John Parsons Wheeler III

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Newark Police Department (DE)

Offense Location:

Wilmington, Delaware

Summary:

John Parsons Wheeler III, known as Jack Wheeler, was an American veteran, businessman, and activist who helped create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and held multiple positions in the U.S. government for five decades. He was murdered by an unknown person in or around Wilmington, Delaware in 2010. His body was found at the Cherry Island Landfill in Wilmington, Delaware at 9:56am on December 31, 2010.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

On December 25, 2010, Wheeler was in New York where he and wife, Katherine Klyce, had a home. On December 28, 2010, Wheeler traveled to Washington, D.C., then rode the train to Wilmington, Delaware that night. On December 29, 2010, surveillance video captured Wheeler looking disoriented and disheveled in a Colonial Parking lot next to the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington. At 6 p.m., Wheeler asked his pharmacist in New Castle for a ride to the Wilmington train station, appearing upset. The pharmacist offered to call a cab for him, at which point Wheeler left the store. On December 30, 2010, Wheeler visited a law firm inside the Nemours Building, at 10th and Orange Streets in Wilmington, that afternoon. The Newark Police Department obtained surveillance video capturing Wheeler exiting the Nemours building via the 11th Street exit, walking southeast on 11th Street past the Hotel DuPont valet parking area, crossing over Market Street and last seen in camera view at 8:42pm walking on the west sidewalk of 11th Street. In this video Wheeler was wearing dark colored pants and a dark blue hooded sweatshirt with the hood worn over his head. At 9:56am on December 31, 2010, a body was found at the Cherry Island Landfill in Wilmington, Delaware. A worker spotted it falling out of a garbage truck into a trash heap. The truck had received its contents from a commercial trash bin in Newark, Delaware, earlier that day.

Additional Details:

Discussion over Wheeler's death is complicated by his diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which may explain his unusual actions in the preceding days. On December 28, 2010, a man matching his description threw smoke bombs into a house neighboring Wheeler's in New Castle. Wheeler had been involved in a long legal battle concerning the property, which was under construction and blocked his view of the Delaware River. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner announced that John P. Wheeler, III, whose body was found December 31, 2010 at the Cherry Island Landfill in Wilmington, died as a result of blunt force trauma after being assaulted. The investigation was led by Newark police, assisted by Wilmington police and the FBI. Police ultimately ruled his death a homicide caused by assault and blunt force trauma, but were unable to identify any suspects or solid leads in the case. Wheeler's wife and family offered a $25,000 reward for information about his death. His remains were interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors on April 29. Police do not know if Wheeler was killed in Wilmington or elsewhere. The garbage truck had begun its route at 4:30 a.m. and arrived at the landfill at 10 a.m., after making 10 stops at an array of businesses, including a senior's complex, a car dealership, and a public library. Many of the dumpsters were locked or had surveillance cameras in the vicinity, leading police to believe Wheeler's body was picked up toward the beginning of the driver's route.

Case Last Updated:

Aug 29, 2026