When Netflix releases it’s the second volume of Unsolved Mysteries to the world on October 19, avid fans from around the globe will bear witness to the Washington Insider Murder.
The series will profile the mysterious death of John P. Wheeler III, whose body was found in a Delaware landfill in 2010. Even though his death was ruled a homicide, the details around the circumstances are questionable.
Here’s what we already know.
Who was John P. Wheeler III?
Known fondly as Jack, at the time of his death, Wheeler was the chief executive and CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, consultant to the Mitre Corporation and former presidential aide to the Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush administrations as well as holding numerous positions in the United States Military and government.
What do we know about his death?
On December 29, 2011, less than 48-hours before Wheeler was found dead, CCTV footage showed him limping into a parking garage. According to witnesses, he showed confusion, held one shoe in his hand, and asked where his car was before refusing help.
The following day, he was caught on CCTV again inside the Nemours building at 8.30 pm — the same expression on his face. The 66-year-old would then turn up dead 14 hours later.
In an interview with The Inquirer at the time, Iman Goldsborough, who worked as a parking-lot attendant, said: “I knew something wasn’t right but I never thought it would end up like this.”
Until his death, Wheeler’s image had been squeaky clean however after his death, police found evidence that he may have been involved in an arson attempt against a couple he was battling in court. He had asked for a temporary restraining order against them, although it was denied.
How did he get to Wilmington and what happened afterward?
According to the same outlet, friends of Wheeler said that they last saw him getting on a train to New York “with his wife’s Christmas present”.
He was then presumed to have taken another train to Washington on December 28, before heading to Wilmington.
That same evening, smoke-bombs were set off in an unfinished New Castle home — 9kms from Wilmington, opposite Wheeler’s.
On December 29, he went to a local pharmacy, still in New Castle around 6.00 pm asking for a ride back. According to the pharmacist, he looked “a little upset”. Then, 30 minutes later, he ended up in the first parking garage. How he got there, was never explained.
Goldsborough would later say that his car was never actually in the garage, it was at another one several blocks away — one he went to on a monthly basis.
Wheeler had also told her that her brother had driven him there, although both his mother and brother had passed away years earlier.
Police have no idea where Wheeler had stayed the night he died, even though he was reported to say it was in a hotel nearby.
The following morning, Wheeler turned up dead in a dumpster in Newark, 24kms away. And still, to this day, no one knows what happened.
Watch Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 2 on Netflix from October 19.
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