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

[J. J. in Phila]

The cabbie's story is odd as he says that Wheeler was "chatty" in the cab and then looked "lost" just minutes later on the street corner. Chatty, IMO, does not fit with a fugue state (that I'm aware of) and also doesn't fit with a bad reaction to a drug. One almost thinks that something happened in the cab or upon stepping out of it (stroke, a fall, bumped by a car or whatever) but then there's the unusual choice of clothing for such a cold day.

I wonder what Wheeler's family and friends have to say about this description. Was he known to be chatty with cabbies?

If JW3 was planning to basically go up to the Dupont and enter it immediately, he wouldn't need a heavy coat. The Dupont is at or near the corner of 11th and Orange.

 

[Missizzy]

I wonder if the comment about the Dupont "not being worth the money" was just making conversation or directly connected with his actions that day. Is there a large lobby...say, to meet someone or a restaurant there?

It still seems strange to me that a person wouldn't at least carry a heavier coat on a day so chilly, even if he was planning on going directly into the Dupont....where he was quick to point out that he was NOT staying. How long does it take to hail a cab in the area? Long enough to need a coat?

ETA:

http://www.hoteldupont.com/dining/index.cfm

There's the Green Room (breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner), Lobby Lounge and Java Corner. This site states that there is renovation going on in the lobby so afternoon tea is served in The Green Room. There's also The Grill:

"...The Grill is an informal cafeteria-style restaurant at the Hotel du Pont, serving breakfast and lunch five days a week. The chic grill room is located in the Hotel's lower level...."

Wonder if that's where he was headed? Maybe he meant that The Green Room (which is quite spendy) wasn't worth the money. Could construction have blocked the entrance he was most familiar with using?

 

[i.b.nora]

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."

Bumping this for Missizzy. On Dec 29th, in the morning a little before 9:00 AM cabbie Spence dropped him off down the block a ways (to the right in the photo) at the Southeast corner of Orange and 11th streets.

I haven't seen nor heard of any videocam evidence or other evidence that he actually went into Hotel DuPont that morning. All we know is that he was dropped off by that cabbie at that corner on that morning.

Well, sorry, the darn photo is still back with the original post, but you can go back and see it.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

It still seems strange to me that a person wouldn't at least carry a heavier coat on a day so chilly, even if he was planning on going directly into the Dupont....where he was quick to point out that he was NOT staying. How long does it take to hail a cab in the area? Long enough to need a coat?

If it is anything like Phila, not long.

JW3 was a big guy, physically. Unless he had a circulatory problem, he'd be naturally warn.

 

[Monzoo]

The medical examiner has released the cause of death -- blunt force trauma.

 

[hockeymom]

I wonder if they can tell if he died immediatley from blunt force trauma or if it occured and died much later? That would explain the weird behavior. Did anyone say he had any visible cuts or bruises?
Someone on here thought he was still wearing his Rolex watch. Was there any mention if he was robbed or not?

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I wonder if they can tell if he died immediatley from blunt force trauma or if it occured and died much later? That would explain the weird behavior. Did anyone say he had any visible cuts or bruises?
Someone on here thought he was still wearing his Rolex watch. Was there any mention if he was robbed or not?

He did have that briefcase with him that morning.

 

[hockeymom]

He did have that briefcase with him that morning.

I'm guessing a briefcase isn't worth much to your common mugger,if there isn't any money in it. I want to know,if he had his wallet on him,and or a watch.

 

[tiredblondy]

The medical examiner has released the cause of death -- blunt force trauma.

http://www.delawareonline.com/artic...Med.+examiner+releases+Wheeler+cause+of+death

from above link--


Homicide victim John P. Wheeler III, a former Pentagon official and presidential aide whose body was discovered Dec. 31 in a Wilmington landfill, was beaten to death in an assault, the Delaware medical examiner’s office announced today

 

[point_blanked]

The interviews of Roland Spence seem strange to me. He was more than willing to show himself to the camera during this interview with Delaware Online (video on the right sidebar) http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011101230301 two days later he requests not to be shown on the local6 interview and seems much more tense http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/crime&id=7918957
IMO he doesn't seem trustworthy. His hesitation with the address of the corner where he dropped JW off seems strange since he drives these routes often and this particular fare stuck out to him (99% sure then positive it was him, no jacket, small briefcase, seemed 'lonely', 'chatty' about the cost vs value of the hotel and good tipper). Spence also mentions talking to 'Scotty' (the cab driver in JWs cell phone) about the case, this is the same driver who said he didn't know the victim, but then later said 'all he knew' was that he saw him by the Amtrak station and the Hotel Dupont.

