What's everyone's take on this one?

I think Jack Wheeler had a mental break. I don’t think there’s much beyond that. If Russians or government/corporate/Hillary assassins were after him they’d have gotten him not left him roaming for 3 days.

The VPN fob and swipe card for his company would have been remotely killed within a few hours of the theft. I don't think there's any connection there other than maybe it contributing to his emotional stress.

Hmn...

There's a lot of similarities to the death of Cindy James in the sense that (I feel) a person can have a mental breakdown and still be stalked by a murderer.

A mental illness does not erase the possibility of foul play.

Something isn't quite right with this scenario.

I would say Blair Adams would be a better comparison to this case.

I've been fascinated by the John Wheeler case since it happened. I agree it seems much more like a breakdown but how did he end updying in the way and state that he ended up in?

Hmn...

There's a lot of similarities to the death of Cindy James in the sense that (I feel) a person can have a mental breakdown and still be stalked by a murderer.

A mental illness does not erase the possibility of foul play.

Something isn't quite right with this scenario.


No, it doesn't. But I don't know if it merits an Unsolved Mysteries slot either. He was roaming the streets for 3 days or so in what seemed to be from the videos a manic state. It would seem totally logical in all that time for him to have run afoul with any number of street elements. I don't think its terribly more complicated than that and nothing to do with his connections.

And they didn't get into it deep enough (a common issue with the new UM, too in depth in places where it doesn't matter and not in areas where it does), but a trash compactor certainly could have caused some of those injuries described in the autopsy report. Unless, which they don't include in the episode, a ME is explicitly ruling that out. *shrug*

That’s what I thought, too. He very well could have crawled inside a dumpster, either to sleep or “hide.” Then he ends up in the garbage truck and gets crushed.

There are so many people that just end up “losing it” a few days before they’re found dead somewhere. Someone mentioned Blair Adams. Is it still a possibility he was hit by a car? Hit and run? Hope this question doesn’t hijack the thread.

Where were these shadowy figures who wanted him dead and why didn't they show up in any of the surveillance footage over the course of three days? The guy tried lighting his neighbor's house on fire, realized he left his phone there which would incriminate him, so he typed up an e-mail to his employer saying that his briefcase, key fob, and phone were stolen from him. Then he stages a burglary at his house and takes off to wander around the city. Ultimately, I do not think he was planning on killing himself or dying when he left his home, but I do think he was planning on staging an elaborate abduction story a la Charles Morgan to get out of being implicated in the potential house fire of his neighbor. I think he went into the dumpster to sleep and was dumped in the early morning hours and crushed by the compactor. The fact that UM didn't even mention this as a possibility was insulting. It has happened (https://www.local10.com/news/2018/02/10/trapped-inside-trash-truck-man-is-crushed-by-compactor/) before.

I thought it was weird that they were like "well, what happened in the 40 mins it took to get to Newark(?) that made him start acting so weird..?" --- and I am like prior to that he was thumbing for a ride at the drug store ... I think we need to figure out what was going on long before those 40 mins.

Big thing that sticks out to me is the foot print. If it was Wheelers than he trashed his own house. Probably after he realized he left his phone at the building site across the street. I went looking for an answer online and ran across this article : https://screenrant.com/unsolved-mysteries-jack-john-wheeler-murder-leaves-out/.
Apparently the police have never disclosed the foot print results if there are any. And as usual UM left a lot out. Like he and his wife had a fight the day he headed back, he talked to his therapist afterwards and indicated he felt dazed and boxed in and he was actually in the Nemours building during the day looking for a managing partner.
If all that is true I think he was already on agitated when he got back to the house in Wilmington. He sees the house construction and decides he has had enough and goes to light the smoke bomb maybe hoping they will start a fire. He gets back home realizes he dropped his phone and goes back to retrieve it.
He then sees the smoke bombs have fissed out and not caused much if any damage. So he goes home is so enraged he trashes his house and leaves.
I think in the end he becomes disassociated and eventually crawls in garbage bin to keep warm
The article also said he had a heart attack. I think probably as he realized he was going to be crushed or from being crushed. I think his injuries can be attributed to the crusher.

