WEBVTT 1 00:00:28.960 --> 00:00:30.519 Welcome back to the Pathway, Chili. 2 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:35.359 I'm Robin, I'm Jules, and I'm Ashley. Let's dive right 3 00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:36.560 into this week's case. 4 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:43.759 December thirty one, twenty ten, Wilmington, Delaware, the body of 5 00:00:43.799 --> 00:00:46.640 sixty six year old Jack Wheeler is discovered in a 6 00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:49.880 trash heap at a landfill and his cause of death 7 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:54.159 is determined to be blunt force trauma. Days earlier, Jack 8 00:00:54.200 --> 00:00:57.200 had left his residence in New York City to travel 9 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:01.960 to Delaware. A numerous eyewitnesses would report seeing Jack wander 10 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:05.599 through the area and displaying erotic behavior, which may have 11 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:08.959 been brought on by his struggles with bipolar disorder. It 12 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:12.319 is believed that Jack's body was transported to the landfill 13 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:15.159 after he wound up inside a dumpster which was picked 14 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:18.959 up by a garbage truck. But even though investigators believe 15 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:23.239 his injuries are consistent with the homicide, the exact circumstances 16 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:25.200 of how Jack died are unclear. 17 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.799 After that, the path went Chiley, So on today's episode, 18 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:31.760 we're going to be exploring the case, which was the 19 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:34.640 subject of episode number one of the second season of 20 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:39.280 The Unsolved Mysteries reboot on Netflix. The Unexplained twenty ten 21 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:42.480 death of Jack Wheeler, the victim in this story, led 22 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:45.280 a particularly interesting life as he served as a White 23 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:48.159 House aid for no less than three US presidents and 24 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:51.359 was involved in a number of impressive achievements, including the 25 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:54.719 creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, d c. 26 00:01:55.599 --> 00:01:59.040 But unfortunately, Jack's life went in in a very tragic fashion, 27 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:02.239 as his body was discovered in a landfill in Delaware 28 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:05.040 after he had spent the past few days frequenting a 29 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:08.400 variety of different locations doing a number of things which 30 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:11.840 do not seem to make much logical sense. Now. Before 31 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:14.439 this case was even featured on Unsolved Mysteries, I had 32 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:16.840 actually received a couple of requests to cover it on 33 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:19.360 the Trail went Cold, and while my knowledge about this 34 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:22.240 story was limited, I did know that Jack's death had 35 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:25.840 officially been ruled a homicide, and because of his government connections, 36 00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:29.759 there were a number of conspiracy theories surrounding his death. However, 37 00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:33.039 once the Unsolved Mysteries episode came out, the consensus from 38 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:35.560 many viewers seemed to be that Jack was the victim 39 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:38.400 of a tragic accident brought on by his struggles with 40 00:02:38.439 --> 00:02:42.240 bipolar disorder. And while the episode did acknowledge Jack's mental 41 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:45.599 health issues, it has received some criticism for its handling 42 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:48.199 of the subject. Much like their episode about the death 43 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:51.520 of Ray Rivera, the Unsawd Mysteries reboot has been accused 44 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:54.319 of leaving out key details to craft a narrative and 45 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:57.599 make the story appear as mysterious as possible, even though 46 00:02:57.639 --> 00:02:59.960 there was a chance that no crime ever took place. 47 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:02.919 To be quite honest, this is why I was initially 48 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:05.960 reluctant to cover Jack Wheeler's story on the Trail Went Cold, 49 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:08.240 but I had to acknowledge that, in spite of the 50 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:12.520 skepticism from online sluice, Jack's death was officially ruled to 51 00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:15.479 be a homicide by the medical examiner and law enforcement, 52 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:18.360 so I ultimately decided to release an episode about it 53 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:21.840 back in January of twenty twenty two. The most commonly 54 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:24.479 proposed theory is that Jack was killed by the trash 55 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:27.479 compactor in the garbage truck which picked up the dumpster 56 00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:31.159 containing his body, but investigators do seem to believe that 57 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:34.599 his injuries were more consistent with a beating, so I 58 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:37.199 think it's important to present the most well rounded account 59 00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:39.639 of Jack Wheeler's death that we can as this is 60 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:42.800 an opportunity to explore the topic of how mental illness 61 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.919 can sometimes be downplayed in cold case investigations. 