Mysterious Murder of Bush Official: John P. Wheeler III Found Dead in Delaware Landfill
Jan 3, 2011 9:18 PM EST
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James Fallows, a former speechwriter for Jimmy Carter and a national correspondent for The Atlantic, remembered Wheeler, a friend, in a post on Monday.
"He was a complicated man of very intense (and sometimes changeable) friendships, passions, and causes," Fallows wrote.
At the time of his disappearance, Wheeler and his wife were involved in expensive litigation in Delaware Chancery Court with a neighbor who was building a two-and-a-half story home across the street.
While the dispute had dragged out, Wheeler's attorney Bayard Marin said, "There were no Jerry Springer moments."
Marin said he spoke to Wheeler the day before he disappeared. "It was a nice personal conversation, thanking me for the past three years and sticking with him through litigation," he said. "It was a kind of Christmas/New Year call. He seemed very cheerful. He seemed very pleasant."
Wheeler's death is the second time a murder has hit close to home for his current wife. In 1995, Klyce's sister, Emily Klyce Fisher, was brutally slain in her home in one of Memphis' toniest neighborhoods. Investigators later linked the murder to Fisher's drug-addled son, who had bragged about the valuables in the family safe to the men later accused of killing his mother.
Klyce was Wheeler's third wife, friends say. Wheeler also had a very public romance with McDonald's founder Ray Kroc's daughter Linda Smith in the '80s, two associates confirmed. Smith could not be reached for comment.
The Wheeler family had no comments on Monday. The Newark police simply issued a statement on their behalf, stating: "As you must appreciate, this is a tragic time for the family. We are grieving our loss. Please understand that the family has no further comment at this time. We trust that everyone will respect the family's privacy."
