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

[Steely Dan]

Snoopster--Good questions. I just know what I experience. I have a degenerative central nervous system disease--spinocerebellar ataxia--diagnosed over 6 years ago. Sudden onset. I was perfectly fine one minute and my life flipped upside down the next. It was like a stroke. I have a tremendously difficult time walking or finding my balance. I look totally drunk all the time. I slur my speech and can't find words. I can only communicate fluently through typing. That's the way I communicate with my family now. I can smile and listen but I get upset with my inability to communicate through language. The seizures had an onset about 3 years after the onset of the disease. Those three years were spent looking at the ceiling. Seizures are not extremely common but not rare with any of the ataxias. They can also be co-morbid with MS.

I have about 3 different types. One is a drop seizure...where I hear a sudden and unexpected sound ie a cough or a car horn and I just drop flat to the ground and come to about 30 minutes later. No attempt at protecting myself. Another type are seizures in my sleep where I thrash about and convulse. Another is when I sense an aura and have a full grand-mal type seizure. I'm very very violent and combative. I bite and head bang and break bones. I have been known on several occasions to have these seizures while alone and to wake up hours later or the next day in a strange place--like under a bush or in a dog food bowl or under a cupboard. This disease requires a great deal of humility!! I have no memory of what has transpired but I am commonly found half-way under a wall or a fence or a gate. I seem to have a great desire to "get out". I've had neighbors and family observe hundreds of these seizures and I mutter and cry but I don't converse normally. I don't recognize people or ask questions. I will not take directions but instead have to be physically restrained and directed. I've been asked my name and didn't know it. I will often talk about ridiculous things like I am going to see the cat in the field or act as if I am in a different time of my life. A bit embarrassing but I try very hard to be objective and keep a sense of humor about this as does my family. I'm typically a very put together person and always dressed very nicely but when I seize, my clothes are disshevilled and I have no modesty. I just sense that I would not notice if a shoe was off my foot and reach down and carry it. Heck, I don't even notice if I have my skirt on when I wander out into traffic. I didn't know that I was barefoot when I spent the night under a bush. I always wet myself and bite my tongue and lips to a degree that they bleed quite profusely. My eyes don't focus but they aren't red. There is no way that I could enter a coffee house and order a coffee. I might stumble in and fall on the floor. We know that I can push doors open but I cannot pull them back. I can walk but I also crawl sometimes. Thus, we have all sorts of little tricks to keep me safe. After a seizure, I fall into a deep sleep for about 4-6 hours and make a gradual readjustment to the sense of reality. It's like straightening a room and setting it right again.

That is the one part of Mr. Wheeler's actions that concern me. The sleep is so deep, I can not be roused. It feels deeper than actual sleep. I suppose if he did have some sort of seizure, different from mine, it is possible that he sought warmth in a dumpster and fell into a deep sleep. I know I have no sense of cold or heat. None at all. I can have a seizure, sleep, and be back posting fairly quickly but my baseline of disability stays the same. I still can't talk coherently, make a sandwich or walk without great difficulty. I have to be propped up in bed as I can't support my own weight, even though I'm very petite. After a seizure, I couldn't answer a personal email but I can follow a format of posting. No multi-tasking ever whatsoever. No sudden movements. No noise. No surprises. That's why I now live alone on top of a very quiet mountain and have no visitors--only my husband every few days. I have a small yard with a gate that locks me in and all sorts of safety measures. There's no stove and everything is taped off so I can't tinker with things when out of it. I have restraints that I put on myself in bed so I don't wander at night. We've tried to cut down on the precursors of my seizures and it's been somewhat successful. I'm still here and have many many blessings and lots of fun. I refuse to be down about a few stupid seizures and challenges.

Mr. Wheeler looks to be experiencing something very different indeed. He seems to fade in and out of reality. I have a hard time believing that an idiopathic sudden onset of a disease would look quite like this. I keep going back to a stroke or a concussion but he just doesn't look to be in great pain. He looks lost and confused and drugged to me.

I'm sorry if that's not very clear but it's almost as if humans have so many different senses that we don't have words to describe. I'm sure there are other posters who have seizure disorders who could expound on their experiences. There are so many different types but I just don't know of a variety that would suddenly strike an elder man and cause his behavior to look like this. My heart goes out to him, whatever happened. The confusion bothers me the most of all. Confusion is so frightening.

Wow! That's really horrible Missizzy. Your seizure disorder makes mine look like a day at Disneyland. Mine is controlled by Lamictal pretty well. God Bless you and I'll pray for some sort of miracle recovery for you.