62 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:49.080 So this is one of those cases that I should 63 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:52.639 probably know because I love unsolved mysteries, but I don't 64 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:56.520 remember Jack case. It's really surprising to me that you 65 00:03:56.599 --> 00:04:00.719 have a man who has such an incredible resume when 66 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:02.800 you look at the fact that he was involved as 67 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.159 a White House aid that he was really responsible for 68 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:08.240 a lot of magical things that happened in Washington, d C. 69 00:04:08.840 --> 00:04:11.919 And then you also have that he struggles with bipolar disorder, 70 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:16.160 and so you do have that kind of dual approach 71 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:18.920 to this case. Is it something that's mental health related, 72 00:04:19.240 --> 00:04:21.160 because like you were saying, a lot of people are 73 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:23.399 arguing this might have been one of those episodes of 74 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:27.839 a mental health crisis, or was it something bigger than that. 75 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:29.839 Was it part of a government conspiracy? 76 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:30.839 Was it due to. 77 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:32.800 Something that he was involved in in his time with 78 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:36.920 the government. Both are very possible scenarios when you look 79 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:39.360 at cases we've covered in the past, and so I'm 80 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:42.079 really interested to hear more about this. But it's tragic 81 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.240 right from the get go. You have such an accomplished 82 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:47.160 man who has such a tragic ending to his life, 83 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:50.879 whether it was mental health or a homicide. And yeah, 84 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:53.560 I'm just already I'm already fascinated. I've got to know more. 85 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:57.720 This case reminds me so much of It's very different, 86 00:04:57.879 --> 00:05:00.920 but we covered Ray rivera really early, but it also 87 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:03.319 reminds me of a least a Lamb just because of 88 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:07.160 the initial way that the case was treated from like 89 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:11.439 this supernatural perspective, rather than you know, her having a 90 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:14.680 mental health episode. And I think Rays was looked at 91 00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:18.600 from a very conspiratorial perspective, like his friend Carter or 92 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:21.480 whatever had something done to him with a helicopter. When 93 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:24.639 I think at the end of our coverage of Ray's case, 94 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:27.560 which was right the very beginning of the Pathway Chile, 95 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.879 we settled on it was likely a mental health episode. 96 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:33.439 So I think this is going to be a really 97 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:37.120 good case for us to delve deeper into so we 98 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:39.519 can explore some of those themes exactly. 99 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:42.000 And I think there is a possibility this case might 100 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:44.160 be a combination of both of them. That he was 101 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:46.759 suffering from a mental health episode, but there wasn't any 102 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:49.639 government conspiracy, but he still could have crossed paths with, 103 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:52.639 say a random stranger who wound up killing him. So 104 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:54.680 it's kind of a combination of both him just kind 105 00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:57.360 of having a mental health episode, but also following prey 106 00:05:57.439 --> 00:05:58.639 to someone who killed him. 107 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:02.040 Okay, so no one was arguing that it ended up 108 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:04.720 being a part of a government conspiracy or anything. 109 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:07.920 Well, I remember before I watched this case on Unsolved Mysteries, 110 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:10.680 most of the limited knowledge I had about this case 111 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:13.839 was from like conspiracy websites, and it was mainly because 112 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:15.600 of the fact that he had worked for the government, 113 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:18.680 and they did push forward the idea that maybe that 114 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:20.800 had something to do with his death on the Unsolved 115 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:23.759 Mysteries episode. But all these years later, it seems the 116 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:27.519 consensus is that the whole government conspiracy angle is just 117 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:28.199 a red herring. 118 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:33.120 Okay, so we're down to mental health crisis or potential 119 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:35.160 of running into either are a random or kind of 120 00:06:35.160 --> 00:06:36.720 a personally known as Sailor. 121 00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:40.680 Yeah, definitely fascinating and. 122 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:42.839 We'll get into this more. But I think Robin, you 123 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:46.040 touched on something that's really really important with regards to 124 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:51.279 mental health episodes, particularly if somebody is experiencing bipolar mania. 125 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:54.800 You're going to be vulnerable to a lot of people 126 00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:57.800 who could predate on you. But you also may act 127 00:06:57.879 --> 00:06:59.959 in a way that isn't in alignment with who you are, 128 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:05.120 with lots of impulsivity. So it's very possible that Jack 129 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:08.959 could have encountered somebody who either decided to prey upon him, 130 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:12.560 or he may have interacted with this person in a 131 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:16.399 way that wasn't becoming in some way or triggered that individual, 132 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:18.959 and then that individual beat him and threw him in 133 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:19.480 the dumpster. 