INQUIRER: Police in Delaware have discovered evidence that a former Pentagon aide may have been involved in an attempted arson days before his murder, a law enforcement source has told The Inquirer. Police found evidence linking John Parsons Wheeler 3d to devices planted at the New Castle home of a neighbor with whom he had been feuding, said the source, who is close to the investigation. The feud was over the size of the neighbor’s house, which was under construction in the city’s historic district. The source emphasized that the evidence does not shed light on the murder itself, but it has helped detectives understand Wheeler’s state of mind before he disappeared. Wheeler was found dead in a landfill on Friday, and the police have trying to retrace his movements between Dec. 28 and then. MORE
RELATED: Police investigating the death of a former Pentagon aide said this morning he was last seen on a surveillance video in downtown Wilmington at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, about 14 hours before his body was found in a Wilmington landfill. Newark police, who have classified the death of John Parsons Wheeler 3d as a homicide, said the surveillance video showed him inside the Nemours Building at 10th and Orange Streets and that he appeared “confused.” Police also said Wheeler was approached inside the building earlier in the day by several individuals who offered assistance to him, which he declined. MORE