DE DE - John 'Jack' Wheeler, 66, Wilmington, 30 Dec 2010

[i.b.nora]

Some of his friends have said they believe he was taking medication for some condition and that Wheeler might have had a reaction to prescription medication or had received the wrong medication, which caused him to become disoriented. More than one friend has expressed this idea.

New Theories In John Wheeler Mystery

To me, this is the only theory so far that makes any amount of sense, regarding how he acting. There was a segment this past weekend on Sixty Minutes about a whistleblower who blew the whistle on a major drug manufacturer who was mixing up their drugs and dosages and all kinds of things. Very dangerous. And inexcusable. Anyhow, the theory being that his thusly altered state made him more susceptible to a predator.

 

[Missizzy]

With all the psychotropics, anti-seizure, and anti-psychotic meds which have gone through our house in the last 18 years, we've had 4 or 5 major scares. Double doses, the wrong meds, etc. It does happen. When I was doing all the research earlier, statins came up quite frequently as having some very scary side effects. And a huge number of men take statins. Carrying the shoe bothers the heck out of me. That isn't related to a physical malady. It's the brain shutting down.

The man went into a pharmacy to ask about a ride. Did he pick up meds there? Was he already acting strangely?

I wanted to clarify something. I asked if Wheeler was known to use insulin as an overdose of insulin can be deadly. Many carry insulin pens now and it would be fairly easy to overpower someone and inject them. Also, insulin can be used for nefarious purposes with those without diabetes and if I'm not mistaken is hard to detect.

 

[tiredblondy]

I googled blood shot eyes and something interesting came up. Strangulation causes blood red eyes.People who survive also can be disoriented and confused,with memory loss. Is it possable someone strangled Wheeler and thought he was dead and left him,either for good,or temporarily,discovered he survived and found him again,and really killed him, and disposed of him for good? It would kind of fit,don't you think? It still doesn't answer who or why,but would explain some of the other stuff.

Pepper spray or many other various sprays will cause red eyes. Various gases cause red eyes.There is no doubt that poisoning agents can be delivered in a spray to the face. Something has happened to cause the bird and animal death's which will be covered up. It also seems his foot was hurt and I wonder if it had swollen and he could not put his shoe back on.

I agree with you totally Hockeymom. Whether he was set up (which is exactly what will happen) or not we will never know the truth.I suspect even the police will be fooled. If suspect he was either shot, strangled or poisoned.

 

[Daisyjane]

Here's a very different take on Wheeler's death, but I'm skeptical:

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/113046109.html?cmpid=15585797

Private eye questions if death was murderBy WILL BUNCHPhiladelphia Daily Newsbunchw@phillynews.com 215-854-2957APROMINENT Philadelphia crime sleuth is speculating that the region's high-profile murder mystery - the shocking discovery of ex-Pentagon official John "Jack" Wheeler III in a Wilmington landfill - might not be a murder at all. William Fleisher, an ex-cop who co-founded Philadelphia's murder-solving Vidocq Society, said that the discovery of eyewitnesses and surveillance video of a disoriented Wheeler before he died suggests that the 66-year-old man had suffered a head or brain injury. And that apparent disorientation, Fleisher speculated, could have caused Wheeler to voluntarily crawl into a trash Dumpster - either seeking shelter, as happens sometimes among the homeless, or perhaps looking for his reportedly lost papers. "He may have crawled into the Dumpster looking for his briefcase, or simply to get warm," said Fleisher, who runs a Center City investigations firm, Keystone Intelligence Network. Fleisher also agreed with increasing speculation that Wheeler - who was filmed Dec. 29, two days before his body was found, in a downtown office with no overcoat and holding a shoe - was the victim of a traumatic event such as a mugging, or a stroke. "He may have been mugged, as he himself suggested" in a conversation with a Wilmington parking-garage worker on Dec. 29, "and may have suffered a concussion," Fleisher speculated.

The crime-solving expert - who stressed that he hasn't seen Wheeler's confidential case records - said that if the body that turned up at the Cherry Island Landfill at 10 a.m. Dec. 31 had belonged to a homeless man, police likely would have explored an accidental death before launching a murder probe. But Wheeler's prominence - he was a driving force behind the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington and a former CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, with degrees from West Point, Harvard and Yale - may have steered investigators to instead focus on homicide. Fleisher's speculation came as police in Newark, Del., who are leading the investigation, conceded that they have no suspects. And another downtown Wilmington worker came forward with a disturbing account of Wheeler's wanderings before his death. An unnamed Wilmington deli owner told Fox News that Wheeler entered the eatery at 8 a.m. Dec. 30 and had "super bloodshot eyes" as well as dirty cuffs and seemed homeless, but lucid. And workers at two parking garages in Wilmington and a pharmacist in nearby New Castle, where Wheeler owned a home, have told police and reporters of encounters with a seemingly disoriented Wheeler. He told one of the parking workers that his briefcase had been stolen in a robbery. However, none of these witnesses, whose accounts have been confirmed with two surveillance videos, initially reported Wheeler or his situation to the police.Police continue to probe a bizarre loose thread in the case - whether Wheeler is linked to a Dec. 28 smoke-bomb incident in New Castle at the construction site of a home that he and his wife had tried to prevent with a lawsuit, claiming that the home blocked their view.

