Unsolved Mysteries – Volume 2 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Washington Insider Murder

Volume 2 wastes absolutely no time getting right to the heart of the weirdness. Episode 1 begins with a man named John Wheeler found dumped in a landfill on 31st December 2010. Wearing black pants and a West Point ring, multiple injuries across his body seem to hint at this being intentional and targeted…but was it?

Labeled by friends, family and colleagues as a “true American patriot”, John Wheeler was a White House aide and well-regarded among his peers. However, he was also bipolar and sometimes overly emotional.

Married to Katherine, John had lots of contacts within the government and worked within cyber security. Specifically, he was involved in looking at Russia and china’s potential meddling in the elections. As we’re quickly told, this doesn’t seem to be the link here.

Alas, the plot thickens – there was also a call about a burglary at John’s house during the days prior to his death. John’s shield and sword from West Point lay strewn were on the floor. There was also a bare footprint too, visible thanks to white powder found spewed across the floor.

A few days before John’s body was found, there were also several smoke bombs set off across the street where Jack’s phone was found. Are these three things connected?

Well, as the events are pieced together by experts it seems to hint that way. John didn’t notify Kathy or the police that there as a break-in. Instead, he showed up at a pharmacy intending to get a ride to Wilmington that night.

John was well-known for not having a good sense of direction and had a history of losing things. He constantly misplaced his car and as we’re shown CCTV footage from the parking garage, his demeanor is completely different to that of the pharmacy.

John has a shoe in his hand and kept telling people there (according to eye-witnesses) that he’d lost his briefcase. He was rattled, and for the 40 minute period of time between the drive from the pharmacy to the parking garage something clearly happened. When he leaves the scene, CCTV picks him up walking along the road.

Given this was the last moment he was seen, the footage then catches us up to Jack’s body being found in the landfill. Only, the dumpster he was in happened to be 11 miles away from Wilmington. A witness allegedly shared a cab heading down to Newark where it was found but… is that accurate? The experts aren’t sure.

The autopsy report shows massive blunt force trauma. John was beaten so badly that the idea of him just crawling inside a dumpster doesn’t add up. But what really happened? Could it be something to do with the Russians? Work? Or is it simply an accident?

The Episode Review

Here’s my two-cents – the break-in and the parking garage stuff is linked together but not with the death on the landfill. I believe John had a bipolar episode and flew off the handle at home over something – perhaps work-related or even with the housing dispute across the street.

He was constantly misplacing things (according to Kathy) and the single footprint on the floor, with the smashed plates etc. could be John’s. Unless I missed something, did they check the shoe size to see if it matches up to John’s?

John could have then head to the pharmacy with the intention of getting medication to help himself but then having second thoughts and wanting a ride to Wilmington to get his car. There, another episode flared up thanks to leaving his briefcase in the car or somewhere nearby.

This anxiety and panic could then have manifested itself into a disastrous bipolar episode, causing him to completely fly off the handle. Perhaps he could have said something or squared up to the wrong crowd of people outside, away from the cameras.

He could have walked to Newark (assuming he walked at 3 1/2 mph it would have taken around 4 hours to make it) which just about matches the time periods given.

John’s paranoia – especially inside the parking garage – could mean he intentionally avoided cameras.

The whole dumpster thing could either be that he was thrown inside after being beaten up or he crawled in during a delirious state looking for shelter. That’s my theory anyway.

What about you guys? What do you think happened? Let us know in the comments below!