The Wheeler Story Is A True Mystery
I imagine most of you are following the story of John Wheeler, the Vietnam vet and former Bush official whose body was found in the Cherry Hill landfill last week. The story has generated a lot of interest nationally and the latest information is going to add fuel to the fire.
The picture formed Tuesday of Wheeler’s final days depicted a man disoriented and so disheveled that he was mistaken for a homeless person — a stark contrast to the New Castle resident’s reputation as an accomplished public servant in three presidential administrations.
About 40 minutes after leaving the pharmacy, Wheeler turned up at the New Castle County Courthouse parking garage on King Street in Wilmington, erratically searching for his car, according to employees and surveillance video made public Tuesday.
An employee at the garage said she tried to help Wheeler, who was carrying his right shoe in his left hand and said someone had stolen his briefcase. The 66-year-old Wheeler was blocks away from where his car was parked in a garage on MLK Boulevard near the train station. Wilmington Parking Authority officials said he was a monthly customer.
Go read the whole story for all the details. It sounds quite tragic. I wonder what happened to Mr. Wheeler. Did he have a stroke and become disoriented? If his behavior got very strange that might open up a whole bunch of possibilities for his murder as well. I thought some of you might like to discuss here instead of having to comment in the NJ.
Tags: Delaware, John Wheeler, murder
Yea, from the start I wondered about his car or if his wife was to pick him up.
That’s answered.
But the story just gets stranger.
The orange-tan man on Fox29 (not Mike Jerrick, but the other one – Steve Keeley) keeps theorizing Mr Wheeler helped himself into the dumpster, thanks to the possible dimentia, in a failed attempt to keep warm. What he keeps forgetting is that there is a bit of a distance between Wilmington and Newark, especially for a person that was likely without a ride.
There are just still so many possibilities that could play out here and the disoriented, disheveled descriptions only add more complexity. Being a (step-)son-in-law to a Vietnam Vet, let me tell you that even to the most lucid vet, if a flashback happens, and in a time of mental vulnerability, it’s flat-out nasty. Not saying that is at the root, but shouldn’t be discounted easily.
Smitty,
That would seem a reasonable hypothesis except the death was described as homicide. Death by exposure would be listed as natural caused.
I agree, UI. Just putting out there what he was theorizing. I don’t think he’s right on this one, though. FTR, I think Keeley is a good, but somewhat pompous reporter. He never seems to give any pause to challenge any official he interviews, questions, etc., which is good. Where he gets off track is his presumption that he’s always right, which he isn’t every time. I think this theory will turn out to be one of those time where he’s wrong.
Today, he was pumping up how no other reporter, except from his station, pushed the officials into disclosing about the car, surveillance, etc. I think he was trying to ride that wave into believing that they haven’t told the whole truth into if it really was a homicide, since they aren’t stating the method.
Like I said, he pushes, which is good, but he’s very pompous as well.
European Times reporting Wheeler was somehow connected with Mitre and Ptech. Bird killing was caused by a new weapon located at Pine Bluff Arkansas, and Wheeler was going to speak out about it. This story gets more interesting.
I blame Obamacare.
Via TPM
I felt really bad when the NJ mentioned the neighbors in the first article. Didn’t feel it was necessary to a murder story. And for those familiar with Old New Castle, fighting and taking neighbors to court over construction is a way of life there!
This story keeps getting stranger. Apparently his sister was murdered in 1995. Also a Philly.com article indicates that the police don’t know where the murder occurred. Not in his home and I guess not near any of the Newark dumpsters. The floorboards in his kitchen were ripped up as well.
The floorboards in his kitchen were ripped up as well.
I just read about that, too. What we don’t know is if that was by a suspect, by him (in a frantic search for something), or whomever for whatever reason.
This is more bizarre with every update.
The floorboards in his kitchen were ripped up as well.
By police, would be my guess.
Paging Tom Clancey, paging Tom Clancey……
Having seen a great many episodes of Law & Order I can tell you that it is not the neighbors, but his shifty business partners covering up a teenage porno/sex ring.
man, the bush administration cant even properly disappear someone..
Did anyone see the movie “The Good Shepherd” a while back?
I think one of the big mysteries is going to be when did Wheeler start acting confused? Was he confused on the train?
“…when did Wheeler start acting confused? He was a Republican, so… Reagan’s first term? That’s when most of them went looney.
Forget Tom Clancy, this is more like Edgar Allen Poe.
Say-y-y-y, did Wheeler hang out at the Deer Park?
Guess it’s time for me to play ‘Sgt. Pepper’ backwards again…
I am looking forward to whether any toxicology reports are made public. I am wondering whether he may have been drugged. He had a lot of defense dept business.Maybe he knew something that someone would like unknown. The average mugger doesn’t kill someone in Wilmington, leave their car in a parking garage and dump the body in Newark.
I have watched some Law & Order, too, and maybe Jason is onto something with the business partners.
Let me do a little debunking of Just Kidding. The source that JK mentions is basically Weekly World News on the Internet, except that it has connections to skinheads. Whereas WWN is a predecessor to Fox News.
