Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries Volume 2 took on the case of Jack Wheeler. The air date was October 19, 2020. It hosts the episode, "Washington Insider Murder." He was a former presidential aide turned prominent public servant. His final days, which led to his as-yet-unresolved death, are elaborated in this 47-minute-long episode. It opens where it closes: with the shocking discovery of his body in a Delaware landfill on December 31, 2010, only one day after he went missing.
Through the episode, audiences are treated to unnerving surveillance footage of Wheeler in what is a distressed state, aimlessly roaming the streets of Wilmington, looking disoriented. Interviews from friends and family members, and information gathered by investigative journalists, piece together the story of Wheeler's mad final days: his strange behavior, and even mention of a possible connection to a house being built directly across the street from his residence.
People are drawn to this mystery because it is a high-profile case, and the circumstances of Jack Wheeler's death are bizarre. It is these questions—the ones with no ready answers—that create a sense of intrigue: the feeling of urgency in uncovering the truth behind this event. This includes questions like those of his mental state or the possible motives or lack of them behind his murder.
Who was Jack Wheeler and what happened to him as seen on Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries?
Jack Wheeler, officially John Parsons Wheeler III, was an American public servant. He held as a distinction the fact that he had served as a presidential aide for George Bush and was the chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
The story of his mysterious death is explored in depth in the first episode of Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries Volume 2, which was released on October 19, 2020. In his last days, Wheeler was captured on CCTV acting erratically as he wandered by foot through the city of Wilmington, Delaware, almost in a state of confusion.
He was last seen at a parking garage, disheveled, disoriented, and out of sorts, walking around with one shoe in his hand in a drunken fashion, saying his briefcase was stolen. The next day, his dead body was found at a landfill and ruled as homicide by blunt force trauma. The circumstances of his death remain unclear.
The episode goes into many theories, which range from a targeted assassination because of his high-profile work in cybersecurity and national defense to a random act of violence catalyzed by his reportedly bipolar disorder.
Jack Wheeler's home also had signs of breaking in a while before his death, and his mobile phone was screened from the construction site where he was involved in a lawsuit with other householders.
What makes events even more interesting around Wheeler is that he has numerous connections with political people, and the many questions and his very sorrowfully mysterious death leave the viewer looking into other conclusions about it being an open murder case.
What is Jack Wheeler's widow Katherine Klyce's theory of a hired hitman?
Katherine Klyce has changed her story about a hired hit man in her husband Jack Wheeler's murder many times since his death in December 2010. Initially, she said she didn't know if Wheeler was killed randomly or as part of an assassination.
Speaking to Slate in a 2011 interview, she had hinted that Wheeler's murder could have been commissioned by a person who might have been "paid" to kill him because none of those who might have had the information about his murder came out to claim their $25,000 reward.
Klyce remarked,
"The way they disposed of his body, it’s a miracle anybody ever found it. That just sounds like a pro to me."
Over time, Klyce's belief in the theory of the hitman grew as she began to piece together the timeline of Wheeler's final days.
She felt that he was acting erratically, which to her meant that he was afraid, not just disoriented. Klyce believed Jack Wheeler had made some powerful enemies during his career in national defense, any one of whom could have had reason to target him.
Though she did concede his admission that he had "lots of enemies," she felt none of these were likely to kill him, which led her to consider a professional assassin. Since then, the theory has been fed by Klyce's account of a lack of credible leads in the police investigation. This further enhanced her impression that Wheeler's murder was anything but close to random.
The case remains open and lends to the tale of his murder, which hasn't been reduced.
Stay tuned to Soap Central to learn about the other cases featured in Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries.
