John Wheeler’s wife bashes Newark PD according to online mag

According to an article on the online news site Slate.com, John Wheeler’s widow vents her frustrations with the Newark Police Department, the lead agency investigating her husband’s murder.

In the article, Katherine Klyce is quoted as saying, “They have been so bad,” when talking about Newark PD. She went on to say, “They’ve made my life so miserable. They treated us like criminals, all of us. They were rude.”

Klyce also fumed about a lack of communication between her and police, saying she found out her husband died of blunt force trauma from the media.

Colm Connolly, the Wheeler family attorney, echoed that frustration in an interview with WHYY last month.

“We were very disappointed… when we learned from the media that the M.E.’s office had issued a final report and that, I wouldn’t expect, I hope that doesn’t happen again,” said Connolly on January 31st.

Calls to Colm Connolly have not been returned.

Lt. Mark Farrall with Newark Police tells us he has no comment.

The article also reveals new information about what Wheeler was supposed to be doing between Christmas and New Years. 

Klyce says the ex-Pentagon official had to leave their New York City home to attend a meeting in Washington, D.C.

When she tried calling him several times, she says she was mad when his phone went straight to voice mail. 

The couple was also supposed to attend a cousin’s wedding on New Year’s eve in Cambridge, Mass. 

Klyce says it wasn’t unusal for them to spend time apart, so when he didn’t show up, she went to the wedding alone. 

She learned about his death January 2nd when she returned to New York.

Earlier this week, investigators returned to Wheeler’s New Castle home.

When asked, Lt. Farrall would only confirm investigators were there, but could not provide specifics about what was collected.

Police say they still have not developed a crime scene or any suspects at this time, despite a $25,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest, offered by the family.

Meantime, Wheeler, whose body was found in Wilmington’s Cherry Island landfill on New Year’s Eve 2010, will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

Arlington National Cemetery spokesperson Kaitlin Horst said Wheeler, “will be laid to rest here with military honors on April 29th.”