Not surprisingly, Wheeler's defense work - the Vietnam veteran was an assistant to the secretary of the Air Force in the late 2000s, specializing in cyber-warfare, and was a consultant for the Defense Department-advising Mitre Corp. - has already sparked Internet conspiracy theorizing, including a completely unsupported allegation that Wheeler had classified insight information about the mysterious death of birds in Arkansas. But, Fleisher emphasized, the new evidence about Wheeler's disorientation suggests that he may not have been murdered at all. He noted that violent movement of the Dumpsters could have caused injuries to Wheeler or his corpse, which might appear consistent with murder.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I read that article and discounted it as mere speculation.

First a PI should know that injuries received after death can be determined by a ME. So his speculation that injuries may have come from when the dumpster was moved just doesn't have any merit.

IMO

 

[georgiagirl]

Thanks Daisyjane! I think this is a plausible theory.

 

[wfgodot]

It's a bit juicy of a story to ask for, this fellow's death being related to secrecy and phosgenes and recently in the news bird-kills, being perhaps drugged by an intelligence agency and left to wander the bitter streets in a druggy haze, in hopes their lawless denizens would sort things through and finish him off and he'd wind up in - well, he'd wind up in a dumpster and then in a landfill, where, inexplicably, he did wind up, after having been caught on video with a shoe in his hand and, in his demeanor, an aspect of perhaps - yes, perhaps having been drugged - and missing a briefcase which contained God knows what.

Mr. Wheeler worked in and around and with the military industrial complex and military intelligence for decades. It really isn't much of a stretch to think that he grew to know too much and that he paid the price for that knowledge.

This story may have just been born juicy.

 

[GrainneDhu]

I've just done a good bit of research concerning strokes and I see nothing about red or bloodshot eyes being a marker or a symptom. Difficulty with vision and even sudden blindness is but the eye's appearance doesn't seem to change. I looked at all the serious sudden onset illnesses and disorders I could think of and red eye is just not connected. Glaucoma is certainly a possibility but wouldn't include disorientation. The person could be in great pain but would seek help for it.

A concussion can surely cause serious disorientation and even further injuries--repeated falls--and cause bleeding from the eyes or ears but not really blood shot eyes. If he'd had actual blood dripping from his eyes or ears, someone at a coffee house would have called 911, I'm sure. I'm very very puzzled. Seizures (or a fugue state) could explain the wandering and behavior but not the physical appearance nor the ability to order coffee and to verbally interact with a number of people in even a confused and scattered manner.

I'm still thinking that the poor man was drugged.

Several years ago, I fell backwards and hit my head going down. I was unconscious for over an hour.

When I came to, my eyes were incredibly bloodshot. The ER doctor said that sometimes in a concussion, the shaking of the skull disturbs the delicate blood vessels of the eyes and causes them to leak. I had to have an ophthalmologist examine my eyes to make sure I hadn't detached any part of the retinas (fortunately not).

There wasn't any blood dripping out of my eyes but the whites of my eyes were bloodstained for weeks, to the point where people (strangers) would comment on it and ask if I were alright.

I am not a doctor and I don't have any information on how rare this is for people who have had concussions. I'm guessing not so rare because the ER doctor knew immediately what was causing the red eyes.

 

[dgfred]

I read that article and discounted it as mere speculation.

First a PI should know that injuries received after death can be determined by a ME. So his speculation that injuries may have come from when the dumpster was moved just doesn't have any merit.

IMO

But what was the cause of death? A blow to the head from moving the dumpster could have actually caused his death and left other injuries. He may have been asleep. I consider both homicide or accidental possible at this point.
If COD was a knife wound or gunshot there wouldn't be much doubt.

 

[Lera213]

His eyes could be red because if he was unconscious his eyes could have remained open therefore really bad dry eyes.

 

[sherbetjello]

wfgodot, you pretty much nailed what I was thinking.

 

[colette]

He could have lost his cell phone if the smoke bomb went off when he placed it. His eyes would be red from this, and he possibly could not see his phone. There are so many questions, LE called it a murder. I guess until we know cause of death, we can just guess about head injuries.

 

[hockeymom]

But what was the cause of death? A blow to the head from moving the dumpster could have actually caused his death and left other injuries. He may have been asleep. I consider both homicide or accidental possible at this point.
If COD was a knife wound or gunshot there wouldn't be much doubt.

