John Wheeler III Was Acting "Erratically" in Days before Death, Say Police

WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS/AP) Police in Delaware say they are slowly starting to fill in the final days in the life of John Wheeler III, thanks largely to witness accounts and a plethora of surveillance cameras dotting  the route of the garbage truck that dumped Wheeler's body in a Wilmington landfill -  but they still don't know how he died or where.

Police say surveillance video shows the prominent national defense expert confused and disoriented in a downtown office building hours before his body was discovered.

Newark Police Lt. Mark Farrall said Wednesday that John Wheeler refused help from several people who approached him as he wandered around the Nemours Building in Wilmington as late as 8:30 p.m. Dec. 30.

Wheeler's body was found Dec. 31 in a load of trash dumped at the Cherry Island Landfill. Police are investigating the death as a homicide.

According to multiple witness reports, Wheeler was seen in and around Wilmington Dec. 29, acting erratically.  A parking attendant near the New Castle Courthouse in Wilmington says that Wheeler was unable to find his car, appeared disoriented and said he had been robbed. She said he was holding one shoe and was not wearing a coat over his suit despite the cold weather.

Wheeler's car was later found at an Amtrak station, about 5 miles from the courthouse, where Wheeler often caught the train to Washington.

Earlier on Dec. 29 Wheeler reportedly asked a pharmacist in New Castle for a ride to Wilmington. The News Journal of Wilmington said pharmacist Murali Gouro, who had filled Wheeler's prescriptions in the past, said the former official looked upset.

But whatever happened to the prominent national defense consultant and decorated Army officer police, whoever dumped his body into a garbage bin in the bustling college town of Newark, Del. risked being detected, either by witnesses or surveillance cameras, with some of the containers in well-lit parking lots, near restaurants and stores.

Police have been canvassing the truck's route and have found surveillance cameras at all but one location, and have begun the process of reviewing the footage from the days before Wheeler's body was found.

The 66-year-old New Castle resident was an Army officer during the Vietnam War. He served in the administrations of three Republican presidents and helped get the Vietnam War Memorial built.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
January 3, 2011 - Body of John Wheeler III, Former Bush Aide, Reagan Official, Found in Del. Landfill
January 4, 2011 - John Wheeler Seen Alive Less Than 24 Hours Before Body Found in Landfill