Witnesses reported that Wheeler, who frequented the pharmacy for his bipolar disorder medications, was asking for a ride to Wilmington. I think the episode didnt do much in the way of giving us any kind of good theories or leads, however. Seems the simplest explanation is he had a mental break. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ In the garage surveillance footage, Wheeler seemed distressed and agitated. These Are the 30 Best True Crime Podcasts, bipolar disorder could have predispositioned. Everything Unsolved Mysteries Leaves Out About The Jack Wheeler Murder Case eventAction: 'click_image_ads' He saw a therapist and took medication. He didn't seem panicked at all to us, maybe senile or in a confused manic state which would explain losing his possessions. However, the main problem with this theory is that Wheeler wasn't robbed: He still was wearing an expensive watch and his West Point ring when his body was found. An autopsy was performed tha. Some investigators theorized he might have died after seeking refuge in the dumpster, but his brutal wounds are inconsistent with thatWheeler was pretty badly beaten, according to the report. According to the Delaware state medical examiner's office, Jack's official cause of death was blunt force trauma. Footage shows the pharmacist offering to call Wheeler a cab and then Wheeler declining. He was trying to stay out of sight because someone might have been following him.". On December 31, 2010 the body of John "Jack" Wheeler III was discovered in a Delaware landfill after it had come off of a dump truck. window.adsContainer = {"position2":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Above_Next_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position3":{"code":"Article_Mobile_300x250_ATF_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle1_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle2_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position7":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle3_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle4_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle5_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position10":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle6_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position11":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle7_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position12":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle8_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position13":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle9_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position14":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle10_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position15":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle11_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position16":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle12_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250}} My wife suggested something that I thought fit the details given, maybe while he was meandering around Newark he wandered out into the street and was hit by a car, he was dressed in all black. This would seem to be the most logicalscenario given Wheeler's employment history and status as a Washington DC insider with a high-level security clearance. ", Another added: "Why is no one curious about the people who gave Jack a ride to the parking garage?! "The sensational aspects of Jack's murder were what first attracted me. Any ridge detail? And still wearing his West Point ring to boot? The investigation revealed several days of strange behavior leading up to Wheeler's death. After spending the evening and most of the day of December 30 in the basement of the Nemours building in downtown Wilmington, Wheeler was captured on camera leaving the Nemours building at 8:30 pm and was last seen walking past the valet station at the Hotel du Pont at 8:41 pm. In 1982, as we were building the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, he provided the overall strategy, guidance, was the chairman of the board. Surveillance footage showed him visiting a local pharmacy at night on December 29 looking for a ride to Wilmington, where he had left his car in a garage. }); "So some of those details they would have because they were the law enforcement that spoke to that couple, but we dont have any of those details.. John Wheeler: Decade after White House aide's body was found in - MEAWW Wheeler was wearing black pants and a white shirt. I think he might have pissed someone off, his wife Kathy told the Washington Post in 2017, and I think his movements reflected that. He was stopped by police while driving a maroon 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan that was also sought by police, based on video reviewed by officers, authorities said. I have a theory that Jack Wheeler was the victim of a gay bashing. Jack Wheeler's death is the focus of an Unsolved Mysteries episode Credit: YouTube Jack's body was found in a Delaware landfill one day after his disappearance in December 2010, having last been seen alive on a street in Wilmington. Investigators believe that Jack spent the night of December 29 and part of the day on December 30 in the basement of the office building, and the last known footage of Jack alive is of him leaving the building in the evening of December 30. document.querySelector("#adunit").addEventListener('click',function(){ Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. What happened to John 'Jack' Wheeler and how did he die? }); I thought I was the only one to think of this. Family members say that he could have periods of manic energy and depressionbut that it fueled his energy and drive, and that his disorder was well-controlled. An autopsy was performed that same day which determined that Jack had been murdered. His entire life had been dedicated to public service, even as he personally battled depression and bipolar disorder. if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ There's also the fact that muggers who kill their victims usually don't bother with hiding the body, much less transporting it 15 miles out of their way to a dumpster in another city. He was several blocks from the parking garage where his car was located, and he appeared visibility distressed, repeatedly telling the attendant that his briefcase had been stolen. