Unsolved Mysteries: 3 Theories That May Explain John Wheeler's Mysterious Death

One possibility is that Wheeler hid in a dumpster to keep away from the cold. His death would then be accidental. While not outside the realm of possibility, this theory has two problems. First, investigators traced matching partial DNA to a dumpster in Newark, DE, 14 miles away from his last-seen location in Wilmington. It struck investigators as odd that he'd go all the way to Newark just to hide in a dumpster (though he may have taken a train there). The other issue with this theory is that the medical examiner determined that Wheeler died from blunt force trauma and that the likely cause of his death was homicide.

Another possibility is that Wheeler got mugged. While this theory is credible, there are a few issues with it. First of all, in most cases of strong-arm robberies, the assailant leaves the scene of the crime without doing anything to hide the victim. Furthermore, when detectives found Wheeler, he still had expensive belongings such as his Rolex watch and West Point class ring. It's unlikely that someone attacking Wheeler for money would miss these belongings.

Here's where the case veers into the realm of conspiracy. As a Washington insider who worked for several presidential administrations, Wheeler was someone who knew a lot, his later work being in cybersecurity. It's possible that he had information that displeased people. One subtheory suggests that the Chinese murdered him because of what he knew about American cyberwarfare. Another contends that the American government covered up his death because he was going to blow the whistle on the dumping of a chemical-weapons stash. Wheeler's family believe that there was likely some kind of foul play. Though they put up a $50,000 (originally $25,000) reward for information, there were no helpful leads or tips, possibly because a contract killer may have already been paid off.