GUILTY IL - Jacob Wheeler, 22, & Jessica Evans, 17, White County, 25 Aug 2012 - #1

[concernedmother]

We are missing something here. They ruled out the camp site as a crime scene. The truck is the crime scene. Baffled what could have happened that caused the violence to happen in that truck.
Was she wanting to leave because she had to work and they got in a fight?

 

[Dushi]

I think they have had scent dogs out there. They could track him to some point.

The truck was off the embankment...so this part of the crime appears to be an accident. What killer would drive over the cliff with a truck intentionally while knowing he could hurt himself....unless he was attempting suicide that way? And what if driving the truck off the embankment was meant as suicide, but it didn't work and he exited uninjured?
I keep hashing over what caused that truck to end up there?

Jessica talked to her mom after midnight and didn't show up for work by 5 am. So there are only a few hours in there for something bad to happen....
(Again, can someone confirm that Jessica was supposed to go to work by 5am Sunday? Or was it Monday? I'm thinking Sunday)

Up thread someone posted a link that said Sunday morning

I think I read in one report at least that dogs were used in the search

Do we know that the truck was driven over the embankment... or pushed

 

[shefner]

Wouldn't it be great if we had a pic of that truck and its relation to the road?

 

[Dushi]

We are missing something here. They ruled out the camp site as a crime scene. The truck is the crime scene. Baffled what could have happened that caused the violence to happen in that truck.
Was she wanting to leave because she had to work and they got in a fight?

Other than the tragic death of a young girl, is there any other sign of violence or struggle in or around the truck?

It seems to me that she may have been shot from a distance
I don't know why i think that
regardless, someone covered her body so it wasn't a "drive by" shootong

 

[watcher9]

I agree that this sounds like a rage killing.

I'm wondering more about the wife. How long have they been separated? When did she move to TX? Any reason known for the separation?

Upthread it was posted that the wife was visiting in FL when this happened. How long did it take her to get to FL from TX? Could she have driven there by way of IL?

 

[Dushi]

I agree that this sounds like a rage killing.

I'm wondering more about the wife. How long have they been separated? When did she move to TX? Any reason known for the separation?

Upthread it was posted that the wife was visiting in FL when this happened. How long did it take her to get to FL from TX? Could she have driven there by way of IL?

Only thing I have found is that they separated about a year ago
I don't know how long she has been in florida

 

[concernedmother]

We dont know much other than they are now saying the truck is the crime scene. I was really hoping today would bring some answers and they would find Jacob.

 

[shefner]

The covering of the body sounds like someone close to the victim to me. Anyone else think this way?

I'm really hoping its not Jacob....

 

[Dushi]

The covering of the body sounds like someone close to the victim to me. Anyone else think this way?

I'm really hoping its not Jacob....

It could be
It also could be she was killed and moved in the back of the truck and someone took no chances on being detected

If the truck is the crime scene, the shooting could have happened anywhere within that couple of miles

JMHO

 

[concernedmother]

Were their things still at the campsite or had it been cleared? I dont remember hearing about it.

 

[Dushi]

I would love to see/know what the truck looked ike
Could it have been pushed and got stuck? Maybe the killer tried to push the truck over the embankment to make it more difficult to find. And it got stuck

 

[88keys]

The truck was off the embankment...so this part of the crime appears to be an accident. What killer would drive over the cliff with a truck intentionally while knowing he could hurt himself....unless he was attempting suicide that way? And what if driving the truck off the embankment was meant as suicide, but it didn't work and he exited uninjured?
I keep hashing over what caused that truck to end up there?

The truck was probably pushed over the embankment. And I think they covered the back of the truck with branches, not just her body. I think they were trying to hide the truck and the body. I don't think it was because they were close to her- I think it was just an attempt to hide the body. The river isn't really deep enough to throw a body in.

I feel like she was shot from close range. Probably with a handgun, but could have been a rifle. Very unlikely that it was a shotgun. It's also possible that the first shot was from a distance, then they walked up and finished the job.

My thought is that she was sleeping in the back of the truck when she was shot. This is ALL speculation on my part- LE hasn't released any info about the type of gun used. Which is totally understandable.

 

[88keys]

The truck was a 2003 Dodge Dakota pickup.

http://www.auto-broker-magic.com/used-dodge-dakota.html

Not sure if it had the extended cab or not- some do, some don't.

 

[concernedmother]

It makes no sense why someone would kill both of them and not leave the bodies together. But it makes no sense either why he would kill her and leave his truck behind and not drive it out of there.

 

[88keys]

From the Courier and Press: http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/aug/28/no-headline---ill_teen_death/

Evans' body was in the bed of Wheeler's pickup truck, which had been pushed or driven over a steep embankment and into the woods toward the Little Wabash River. The truck stopped when it hit a large downed tree. It would have had to travel over two more embankments to reach water.

 

[concernedmother]

So its possible that someone was trying to push the truck into the river and it got stuck by a tree

 

[shefner]

It would have had to travel over 2 more embankments to hit water? Dang, that sounds like some kind of large precipice to me....

 

[concernedmother]

Well guess that wouldnt have worked.

 

[cocomod]

Other than the tragic death of a young girl, is there any other sign of violence or struggle in or around the truck?

It seems to me that she may have been shot from a distance
I don't know why i think that
regardless, someone covered her body so it wasn't a "drive by" shootong

I am wondering if they only found one set of foot prints. Therefore, that would lead them to name him as a POI and searching for him with dogs. I honestly think that if they believe someone else was involved (either by signs of a struggle or footprints or tire tracks), I think they should have warned the public by now. Something tells me that LE is still only focused on JW. JMHO

 

[concernedmother]

Good point about the footprints. Maybe they think he left the scene, realized he was in deep doodoo and offed himself. Still makes no sense why he didnt dispose of her body and drive the truck.If he did this someone is hiding him out or he hitched a ride with a truck driver and is far away from there.