134 00:07:20.439 --> 00:07:22.560 Very true, very true. 135 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:26.879 Our story begins in twenty ten, and our central figure 136 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:29.879 is sixty six year old John Parsons Wheeler, the third 137 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:34.319 who goes by the name Jack. Originally born in Laredo, Texas, 138 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:38.319 Jack hailed from a family with an extensive military history, 139 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:42.040 and he arrived with his father, John Parsons Wheeler, the Second, 140 00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:45.879 nicknamed Big Jack, was fighting overseas in World War Two. 141 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:50.399 In fact, only five days after Jack's birth, his family 142 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:53.519 actually received a telegram the Big Jack had gone missing 143 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:57.519 an action during the Battle of the Bulge. Thankfully, Big 144 00:07:57.639 --> 00:08:00.759 Jack was later found to be alive. After receiving the 145 00:08:00.759 --> 00:08:03.839 Bronze Star and Purple Heart, he would continue on with 146 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:07.399 the military career which lasted over thirty years and he 147 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:11.120 reached the rank of US Army Colonel. Jack decided to 148 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:14.240 follow in his father's footsteps by joining the United States 149 00:08:14.279 --> 00:08:17.959 Military Academy at West Point, and after graduating near the 150 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:21.160 top of his class in nineteen sixty six, he went 151 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:24.680 to Vietnam and served in a non combat administrative position 152 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:30.439 at Long Bin Post, where he worked at computerizing army operations. However, 153 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:33.519 Jack was hit hard by the fact that a number 154 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:36.080 of people he knew at West Point lost their lives 155 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:39.720 during the Vietnam War, as ten percent of his graduating 156 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:44.000 class were killed in action. In fact, the experiences of 157 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:46.960 Jack and his West Point classmates would be chronicled in 158 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:50.120 the nineteen eighty nine book The Long Gray Line, The 159 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:53.519 American Journey of West Points Class of nineteen sixty six, 160 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:57.960 which was offered by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Rick Atkinson. 161 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:01.440 Following his return from va Vietnam, Jack served on the 162 00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:04.440 General's staff at the Pentagon and went on to have 163 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:07.960 a successful career in the private sector, but by nineteen 164 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:11.440 seventy nine he decided to become chairman of the Vietnam 165 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:15.799 Veterans Memorial Fund, the non profit organization was established by 166 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:19.799 a Vietnam veteran named Jan Scruggs, and eventually paid the 167 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:22.879 way for the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial three 168 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:25.879 years later, which would be built in Washington, d c. 169 00:09:26.679 --> 00:09:29.360 And feature the names of every service member who lost 170 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:33.000 their lives during the war. Over the next three decades, 171 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:35.960 Jack would keep himself busy by working for the government 172 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:40.080 and being the CEO of such nonprofit organizations as Mothers 173 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:44.360 Against Drunk Driving and the Vietnam Children's Fund. He served 174 00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:46.919 as a White House aide to Presidents Ronald Reagan and 175 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:50.919 George H. W. Bush, working on the latter's transition team 176 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:54.480 when he entered office, and during George W. Bush's second 177 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:57.759 term as president, Jack served as special assistant to the 178 00:09:57.759 --> 00:09:59.120 Secretary of the Air Force. 179 00:10:00.279 --> 00:10:02.879 So Jack had an incredible career, but he also was 180 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:07.639 exposed to a lot of really high profile, high stress positions, jobs, responsibilities. 181 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:11.519 You know, my dad is an amazing Vietnam hero as well, 182 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:14.759 And when you look at the fact that Jack was 183 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:18.200 at West Point, there's a lot of stress that goes 184 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:19.840 into that, a lot of pressure that goes on to 185 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:23.120 those cadets and those individuals serving our country at West Point, 186 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:27.399 it's an amazing institution. And then he went to Vietnam, 187 00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:31.000 or has friends that go to Vietnam, and there's a 188 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:33.320 lot of trauma and stress that comes from that. Right, 189 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:35.639 you lose people that you love and you care about 190 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:39.440 that you're defending our country with. And at the time, 191 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:44.639 Vietnam veterans and veterans before that, they didn't have mental 192 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:48.919 health support to really deal with the consequences of that 193 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:52.840 war and service to our country. Now we are getting 194 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:55.360 a lot better with the VA and with military providing 195 00:10:55.399 --> 00:10:58.720 mental health to our soldiers and to our veterans. But 196 00:10:59.080 --> 00:11:02.039 I guarantee you that Jack did not have that kind 197 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:05.279 of support, nor did his comrades that he served with 198 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:09.039 or went to school with. And so for me, when 199 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:10.960 you look at that and you talk about the fact 200 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:12.919 that down the road we're going to have larger mental 201 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:16.279 health issues, the stress of all of those positions, the 202 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:20.279 fact that likely at that time, men especially were not 203 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:24.000 encouraged or supported in a pursuit of mental health care, 204 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:26.759 and we just didn't have the structures in place, Like 205 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:30.360 I remember my dad saying, you know, World War two 206 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:34.320 men didn't have PTSD. That's not a thing, you know, 207 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:36.919 like because he was young and they were told you're fine, 208 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:39.799 and then you see years later where these men are. 209 00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:44.440 It's a disservice to them. They're hurting and they don't 210 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:46.320 know how to get help because it just wasn't something 211 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:49.159 established or addressed at the time. And so I really 212 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:51.960 feel for Jack, and I feel that his positions and 213 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.799 his amazing accomplishments probably have a lot to do with 214 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:57.559 the mental health crisis that he could have had, or 215 00:11:57.600 --> 00:12:00.240 at least the mental health battle he struggled with. The 216 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:02.480 older he got in his life, Well, we're. 217 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:03.840 Going to talk about this as we go along, but 218 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:06.200 as he got older, he did acknowledge that he had 219 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:09.440 some mental health issues and finally began to start treating it. 220 00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:11.960 And I think that's just remarkable about it. I'm not 221 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:13.919 entirely sure at what point in his life that he 222 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:16.120 realized he had these issues, but I think like it 223 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:18.519 during the late seventies and early eighties, he was thinking 224 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:20.960 that there are a lot of Vietnam veterans out there 225 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:23.080 that are struggling. So that's why I'm going to help 226 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:26.600 establish the memorial fund and the memorial in Washington. 227 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:26.519 D C. 228 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:29.720 Because he knew that a lot of people were struggling 229 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:31.799 and he wanted to pay tribute to them and help them. 230 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.559 And that's what's great is that he led a very 231 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:36.519 productive life and it's all the more sad that he 232 00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:38.600 would die in such a tragic fashion. 233 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:43.080 And you know, for our Vietnam vets, they were not 234 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:47.480 respected or loved on the way many other war veterans are. 235 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:50.600 They were brought home a war that many of them 236 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.000 didn't even understand what we were fighting for, right, and 237 00:12:54.039 --> 00:12:56.720 they served our country the way that they honorably said 238 00:12:56.759 --> 00:12:59.200 I'll do that, I will go and serve our country, 239 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:02.080 or they were drafted to do so. But the political 240 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:04.240 unrest here in the United States when they got home, 241 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:10.159 they were so disrespected and so just not cared for 242 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:13.480 by the community, by you know, anyone welcoming them home. 243 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:17.200 It was a very different feel at the time. And 244 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:20.639 I think it was that the political scene they came 245 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:22.679 home to at the time, but that that had a 246 00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:25.919 big effect too of what they thought of themselves and 247 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:29.039 their service. And I just think it's a very complicated 248 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:30.440 war to be a veteran on. 249 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:34.159 And weren't they labeled baby killers when they came back. 250 00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:36.480 Yes, it was horrible. My dad said, he got off 251 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:39.279 the plane, was he had been well, No, not his plane. 252 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:41.480 My dad had been shot five times in Vietnam and 253 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:45.039 was yeah, paralyzed and blind for almost two years in rehab. 254 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:48.559 But when he got out of the hospital, he said, 255 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:51.240 he got spin on like people would tell them they 256 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:54.000 were disgrace to our country, or he was a baby killer, 257 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:56.960 or they were all rapist or whatever, And my dad said, 258 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:00.799 we were seventeen year old boys serve in our country 259 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:04.360 like we didn't. You know, a lot of just a 260 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:06.960 lot of disrespect. And you had a lot of famous 261 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:10.120 people at the time protesting the war, which caused a 262 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:13.559 lot of backlash too in the communities right where young 263 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:16.399 people were saying, I support this famous person who's protesting 264 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:20.000 the war, and just sad like those boys did their 265 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:23.240 job and they came home to not having the care 266 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:25.759 and love and respect that you give to military personnel 267 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:26.840 who defended your freedom. 