Where were these shadowy figures who wanted him dead and why didn't they show up in any of the surveillance footage over the course of three days? The guy tried lighting his neighbor's house on fire, realized he left his phone there which would incriminate him, so he typed up an e-mail to his employer saying that his briefcase, key fob, and phone were stolen from him. Then he stages a burglary at his house and takes off to wander around the city. Ultimately, I do not think he was planning on killing himself or dying when he left his home, but I do think he was planning on staging an elaborate abduction story a la Charles Morgan to get out of being implicated in the potential house fire of his neighbor. I think he went into the dumpster to sleep and was dumped in the early morning hours and crushed by the compactor. The fact that UM didn't even mention this as a possibility was insulting. It has happened (https://www.local10.com/news/2018/02/10/trapped-inside-trash-truck-man-is-crushed-by-compactor/) before.

The idea that he was murdered because of being an "insider" right when he happened to be having a breakdown wandering around and acting erratically seems preposterous. Also, forgetting where he parked to the point that he needed to get a taxi home many times prior to this incident is a pretty clear indicator that he was having difficulties on top of his bipolar disorder. He was called "directionally challenged" but that is such an extreme pattern of behavior that it really shouldn't be painted as simple forgetfulness as it seemed to be in the segment.

Your theory is much better than any presented by the segment. He was clearly unwell, and it's a tragedy what happened to him. But I agree with everyone here it just doesn't seem like a homicide.

ETA: Doesn't seem like a premeditated homicide that had anything to do with who he was or his connections. I could see it being a random attack or an accident such as mentioned above.

Or at least just a run of the mill homicide.

The injures described, like the lip, it's totally plausible he got into a fight with a homeless person, drug dealer, or any number of low level street criminals. Whether he was tossed in or crawled in himself to sleep, could go either way.

Or at least just a run of the mill homicide.

The injures described, like the lip, it's totally plausible he got into a fight with a homeless person, drug dealer, or any number of low level street criminals. Whether he was tossed in or crawled in himself to sleep, could go either way.

I actually just came back to this thread to add this sentiment. If it was a homicide, I doubt it was for any connections or a targeted hit. It could have been a mugging/attack by a random assailant. This is way more likely than some scheming person happening to come across him when he wasn't doing so well.

I actually just came back to this thread to add this sentiment. If it was a homicide, I doubt it was for any connections or a targeted hit. It could have been a mugging/attack by a random assailant. This is way more likely than some scheming person happening to come across him when he wasn't doing so well.

The problem with a random attack or mugging, they wouldn't have bothered to move Jack's body. They would have left it where the attack occurred, and would have taken valuables. Putting him in the dumpster and not taking anything would make no sense.

I am not convinced he was the target of premeditated foul play. He most likely had a mental breakdown which caused him to ransack his house as he was looking for his briefcase or some other item which he couldn't find.

Maybe during the time he was seen on multiple cameras roaming around the city, he came across some random person whom he instinctively believed had 'stolen' his briefcase and got confrontational with them during another mental breakdown and this other individual fought back and inadvertently injuried John to the point where they thought he might be dead and this interaction might happened to have occurred in close proximity to the dumpster which would have made a convenient place for his body to be placed. The killer(s) feeling remorseful might have been in a rush to dispose of the body after being horrified at what he/she did and did not bother to notice the flashiness of the valuables John had on his person (ring/watch/wallet contents).

Based on the injuries to his body that were found by the medical examiner, it's possible some of them were pre-mortem and some were post-mortem (although those specific details were not stated in the episode).

The briefcase is probably the key to solving this mystery as either a random act or a targeted hit. It's possible it was stolen, disposed of, or John could have forgotten it somewhere and whoever found it didn't make a valid effort to return it.

I think this was an excellent case to watch on UM as it was very compelling with some weird twists and turns.

In the end, though, I don't think it's very sinister. I was watching with my wife and we both said, "WTH?" multiple times, but in the end we agreed this was likely a mental break/bipolar episode, and that his death was most likely an accident.

