from the high school reveal that Jason was never seen onsite. Jason’s coworker called his house to ask him why he didn’t meet her there as planned. Somehow, in his seven-block walk, Jason Jolkowski disappeared.
Want to know something even creepier? Jason never picked up his car or used his cell phone or bank account again.
Jason’s family describes him as a responsible, shy young man who would have no reason to run away. They stated that Jason had no enemies, nor was he involved in drugs or alcohol.
To this day, Jason Jolkowski’s case is unsolved.
Lenny Dirickson
Lenny Dirickson was 39 years old and living on his dairy farm near Cheyenne, Oklahoma when he went missing in 1998. Lenny had told his 16-year-old son that he was going to be traveling to Elk City, OK then on to Texas to show an unidentified man a stud horse that Dirkickson had for sale. According to the Amarillo Daily News, Lenny’s son saw his father leave with the man in a white Ford pickup around 9am on March 14th.
At age 18, Dirickson had married his high school sweetheart, Kathy according to The Oklahoman. However, after nearly 20 years, the Diricksons had recently divorced in 1996, which involved a bitter custody dispute over the couple’s two children, leaving the son to live with Lenny and the daughter Connie, to live with their mother.
Lenny’s son Jared insists that his dad would never leave home without him.
But want to know the creepy part? Even though Lenny or the mysterious driver were never located, police received an anonymous tip from a caller six months after his disappearance. This caller alleged that he had seen Lenny and the driver eating breakfast together in a diner – over two hours away from home.
To this day, Lenny Dirickson’s case is unsolved.
David Glenn Lewis
According to CBS News, David Glenn Lewis was “reported missing by his wife after she returned from a weekend shopping trip to Dallas over Super Bowl weekend in 1993.” Lewis’ wife Karen and the couple’s daughter had left on January 28th and returned on the 31st. Mrs. Lewis reported her husband missing on the 1st of February. The VCR was taping the big game. Lewis’ watch and wedding ring were on the kitchen counter, but his car was inexplicably at the courthouse, with the keys under the mat.
Seattle PI states that the last time anyone saw Lewis alive was January 30th. Mysteriously, flights within Texas and from Los Angeles to Dallas had been purchased in Lewis’ name right around the time he vanished.
The night that Lewis was reported missing, there were reports of a deceased man on the side of a major highway—no doubt the result of a hit-and-run about 1600 miles away in a small town outside Yakima, Washington. Eleven years later, the deceased man was identified through the Doe Network as being none other than David Glenn Lewis.
So how did Lewis get all the way to Washington? Why was he there? Did he leave on his own, or did someone take him? These are questions we may never get answers to, because David Glenn Lewis’ case is still unsolved.