 

[tiredblondy]

http://www.delawareonline.com/artic...Med.+examiner+releases+Wheeler+cause+of+death

from above link--


Homicide victim John P. Wheeler III, a former Pentagon official and presidential aide whose body was discovered Dec. 31 in a Wilmington landfill, was beaten to death in an assault, the Delaware medical examiner’s office announced today

sorry to quote my own post but in the comments section on p 3 I found this and thought it was interesting...I didn't know about the histimines

This was an answer in reply to a question about the blunt force trama being caused by the trash truck compacting his body...

[..very possible. This fact can generally be determined by testing for histimine in the wounds. If you're still alive, for even a few minutes after a deadly injury your body will flood the injury area with histimines to ward off infection. If a wound is totally post-mortem there will be no histimines. Histiine tests are not usually a "tox test" but may have been in this case. I thnik this one's going to go into forever Cold Case file. To provide murder you need solid forensic links back to a perp and unless they're not saying, sound like they have zippo and still can't figure how he got to Newark.]

 

[tiredblondy]

I wonder if we will ever know. Maybe I'm too suspicious but this is too hinky for me.
Something smells fishy.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Mugging victim, but a stroke or something first?

 

[oceanblueeyes]

R.I.P Mr. Wheeler!

I hope they find the one who did this to you.

IMO

 

[Track292008]

AP reports today that his family has offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. The family's attorney says they are "desperate for more information."

 

[i.b.nora]

John Wheeler's family offers $25,000 reward for tips in his death
By SEAN O’SULLIVAN • The News Journal • January 31, 2011

This seems to be the most comprehensive of the articles. Has a few little bits to add to the timeline.

Turns out that the Wheeler family had done business with Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz – whose offices Wheeler visited on Dec. 30, and where Wheeler reportedly asked for train fare before abruptly departing.

snips

"The announcement of the reward came through attorney Colm F. Connolly, a former U.S. attorney for Delaware, whom the family hired to represent them and act as a go-between with law enforcement.

and

"As a former prosecutor – who most notably won a conviction against Thomas Capano for the murder of Anne Marie Fahey – Connolly said he understands the need for police and prosecutors to keep some matters secret so as not to compromise the investigation. But, he said, there is some information that can safely be shared with the family of a victim, something he said he often did as a prosecutor, which is not being shared right now."

and

"Connolly said he had seen the video from the parking garage adjacent to the New Castle County Courthouse, and is aware of the reports of Wheeler’s disorientation but could not comment further.

He said the family has no definitive answer why Wheeler was behaving the way he was in the video.

Connolly dismissed one national media commentator’s observation that Wheeler was “drunk,” stating that Wheeler did not drink."

much more ...

 

[Reader]

http://www.centurylink.net/news/[email protected]>&ps=931&_LT=HOME_LARSDCCL2_UNEWS

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The family of a slain ex-Pentagon official whose body was found in a Delaware landfill still doesn't know what happened to him, and their attempts to get more information from law enforcement have been rebuffed, their attorney said Monday.

Colm Connolly, an attorney for John Wheeler III's family, said he has asked forensic reports, search warrants and a copy of a video surveillance tape showing Wheeler in downtown Wilmington the night before his body was found. Connolly also noted that Wheeler's family learned only through the media last week that a medical examiner had officially determined that Wheeler died of blunt trauma injuries after being assaulted.The family was told early in the investigation that Wheeler had died of a heart attack caused by an assault. (underline added)

-------------

Attorney General Beau Biden's office, along with police investigators, have sought to keep information about the case from the public. Biden's office asked a judge to seal a search warrant for Wheeler's home, and three search warrants for Wheeler's cell phone and his 1993 Oldsmobile were sealed at the request of Newark police.

Wheeler's family announced Sunday they were offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

More at link

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

I'm glad Mr. Wheeler's family hired Colm Connelly as a go-between. I read Ann Rule's book and was impressed with him as he did a terrific job securing a conviction for Anne Marie's murder and treated her family fairly.

 

[colette]

Wheeler's body was found in a Wilmington landfill on New Year's Eve. On Jan. 28, the coroner confirmed Wheeler died as the result on an assault.

Fox News spoke with their attorney on Monday, who says the family's frustrated with the Delaware attorney general's office and the lack of communication.

"We were disappointed to learn last week from the media about the medical examiner's determinate finding," said Colm Connolly.

In the video at link his best friend thinks maybe he had a wrong medication or dose that caused his confusion. The rest of the video says Mr Wheeler asked many people for a ride and someone took advantage of him. Someone took him 15 miles to Newark and dumped him there.

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/020711-wheeler-family-not-told-of-assault-finding

 

[SuziQ]

Police search home of slain ex-Pentagon official

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/16/police-search-home-slain-ex-pentagon-official/?test=latestnews