Not only must that be frightening as hades but embarrassing as hades too. I'm glad you can communicate by keyboard because you're cool to have around. :blowkiss:

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

MissIzzy....my heart goes out to you.....thank you so much for sharing! Your posts are always interesting to read and well thought out. I'm glad you have come to terms with your condition - you have an amazingingly strong spirit and I love your attitude!

And I agree with Steely Dan -you are cool to have around! Glad you are here with us!

 

[oceanblueeyes]

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.

I think there is something very hinky about the taxi cab driver's story.

IMO

 

[i.b.nora]

Times and locations in John P. Wheeler III case

The Times Journal has put together a timeline.

There are a few small items missing that I would include if it was my timeline, but a big item specifically missing is the newest information I linked to above regarding a phone call to a taxi company at about 4 or 5 pm on December 29th from a Dollar Store location near Happy Harry's asking for a cab ride to a Philadelphia train station, 45 miles away.

The cab driver drove to the store but the caller wasn't there when he got there.

 

[Snoopster]

Missizzy -- I knew you were ill, but I had no idea it was so disabling. You are a much stronger person than I. (Although I already knew that based on some of the things you bit off as a parent and advocate of troubled individuals.)

I am incredibly happy that you are able to type and share your amazing breadth of knowledge and insights.

Stay safe and keep that wonderful sense of humour and humanity about you. I know I have been inspired by you.

N.

 

[Missizzy]

Thanks, guys. You are my best buddies. I spend more time with you than anyone else. But trust me, I still spend time reading and looking at fun stuff. I can still do a good bit of counseling and advocacy by email. It's not all pedophiles for me. It's been a journey and an adventure. Learning to be humble and to accept help was the hardest. I thought I could do it all. NOT!! My illness has given me a window into the path my children trudged with their prenatal exposure and deficits. It's also helped me see how we often marginalize or ignore those in wheelchairs and our elders. It's certainly broadened (and limited at the same time) my life experience.

That's why I've just not sure about Mr. Wheeler's actions. The videos are important but the descriptions of his interactions with people are vital. I want to know if he asked anyone for help--not a ride or his car--but help. Did he acknowledge that something was terribly wrong? He encountered many many people who could have called 911 for him. Did anyone offer?

His phone number on the cab driver's phone is awfully strange. And, IMO, the changing of clothes is just not indicative of a concussion, a stroke or any sort of seizure I know of. Even in a fugue state (almost like a dream state caused by extreme emotional distress), I seriously doubt that he would change clothes. People in those states move as if they are sleep walking.

(((hugs)))

"Cool to have around".....That's great to hear!!!

 

[GrainneDhu]

Exclusive: Wheeler apparently called for a cab to Philadelphia

From Susan Candiotti, CNN
January 7, 2011 11:24 p.m. EST

The meat of it:

"Wilmington, Delaware (CNN) -- A former Pentagon official whose body was found in a garbage truck on New Year's Eve apparently called for a taxi ride from Delaware to Philadelphia but disappeared before the cab arrived, the manager of a taxi company said Friday.

Komi Azudze told CNN that Newark, Delaware, police had asked him about a potential fare. Azudze, the taxi company manager, also drives a cab.

"The police asked if I received a call from an old man, at a certain number, from the intersection of routes 273 and 9, and I think it was the 29th," Azudze said.

Azudze said he keeps a record of most of the service calls he receives.

"I asked them why they wanted all this information. They told me he was dead, or somebody killed him," Azudze recalled."

much more ...

Well, if he was in New Castle at the pharmacy around 6 pm on 29 December and was then seen five miles away in Wilmington around 7 pm, that's about a 12 minute mile on foot, which is a brisk walking pace. It's also the standard Army march pace, if I remember correctly.

That could explain why he was walking stiffly and limping on the videos. If he wasn't used to that much walking, then it's a do-able walk but his feet would be vulnerable, particularly in ordinary dress shoes.

On a tangent, I'm reminded of a friend of mine who is retired infantry. He had to have a stress EKG and the doctors told him to stop running when he felt he had reached his limit. My friend freaked the doctors out a little because, being former infantry, someone in authority told him to run until he couldn't run any more, so that's what he did. He was trained not to let little things like respiratory distress make him quit.

I can easily understand an old soldier deciding to make the five mile walk and just gritting his teeth and doing it, even if he didn't normally do that much walking.

