I missed this:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/01/03/Prominent-veteran-found-in-landfill/UPI-74381294097675/
“... Identification was still on the victim’s body, enabling police to determine Wheeler’s identity, the Wilmington News Journal reported Monday....”
Good catch. So they knew who he was immediately.
Sloppy murder. Very amateurish or they just thought no one would find the body. OTOH maybe they were in a hurry to get his body in dumpster before truck came or to get to work themselves.