Ex-GOP Aide, a Yale Law Grad, Died of Blunt Force Trauma; Reward Offered in Case
Corrected: The mystery surrounding the death of a Yale law graduate who had served as an aide to several presidents wasn’t resolved with the release of a coroner’s report on Friday.
John Wheeler III, who was found dead at a Wilmington, Del., landfill on New Year’s Eve, died of blunt force trauma, the Delaware Medical Examiner’s Office announced. The News Journal of Wilmington has the story. Wheeler had been seen wandering around Wilmington in the days before his death, and had stopped at a local law firm but left before the receptionist could find someone to speak to the lawyer.
Wheeler’s family is offering a $25,000 reward in the case, their lawyer, Colm Connolly, told the News Journal. Family members feel out of the loop in the investigation, said Connolly, who is with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. They learned of the cause of death from the media.
Connolly said Wheeler’s family last heard from him in an e-mail the morning of Dec. 29, the same day a cab driver picked him up at the Amtrak station as he returned from a business trip to Washington, D.C. The message did not raise any alarms, and did not show the confusion later portrayed in a surveillance video at a courthouse parking garage.
Police did not share any information about an incident at a house under construction across the street at the Wheelers’ home, Connolly said. On Dec. 28, several smoke bombs were set off at the house, which was the subject of several lawsuits by the Wheelers alleging code violations.
Corrected Feb. 1 to change the day Wheeler’s body was discovered to New Year’s Eve.
Correction
Corrected Feb. 1 to change the day Wheeler’s body was discovered to New Year’s Eve.
