Gingersnap
01-06-2011, 09:54 AM
Video footage shows Wheeler wandering hours before his death
Surveillance video provided by the Newark, Del. Police Department on Wednesday shows John P. Wheeler III inside the Newcastle County Courthouse parking garage, on Dec. 29 in Wilmington, Del. Wheeler appeared confused and disoriented as he wandered inside the office building less than 14 hours before his body was dumped with a load of trash at a nearby landfill, police said.
http://i56.tinypic.com/118du9k.jpg
John P. Wheeler III
2007 AFP/Getty Images photo
By Esteban Parra and Sean O'Sullivan, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
Newark police reported Wednesday that John P. Wheeler III was spotted at 8:30 p.m. Thursday as he wandered through a DuPont Co. building, apparently confused and disoriented — filing in five more hours leading up to the discovery of his body in a Wilmington landfill.
The former Pentagon official's body was found about 13 hours later, on New Year's Eve, lying in refuse at Wilmington's Cherry Island Landfill. Law enforcement officials also confirmed Wednesday they are looking into a Dec. 28 smoke bomb incident at a New Castle home that had been the focus of several lawsuits filed by the 66-year-old Wheeler.
The home, which is under construction, is directly across the street from Wheeler's house, blocking his view of the Delaware River. Wheeler contended in a long-running legal dispute the home violates the historic town's zoning codes.
State fire officials reported that several low-powered devices — commonly used to smoke out small animals — were found. They caused only minor damage and officials said they originally talked to and released two teenagers who were spotted near the house. Though they have no suspects, investigators hoped to speak to Wheeler about the incident.
On Wednesday, police said Wheeler, who led fundraising efforts in the 1980s to construct the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, was last seen alive inside the Nemours Building at 10th and Orange streets in Wilmington.
"We don't know when he left the building, because he was out of the camera's frame," said Newark police Lt. Mark Farrall. "But we do know that several individuals inside the building approached him, because they saw him walking around appearing disoriented or confused."
Wheeler declined their help, Farrall added.
Rick Straitman, a spokesman for the DuPont Co., said they turned the video over to police.
"We have provided whatever we could to the investigating agencies and that's the end of our role there," he said. Straitman would not provide copies to The News Journal.
USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-05-pentagon-wheeler-death_N.htm)
Surveillance video provided by the Newark, Del. Police Department on Wednesday shows John P. Wheeler III inside the Newcastle County Courthouse parking garage, on Dec. 29 in Wilmington, Del. Wheeler appeared confused and disoriented as he wandered inside the office building less than 14 hours before his body was dumped with a load of trash at a nearby landfill, police said.
http://i56.tinypic.com/118du9k.jpg
John P. Wheeler III
2007 AFP/Getty Images photo
By Esteban Parra and Sean O'Sullivan, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
Newark police reported Wednesday that John P. Wheeler III was spotted at 8:30 p.m. Thursday as he wandered through a DuPont Co. building, apparently confused and disoriented — filing in five more hours leading up to the discovery of his body in a Wilmington landfill.
The former Pentagon official's body was found about 13 hours later, on New Year's Eve, lying in refuse at Wilmington's Cherry Island Landfill. Law enforcement officials also confirmed Wednesday they are looking into a Dec. 28 smoke bomb incident at a New Castle home that had been the focus of several lawsuits filed by the 66-year-old Wheeler.
The home, which is under construction, is directly across the street from Wheeler's house, blocking his view of the Delaware River. Wheeler contended in a long-running legal dispute the home violates the historic town's zoning codes.
State fire officials reported that several low-powered devices — commonly used to smoke out small animals — were found. They caused only minor damage and officials said they originally talked to and released two teenagers who were spotted near the house. Though they have no suspects, investigators hoped to speak to Wheeler about the incident.
On Wednesday, police said Wheeler, who led fundraising efforts in the 1980s to construct the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, was last seen alive inside the Nemours Building at 10th and Orange streets in Wilmington.
"We don't know when he left the building, because he was out of the camera's frame," said Newark police Lt. Mark Farrall. "But we do know that several individuals inside the building approached him, because they saw him walking around appearing disoriented or confused."
Wheeler declined their help, Farrall added.
Rick Straitman, a spokesman for the DuPont Co., said they turned the video over to police.
"We have provided whatever we could to the investigating agencies and that's the end of our role there," he said. Straitman would not provide copies to The News Journal.
USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-05-pentagon-wheeler-death_N.htm)