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { }) This was the last time anyone reported seeing him alive. However, no concrete motive or evidence has ever surfaced in the decade since the dedicated public servant was killed. He didnt beat himself up.". There wasnt much damage but police found a cell phone at the scene and when they examined it, discovered it was Wheelers. A well-educated man, not used to being homeless would not jump in a dumpster night 1 on the streets. ga('ads.send', { "'I thought it was a little odd,' says [a hacker he spoke to]. ga('ads.send', { But Meurer says this is not the case. Plot details forUnsolved Mysteriesahead. However it happened, some theorize is that a confused Wheeler may have been mugged on the streets of Wilmington or Newark and suffered a heart attack as a result of the stress of the encounter (the Unsolved Mysteriesepisode leaves out that Wheeler's bodyshowed signs of cardiac arrest). He reached his destination, worked for the day, and then left to go to New Castle, his second home, for the night. Then the theory of mugging comes into play, yet even that seems next to impossible, mainly as Jack had been carefully disposed of, and he still had some cash, his West Point ring, and a Rolex on his being when he was recovered. The discovery prompted an investigation into his mysterious death and the investigation unearthed some bizarre circumstances surrounding the days before his death. But Jack didnt inform the police or his wife about any of this. Wheeler was last seen alive on surveillance video inside the Nemours. But they also pointed out that he was diligent with his medication, so it wasnt likely. And if their wasnt, why does he tell work it is missing? With his background and long list of connections, it seems unlikely that there wouldn't be someone Wheeler could have turned to if he were about to become a whistleblower and was in fear for his life. His once orderly life seemed to be unraveling in his last days, which has further befuddled. Whenever possible, actual redditors have participated in investigating the events. Trash car drivers told investigators that it was fairly common that people would climb into a dumpster to find some warmth in the winter. More:Why Unsolved Mysteries On Netflix Doesn't Have A Host. He was a graduate of West Point Academy, Yale and Harvard and was a special assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force through three. Roughly forty minutes later, Wheeler was seen on another security camera in a Wilmington parking garage, looking disheveled and holding one of his shoes. We know that the 66-year-old husband and father's body was discovered in a Delaware landfill on Dec. 31, one day after his disappearance. Jack Wheeler was a graduate of Yale, Harvard, and West Point, a military consultant, and served as a special assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. eventAction: 'render' Nevertheless, some people believe that his murder was the direct result of a professional hit job, considering all the evidence, or the lack thereof. Several people approach him because he appears disoriented or confused. Police have officially ruled Wheeler's death a homicide, though no killer is named or really even suspected. Wheeler's death was ruled a homicide. Was John P. Wheeler Murdered? That Now Seems To Be Increasingly Likely On December 31, 2010, at 9:56 a.m., Jack Wheelers body was found dumped in the Cherry Island Landfill in Wilmington, Delaware, a place where he had no business being at that point in time. In the garage surveillance footage, Wheeler seemed distressed and agitated. But that chilling scene is only the beginning of a sprawling unsolved murder of a former Pentagon official and presidential aide. hitType: 'event', eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), In its very first episode, Washington Insider Murder, the show chronicles the bizarre homicide of a former presidential aide, who was found dumped in a landfill in Wilmington, Delaware. Jack WAS a patriot. Related: Everything Unsolved Mysteries Leaves Out About The Oslo Plaza Woman. Theories ranged from a professional hit in relation to Jack's job, or one of his previous positions, to his neighbours being responsible.More #UnsolvedMysteries cases: JoAnn Romain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlyvrBvUkLoTsunami Spirits: https://youtu.be/e4ohyRvcuxUAlonzo Brooks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuJo7HDMeqoJoin the Internet Mystery Sleuths Discord server: https://discord.gg/QC36rVT This story didnt give me the eerie vibe because there are so many possible answers, and most of them arent that mysterious. Everything is 20% off (and we've broken down our picks by dress code, naturally). He may also have been seen in a cab. He was then seen asking for a ride to Wilmington, DE, searching unsuccessfully for his car in the wrong parking garage. There is also some question as to whether or not the injuries Wheeler suffered could have been inflicted by a trash compactor and how he came to be in Newark in the first place, as the medical examiner believed the extent and nature of the injuries were more in line with a severe beating than being crushed. Jack Wheeler was last seen by his wife on December 28, 2010, as he left their home in Harlem by train to return to work in Washington DC.