Posted on 01/17/2011 1:51:22 PM PST by Wolfstar
An unfitting end to an illustrious career.
That's how several West Point classmates viewed the New Year's Eve discovery of a prominent defense expert's body in a Wilmington landfill.
Two weeks after Newark, Del., police identified John "Jack" P. Wheeler 3d, 66, of New Castle, as a homicide victim, investigators still have released few particulars about the case, allowing conspiracy theorists of all kinds to draw pictures of their own.
Although the case was deemed a homicide, police have declined to list a cause, raising questions about whether Wheeler was drugged, shot, beaten, or stabbed. New information from police sources suggests he might have stopped taking medication for some sort of medical or mental-health condition.
"We're very disappointed that we've heard nothing," said Doug Thornblom, a retired Army colonel who described his roommate from West Point's Class of 1966 as a kind, respected, passionate patriot.
[SNIP]
Randy Loftin, another classmate, said Wheeler's death shocked their tight-knit group.
"This is really off the charts for someone like Jack," Loftin said. "There are few people who would stun us like that, especially the way in which he died. He was a fabulous man, someone who was always watching your back in whatever you were doing."
Newark Police Lt. Mark A. Farrall, a spokesman for the department, declined to say whether detectives had more information and had chosen not to share it, or whether clues were scarce.
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
Remember a CIA director named Colby? This stuff happens. Why we don’t have security details on these people is beyond me.
O.K., Thanks. I heard he and Sen. Jim Webb had a falling out some 10-12 years ago, related to the VV memorial or somesuch.
Very puzzling for sure.
I’ve wondered how peculiar it was for AG Biden to have the search warrants sealed for his house his car and the apt in NYC?
The Newsweek article annoys the heck out of me when they point at all these so called mental issues quoting unnamed friends/associates.
I still highly doubt even if he had some physical or mental limitation that he would be robbed one day and killed the next without it being somehow connected.
I wish the news would get on this, I would even take Geraldo at this point. Also, the fact that friends and family have pretty much clammed up.
Thanks for the ping!
The three others, obtained by the Newark police, were sealed right away as requested by the Newark police. The three obtained by Newark police were for his car and 2 for the same Apple IPhone (different justice of the peace for the 2 for the phone).
I didn't see anything about his apt in NYC.
The very same ...
In this May 17, 1994 file photo, John Wheeler III touches the name of a friend engraved in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. Wheeler's body was discovered Dec. 31, 2010 as a waste management truck emptied its contents at the Wilmington, Del.-area landfill. His death has been ruled a homicide.
RIP John.
Is it possible his body was put directly into the truck, and not into one of the dumpsters? What route did the truck take?
Refresh my memory; When and where was he last confirmed to be alive?
One of the articles we've read gives details about the ten dumpsters. (John Wheeler 10 trash bin sites: Delaware sleuth provides photos, commentary) It lists them in the order listed by the State, and suggests that must be the order in which the truck picked them up. I plotted them on a map, and I don't think it would make sense to pick them up in that order.
http://i55.tinypic.com/119qkyh.jpg
Click photo for larger image
http://i56.tinypic.com/selwdt.jpg
Click photo for larger image
Wheeler's home in Newcastle is about 5 miles south of Wilmington's business district where the Hotel DuPont and Nemours Building are. Newark is about 10 miles SW from there.
As for the Security videos, the only one I've seen is the one from that attached to the Nemours Building. WRT the cameras on the trash bin holding areas of the various businesses are they all active and valid for the time period?
As to the manner of death, I'm fairly certain that the coroner would not have pronounced it a homicide without some clear indication of such. Any postmortem damage done to his body after death by the trash bin/truck packing would be apparent.
Sad to say, but my belief is the longer this drags on, the more like the Colby or Foster deaths it's going to become - a homicide buried by the powers-that-be!
You’re welcome, and thanks for the link to the other thread. I’m glad the Delaware media and friends of Wheeler are speaking up about the news blackout regarding this case. It’s perplexing, especially as we live in an era in which authorities at all levels need little excuse to call a press conference even for comparatively mundane matters, and when leaks are commonplace. I’m definitely no conspiracist, but agree with you that the longer this blackout continues, the more likely it is that something is being buried along with Wheeler’s body.
Sealed warrants IMO means that police and others believe they are dealing with more than a random act of violence.
Also, they did search his NYC apt - whether or not they needed a warrant is probably among the unknown issues of this case.
I don’t think that they are treating it as a random act of violence. There hasn’t been any mention of his being in Newark prior to his being in the dumpster and I doubt that he walked there.
FYI
Yes; Wheeler "got" the Maya Lin proposal and backed it; Webb wanted something more traditional. I'm so glad Wheeler won.
FReepmail Albion Wilde to be added or removed from a pinglist on the Wheeler case.
FReepmail Albion Wilde to be added to a pinglist on the Wheeler case.
New information from police sources suggests he might have stopped taking medication for some sort of medical or mental-health condition.”
I’ve thought all along that his confused condition originated from some sort of medication-related problem.
As for his death, we’ll have to wait for the autopsy results. I’ve thought he was mugged & murdered by punks/thugs driving by and seeing him wandering the streets and figuring he was an easy mark.
I don't buy that. His good friends have said many complimentary things about him. One friend even said that Wheeler kept working when the rest of them retired.
Thanks for the pings
Has it been reported if he made any large ATM withdrawals?
Thanks AW for the ping...completely forgot about the Wheeler death.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.