My office is at the media center, 10th and Orange, Trucks today: CNN (big Sat truck) Philly 3,6, 10 and 29. I am perplexed by the Inky report that Wheeler planted the smoke bombs. I don’t buy that. I think this coud be a hell of a reality based movie. this guy was nothing if not complicated. I am hooked on this one.
This is the crazy bit of business from the EU Times. Owned and operated by known associates to skinheads.
Read closely and you’ll see that the timeline doesn’t match up. And that tanker? The US Air Force doesn’t have that one yet. Last — if this tanker released phosgene there would be more than birds dead in Arkansas.
It is a stunning creation, though. But sort of horrifying that someone felt that there was some utility in writing it.
U.I. FYI, Cherry Hill is a Mall in NJ, Cherry Island is a Landfill in DE:)
He was caught on security videos walking around holding his left shoe in his right hand.
He was either a deep undercover agent working for CONTROL or he was all fuck up.
WHATEVER the outcome, I’ll never forget him for his efforts to heal the wounds of Vietnam and I mourn his shadow.
It is a shame that a man that spent so many years supporting veterans is going to be remembered more for his final days than his lifetime of work.
That being said, wow is this story interesting. Where did Wheeler sleep Tuesday and Wednesday when he was wandering around confused?
The stand up shots on 10th street were in full form when I hit the office (Fox29). He really seemed like a good man I hope the speculation is halted by the facts.
“Where did Wheeler sleep Tuesday and Wednesday when he was wandering around confused?”
Exactly and no cell phone? And how/why did he end up at the Happy Harry’s on Rte. 9, closer to his home than the train station, without his car? Was he home and on his way back to get his car? How did he get home? Floor boards in the kitchen missing and the neighbor reported the television being on and exceptionally loud days prior.
I also think it’s possible that the body was in the truck before the driver started his trash pick-up route. Is the Waste Management truck depot in Wilmington?
If Wheeler wasn’t in his home – who was?
Wheeler was in his home, presumably between the time he got off of the Amtrack and when he showed up at the Happy Harry’s in New Castle looking to get back to Wilmington. Whoever gave him the ride to his house may have been with him, took his briefcase etc.
Did he rip up the kitchen floorboards, and leave the television blaring, toss the smoke bombs at the hated neighbor’s new house before walking the few blocks up to the drug store on Rte. 9?
He must have had a rental car in a parking garage in Wilmington but didn’t use it to get to his house and went looking for it later. He was no doubt drugged up on something that addled him for days unless it was something physiological.
Was the body actually dumped in Wilmington and already in the trash truck like NN suggests? A key question is what was his state of mind on the Amtrack before he got off of the train.
Something smells fishy to me.
Probably jpconnorjr working for SCALE.
The conspiracy theories are fun, even if unlikely. Enjoy them while they last. On the other hand, if they pin this on some local crackhead or pimp, will anyone really believe it?
Yo, Cap’n Willard…if you’re gonna borrow from Firesign Theatre, give ’em some props.
The original quote from “Nick Danger, Third Eye”:
“There was something fishy about the butler. I think he was a Pisces, probably working for scale.”
I memorized the while bleeping album side when I was in college. Hey, it beat studying for my Macroeconomics exam.
Give me a break, Bradshaw.
What brings your flat feet sniffin’ around here anyway?
Oh, and sorry for outing you: Citizen, week-end father.
“Los ANG-eles. He walks again by night. Out of the fog, into the smog. Relentlessly, ruthlessly (‘I wonder where Ruth is’), doggedly (‘ruff-ruff’) towards his weekly meeting with the unknown.”
OK, I’ll stop now…
Doggedly (barks), ruthlessly (‘where’s Ruth?’).
jinx. I guess we really are all bozo’s on this bus.
I knew the whole side too.
But I performed it in basic training to the absolute amazement of the people who dwell in the hinterlands of our great country.
They didn’t quite get it, but they sure enjoyed my performance.
I swear, my belief in the backbone and true arc of America was forged in that arena.
My fave was “Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers”. You didn’t need hallucinogens for that one.
I’m just remembering.
We use to say, upon greeting friends,”How, high are you?”
Wow, how things have changed.
Wife #3 did it. She is a donor to Democrats,gave Obama $800 in 2008.
Correction: his wife’s sister was murdered,done by friend of son who discovered lots to steal in the house.Son and friend big into drugs. Killer convicted.
The causal link between having donated to the Obama campaign in 2008 and being a murdered in 2011 has not yet been firmly established, but I know CRI is working in it.
Whacker regular wingnut caller on WDEL (I think it was Jeff) repeated in all seriousness a straight-line connection between global climate change activists and that bird death storyline.
You know, how the liberal agenda is being forwarded by deliberate mass slaughter. Yes, the Obama administration is using military technology and killing animals across the globe to falsely establish proof of the dire consequences of global warming. Conspiracy theory of the year.
The latest I’ve seen on Wheeler is that they are interviewing cab drivers and they found Wheeler’s phone in the neighbor’s house.