I want to know why its taking so long to find out the cause of death. Don't they usually know by now?

 

[Steely Dan]

Here's a very different take on Wheeler's death, but I'm skeptical:

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/113046109.html?cmpid=15585797

Private eye questions if death was murderBy WILL BUNCHPhiladelphia Daily Newsbunchw@phillynews.com 215-854-2957APROMINENT Philadelphia crime sleuth is speculating that the region's high-profile murder mystery - the shocking discovery of ex-Pentagon official John "Jack" Wheeler III in a Wilmington landfill - might not be a murder at all. William Fleisher, an ex-cop who co-founded Philadelphia's murder-solving Vidocq Society, said that the discovery of eyewitnesses and surveillance video of a disoriented Wheeler before he died suggests that the 66-year-old man had suffered a head or brain injury. And that apparent disorientation, Fleisher speculated, could have caused Wheeler to voluntarily crawl into a trash Dumpster - either seeking shelter, as happens sometimes among the homeless, or perhaps looking for his reportedly lost papers. "He may have crawled into the Dumpster looking for his briefcase, or simply to get warm," said Fleisher, who runs a Center City investigations firm, Keystone Intelligence Network. Fleisher also agreed with increasing speculation that Wheeler - who was filmed Dec. 29, two days before his body was found, in a downtown office with no overcoat and holding a shoe - was the victim of a traumatic event such as a mugging, or a stroke. "He may have been mugged, as he himself suggested" in a conversation with a Wilmington parking-garage worker on Dec. 29, "and may have suffered a concussion," Fleisher speculated.

The crime-solving expert - who stressed that he hasn't seen Wheeler's confidential case records - said that if the body that turned up at the Cherry Island Landfill at 10 a.m. Dec. 31 had belonged to a homeless man, police likely would have explored an accidental death before launching a murder probe. But Wheeler's prominence - he was a driving force behind the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington and a former CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, with degrees from West Point, Harvard and Yale - may have steered investigators to instead focus on homicide. Fleisher's speculation came as police in Newark, Del., who are leading the investigation, conceded that they have no suspects. And another downtown Wilmington worker came forward with a disturbing account of Wheeler's wanderings before his death. An unnamed Wilmington deli owner told Fox News that Wheeler entered the eatery at 8 a.m. Dec. 30 and had "super bloodshot eyes" as well as dirty cuffs and seemed homeless, but lucid. And workers at two parking garages in Wilmington and a pharmacist in nearby New Castle, where Wheeler owned a home, have told police and reporters of encounters with a seemingly disoriented Wheeler. He told one of the parking workers that his briefcase had been stolen in a robbery. However, none of these witnesses, whose accounts have been confirmed with two surveillance videos, initially reported Wheeler or his situation to the police.Police continue to probe a bizarre loose thread in the case - whether Wheeler is linked to a Dec. 28 smoke-bomb incident in New Castle at the construction site of a home that he and his wife had tried to prevent with a lawsuit, claiming that the home blocked their view.

Not surprisingly, Wheeler's defense work - the Vietnam veteran was an assistant to the secretary of the Air Force in the late 2000s, specializing in cyber-warfare, and was a consultant for the Defense Department-advising Mitre Corp. - has already sparked Internet conspiracy theorizing, including a completely unsupported allegation that Wheeler had classified insight information about the mysterious death of birds in Arkansas. But, Fleisher emphasized, the new evidence about Wheeler's disorientation suggests that he may not have been murdered at all. He noted that violent movement of the Dumpsters could have caused injuries to Wheeler or his corpse, which might appear consistent with murder.

If someone bonked him on the head and he later died due to it then that's murder, IIRC.

I want to know why its taking so long to find out the cause of death. Don't they usually know by now?

They are deliberately holding back on the cause of death so they'll know if they have the right guy. Holding the info back helps them weed out the nutjobs who come in with false confessions.

 

[i.b.nora]

Wheeler family thanks police, asks for privacy

NEWARK, Del. - January 7, 2011 (WPVI) -- The family of a former Pentagon official whose body was found at a landfill near Wilmington is thanking law enforcement authorities and well-wishers, but asking for privacy.

The statement, released by Newark Police on Friday, reads:

"The family of John P. Wheeler III is most grateful for the efforts of the law enforcement authorities in the ongoing investigation into his death. The family is sincerely thankful for all the personal expressions of sympathy and condolences received from so many whose lives were touched by Jack in such positive ways. We reiterate our previous requests for privacy as we mourn his loss and ask that our decision to refrain from further comment at this time be respected."

The article then goes on to review all the highlights of the case.

 

[i.b.nora]

One of the more curious things to me in the last day or so are the comments by that taxicab driver, the one whose number supposedly showed up on Wheeler's cellphone.

In the article I just posted it says:

"Authorities have also taken Athel Scott, a cab driver, in for questioning after finding his phone number on Wheeler's cell phone.

Scott says he doesn't know how his number got on Wheeler's phone, but he says he does remember seeing him.

"I seen him one day by the Hotel du Pont and one day I seen him at the train station going inside that little store, that's all I know," Scott said.

Police are still trying to find out how Wheeler got around after returning to Wilmington on December 28th from Washington, D.C.

He somehow made it to New Castle and back again to Wilmington, while his car sat parked in the garage across the street from the train station."

I just think it is really curious how a cab driver, with no other indication that he personally knew John Wheeler, how he would be able to say that he saw him in those specific locations. And, it doesn't sound like he means that he saw him in those last few days but that he saw him over the course of time in those two locations. Out of all the people in, out, and passing by the Hotel DuPont, and all the people at the train station, what would make Wheeler stand out to Scott? His statement just doesn't ring true to me.

 

[georgiagirl]

One of the more curious things to me in the last day or so are the comments by that taxicab driver, the one whose number supposedly showed up on Wheeler's cellphone.

In the article I just posted it says:

"Authorities have also taken Athel Scott, a cab driver, in for questioning after finding his phone number on Wheeler's cell phone.

Scott says he doesn't know how his number got on Wheeler's phone, but he says he does remember seeing him.

"I seen him one day by the Hotel du Pont and one day I seen him at the train station going inside that little store, that's all I know," Scott said.

Police are still trying to find out how Wheeler got around after returning to Wilmington on December 28th from Washington, D.C.

He somehow made it to New Castle and back again to Wilmington, while his car sat parked in the garage across the street from the train station."

I just think it is really curious how a cab driver, with no other indication that he personally knew John Wheeler, how he would be able to say that he saw him in those specific locations. And, it doesn't sound like he means that he saw him in those last few days but that he saw him over the course of time in those two locations. Out of all the people in, out, and passing by the Hotel DuPont, and all the people at the train station, what would make Wheeler stand out to Scott? His statement just doesn't ring true to me.

Agreed. I couldn't have picked John P. Wheeler III out of a lineup before his death made news.

 

[dgfred]

One of the more curious things to me in the last day or so are the comments by that taxicab driver, the one whose number supposedly showed up on Wheeler's cellphone.

In the article I just posted it says:

"Authorities have also taken Athel Scott, a cab driver, in for questioning after finding his phone number on Wheeler's cell phone.

Scott says he doesn't know how his number got on Wheeler's phone, but he says he does remember seeing him.

"I seen him one day by the Hotel du Pont and one day I seen him at the train station going inside that little store, that's all I know," Scott said.

Police are still trying to find out how Wheeler got around after returning to Wilmington on December 28th from Washington, D.C.

He somehow made it to New Castle and back again to Wilmington, while his car sat parked in the garage across the street from the train station."

I just think it is really curious how a cab driver, with no other indication that he personally knew John Wheeler, how he would be able to say that he saw him in those specific locations. And, it doesn't sound like he means that he saw him in those last few days but that he saw him over the course of time in those two locations. Out of all the people in, out, and passing by the Hotel DuPont, and all the people at the train station, what would make Wheeler stand out to Scott? His statement just doesn't ring true to me.

Easy enough to see if Mr Wheeler ever called the cab-guy. If he did I see big problems for the cab driver in the near future.

 

[hockeymom]

I thought that was an odd statement myself for the cabbie to make. In the event that Wheeler was trying to sabotoge the building of the house across the street,could he have parked his car at the train station,called cab to pick him up and bring him to the house,set off smoke bombs and cabbie drives him back to ??? Wouldn't explain why the cabbie would kill him though,especially if he really had not been robbed. Seems to me he's be worth more alive,cabbie could blackmail him.

 

[i.b.nora]

New Video Coming In John Wheeler Case

myphilly.com foxnews

"Police in Delaware have new surveillance video showing former Bush aide John "Jack" Wheeler in a third outfit the night before he died."

The Police have described the contents of the video to the news outlets, even though it has not yet been released:

"Newark (Del.) police say they obtained surveillance video from Dec. 30. 2010 that shows Wheeler exiting the Nemours building in Wilmington using the 11th Street exit.

After exiting the building, Wheeler begins to walk southeast on 11th Street past and through the Hotel DuPont valet parking area.

He continues southeast and crosses over Market Street and is last seen in camera view at 8:42 pm walking on the west sidewalk of 11th Street.

In the video, Wheeler is wearing dark colored pants and a dark blue hooded sweatshirt with the hood worn over his head.

In a previous composite video, Wheeler is seen wearing two other sets of clothes."