I would love to hear from a ME if the injuries could have been caused by being flipped into a garbage truck and compacted, as that seems the most likely outcome. If not, my next guess would be hit by a car or beat up and pushed in the dumpster. I put zero credence into him being targeted. This reminds me a lot of the Elisa Lam case in LA. Seems weird, but isn't.

The one thing that I think is so odd, though, is why haven't the police ever released whose footprint was in Jack's house? I'm 99% convinced it was his, especially since it was a bare foot. So why not release that info? And if it wasn't Jack's, then this goes in a whole different direction. But I don't think there was ever an intruder in his house. This all started and ended because of Jack's medical state.

I also thought it was funny how many similarities there are to the Rey Rivera case. The difference here is that there is less time where Jack's movements are unaccounted for, and Jack's bizarre movements went on for three days. While Rey was exhibiting strange behavior for a while, his final day seems much more acute. And they still can't figure out the phone call...

I believe he was murdered but not assassinated.

I am not convinced he was the target of premeditated foul play. He most likely had a mental breakdown which caused him to ransack his house as he was looking for his briefcase or some other item which he couldn't find.

Maybe during the time he was seen on multiple cameras roaming around the city, he came across some random person whom he instinctively believed had 'stolen' his briefcase and got confrontational with them during another mental breakdown and this other individual fought back and inadvertently injuried John to the point where they thought he might be dead and this interaction might happened to have occurred in close proximity to the dumpster which would have made a convenient place for his body to be placed. The killer(s) feeling remorseful might have been in a rush to dispose of the body after being horrified at what he/she did and did not bother to notice the flashiness of the valuables John had on his person (ring/watch/wallet contents).

Based on the injuries to his body that were found by the medical examiner, it's possible some of them were pre-mortem and some were post-mortem (although those specific details were not stated in the episode).

The briefcase is probably the key to solving this mystery as either a random act or a targeted hit. It's possible it was stolen, disposed of, or John could have forgotten it somewhere and whoever found it didn't make a valid effort to return it.

I do think he got some kind of head injury, something with a slow bleed. From this, he grew slowly more disoriented until he was totally out of it. By then, he was probably freezing cold, so he found the first place to get shelter, the dumpster.

If he had a head injury and maybe a superficial scrape/bruise or two from when he got the head injury (fight, while messing up his house, whatever), he may have gone into a coma d/t the injury and the cold, which lead to hypothermia. When the garbage truck came along, he wasn't dead, but being comatose, he wouldn't hear the dumpster and try to get out before it was picked up and he was tossed about, leading to the other injuries and his death.

If there was a homicide, it was due to the assault he may have suffered to cause the head injury. I don't really think there was a conspiracy to murder him. He was diligent about taking his meds but a series of small events could have caused a hypomanic episode.

I would love to know why/how the ME was able to classify Wheeler's death a homicide as opposed to accident or undetermined. I agree with those of you who think Wheeler had a mental break, ended up in the dumpster on his own volition, and was crushed to death. Regardless, the injuries described in the UM segment certainly sound like they could've been caused that way. I'm not super familiar with manner-of-death classifications, but it seems like MEs are typically reluctant to rule death by homicide when it's not extremely clear a homicide occurred.

The problem with a random attack or mugging, they wouldn't have bothered to move Jack's body. They would have left it where the attack occurred, and would have taken valuables. Putting him in the dumpster and not taking anything would make no sense.

Not necessarily. A random act doesn't need to be completely logical. The death may have been accidental as a result of a fight or some other violent encounter and the assailant was more interested in not getting caught/not drawing attention than robbing them. The "attacker" could be impaired by substances, etc, that would cause their actions to not be totally rational.

I do think he got some kind of head injury, something with a slow bleed. From this, he grew slowly more disoriented until he was totally out of it. By then, he was probably freezing cold, so he found the first place to get shelter, the dumpster.