Another symptom of both stroke or brain injury is a feeling on the part of the victim that they must *do* something, go somewhere, etc, even if there is no rational reason for it. They can't explain it, they just feel it and (all too often) act on it.

 

[i.b.nora]

Dec 28:
11:30 p.m. -- Firefighters discover a smoke bomb in a house under construction across the street from Wheeler's.

another report:

Late on Dec. 28, several smoke bombs of the type used for rodent control were tossed into the Marini house, said Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Alan Brown. The only damage was some scorching to the unfinished floors.

So, who called the fire department about seeing smoke, (assuming someone did)?. Did the fire department race to the scene with sirens blaring?

Was Wheeler's cell phone discovered at that time? If so, then it had to have also had on it, the taxicab driver's phone number, right?

One of the articles somewhere, said that there were two teenage boys nearby at the time, who were questioned with regard to the smoke bombs. So, who were they? What kind of shoes were they wearing?

 

[point_blanked]

Here is the front entry, 11th Street, valet parking area, and possibly TAXI area of the Hotel Dupont.
This photo is from 3 years ago, so maybe someone who lives there and drives by there can tell us if it still looks like this. If it does, then this is one of the areas he was seen on video passing through after leaving the Nemours building, and going beyond the Hotel DuPont.

"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."

The image you attached is exactly how it looks today. Mr. Wheeler would have walked through the frame from right to left.

 

[Steely Dan]

Dec 28:
11:30 p.m. -- Firefighters discover a smoke bomb in a house under construction across the street from Wheeler's.

another report:

Late on Dec. 28, several smoke bombs of the type used for rodent control were tossed into the Marini house, said Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Alan Brown. The only damage was some scorching to the unfinished floors.

So, who called the fire department about seeing smoke, (assuming someone did)?. Did the fire department race to the scene with sirens blaring?

Was Wheeler's cell phone discovered at that time? If so, then it had to have also had on it, the taxicab driver's phone number, right?

One of the articles somewhere, said that there were two teenage boys nearby at the time, who were questioned with regard to the smoke bombs. So, who were they? What kind of shoes were they wearing?

Wheeler's phone being there smacks of a plant to me.

 

[point_blanked]

Times and locations in John P. Wheeler III case

The Times Journal has put together a timeline.

There are a few small items missing that I would include if it was my timeline, but a big item specifically missing is the newest information I linked to above regarding a phone call to a taxi company at about 4 or 5 pm on December 29th from a Dollar Store location near Happy Harry's asking for a cab ride to a Philadelphia train station, 45 miles away.

The cab driver drove to the store but the caller wasn't there when he got there.

So it appears he called for the cab to Philly around 4 or 5 but left before it could pick him up 20 or so minutes later. An hour or two later at 6ish he went to his pharmacist and asked for a ride to Wilmington but did not get one that we know of. At 6:40 he's seen in Wilmington at the New Castle County Courthouse Parking garage on surveillance video disoriented without a jacket in very cold temperatures carrying his loafer. While there a security guard reports he asked for directions to Front Street (the Amtrack station is at Front St and French St two blocks south of NCCC), he refused money offered to him, and talked about needing to get to an old hotel before wandering off. He's not seen again that we know of until 8 the next morning getting coffee.

His own vehicle was parked at the Doubletree Hotel Parking garage where he usually kept it at King St. and 7th a few blocks north of the NCCC. I wonder if it's possible that he found his car and spent the night sleeping in it because he couldn't go home for whatever reason. There are also quite a few shelters downtown, perhaps he wandered into one of those and blended in with the crowd. There are usually large groups leaving the various shelters around 8am.

ETA
Still speculating, but he could have stayed at the DuPont that night as well if he found his way up there. The hotel's only comment to a reporter in a previous article was that they were 'cooperating with police'

 

[hockeymom]

Do we know why he might have wanted to go to Philly? I don't recall,but did the pharmacist notice him acting really odd? By 6:40 he was acting really strange,so what happened between 6 and 6:40?

 

[point_blanked]

Hockeymom, it seems like Mr. Wheeler wanted to get to the 30th Street Station in Philly. I do not know what the schedule was like on the 29th, but looking at the upcoming Amtrack schedule for a Wednesday the trains run from Wilmington to Philly 35 time a day from 4:50 am to 11:35 pm. I imagine the train schedules are pretty routine as long as there are no breakdowns, etc. From Philly it would be a quick train ride to his wife in NYC.