268 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:30.960 They're instruments of the government. They're being told what to do, 269 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:34.240 So getting mad at the instrument you should be getting 270 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:36.480 that at the institution, not the people. 271 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:39.279 Right, you don't disrespect the boys who came home or 272 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:43.240 in women who came home hurt, you know, like, yeah, 273 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:43.879 it's just very. 274 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:47.720 Very sad. So by twenty ten, Jack had become a 275 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:51.960 very influential figure among Washington's elite, who had many prominent friends, 276 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:54.759 and he was now working as a national security consultant 277 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:58.360 to the nonprofit research and development firm, the Metra Corporation, 278 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:02.440 assisting them with cybers security issues. However, in spite of 279 00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:06.200 Jack's personal achievements, he had lifelong struggles with depression and 280 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:10.519 bipolar disorder, and took medication to control his condition. For 281 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:13.200 the past thirteen years. Jack had been married to his 282 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:16.159 second wife, Catherine Kleis, and he had a twin son 283 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:18.399 and daughter from his first marriage, as well as two 284 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:22.120 step children from Catherine's first marriage. Jack and Catherine were 285 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:25.279 now splitting their time living in two separate residences, a 286 00:15:25.399 --> 00:15:28.039 condo in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City and 287 00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:31.480 a getaway home in the town of Newcastle, Delaware. On 288 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:34.919 Christmas Eve, Jack took an Amtrak train from Newcastle to 289 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:37.679 Harlem to spend the holidays with his family, but on 290 00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:40.480 December the twenty eighth, he decided to leave and hop 291 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:44.320 on a train to Washington, d c. Jack told Catherine 292 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:46.399 he was planning to spend a few days there doing 293 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:48.879 some work for the Metra Corporation, but she was not 294 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:51.600 thrilled with this decision, as she hoped Jack would spend 295 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:53.799 the rest of the holidays with her until the new year. 296 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:57.200 The couple got into a heated argument, but Jack still 297 00:15:57.240 --> 00:15:59.759 left on his train trip as planned and spent most 298 00:15:59.799 --> 00:16:02.320 of the day using his phone to remain in contact 299 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:05.519 with Catherine and other members of his family through emails 300 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:08.840 and text messages. But even though it would be established 301 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:11.200 that Jack arrived in Washington and spent part of the 302 00:16:11.240 --> 00:16:14.320 day there, he eventually decided to hop on another train 303 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:18.679 and make an unexplained trip to Wilmington, Delaware. Wilmington is 304 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:21.919 only six miles north from Newcastle, the location of Jack's 305 00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:25.919 second home, and shortly after eleven thirty pm, Jack's next 306 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:29.639 door neighbor, Scott Morris, heard an odd sound outside his residence. 307 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:32.480 When Morris looked out the window, he claimed that he 308 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:34.919 saw the darkened silhouette of a man standing in the 309 00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:38.000 frame of a three story house across the street, which 310 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:41.519 was under construction at the time. After the man walked away, 311 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:44.159 Morris noticed that there was smoke coming from the house, 312 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:46.960 so he phoned the police in the fire department, but 313 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:49.879 when the authorities arrived, they discovered that the structure was 314 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:53.039 not actually on fire, as somewhat had tossed some smoke 315 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.799 bombs into it, causing very little damage. However, a cell 316 00:16:56.840 --> 00:16:59.600 phone was eventually founded the scene and it was identified 317 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:03.039 as below. To Jack Wheeler, crazy. 318 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:05.240 When you think about this fact that it's Christmas time 319 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:08.480 and you have a family who's trying to figure out 320 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:11.720 holiday plans, right, and there's this big argument, it makes 321 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:14.559 you wonder is that big argument any part of the 322 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:17.599 mental health crisis that could have come from that? But 323 00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:21.039 Jack says, listen, I'm gonna be with family for the holidays, 324 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:23.519 but then I'm going to be working for this corporation. 325 00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:26.160 Am I right when I say he does not inform 326 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:28.880 anyone that he's actually going to Delaware, that's where his 327 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:31.759 house is located, but he doesn't tell the family that 328 00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:33.279 he's going to make that pit stop there. 329 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:35.519 That's correct. He just said that he was going to Washington, 330 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:38.039 but did not tell anyone that he was going to Wilmington. 