If he had a head injury and maybe a superficial scrape/bruise or two from when he got the head injury (fight, while messing up his house, whatever), he may have gone into a coma d/t the injury and the cold, which lead to hypothermia. When the garbage truck came along, he wasn't dead, but being comatose, he wouldn't hear the dumpster and try to get out before it was picked up and he was tossed about, leading to the other injuries and his death.

If there was a homicide, it was due to the assault he may have suffered to cause the head injury. I don't really think there was a conspiracy to murder him. He was diligent about taking his meds but a series of small events could have caused a hypomanic episode.


And worth mentioning that while he was allegedly diligent about taking his meds those meds need periodic adjustment to remain effective.

Solid episode here, and very compelling. Never heard of this case before seeing this segment. JW definitely appeared to be disoriented & possibly delusional in the security camera footage that was shown in the segment. Re: his death, I think one of two things happened here:

1) He was disoriented & wandering around the downtown area and - due to the extremely cold New England winter, decided to seek shelter in the dumpster that night (December 30th). When the truck lifted up the dumpster the next morning, he may have already been dead at that point. And, I completely agree that the trauma on him may have been sustained when his body fell into the truck (with the trash) & was shifted around, etc. It wasn't clear if the trauma to his body was post-mortem or not.

or

2) Given that he was wandering around a downtown area late at night - alone - he could easily have run into an unhinged/homeless person who may have attacked him & either seriously injured him, or killed him. Then, because they were afraid they would get caught - put his body in the dumpster to conceal this. The fact that he wasn't robbed (his body was found with some cash, his watch, and his class ring) doesn't mean he couldn't have been the target of an assault - by someone whose intent wasn't robbery.

Re: his house in DE & the house being built across the street:

-I do believe he trashed his house in DE himself; I don't think anyone broke into the house. There's also a very good chance he was the one who set off the smoke bombs in the house that was being built (across the street from his in DE). His wife said he was adamantly opposed to that new house; the fact that his cell phone was found close to the house leads credence to the idea that he was physically there at some point.

Going along with this, I would also like to know if LE determined whose bare footprint was in the clorox?! powder on the floor of the DE house's kitchen.

-Also, I definitely don't believe that JW was "targeted" by someone who killed him - due to some connection with his job. This is a ludicrous theory, especially considering the circumstances of what strongly looks like a mental break & subsequent death - as a result of the mental break.

I agree this appears to be similar to the 2013 Elisa Lam case.

It seems to be the general consensus with this case, and with pretty much every "were they murdered" segment old and new now that the answer is "nah". Were we all just that more gullible in the 80s/90s? :D

I know I believe in the supernatural, I believe law enforcement's inclined to do the easiest to relieve their workload like any profession, but by the time these things filter down to Unsolved Mysteries I find I'm in full Scully mode when I'm a Mulder a heart.

This case reminded me so much of the Elisa Lam mystery.
In my opinion, both cases involved someone who had a mental break and a homeless person or people who took advantage of it and killed the vulnerable person.

I tried to watch the episode, but it was hard for me to follow. It does seem like he became enraged and obsessed with the home being built in his neighbourhood. He was a Washington elite and probably allowed his arrogance, combined with his mental illness, get the best of him. it's possible that he put himself in the dumpster, but I think he got in over his head with the wrong person and was put into the dumpster. I wonder what medication or drugs he was taking?

This is the only case I've completed so far and I thought it was interesting. It's weird to me that last season, the only case I had previously seen in other YT videos was De Ligonnes family and this season, I already knew about the first 2 episodes (wheeler, Oslo). To me it looks like he was murdered but like many have said, it seemed like it was a Blair Adams type of thing. How he died was weird but it wouldn't have surprised me if he was accidentally killed in Wilmington and the person (persons) dumped their body in that suburb as to not tie things up, and it definitely worked since they don't know why he was picked up from where he was picked up.

I thought a Random attack as well.

It's weird to me that last season, the only case I had previously seen in other YT videos was De Ligonnes family and this season, I already knew about the first 2 episodes (wheeler, Oslo)..

Just out of curiosity....are you a fellow That Chapter watcher on YouTube? Because that was how I knew about them beforehand :wave: