PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Delaware police released new video on Friday showing John Wheeler, a former senior official in the administration of President George W. Bush, on the street in downtown Wilmington the day before his body was found in a nearby landfill.
Local police and the FBI are trying to figure out how Wheeler's body got in a dumpster picked up by the trash truck in Newark, Del. as early as 4:20 a.m. on New Year's Eve.
The Delaware Medical Examiner has ruled Wheeler's death a homicide but has not released the cause of death, pending the results of toxicology tests.
The new video shows Wheeler exiting a building and crossing a street in central Wilmington, wearing dark pants and a blue hooded sweatshirt, the Newark Police Department said in a statement.
The video traces Wheeler's movements until 8:42 p.m. on December 30, about 13 hours before his body was spotted by a sanitation worker falling out of a trash truck at a Wilmington landfill. Police had previously published video showing him inside the building at about 8:30 p.m. on December 30.
Wheeler, 66, was a Yale Law School graduate and defense contractor who also worked for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and headed a panel that oversaw construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.
Another video from December 29 showed Wheeler walking through a Wilmington parking garage in disoriented fashion, carrying one shoe in his hand.
"The Newark Police Department is interested in any information regarding Mr. Wheeler's whereabouts after 8:42 p.m. on December 30th, 2010," the police statement said.
Earlier Friday, police released a new statement from Wheeler's family thanking the public for their condolences and asking for privacy.
(Reporting and Writing by Jon Hurdle, Editing by Greg McCune)