331 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:41.000 So we have a couple hours of him in Washington 332 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:43.039 and we don't actually know what he does there, But 333 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:45.640 at some point he just makes the spontaneous decision to 334 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:48.119 go up to like the same area where his house 335 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:51.480 is and then potentially throw smoke bombs into this other 336 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:54.799 house that's under construction. So it's a sign that something 337 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:56.359 has really broken inside of him. 338 00:17:56.759 --> 00:17:58.880 Where does someone acquire smoke bombs? 339 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:02.279 We do make later on, But Jack often used them 340 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:05.039 into his garden to get rid of bugs, apparently, so 341 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:06.880 he did own them. I don't think he just went 342 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:09.039 out and bought them that very same day. I think 343 00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:10.519 he kept them inside his house. 344 00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:15.480 Jack's residence was located across the street from a house 345 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:18.359 which was under construction, and he'd spent a lot of 346 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:22.960 time and energy organizing petitions and filing legal challenges in 347 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:26.400 order to prevent it from being built. Jack was unhappy 348 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:28.400 that the house was going to block his view of 349 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:32.359 the Delaware River and opposed any construction on that particular 350 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:36.279 piece of land, as he felt it had historical significance 351 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.759 since William Penn had taken his first step on American 352 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:43.599 soil there in sixteen eighty two. While Jack had attempted 353 00:18:43.640 --> 00:18:47.079 to file a temporary restraining order against construction of the house, 354 00:18:47.640 --> 00:18:51.759 a Delaware Court of chancery judge had denied Jack's request 355 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:56.160 over two weeks earlier, on December thirteenth. The incident with 356 00:18:56.200 --> 00:19:01.079 the smoke bombs was particularly interesting since Jack Robin just mentioned, 357 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:03.599 was known to own smoke bombs, which he would use 358 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:06.880 to get rid of rodents in his garden. The following morning, 359 00:19:06.920 --> 00:19:09.720 at eight forty five am, Jack hailed a cab from 360 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:13.200 the Amtrak station in Wilmington to the Hotel du Pont, 361 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:16.920 Which is unclear why he decided to visit this location 362 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:21.119 since records would show he never registered there. But about 363 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:23.960 forty five minutes later, Jack sent an email to the 364 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:27.680 Metra Corporation to inform them that his house was burglarized 365 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:32.839 and a number of his personal items, including his cell phone, briefcase, wallet, 366 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:37.079 identification badge, and Keith fob, had been stolen. He also 367 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:39.880 sent an email to his daughter and another one to 368 00:19:39.960 --> 00:19:42.680 his therapist to say that he felt dazed, boxed, and 369 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:45.799 in a corner following his most recent fight with Catherine. 370 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:48.400 Since Jack no longer had his cell phone in his 371 00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:51.759 possession by this point, it's never been made clear where 372 00:19:51.799 --> 00:19:54.759 exactly he sent these emails from, and even though he 373 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:58.559 told his employer that he'd been burglarized. Jack never attempted 374 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:02.240 to report the incident to the pull. Jack's wareboats for 375 00:20:02.279 --> 00:20:06.039 the next several hours are unknown, but at around six pm, 376 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:09.960 he walked into Happy Harry's pharmacy in Newcastle, located just 377 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:13.079 a few blocks from his residence. Jack was captured by 378 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:16.720 the security cameras, and the pharmacist immediately recognized him since 379 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:19.839 he was a regular customer who often had his prescriptions 380 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:23.039 filled here. Even though it was very cool, it was 381 00:20:23.079 --> 00:20:25.680 a very cold night. Jack was only dressed in a 382 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:29.119 suit jacket and did not have an overcoat. According to 383 00:20:29.160 --> 00:20:32.119 the pharmacist, Jack looked visibly upset and asked for a 384 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:36.160 ride to Wilmington. Since the pharmacist couldn't leave the establishment, 385 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:39.200 he offered to call Jack a cab, but even though 386 00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:41.839 Jack declined, he managed to convince a couple there to 387 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:43.599 give him a ride before they left together. 388 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:47.319 That is also a little bit odd. It doesn't sound 389 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:50.799 like he knew this couple that he asked for a ride. 390 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:54.640 He's not necessarily dressed for the right weather, and he 391 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:57.599 seemed dazed and boxed in a corner is what he 392 00:20:57.720 --> 00:21:01.359 says when he's reaching out to family. This robbery that 393 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:03.599 he doesn't report to the police. But he says he's 394 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:07.119 been burglarized, He's lost all of his important documents, including 395 00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:12.119 his I believe, his wallet, his identification badge, his key fob, 396 00:21:12.359 --> 00:21:15.920 his cell phone, and you still don't report it. It 397 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:19.440 does start to sound like he's in this spiral where 398 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:23.200 maybe he's perceiving that he's at risk or perceiving that 399 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:25.880 he's in danger, when in actuality, he's just kind of 400 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:30.039 losing connection with reality. I do wonder how much that 401 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:32.960