From the CNN article about the Philly cab ride:
Azudze said the man called him from a dollar store at about 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. The man did not identify himself which, he said, is not required. He said the customer wanted to be picked up at the store and driven to a Philadelphia train station about 45 miles away.

Azudze drove to the store, but his caller wasn't there.

"It took me about 20 minutes to get there," says Azudze. "He didn't call back or nothing, so I think something happened to him. Usually, people call back to complain if you don't get there fast enough."

Azudze, who said the fare would have been about $130 to $140 not including a tip, said he was a bit angry because he drove a long way for a fare that didn't show up.

 

[i.b.nora]

"John P. Wheeler III walked into the Happy Harry's pharmacy on Del. 9 in New Castle at 6 p.m. last Wednesday with an unusual request.

"He said, 'Can you give me a ride to Wilmington?' and that was a flag," said pharmacist Murali Gouro, who had filled prescriptions for the former Pentagon official in the past. "He looked like he was a little upset."

Gouro said he offered to call a cab, but Wheeler declined and left the store. "He looked a little different," Gouro said."

 

[hockeymom]

"John P. Wheeler III walked into the Happy Harry's pharmacy on Del. 9 in New Castle at 6 p.m. last Wednesday with an unusual request.

"He said, 'Can you give me a ride to Wilmington?' and that was a flag," said pharmacist Murali Gouro, who had filled prescriptions for the former Pentagon official in the past. "He looked like he was a little upset."

Gouro said he offered to call a cab, but Wheeler declined and left the store. "He looked a little different," Gouro said."

I wish he had been more specific by what "different" meant. Because he looked positively out of it 40 mins later.
Did anyone from the Dollar Store report seeing him?

 

[i.b.nora]

His own vehicle was parked at the Doubletree Hotel Parking garage where he usually kept it at King St. and 7th a few blocks north of the NCCC.

Most reports I have seen have said that his regular parking spot was at the garage on Martin Luther King Boulevard near the Wilmington train station.

 

[i.b.nora]

This is a new article from CNN's Susan Candiotti. I almost didn't read it thinking it was just an old article updated. In fact, it might even be, BUT, it has some alternate information on the taxicab driver, which I think paints a slightly different and more favorable picture of him.

The article: Wheeler's cell phone discovered, taxi driver says

So, its talking about the cellphone that the taxi driver says the police told him was found. Investigators wanted to know how his number got 'in the phone'.

"Scott, who goes by the nickname "Scottie," says he told the police he didn't have any idea."

"I never got a call from the man. I don't know him," he said, referring to Wheeler. "He's never been in my cab. I don't know how my number got in his cellphone," Scott says he told police.

Scott showed CNN a box of business cards he keeps at his side on the front seat of his cab. "See?" he said. "I give out these cards all the time to people looking for business. Maybe someone gave him my card."

The taxi driver says police went to his house Wednesday to ask him questions, but he wasn't home. Contrary to a published report in a local paper, Scott says his home was not searched.

They contacted him by phone and interviewed him at least twice, including an interrogation that lasted almost three hours Friday at the police station. "I don't know what's going on here. I'm just a hardworking man doing my job. It's like I'm being harassed," said Scott."

For what its worth.

The rest of the article is from an interview with Retired Col. Doug Thornblom a friend and former classmate of John Wheeler's. This is a different guy than the other friends that have been interviewed. He speculates some on what he thinks might have happened.

My current biggest gripe is when anyone refers to posting on a forum, as sending an email. Or, posting on a forum as blogging. Its not emailing and its not blogging. And, there is a huge difference that the reporters on many cases are just not getting right, and the people they talk to are not getting right. Oh well.

 

[Missizzy]

That does paint a more favorable picture of the cabbie. However, I still find it very odd that Mr. Wheeler would call his number. Why not hail a cab or call dispatch? There's always the possibility that this particular cabbie was skilled at providing special concierge type services.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

That does paint a more favorable picture of the cabbie. However, I still find it very odd that Mr. Wheeler would call his number. Why not hail a cab or call dispatch? There's always the possibility that this particular cabbie was skilled at providing special concierge type services.

Sometimes, it can be a bit quicker.

I don't know if this was posted, but a Phila PI is question if it was murder: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/loc...ons_if_death_was_murder.html?ref=facebook.com

 

[Sillybilly]

Maybe i'm missing something here and will go back and reread, but for now I'm curious as to how JW's cell phone was found at the scene of the smoke bombings of Dec 28 but he was known to have used it elsewhere on Dec 29?